HMS Birkenhead Memorial Unveiled

6 March 2014

A memorial designed by Art Foundation student at The Sixth Form College, Jemma Twigg, was unveiled this week to commemorate the bravery of the soldiers that lost their lives aboard the HMS Birkenhead when the ship sank off the coast of South Africa in 1852.

Jemma was selected as the winner of a regional competition to design a sculpture commemorating the HMS Birkenhead in November last year. Jemma won the top prize of £500 and for her design to be manufactured by Cammell-Laird’s young engineers of the future in the yard that built the original ship.

The lasting and fitting memorial was unveiled by the Mayor of Wirral, Cllr Dave Mitchell and the Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside Dame Lorna Muirhead DBE, in the presence of representatives from the Armed Forces. The memorial is positioned on the Wirral waterfront near Woodside overlooking the River Mersey that saw the ship embark on her first sail.

Dame Lorna Muirhead, who visited The Sixth Form College’s Art students last year to officially open the new School of Art & Design, commented, “I was moved to tears reading the remarkable story of HMS Birkenhead and it’s wonderful that the lack of a memorial has been corrected.”

The HMS Birkenhead – named after the town where the boat was built - sank in 1852, while transporting troops in South Africa. There were not enough serviceable lifeboats for all the passengers, and the soldiers famously stood firm, thereby allowing the women and children to board the boats safely, giving rise to the "women and children first" protocol when abandoning ship. This protocol was famously used onboard the HMS Titanic and has been named the “Birkenhead Drill”.

The project was initially started up by Andrew Liston, a Wirral resident and crewman of New Brighton’s Lifeboat Station, who learnt more of the tragedy whilst visiting South Africa. After learning there was no tribute to the HMS Birkenhead here in Wirral he joined forces with memorials officer for Wirral Borough Council Peter Lee to have a permanent memorial built to highlight this truly significant and internationally important event. Cammell-Lairds CEO John Syvret agreed to sponsor the project, providing half of the prize money as well as agreeing to have their apprentices build the final design. The competition was opened up to engage with local designers of the future and all the Merseyside Art Colleges were invited to design a memorial to depict what the HMS Birkenhead means/stands for.

Andrew Liston and Peter Lee visited The Sixth Form College in November 2013 to announce Jemma as the winner of the competition. Andrew Liston stated “Jemma’s design was selected as it told a real story of the meaning behind the HMS Birkenhead. To me more importantly is the fact that this internationally famous event that saw the ‘men stand fast and women and children placed first’ now has a home to all in the UK.”

Jemma, a student on The Sixth Form College’s brand new art course - the ABC Foundation Diploma in Art, Design and Media - said, “The unveiling ceremony was lovely and very moving. It was amazing to see my work on such a big scale and I felt proud to see my work represent the story of the HMS Birkenhead and the college."

Art Foundation Students, Natasha Williams, Eleanor Hall and Andrew Shaw were also awarded with certificates for taking part in the competition and Jemma received a model sized replica of the memorial at a presentation in Wirral’s Town Hall.

Principal of The Sixth Form College, Kathryn Podmore, added “This is a wonderful achievement for Jemma and all those involved within the project. It is a proud moment for the college to be involved in commemorating an important part of Wirral’s history.”