Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal: Oceanic Pioneer Transatlantic …

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Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal: Oceanic Pioneer Transatlantic Liner

AssociatedAssociated with Lord Mountbatten of Burma (Frogmore House, Windsor, England, 1900 - 1979)

Medallist John Pinches, Medallists

DateMay 2004

Object NameMedal

MediumSterling Silver

ClassificationsMedals

AcquisitionPresented in 2004 by Dr Joan M Burrell.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS072500.64

Keywords

About MeSoon after the Liverpool shipowner T .H. Ismay had purchased the White " Star Line of sailing vessels, he was instrumental in forming the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company Limited. This firm was registered in 1869 with a capital of £400,000, its purpose being to inaugurate a new transatlantic steamship service. The first of a number of large vessels was ordered from the famous Belfast shipyard of Messrs. Harlandand Wolff and was delivered in 1871: named Oceanic, she was the first and one of the most celebrated ships of the Line, which was known to the general public as the White Star Line.

Oceanic was a novel vessel, in many respects the precursor of the modern passenger liner. She had the long, narrow hull particularly associated with the firm who designed and built her, and a gross tonnage of 3,707 made her the largest vessel of her day, except for the huge Great Eastern. Costing £120,000, she embodied many features designed to give her passengers exceptional comfort. She was the first vessel to adopt the principle of accommodating all her first-class passengers amidships, instead of aft, as had been the custom from the days of sail, thus insulating travellers from the effects of excessive motion and disturbing vibration from the ship's propellor.

Her 166 first-class passengers were also given vastly improved quarters: cabins nearly double the conventional size, nearly all with large port-holes; a promenade deck and a commodious saloon, extending the full width of the ship. An electric bell system summoned the stewards to their duties.

Besides first-class passengers, Oceanic carried 1,000 passengers, in steerage, single men being accommodated forward, married couples and single women in separate sections aft. Saloon passenger fares were 18 and 16 guineas, and a return ticket cost 27 guineas, while steerage passengers were charged 6 guineas, with children at half price.

Propelled by a new type of compound engines, constructed by Maudslay, Son and Field of London, Oceanic was exceptionally economical in the consumption of fuel, using under 60 tons of coal a day at her full speed of 14 knots.

She sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York on 2nd March, 1871 under Captain (later Sir) Digby Murray. From 1875 she sailed in the Pacific Ocean service of the Occidental and Oriental Steam Ship Company, and this pioneering passenger liner was finally scrapped on the River Thames in 1896.

The Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea, John Pinches Medallists Ltd.