Pioneer steamer in West Indies

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33693, 16 November 1974, Page 11

Pioneer steamer in West Indies

(By

KENNETH ANTHONY)

Behind this new stamp from the Turks and Caicos Islands, with its attractive view of an old-time steamer at sea, lies a story of the hazards faced by those who pioneered the first regular steamship services in the 1840 s. The ship depicted on the stamp is the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company’s Medina, one of the fleet of wooden paddlesteamers built in 1841 in readiness for the opening of the first mail service between England and the West Indies, which began at the beginning of 1842. The Medina, however, seems a surprising choice as the subject of a stamp design, for this unfortunate vessel was destined to complete only one round voyage. She sailed from South-

ampton on her ill-fated second trip on April 15, 1842, and, because her 64 passengers included the Earl of Elgin, Governor of Jamaica, her departure was marked by a salute of 19 guns. On a reef She arrived off the Turks Islands in the Caribbean at midnight on May 11, and, approaching the islands in the darkness, went aground on a reef. All the 170 people on board were saved, as were the mails, but the Medina was a total loss. Before long, several of her sister vessels also came to grief. By 1847, five of the original fleet of 12 ships, which so proudly assembled in Southampton Water towards the end of 1841, had been lost. Yet it has to be remembered that never before had any company tried to run steamers

regularly to the Caribbean, with its treacherous coasts and violent weather — its navigation channels in many cases being poorly-lit and marked. The Medina was the first casualty; but, undaunted by losses, the company carried on and played a vital role in communications with the West Indies and later with South America.

So this 15c stamp, one of a set of six showing various historic ships which have been associated with the Turks Islands over the years, may serve as a memorial to the seamen — and passengers, too — who braved hardship and dangers in those early days of steam navigation in the West Indies.

staJp STORY