Wyllie exhibited the 'Burning of the Old Semaphore Tower, Portsmouth' at the Royal Academy in 1914, though its outline is not recognizable in this drawing. It may however show the burning ruins after collapse of the tower. The painting has been in the Royal Naval museum at Portsmouth since 1981.

The incident began early in the evening of 20 December 1913, when lookouts on the new battle-cruiser 'Queen Mary' lying alongside the South Railway Jetty about 100 yards away spotted smoke.Tthe Dockyard police and fire-brigade were rapidly on the scene but the Semaphore had been built in 1833 linking the 1778 sail-loft and rigging store ranges. Both were full of flammable materials and the fire went rapidly out of control into both even when other appliances arrived, including from the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard at Gosport via the Portsmouth Harbour chain ferry (operating 1840-1959). Parties of firemen from the Royal Marine Barracks at Eastney and Forton also attended, with seaman from 15 ships then in the harbour. Strenuous efforts involving over 1000 men prevented the blaze spreading to 50,000 gallons of oil stored to the south of the Semaphore, to the Flag Captain’s Office and the Cable Chain store: the 'Queen Mary' (with wooden decks and boats especially at risk) was also cast off and taken further up the harbour, presumably by tugs.

Two on-site building guards died in the fire, possibly trapped or overcome by smoke early on, and at 9.30 p.m the Semaphore Tower structure gave way and collapsed. Wyllie's final painting shows the whole range in flames just before this occurred.