MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Discovery of WW1 German Battlecruiser SMS Scharnhorst in Falklands waters
The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust is pleased to announce that the wreck of SMS Scharnhorst has been located off the Falkland Islands. The Scharnhorst, an armoured battle-cruiser and the flagship of Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee’s East Asia Squadron, was sunk on 8 December 1914 during the Battle of the Falkland Islands, a crucial naval battle in the early days of the First World War. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesThe Falkland Maritime Heritage Trust is now seeking to have the site formerly protected in law.........Formally (not formerly)!!!
Dec 05th, 2019 - 09:50 am - Link - Report abuse 0Scharnhorst was not a Battlecruiser! She was an armoured cruiser. Quite a difference.
Dec 06th, 2019 - 10:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0We should recall also that this was the Rear Admiral who on atten ding a reception in his squadron,s honour after Coronel in the pretty pro German , Valparaiso,Chile- was invited by the Mayor of Valparaiso to raise his glass to the “damnation of the British”
Dec 06th, 2019 - 01:53 pm - Link - Report abuse +2Von Spee refused- and instead said - “I raise my glass to a valiant foe” - drank and threw his glass to the floor and left the reception.
He was a man of honour- and knew Admiral Sturdee from time together in the far east at time of the “Boxer Rebellion”
Here in the Islands he is respected for fighting a brave battle and his crew likewise.Will always remember Dec 8th 2014 when the families of all 3 Admirals stood together by the newly unveiled plaques to the memory of their ancestors and all who lost their lives in both battles, with German and FI Flags flying side by side over Stanley.
Islander1
Dec 06th, 2019 - 05:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Thank you for your very honorable comment. I especially respected the anecdote.
Ermmmmmm..., Mr. Timlander1...
Dec 06th, 2019 - 08:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Would you be soooooo kind to link to any info about that said..: ***“Reception in Danish Vizeadmiral Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert von Spee squadron's honour after Coronel in the pretty Pro-German Valparaiso, Chile - where he ”supposedly” was invited by the Mayor of Valparaiso to raise his glass to the “damnation of the British”***....???
My primitive Patagonian Google only gives me something about a reception in Danish Vizeadmiral Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert von Spee squadron's honour after Coronel in the pretty German Club at Valparaiso, Chile - where he was given some flowers he thought would do nicely for his grave....
Thanks in advance for your invaluable contribution in helping me knowing the TRUE story of South-America...;-)
It would be nice to know the reference, which probably is from a book. It certainly sounds like what the famous admiral would have said. (Sadly, my personal library is currently packed in storage due to my apartment change.) I could not find anything online either. I was surprised as Wikipedia does have a decent article.
Dec 06th, 2019 - 11:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Any chance, do you think, they could find Invincible? Went down in '82 apparently ;-)
Dec 07th, 2019 - 11:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0Think & Chicureo
Dec 07th, 2019 - 11:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0The anecdote is on the FIA website and apparently came from a leaflet written by Mensum Bound, the guy leading the current search. It says you can contact them if you want a copy and live overseas:
www.fiassociation.com/battles-of-coronel-and-falklands
There's a similar story in this book, which also mentions the bouquet:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dl8x2LN7dD8C&pg=PT22&lpg=PT22&dq=graf+von+spee+%22to+the+damnation+of+the+British%22&source=bl&ots=crdP5zEpA9&sig=ACfU3U2xAl5z8-Uea7f2g-oMRWHwp9Lx3A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjQz__wsqPmAhUQQEEAHdmSCZIQ6AEwA3oECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=graf%20von%20spee%20%22to%20the%20damnation%20of%20the%20British%22&f=false
HTH
Me dear hermanito Shileno...
Dec 07th, 2019 - 03:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I thought you were tooo busy organizing a Coup against that Piñera communist...!
Anyhow..., always funny to see how these unconfirmed military hersay histories do evolve...
- From an Engrish Kelper saying that it was a brownish, squat Shilean Mayor of Valparaiso who raised his glass to the “damnation of the British... (which I don't believe for a second)...
-To a contemporary Engrish fanto-history author saying that it was a white, tall German Consul at Valparaiso who raised his glass to the “damnation of the British... (which I don't believe for a second neither)...
Capisce...?
Mr. Roger Lorton...
Ya want to find the Invincible..., huhhhhhh...?
No sweat..., laddie... Ask these guys...: http://www.leyal.com.tr/
I commend you DemonTree in contributing the fascinating excerpt highlighting naval history which should be remembered. Admiral Canaris indeed led an amazing, although eventually tragic, life... Thank you!
Dec 07th, 2019 - 05:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Estimado THINK, I have no reason to doubt Islander1's anecdotal comment about the unique Chilean sensibilities of both the German and British influences of Valpariaso. Chivalry was indeed an integral part of Naval conduct a century ago. My failed coup d'état was with Madam Lafarge, which sadly has resulted a pied à terre nouveau...quelle horreur...
This squat brown campesino salutes your typical Agentine arrogance with humble respect. Forgive my innocence in willing to believe there was a time when such anecdotes could possibly occur...
Nothing to forgive..., hermanito...
Dec 07th, 2019 - 05:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Anecdotes as Max toasting for the memory of a slain foe more than possibly occured in 1914...
Remember that..., at the time..., the German U-Boots would surface to warn the merchant ship crews to abandon ship prior to launching their torpedos... That stopped when them Brits installed rapid fire cannons on the merchant ships and sunk a couple of romantic German U's...
What I DONT BELIEVE FOR A SECOND is that any 1914's Shilean City Mayor or any German Consul anywhere would have ever offered such a preposterous toast to Max or any other officer...
Complete propaganda..., Capisce...?
Mensum Bound does not claim it was a mayor or a consul who proposed the toast, just someone at the German Club in Valparaiso. That does not seem especially implausible, and nor does the admiral's reaction. I've heard similar sentiments from the men who fought in the Falklands war, despite this supposedly unchivalrous age.
Dec 07th, 2019 - 06:36 pm - Link - Report abuse +1If you really want to know I could send off for a copy of the leaflet and see if it gives any sources. Or you could have another try with the much maligned Patagonian Google...
Chicureo
Have you moved to the new apartment yet? We are planning to move next weekend as it's the only one free before Christmas.
DemonTree
Dec 07th, 2019 - 07:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0We easily sold our old apartment and although have taken possession of the new one, it's yet to be ready for habitation. Supposedly, the 15th it will be ready for the new furniture. The 'grand opening' is for New Year's Eve.
Good luck on your move. It can be very stressing on one's relationship and I wish you patience and humility, because it's a traumatic experience.
Madam Lafarge decided to start with almost everything new and I somehow survived the revolution...
Just to complement on Mr. Timlander's info about the...:
Dec 07th, 2019 - 07:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0***“Reception in Danish Vizeadmiral Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert von Spee squadron's honour after Coronel in the pretty Pro-German Valparaiso, Chile - where he was invited by the Mayor of Valparaiso to raise his glass to the “damnation of the British”***...
It is an historically documented fact that the Mayor of “the Pretty Pro-German Valparaiso, Chile” at the time of Max's stop over in 1914..., was no other than a guy with the very Nazi-German sounding name of..: “ LAUTARO BENHAM GATES-JONES...”
Say no more...
Chicureo
Dec 07th, 2019 - 07:53 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It's good you were able to sell your old apartment so quickly. I am worried we will have trouble selling our old house what with Brexit etc, but my partner insisted on overlapping them. We have got a new bed since ours is old and broken, and are just awaiting delivery of the mattress to go with it.
I hope your revolution will be a mild one without too many casualties, and that you'll come to like the new furniture. Your 'grand opening' should be spectacular, anyway.
Think
I daresay Islander1 simply misremembered, but would you be so kind to link to your info on Mayor Benham? Wikipedia lists 3 mayors for Valparaiso in 1914 and does not give the date when the last one took over.
DemonTree
Dec 07th, 2019 - 08:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I kept my head from being chopped off because I came to the conclusion that the new apartment was important to my partner. She happily abandoned the old worn furnishings and each time when I objected... her eyes menacingly narrowed...
(BTW, a family name can be misleading, such as “Saxe-Coburg and Gotha”)
http://www.baluart.net/UserFiles/Image/entretenimiento/art1260/simbolo_internacional_matrimonio.jpg
Dec 07th, 2019 - 09:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Chicureo
Dec 07th, 2019 - 09:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0At least you were able to rescue some of the old furniture and keep it in exile at the farmhouse. You can retreat there if the revolution gets too terrible.
I wish we could get new furnishings, since we have a lot of stuff that's from Ikea or second hand, but it wouldn't be prudent when we're expecting an addition to the family in spring.
Names can be misleading, but we don't even know if this guy was really mayor at the time. Wonder what happened that lead to three in one year?
Estimado THINK
Dec 07th, 2019 - 10:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0A picture says a thousand words...
DemonTree
“Addition” to your family in the Spring? Kindly elaborate please...
(Easy method to obtain furniture: 1. Live frugally and invest/save your earnings. 2. Ignore your partner's complaints that the furniture looks worn and shabby. 3. Accede to the revolutionary dictate that it's time for change instead of falling upon ones sword... )
The little nieces persuaded us we should have a kid too. :) I fear the only furniture we will be buying for a few years is baby stuff...
Dec 07th, 2019 - 10:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0DemonTree
Dec 08th, 2019 - 01:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0Sincere congratulations! Baby furniture will be the least of your worries nor expenses, but well worth it. Enjoy your sleep, you'll miss that. Cheers!
Thanks. And yeah, I know that's the least of our worries. I'm pretty nervous but also excited, wasn't going to say anything til later but oh well.
Dec 08th, 2019 - 10:07 am - Link - Report abuse 0Guess it's been a while since you had kids at home, do you have any grandchildren?
DemonTree
Dec 08th, 2019 - 04:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yes, we now have 6 with another expected.
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