Birkenhead survivors
Thomas Kelly
THOMAS
KELLY
When
the Birkenhead
sank she took down, with many another hero, Timothy Kelly of the 73rd Foot
whose name appears in the death roll. Timothy Kelly`s wife and two little sons
are stated to have been on board and among the last to be placed in the ship`s
cutter by which the women and children were saved.
Almost immediately Timothy Kelly went down with the Birkenhead
and was drowned. The story goes that after the heart- rending experience of that
night Mrs Kelly remained some time in hospital at Capetown, suffering from the
shock of that last sad parting and the effects of exposure in the open boat. Her
young sons James and Thomas were taken care of by local people and eventually
all three were sent home.
Mrs Kelly received a Government pension also gifts of money from Queen
Victoria, the Right Hon W E Gladstone and others. She died in County Kildare
during 1899. Her sons were allowed a small money grant by the Government and
were also taught the trade of tailoring in the Army. At the 50th anniversary of
the wreck Thomas Kelly was in good health and living in Leeds, his brother James
being deceased. Thomas, who was not quite three years old when the troopship was
lost (he was born on March 12th 1849), said he had little
recollection of the incidents of the disaster, but he remembered how in after
years his mother used to relate with pride and sadness the story of those brave British soldiers who died
heroes` deaths, uncomplaining and with dignity.
As the name of Mrs Kelly does not appear in the official list of those saved from the wreck it is not possible to substantiate Thomas Kelly`s account although there is no inference that his claim to be among the 50th anniversary survivors is not correct. The lists are not infallible.
When Thomas was questioned about this he said he could not
understand how his mother`s name was missing from the official list and added
“I have a faint recollection of the wreck. I was the very last of the children
to leave it and was nearly drowned. Myself and my brother were each given £23
from the Government to learn a trade. My
mother received ten shillings a week for life as long as she remained single. We
stayed two years in Capetown before we came home”