HMS KINSHA
For basic information regarding this gunboat click here.
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I was very fortunate to be contacted by David Angove whose grandfather,
John Curnow, served aboard HMS Kinsha as she patrolled the Yangtze river
from 1903 to 1905. Several of the photographs submitted are seen below
and a full gallery of all the photographs is now available for viewing
here.
I am immensely grateful to the Angove family for permitting these photographs
to be posted on the site. Requests to use these photographs are welcome,
but publication (by any means) may only occur with prior approval of the
Angove family. Any inquires regarding these photographs should be made
to David Angove.
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HMS KINSHA
HMS Kinsha. Copyright 2004 - David Angove. All rights reserved.
HMS Kinsha on the Yangtze (c. 1903 -1905)
HMS Kinsha Crew - 1903. Copyright 2004 - David Angove. All rights reserved.
CLICK HERE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGE (200K)
HMS Kinsha Crew - 1905. Copyright 2004 - David Angove. All rights reserved.
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CLICK HERE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGE (200K)
OTHER INFORMATION REGARDING HMS KINSHA
HMS Kinsha (c. 1908)
I recently read, "Something about a Sailor", by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas J. Spence Lyne (published in 1940, with no reprints to my knowledge). In his early career Lyne commanded HMS Snipe on the Yangtze (1905 to 1907). He returned home to England to command the coastal defense destroyer, HMS Mayfly. On August 16, 1908, Lyne (obviously still in England) was told he had been appointed to command HMS Kinsha back on the Yangtze. Lyne's major concern was breaking this news to his wife as he had only recently spent several years in China commanding HMS Snipe. She took the news quite well but informed him that she was coming with him this time (and she did). Lyne reached China around the end of the year and relieved Tennyson on HMS Kinsha at Shanghai (it should be noted that Tennyson had relieved Lyne on his previous departure from HMS Snipe).
To his horror, Lyne discovered that much of the population on the lower Yangtze was starving due to the flooding that had recently occurred. On more than one occasion HMS Kinsha used large amounts of its canned food to relieve those found in villages along the Yangtze.
Between 1908 and late 1912, HMS Kinsha patrolled the lower river between Hankow and Ichang. SS Pioneer, the name of HMS Kinsha before she was purchased by the Royal Navy, had shown that she could navigate the waters from Ichang (through the gorges and rapids on the upper Yangtze) to Chungking, but the large width of the paddle wheels on each side of the ship made this a difficult task.
On October 14, 1908 the Emperor of China died. China then became increasingly unstable as Sun Yat Sen began to raise support to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty and supplant it with a democratic regime. Civil order declined and the Royal Navy river gunboats on the Yangtze spent much of their time moving from one location to another quelling civil unrest.
HMS Kinsha went to Tung Ting Lake on many occasions in order to show a
British presence. On one occasion she got stuck in the mud while trying
to negotiate a tributary river, on the way to where trouble seemed imminent.
She spent several days removing absolutely everything from the ship (anything
not tied down, all of the coal - she even started taking unnecessary parts
of the ship off). This had no result and she continued to remain stuck
fast. Ships that got stuck in this area could wait up to two years before
water levels were sufficient to refloat the vessel. Lyne was fortunate
in that a passenger ship cruised by at some distance and, recognizing Lyne
and HMS Kinsha, the Captain of the passenger ship took an incredible risk
and moved close enough to send in a tow line. Shortly thereafter HMS Kinsha
was freed. Lyne assumed he would probably be court-martialed as a result
of the incident but, when he met the Yangtze Admiral, no mention was made
of the matter (I have seen other references by the US navy that the Yangtze
was the only place on earth that you could strand or damage a vessel and
not be court-martialed).
On one occasion HMS Kinsha went to the Tung Ting lakes and down to Changsha because there was threat of trouble at Changsha. Onshore, Lyne went to the Deputy Commissioner's house where, while waiting in a room to meet the Deputy Commissioner, a leopard walked in. Lyne had to jump on the furniture to avoid the animal but presently an individual from the household came in and kicked the leopard, causing it to flee. It was explained that the leopard had been brought up in the house since birth and was not dangerous. Upon leaving, Lyne was given the leopard as a gift and it proceeded to freely roam HMS Kinsha as a mascot (along with a dog to which it paid little attention). This situation continued until an unfortunate incident in which the leopard accidentally fell through a hatch and onto a cook preparing food below. The poor cook was seriously clawed and the animal fled below the boilers, requiring serious encouragement to get out. On the next trip to Shanghai HMS Kinsha disposed of the leopard at the Shanghai zoo.
HMS Kinsha encountered HMS Snipe on the Yangtze (then commanded by Alan Dixon). She also encountered HMS Teal at the entrance to the Poyang Lake.
As for crew onboard HMS Kinsha during Lyne's command, the following are mentioned:
First Lieutenant Wilkens
Sub-Lieutenant Bowden Smith (later Lieutenant)
Surgeon Lieutenant G.L. Buckeridge
Engineer George Dewey
As the turnover of crew occurred in March of 1910, the following individuals are also mentioned:
Lieutenant Ralf D.B. Haddon
Sub-Lieutenant Richard Harter
Surgeon Lieutenant Commander John Verdon
Engineer George Eustace
On May 6, 1910, news of the death of King Edward arrived. (Interestingly enough, all vessels in the proximity of a foreign vessel engaged in celebration (e.g. celebration of the King's (UK) or Chinese Emperor's birthday), or mourning (the death of a monarch, president or some other terrible event), would dress themselves appropriately for the event. (For example, on the King's birthday, all ships in proximity to Royal Navy vessels would show all their flags across the vessel in celebration. In the event of a tragic mishap or death of a monarch in a foreign country, all ships of foreign countries would show bereavement and attend any ceremonies held by the bereaved country. There are a number of pictures in the galleries portraying these sorts of incidents.)
In September of 1911 a large fire in the Russian concession at Hankow occurred. HMS Kinsha sent her crew ashore to help put it out. In October of 1911, revolutionaries rose up and began their attempt to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty. China became very unstable as civil war broke out. A large portion of Hankow was burned and revolutionaries took over the remainder.
This was about the time Lyne was scheduled to be replaced and on October
18, 1911, he left China for England, travelling home via the Trans-Siberian
railway.
I would note one last interesting fact Lyne stated. The Manchu Dynasty
had risen to power several hundred years earlier and implemented the the
classic hair style of pigtails and a partially shaven head. Within days
of the the revolution in October of 1911 the local population cut off all
their pigtails as a show of support for the removal of the Manchus (as
well as to avoid persecution by the revolutionaries). This may be a useful
tool in dating some photographs.
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Officers of HMS Kinsha - CO Thomas J. Spence Lyne, seen seated
(later to become a Rear Admiral and knighted (c. 1908))
Crew of HMS Kinsha (c. 1908)
SS PIONEER
| I recently discovered that in 1901 the Royal Geographical Society published
a short article by Archibald Little entitled, "The Crux of the Upper
Yangtse". As Archibald Little built the Pioneer (the name of HMS Kinsha
before she was purchased by the Royal Navy), the article relates to the
period in which steamships began to penetrate the upper Yangtse. A copy
of the article can be found here. |
S.S. Pioneer on her first voyage into the Upper Yangtze during the summer
of 1900.
All rights reserved. No photographs appearing on this site may be reproduced
without permission.
Contact: wampit@warstrike.com
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