The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society
Encyclopedia
The Shipwrecked Mariners Society
The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society or the Shipwrecked Mariners for short, is a national charity founded in 1839, which operates throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, whose purpose is to provide help to former merchant seamen, fishermen and their widows and dependants who are in need. It was founded at the instigation of Mr John Rye, a philanthropic retired medical man of Bath, Somerset and his servant Mr Charles Gee Jones, a former Bristol Pilot and Landlord of the Pulteney Arms in Bath, following the tragic loss of life from the ClovellyClovelly
Clovelly is a village in the Torridge district of Devon, England. It is a major tourist attraction, famous for its history and beauty, its extremely steep car-free cobbled main street, donkeys, and its location looking out over the Bristol Channel. Thick woods shelter it and render the climate so...
fishing fleet in a severe storm in November 1838. Aided by Sir Jahleel Brenton
Jahleel Brenton
Sir Jahleel Brenton, 1st baronet, KCB was a British admiral born in Newport, Rhode Island, British North America.-Early life:...
, at that time Governor of Greenwich Hospital, Mr. Rye succeeded in establishing the Society, and of collecting a respectable sum as a first subscription, initially by going from house to house in Bath collecting half crowns
British Half Crown coin
The half crown was a denomination of British money worth half of a crown, equivalent to two and a half shillings , or one-eighth of a pound. The half crown was first issued in 1549, in the reign of Edward VI...
. The portrait (below) of Mr Rye and Mr Gee Jones was painted to commemorate the founding of the Society, which now hangs in the boardroom of the Society's Headquarters in Chichester.
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
and captured and burnt Washington on 24 August 1814. The Society's first Patron was Queen Victoria and it has had a Royal Patron ever since, today it is HRH The Princess Royal
Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily awarded by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter. The style is held for life, so a princess cannot be given the style during the lifetime of another Princess Royal...
. One of its first Vice-Presidents was Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Bt. The Society was incorporated by an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1850.
The Society's flag, a St George's cross
St George's Cross
St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times....
with the letters SFMS in the quadrants and a number, was displayed by ships and their position reported by the coastguard to the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette in London. From 1851 until 1854 it operated lifeboats at Lytham, Rhyl
Rhyl
Rhyl is a seaside resort town and community situated on the north east coast of Wales, in the county of Denbighshire , at the mouth of the River Clwyd . To the west is the suburb of Kinmel Bay, with the resort of Towyn further west, Prestatyn to the east and Rhuddlan to the south...
, Portmadoc, Tenby
Tenby
Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay.Notable features of Tenby include of sandy beaches; the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse ; 15th century St...
, Llanelly
Llanelly
Llanelly is the name of both a village and its respective parish in Monmouthshire principal area, within the historic boundaries of Brecknockshire, south-east Wales.- Situation :...
, Teignmouth
Teignmouth
Teignmouth is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign about 14 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of 14,413. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...
, Hornsea
Hornsea
Hornsea is a small seaside resort, town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England at the eastern end of the Trans Pennine Trail.-Overview:According to the 2001 UK Census, Hornsea parish had a population of 8,243....
and Newhaven but it was subsequently agreed that it would be wiser if one organisation concentrated on rescuing lives at sea while the other helped the survivors or their bereaved families ashore, so in 1854 the Society transferred its lifeboats to the RNLI.
The Society, which operates through a national network of volunteers known as Honorary Agents, deals with over 2,000 cases of need a year and is based in Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
.