Tragedy sees sergeant major go wild on wild seas

In 1877, the crew of the Dundee clipper Glamis had to quell a mutiny by a wild man with a cutlass. He went for the skipper with such ferocity that the crew fled to the riggings where they stayed for seven hours. The drama was retold in 1924 by John Tremaine after a visit to the Sailors’ Home on Dock Street by the Prince of Wales. Mr Tremaine shook hands with the prince and told his story to the press.

Mr Tremaine was a member of the Glamis crew which had taken emigrants to Brisbane before sailing to Hong Kong and Yokohama with cargo.

In Japan, the Glamis took on board a British Army sergeant major, his sick wife and two little children. The warrant officer had been training Japanese troops.

Just as the Glamis cleared Yokohama Bay, she fell in with a typhoon. Sails were furled and hatches battened.

As the ship rode the fury of the gale, a hideous yell was heard and the sergeant major was seen to leap on the poop deck brandishing a cutlass.

He made for the man at the wheel who abandoned his post, leaving the ship at the mercy of the storm.

For seven hours he rampaged across the deck while the crew perched in the rigging during the typhoon.

Eventually the ship’s carpenter offered the wild man coffee. He dropped the cutlass to take a drink and the carpenter threw a coat over his head. He was then handcuffed and imprisoned.

It was then it was discovered the cause of the man’s fury. His wife had died and his children were distraught.

For the next five months the crew cared for the children with great kindness.

As the Glamis rounded the Cape of Good hope, the sergeant major seemed to improve and was released from his irons.

He immediately jumped overboard, caught at a lifebuoy that was thrown to him and performed gymnastics before he was rescued. The man was placed back in irons for the journey to Falmouth.

The story ended sadly. When they reached the UK, the children were given into the custody of their unstable father, much to the crew’s alarm.

Eventually the ship’s carpenter offered the wild man coffee