Inchkeith Camps 1892 to 1897

The work of the Submarine Miners was settling into a steady rhythm.

1892 Camp on Inchkeith

I went to the Camp on 16th held this year on Inchkeith again.
Nothing worthy of much note occurred.
The Corps went out for three weeks and I put in most of my time the first fortnight. This made it rather quiet as all the officers were present only for a short time.
The weather was fine however and we made fair progress with our work.

1893 Submarine Mining

We camped again amid good weather on Inchkeith.
The new harbour is now half-completed and is being built of concrete and rails brought back from the historical Suakin and Berber Railway.
The camp was a good one and so was the work.
We had however to dismiss 2 company sergt. majors for an attempt at a mutiny, they having ineffectually incited the Sappers to refuse to do some extra work one evening before the inspection.
In the annual 12-oared cutter race on 1st July, the Forth men won by a long distance over the Clyde and Tay boats.

[Note: The Suakin-Berber railway in Sudan was a short-lived military project that never reached completion. Its construction began in February 1885, being intended to provide a connection between Berber on the River Nile and Suakin on the Red Sea littoral for the rapid deployment of troops and military equipment in Britain’s involvement in the Mahdist war.

In May 1885, after barely three of months of work during which only 20 of the intended 280 miles of track had been laid, at a cost approaching £1 million, Britain suspended its war with the Mahdi, pulled out of the Sudan and terminated the Suakin-Berber railway.
The escalating difficulties and costs of building the railway served to provide ammunition to Gladstone’s opponents in Parliament and in so doing helped in bringing down his second administration.]

There are no diary entries for 1894 to 1896, but this newspaper report from 1896 shows the miners at their annual camp on Inchkeith.

1896 Submarine Mining

The diary entry for 1897 noted an unexpected scare.

1897 Camp on Inchkeith

The usual camp of the Submarine Miners was held at Inchkeith and while there I made a detailed geological map of the island on the scale of 25 inches to the mile for the War Dept. and received the thanks of the CRE for this work.

On the 4th August a tremendous thunderstorm came on.

I was in my tent for refuge from the downpour and Lieut. C Murray whose tent was only 10 yards off, had just left it for shelter in the officers’ mess hut on the shore, when suddenly there was a terrific flash and crash, which I was certain had done some damage.
When the storm passed shortly after we found that Murray’s tent had been struck. The lightning had blown a small hole in the top, run down the pole, shattered to slivers a small looking glass hanging on it, then burnt a large hole in his military cape and run down a sword also hanging on the pole. The plating on the point of the scabbard was melted and the current had passed from thence to the bed and burnt a round hole in the clothes and mattress finally passing to earth down the legs burning small holes in the matting on which they rested. I was profoundly thankful to God that my tent had been spared when the destroyer was so near me.

< 1889 – 2nd Camp on Inchkeith

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1898 – The move to South Queensferry >

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