The Wrecks of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly have a fearsome reputation for shipwrecks and this book records some 900 of them in detail, with a remarkable collection of photographs, both above and underwater, as well as wreck artefact material, many of which have never previously been published. A unique series of wreck charts illustrate roughly where individual ships were lost, and the text brings to life many of the worst wreck incidents with details taken from newspapers, historic records and eye-witness accounts.


The frequency of shipwreck in the old days, the remoteness of the islands, and almost total disregard by the government for their plight - they were after all owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, offered little relief to the thousands of bewildered, frightened or injured seamen and passengers who found themselves uninvited guests here. Feeding, clothing, temporarily accommodating them and burying the dead, was a huge burden on such a small community. In 1707 some 1,450 Royal Navy men drowned, 311 were victims of the liner Schiller in 1875, and countless others in an appalling loss of life, brought vividly to life by an experienced author, researcher and diver.