More Postcards - Sail Training Ships
- including a few 'unknowns'. Any information would be appreciated.


HMS Conway
A sad sight, her back obviously broken whilst being towed through the Menai Strait between Anglesey and Wales. She broke up over the next few months and was finally destroyed by fire.

HMS Wellesley

Sent by 'Fred' from North Shields in 1907. There are about 80 cadets on the yards, and the forest of masts on the left reminds us that most cargo - certainly the coastal trade - was carried by sail until the Great War.

Unknown #1

Another (presumably) sail training ship, dressed for some occasion. The face of the postcard just says, 'The River Mersey', then, 'K.G.'. On the reverse the writer says, "This is our ship" but frustratingly, gives away nothing more. It was posted in March 1914.

Unknown #2

This one has no clues at all, and was never posted so cannot even be dated. It appears (going by the image if nothing else) to be more recent than the others.


Unknown Brig
This is not a postcard but a cigarette card published by Cavanders, no. 12 in the Homeland Series (whatever all that means).

The only identification is the caption, 'In The Portsmouth Roads'. I don't know what this brig is, perhaps one of the numerous 'Cherokee' or 'Cruizer' class? I believe a number of these were used as sail training brigs early this (I mean last..) century; HMS Martin and Sealark were two training brigs of which a number of pictures survive. The vessel on the right may - or may not - be another brig, the angle makes it too hard to tell, but the barque on the left is puzzling: with no square sails apparent on the mizen I have to assume that it IS a barque, but this was a rig very rarely used by the Navy in these times - and Navy she must be: no merchant service could afford the manpower needed to handle those massive, deep-cut, single topsails, and merchant vessels had universally switched to divided topsails some years before.