History from an Old Tin Box

The old photograph above was taken in 1914 or 1915 on the Falkland Islands and is a unique record of a period from when few photographic records exist. The following is a short account of the circumstances of it being taken and some ideas for teaching that arise from it.

My grandfather had a habit of lying about his age. In 1914 he was 15 years old but managed to persuade the Royal Marines that he was 18. So it was off to Chatham for basic training and from there serving with the Fleet.

His first term of duty involved sailing on HMS Canopus, a slow pre Dreadnought battleship to the South Atlantic. Initially they were sailing to join Admiral Cradock's squadron in pursuit of Admiral Graf Spee fleet which had been attacking merchant shipping.

Canopus didn't reach Cradock's squadron because it had been defeated at the Battle of Coronel, the British Navy's first defeat since before Trafalgar. Canopus turned for the Falklands and was beached at Port Stanley as a stable gun platform. Apparently it was a miserable several weeks trying to fortify Port Stanley and daily expecting the German Fleet.

In response to Coronel, a powerful British fleet under Admiral Sturdee had been sent to attack and destroy Spee's fleet. Canopus had to hold the fort at Port Stanley in the meantime.

On 8th December 1914, the cruisers Gneisenau and Nurnberg were spotted approaching Port Stanley. The Canopus gun crews rushed to their stations, my grandfather joining the aft crew. The forward crew fired and the shell fell short, exploding in the water. The aft crew discovered that there was still a practice shell in the breech, so instead of wasting time they decided to fire that. As luck would have it, it bounced off the water and dented Gneisenau's funnel.

The German ships turned back and were soon engaged in battle with Sturdee's fleet. All but one of Spee's ships were sunk. Had it not been for that single shot from Canopus the outcome may have been very different.

When Canopus sailed for home, my grandfather remained on the Falklandss for a tour of duty as part of a Royal Marine gun crew with a six inch gun. During his time on the Falklands, the Canopus shell was the only shot fired.

While on the Falklands, my grandfather took a few photographs, not of the ships, but some of his Royal Marine colleagues and several of a peat digging expedition, one of which illustrates this article.

Was the peat for keeping warm or was it to fuel the ships? I never thought to ask?

The entire history of the Coronel and Falklands battles is told in detail elsewhere. I’m not a historian. My purpose is to find ways to enliven and make history more relevant and interesting using ICT.

Children may find that relatives have interesting and valuable stories to tell about historical events or about people they met. History can be recorded and ICT provides a unique way of researching, recording and sharing. Ancient photographs provide visual evidence of times past and ICT can enable us to enhance and restore these images. If the person is still alive their experiences can be recorded for posterity.

These records may not make it to a wide audience TV screen, but they are there to share and provide a record. A relevant, useful and potentially engaging use of ICT.