拍品專文
Private George Pestal was a survivor of the Sarah Sands disaster.
The Sarah Sands bound for India, with 368 Officers and Other Ranks of the 54th Regiment, together with women and children, a total complement of some 500 persons including the ship's crew, sailed from Portsmouth on 15.8.1857. During the course of the voyage the crew became mutinous and many of them were locked in irons below deck. On 7.11.1857 a squall carried away the foremost of the vessel's four masts but on 11.11.1857 a more serious disaster occurred when a fire broke out. The women and children were lowered in the boats to safety whilst the mutinous sailors deserted in the ship's long boat. The gallantry of the 54th, together with the Petty Officers and Engineers who had remained on board, in fighting the fire and the subsequent powder explosion was exemplary. Without loss of life, the Sarah Sands reached Port Louis, Mauritius, after being adrift for ten days. Many soldiers had been terribly burned, their uniforms were almost scorched from their bodies by the intense heat and flames of the fire. Of the original strength of the 54th only 151 remained fit enough to proceed to India and earn the Medal for services during the Mutiny.
The Sarah Sands bound for India, with 368 Officers and Other Ranks of the 54th Regiment, together with women and children, a total complement of some 500 persons including the ship's crew, sailed from Portsmouth on 15.8.1857. During the course of the voyage the crew became mutinous and many of them were locked in irons below deck. On 7.11.1857 a squall carried away the foremost of the vessel's four masts but on 11.11.1857 a more serious disaster occurred when a fire broke out. The women and children were lowered in the boats to safety whilst the mutinous sailors deserted in the ship's long boat. The gallantry of the 54th, together with the Petty Officers and Engineers who had remained on board, in fighting the fire and the subsequent powder explosion was exemplary. Without loss of life, the Sarah Sands reached Port Louis, Mauritius, after being adrift for ten days. Many soldiers had been terribly burned, their uniforms were almost scorched from their bodies by the intense heat and flames of the fire. Of the original strength of the 54th only 151 remained fit enough to proceed to India and earn the Medal for services during the Mutiny.