Memorial for boys of Cumberland and Empress

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 9 Jul 2014

The memorial is in the kirkyard of Image, beside the Image The vessels Cumberland and Empress, mentioned below, were run by the Clyde Industrial Training Ship Association; boys who were homeless, destitute, or petty offenders might receive training for naval service on such ships. The horizontal lines in the transcription below are intended to show the places where the text continues on a different face of the monument. "In memory of boys buried here from the training ship Cumberland. JAMES FORRESTER, 14th May 1870. JAMES WILSON, 29th November 1872. JOHN McEWAN, 3d September 1873. JOHN DOWIE, 21st February 1874. HENRY O'HARA, 15th July 1875. PATRICK CAMPBELL, 1st September 1875. JAMES B. SMITH, 21st June 1877. JOHN HERRET, 2d May 1878. ALEXANDER WEIR, 10th June 1878. JOHN BUCHANAN, 3d August 1878. WILLIAM McLEAN, 7th April 1885. H.M.S. Empress JOSEPH McLAUGHLIN, aged 15 years, 26th May 1891, ALEXANDER GRANT, 1st Sep't 1892 aged 49 years, ALEXANDER McALLISTER, 29th Aug't 1893 aged 9 years, JAMES HOSSOCK, 13th October 1897 aged 13 years, JOHN McCARTHY, 4th November 1898 aged 13 years, WALTER ANDERSON aged 33 years, JOHN FYFE aged 23 years, drowned 8th November 1899, __________________________ JAMES COCHRAN, aged 11 years 3d March 1904. ANDREW WHYTE, aged 14 years 4th March 1904. CLIFFORD LAMONT, aged 14 years 9th January 1905. WILLIAM BAIN, aged 14 years 4th July 1905. __________________________ The Cumberland training ship was moored off Rhu in 1869 and served as such until destroyed by fire but without loss of life on the early morning of 13 February 1889. The Cumberland was replaced by HMS Revenge which was renamed the Clyde Training Ship Empress and which continued to function successfully in this capacity until withdrawn by the Admiralty to be broken up in 1923."

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