Royal Victoria

Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia

The Royal Victoria, a full rigged ship, 1444/1400 tons gross, or 1400 tons, builders measurement, the record states both. Registered in Liverpool, England, Captain Thomas Leslie, at least 32 crew, possibly 33, the record is uncertain.

This vessel was in passage from Sunderland, England to Calcutta, India, laden with a cargo, according to the majority of the record, of 2000 tons of coal. One source disagrees, and states her cargo was timber, but given her port of departure, such a cargo would seem unlikely. She was abandoned by her crew at sea, most likely a distance to the NW of Shetland. The record gives both the following approx positions as the location, N 60, 3. W 1, 3. (A few miles E of Mousa, unlikely given the other known details), or N 63. W 13. (NW of Faroe) on January 19th 1864.

The crew took to two lifeboats, one of which landed at Melby on January 23rd. The second lifeboat, which originally contained the Captain and thirteen crewmembers finally came ashore in a geo near Scatness at an unrecorded date before February 1st. Only two of the crewmembers onboard remained alive by this time, one of whom was badly frostbitten. The lifeboat also contained the bodies of the Captain and five other crewmembers who had perished, which were interred in Dunrossness Kirkyard. The other six which the lifeboat had originally contained, having perished at an earlier stage had been buried at sea.

Following the incident the parents of Captain Leslie presented a bell, which was installed at Sumburgh Head Lighthouse for use as a fog bell, where it remained until 1906 when it was replaced by a fog signal. It was then transferred to Dunrossness Kirk for use as a church bell, where it still remains in use today.