These are respectively Mir’at-ı Zafer Frigate and Sürağ-ı Bahri Brik: Two Ottoman ships that went to Portsmouth Expedition in 1850 (1), British Navy’s Visit to Our Territorial Waters in 1849 (2), Mirat-ı Zafer Frigate that went to Portsmouth. There is a letter from his Captain Mustafa Bey! (3) . Let’s briefly remember what is explained in these three articles:
In the first article, the departure of two Ottoman ships heading to Portsmouth in 1850 from Istanbul, their course, their reception in England, their port visits and the days spent in the port are described. Finally, the ships departed from England. The second article describes the visit of a group of ships from the British Navy to Çanakkale (Dardanelles) in 1849. After this visit, the Ottoman/Turkish Naval Council convened and decided to send the ships mentioned in the first article to England. In the third article, there is a detailed report of Mirat-ı Zafer Captain Mustafa Bey regarding this trip. The report written by Mustafa Bey, who is known to be fluent in English, is truly a superior work.
Now, in this last article, we will try to write about what remains from those days in Portsmouth and Gosport.
The first answer to this question is the Portsmouth Turkish Naval Martyrdom in Clayhall. Secondly, Gosport being called “Turk Town”, thirdly, HMS Sultan and finally the city of Portsmouth and the crescent and star in the football club’s logo.
a) Turkish Naval Martyrdom
The article about the martyrdom and our martyrs in Clayhall we obtained from Turkish Naval Forces as follows:
The bodies of 26 sailors who died due to epidemics and accidents, from the crew of two ships named Mirat-ı Zafer and Sirağ-ı Bahri , who came to Portsmouth for navigation and gunnery training in 1850, could not be delivered to their hometowns and were first buried in the garden of the Portsmouth Naval Hospital, and in 1902 they were buried in Portsmouth Clayhall Military Cemetery where they are currently located, near the hospital. Subsequently, the area where the bodies were found was granted martyrdom status by the Turkish Chief of General Staff in 1985. The names of our martyrs at the Portsmouth Turkish Naval Martyrdom are shown below.
The distribution of the martyrs according to the months and years of death is as follows: April 1850: 1 person, November 1850: 2 people, January 1851: 1 person, February 1851: 4 people, March 1851: 4 people, April 1851: 10 people and May 1851: 4 people. There are 26 people in total.
According to a photographic study by a British researcher: (4)
In this study, the martyrs named Private Hasan and Private Kamil, written in lines 15th and 21st of the previous list, are not encountered. In this case, there are a total of 27 martyrs, 24 whose names are known and 3 whose names are unnamed. There are no unnamed martyrs in the first list. On the other hand, Researcher Mrs. Zeynep Aygen states that there are 26 martyrs in the cemetery as Turkish Naval Forces’ list. In this case, what comes to our mind is that while the cemetery was being reorganized in the 1980s, three of the old tombstones in good condition were left and the others were replaced with new ones. I wonder where the other old gravestones were removed? If we look at it from another perspective, were there a total of 26 old tombstones when the cemetery began to be organized? These are questions that need to be answered. It is important to clarify this issue.
On the other hand, those who died during the voyage on the Mirat-ı Zafer ship were sometimes buried on land, but mostly at sea. Their total number is six.
In this list, only those who died on the Mirat-ı Zafer ship are shown. As you may remember, in the first and second tables, it is known that 5 people died from the Sirağ-ı Bahri. According to the available documents, a total of 19 people from the two ships died as a result.
What is written on this subject in foreign sources is shown below.
The distribution of the martyrs according to the months and years of death is as follows: April 1850: 1 person, November 1850: 2 people, January 1851: 1 person, February 1851: 4 people, March 1851: 4 people, April 1851: 10 people and May 1851: 4 people. There are 26 people in total.
According to a photographic study by a British researcher: (4)
In this study, the martyrs named Private Hasan and Private Kamil, written in lines 15th and 21st of the previous list, are not encountered. In this case, there are a total of 27 martyrs, 24 whose names are known and 3 whose names are unnamed. There are no unnamed martyrs in the first list. On the other hand, Researcher Mrs. Zeynep Aygen states that there are 26 martyrs in the cemetery as Turkish Naval Forces’ list. In this case, what comes to our mind is that while the cemetery was being reorganized in the 1980s, three of the old tombstones in good condition were left and the others were replaced with new ones. I wonder where the other old gravestones were removed? If we look at it from another perspective, were there a total of 26 old tombstones when the cemetery began to be organized? These are questions that need to be answered. It is important to clarify this issue.
On the other hand, those who died during the voyage on the Mirat-ı Zafer ship were sometimes buried on land, but mostly at sea. Their total number is six.
In this list, only those who died on the Mirat-ı Zafer ship are shown. As you may remember, in the first and second tables, it is known that 5 people died from the Sirağ-ı Bahri. According to the available documents, a total of 19 people from the two ships died as a result.
What is written on this subject in foreign sources is shown below.
In November 1850, two ships of the Turkish Navy: Mirat-ı Zafer and Sirağ-i Bahri anchored off Hardway-Gosport. The visit lasted several months, during which time many of the crew members contracted cholera and were taken to Haslar Hospital (the hospital was owned by the British Admiralty until 1996) for treatment, many of those admitted died. Other sailors died due to training accidents. A total of 26 people died and were buried in the southwestern part of Haslar Hospital land. Interred in the hospital grounds in the mid-19th century, they were transferred in 1902 to Clayhall Cemetery, next to Lake Alver, where they now rest in peace. (5)
A plot twist can play a big part in the story of why Gosport is known to many as ‘Turkish Town’. This is our Turkish Cemetery where 26 sailors lie. In late 1850, two ships of the Turkish Navy vessels visited the region and anchored off Hardway for a while. Several sailors were taken to Haslar Hospital for treatment, and a total of 26 sailors died. The sailors were first buried on the hospital grounds, but the hospital needed space to build the zymotic diseases isolation block. The graves were originally surrounded by railings and were called Turkish or Muslim Cemeteries. In 1902 the bodies were exhumed and reinterred at Clayhall.
The fact is that in November 1850, two ships of the Ottoman Imperial (Turkish) Navy, Mirat-ı Zafer (a 44-gun frigate launched in 1834) and Sirağ-ı Bahri (a 64-gun brig launched in 1837) anchored in Gosport. The two ships making this courtesy visit had 460 personnel. The visit lasted six months, during which time some of the crew died. The monument at Haslar Cemetery records that they died of cholera, but according to an article in the Morning Post of 24 April 1951, the deceased had suffered from tuberculosis. They were taken to Haslar Hospital for treatment. The newspaper reports that 16 people died, but there are 26 Turkish sailors buried in the cemetery. It is suggested that others may have died in training accidents.
The captain of the Sirağ-ı Bahri died in London and his body was taken to Haslar Hospital for burial by his soldiers. Those who died here in 1902 moved to Clayhall. In 1985, the Turkish Cemetery was reorganized and opened with a ceremony on April 4th, 1993. Turkish Embassy members, Naval Forces Command representatives and their families visit the martyrs’ cemetery every spring, pray and leave wreaths and flowers to honor the martyrs. In 2011, the President of the Republic of Turkey (Mr. Abdullah GÜL) visited the cemetery to pay his respects before sailing from the port to Portsmouth. (6)
Not far from Haslar (Royal Navy) Hospital in Gosport is Clayhall Road Cemetery. The surface area of this place is 17 acres. From 1733 (some sources say 1745 (8)) when Haslar Hospital opened until 1859, naval personnel who died in that area were buried on the hospital grounds, but eventually space ran out and a new cemetery was opened half a mile away on Clayhall Road. A little further away, there is a small, covered cemetery with the Turkish flag flying proudly over it. It’s all about the arrival of two Turkish frigates in Portsmouth in November 1850 for training with the Royal Navy and for a courtesy visit. These were the 44-gun Mirat-Zafer and the 64-gun Sirağ-ı Bahri, with a combined crew of 460 men. In the following months, 26 people died in Haslar hospital. One or two people died in training accidents, but most died of cholera or tuberculosis. (7)
Which is Gosport, whose name is frequently mentioned above? Gosport is a town and non-metropolitan district on the south coast of Hampshire, Southeast England. Gosport is located on a peninsula on the west side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite the city of Portsmouth, with which it is linked by the Gosport Ferry. Until the last quarter of the 20th century, Gosport was a major naval town associated with the defense and supply infrastructure of Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth. Therefore, extensive fortifications were built over the years. (8)
What about Portsmouth? Portsmouth is a port city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. The greater part of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island in the Solent off the south coast of England. This means that Portsmouth is the only British city that is not primarily located on the mainland. It is located 119 km south-west of London and 35 km south-east of Southampton; Portsmouth is part of the conurbation of South Hampshire. The world’s first mass production line, Block Mills, was established at the naval base at Portsmouth, producing block blocks for the Royal Navy (RN) fleet. In the early 19th century, during Britain’s hegemonic power, Portsmouth was the most heavily fortified city in the world and, at the height of the British Empire, was considered the “greatest sea port in the world”. By 1859, a ring of defensive land and sea forts known as Palmerston Forts had been built around Portsmouth in anticipation of an invasion from continental Europe. (9)
b) Gosport, Turk Town
It is also interesting that Gosport is called “Turk Town”. Mrs. Zeynep Aygen wrote the following on this subject: “According to the Gosport-born folk poet Cyril Towney, the people of Gosport have always defined themselves as Turks. Folklore expert JE Mann, who interviewed Towney on this subject, states that as a native of Gosport, he has known about this mysterious connection from the earliest age he can remember, but this name is not found in any of the local written sources. The only document Mann found on this subject is an unsigned manuscript. In this document, it is stated that Gosport’s relationship with the Turks dates back to the Crusades, and that the city was given this nickname because of the prisoners of war that the British brought with them from Anatolia.” (10) . It seems partially possible to agree with this argument. Because it is unlikely that the two Ottoman ships that visited this region in 1850 would create such a strong cultural accumulation. The fact that a town is called “Turk Town” may be related to the fact that many Turks live there for a long time. Of course, more research needs to be done on this subject.
c) HMS Sultan:
She was a high-sided battleship of the Victorian Royal Navy, carrying her main armament in a central box battery. It was named after Sultan Abdulaziz of the Ottoman Empire, who was visiting England when it was laid on the sled. Abdulaziz established good relations with the French and the British. He was the first Ottoman sultan to visit Western Europe in 1867; He was accepted by Queen Victoria on her trip. HMS Sultan was built at Chatham Dockyard, laid down on 29 February 1868, launched on 31 May 1870 and completed on 10 October 1871. It was 76 years old when it was scrapped. (1946). Mrs. Zeynep Aygen writes the following about the ship: “Another name related to the Turks in the region is ‘HMS Sultan’. HMS (Her Majesty’s Ship) Sultan, which is still a place name and gave its name to a Royal Navy school located here, is actually the name of a ship.” Today, a naval school called HMS Sultan is located in Gosport. The original name of the school is ” Defense School of Marine Engineering (DSMarE) and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School (RNAESS)”. The school’s logo depicts a bearded sailor with a red fez. (12)
d) The logo on the city of Portsmouth and the football club:
The official coat of arms of the city of Portsmouth features an eight-pointed gold star and crescent on a blue shield. Portsmouth’s adoption of the star and crescent is said to come from King Richard I (1157-1189). It is “a golden crescent on a blue field, a bright eight-pointed star”, which the Byzantine Emperor took from the banner of Governor Isaac Komnenos after capturing Cyprus. (13) On his return to England, King Richard, in recognition of the soldiers and sailors who significantly participated in the ships coming from Portsmouth in the conquest of Cyprus, sent to the town of Portsmouth the painting of Isaac Komnenos, “a golden crescent on a deep blue ground, a bright star of eight points.” This remains Portsmouth’s coat of arms to this day. (14) Portsmouth football club’s first badge in 1913 was based on the official symbols of Portsmouth City council, featuring a golden eight-pointed star and a golden crescent. The football club’s first badge featured a horizontally extended white crescent beneath a white five-pointed star, with both symbols placed in the center of a blue four-pointed shield. Portsmouth City council granted the exclusive use (but not ownership) of the crescent and star motifs to Portsmouth football club, albeit with some color and design changes. (13)
Both the three articles mentioned at the beginning of this article and this last article aim to shed light on a section of the history of Ottoman/ Turkish -Great Britain relations. We’re glad we could shed some light.
Uluç Hanhan
www.uluchanhan.com
1- https://www.denizcilikdergisi.com/yazarlar/uluc-hanhan/mirat-i-zafer-firkateyni-ve-surag-i-bahri-briki/
5- http://www.haslarheritagegroup.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=109
6- http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=9706.0
7- http://www.stgeorgesnews.org/2017/autumn_page3.html
8- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosport
9- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth
10- https://m.bianet.org/bianet/toplum/43545-gosporta-osmanli-izleri
11- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sultan_(1870)
12- https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/bases-and-stations/training-establishments/hms-sultan
