In 1707 a fleet of Navy ships was wrecked off the Scilly Islands. Who was the commander who lost his life in the disaster?
Scilly naval disaster of 1707 in the south choir aisle was sculpted by Grinling Gibbons. There is a memorial depicting the sinking of the "Association" in the church at the Narboroughs' home of Knowlton near Dover. One myth associated with the disaster alleges that a common sailor on the flagship tried to warn Shovell that the fleet was off course but the Admiral had him hanged at the yardarm for inciting mutiny. The story first appeared in the Scilly Isles in 1780, with the common sailor being a Scilly native who recognised the waters as being close to home but was punished for warning the
Scilly naval disaster of 1707 Scilly naval disaster of 1707 The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident one of the worst maritime disasters in British naval history. The disaster has been attributed to a combination of factors such as the navigators' inability to accurately calculate their positions, errors in the available charts and pilot books, and inadequate compasses. From 29 July to 21 August, 1707, during the War