Salvaging the first gun from the wreck of the 64-gun Third Rate HMS Anson (1781).

A view on board the salvage vessel Greencastle (1884) looking forward from the port side from behind the air pump. A salvaged gun from the wreck of the 64-gun Third Rate HMS Anson (1781) is being hoisted from the water, suspended from a chain on a derrick. The diver, Captain H. E. Anderson, is back on board in the dive suit but without the helmet. A small group of people are on the beach in the distance, indicating how close inshore the salvage vessel is.

The 'Lincolnshire Chronicle' reported on 17 April 1903 the raising of the first gun, stating that it came up with several cannon balls attached and a piece of gun carriage. The gun measured 10ft 6 inches in length and, including concretion, was estimated to weigh up to 2.5 tons.

A glass copy negative from a print from glass negative G14428.

The 64-gun Third Rate HMS Anson (1781) was wrecked in December 1807 and subsequently rediscovered by Captain H. E. Anderson, the chief officer of the West of England Salvage Company. A negotiated deal between him and the Admiralty allowed him to buy the wreck to undertake salvage work. The first items recovered were some of the guns, the first being on 14 April 1903.

Object Details

ID: P50667
Collection: Historic Photographs
Type: Glass plate negative
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Gibson & Sons of Scilly
Date made: 1875; 1895 1896 14 April 1903 1903 1920
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Gibson's of Scilly Shipwreck Collection
Measurements: Overall: 120 mm x 164 mm