Douglas Reid Kinnier
Encyclopedia
Captain Douglas Reid Kinnier, D.S.C., R.N.R., (1858–1916) was a distinguished British seaman who rose to prominence in the early months of the First World War for a daring escape from the German
cruiser Dresden in uncharted seas in the vicinity of the Magellan Straits.
, Ayrshire
until, against his father's wishes, he went to sea in 1874. On 20 May 1889 he married Minnie Agnes Martin and had five children: Major Douglas Reid Kinnier T.D., Hugh Stirling Kinnier, Anna Josephine Kinnier, Gertrude Kinnier and Captain Keith Robert Martin Kinnier
, O.B.E.
. In addition to a valuable cargo of £117,000, the Ortega was carrying 300 French reservists as well as confidential mail from the Admiralty
. When the Ortega was some 50 miles from the entrance to the Straits of Magellan through which she intended to pass, she sighted a German cruiser, Dresden, approaching on an opposite course. The Ortega was only capable of a maximum speed of 14 knots whereas the cruiser could achieve a speed of 20 knots.
Captain Kinnier ordered a change of course for Cape George. Notwithstanding the ship's engineers achieved a speed of 18 knots, the Dresden soon came within range and a shot from her foremost gun fell alongside the ship as a signal to heave to. Captain Kinnier, however, ignored the signal, and continued on his course, driving the ship as fast as he could. The Dresden then opened fire in earnest, but the Ortega, stern on, did not present a large target and none of the shots took effect.
Chancing all risks in the shallow and uncharted channels of Nelson's Strait, Captain Kinnier succeeded in reaching waters where it was impossible for the Dresden to follow. Lowering some boats he sent then ahead of the ship to take soundings, and by following slowly in their wake, Captain Kinnier succeeded eventually in working his way through nearly one hundred miles of narrow and tortuous channel and emerged into the Straits of Magellan. Subsequently Captain Kinnier navigated his command into Smyth's Channel and thereafter Rio de Janeiro
, "without even having a scratch on his plates".
In honour of his actions, Captain Kinnier was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
by King George V
who also conferred upon him an honorary lieutenancy in the Royal Naval Reserve. Captain Kinnier was later honoured by the French Government which presented him with a gold chronometer
and by the Admiralty which gave him a silver plate in commemoration of his services during the First World War. Using the funds of a public subscription, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool
presented Captain Kinnier with a silk Union flag which was later presented by the family to Saltcoats Burgh Council in May 1931;;.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Captain Frank Shaw in his history of the British Merchant Navy, Flag of the Seven Seas: "But this instance of British Merchant Navy resourcefulness is illuminating. In the very waters where Drake - himself a merchant seanman - displayed the courage and resourcefulness that blazoned the name of England through the then-known world, another merchantman, also inspired with the tradition of the sea, which demands of its devotees that there shall be no surrender so long as life persists, signally thwarted a greedy enemy and snatched a valuable ship and many more valuable lives from capture or possible death. Men like Captain Kinnier of the Ortega may not have monuments erected to their memory in Westminster Abbey, but they live enshrined in the hearts of patriots".
The escape of the Ortega was also used as the basis for the short novel Tom Chatto RNR.
Captain Kinnier died on Christmas Eve
1916 following surgery to repair an ulcer
. He was buried in Bebington Cemetery on 30 December 1916.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
cruiser Dresden in uncharted seas in the vicinity of the Magellan Straits.
Background
Captain Kinnier was born on 20 October 1858, the second son of Dr Robert Kinnier, a surgeon, and Agnes Corse Stirling, daughter of Glasgow manufacturer William Stirling and a niece of Hugh Auchincloss, the New York merchant. He grew up in SaltcoatsSaltcoats
- References :*McSherry, R. & M. . Old Saltcoats, Stenlake Publishing, Ochiltree. ISBN 1-872074-57-X.*Stansfield, G. . Ayrshire & Renfrewshire's Lost Railways, Stenlake Publishing, Catrine. ISBN 1-84033-077-5.-External links:***...
, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
until, against his father's wishes, he went to sea in 1874. On 20 May 1889 he married Minnie Agnes Martin and had five children: Major Douglas Reid Kinnier T.D., Hugh Stirling Kinnier, Anna Josephine Kinnier, Gertrude Kinnier and Captain Keith Robert Martin Kinnier
Keith Robert Martin Kinnier
Captain Keith Robert Martin Kinnier, O.B.E. Captain Keith R.M. Kinnier was a distinguished British seaman, who on 31 December 1943, saved his ship from submarine attack in the seas off Karachi for which actions he was awarded the O.B.E....
, O.B.E.
The Ortega and the escape from the Dresden
On 18 September 1914 Captain Kinnier was the commander of the Ortega which was traveling southward along the Chilean coast from Valparaiso to MontevideoMontevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. In addition to a valuable cargo of £117,000, the Ortega was carrying 300 French reservists as well as confidential mail from the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. When the Ortega was some 50 miles from the entrance to the Straits of Magellan through which she intended to pass, she sighted a German cruiser, Dresden, approaching on an opposite course. The Ortega was only capable of a maximum speed of 14 knots whereas the cruiser could achieve a speed of 20 knots.
Captain Kinnier ordered a change of course for Cape George. Notwithstanding the ship's engineers achieved a speed of 18 knots, the Dresden soon came within range and a shot from her foremost gun fell alongside the ship as a signal to heave to. Captain Kinnier, however, ignored the signal, and continued on his course, driving the ship as fast as he could. The Dresden then opened fire in earnest, but the Ortega, stern on, did not present a large target and none of the shots took effect.
Chancing all risks in the shallow and uncharted channels of Nelson's Strait, Captain Kinnier succeeded in reaching waters where it was impossible for the Dresden to follow. Lowering some boats he sent then ahead of the ship to take soundings, and by following slowly in their wake, Captain Kinnier succeeded eventually in working his way through nearly one hundred miles of narrow and tortuous channel and emerged into the Straits of Magellan. Subsequently Captain Kinnier navigated his command into Smyth's Channel and thereafter Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, "without even having a scratch on his plates".
In honour of his actions, Captain Kinnier was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
by King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
who also conferred upon him an honorary lieutenancy in the Royal Naval Reserve. Captain Kinnier was later honoured by the French Government which presented him with a gold chronometer
Chronometer watch
A chronometer watch is a specific type of watch tested and certified to meet certain precision standards. In Switzerland, only timepieces certified by the COSC may use the word 'Chronometer' on them....
and by the Admiralty which gave him a silver plate in commemoration of his services during the First World War. Using the funds of a public subscription, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
presented Captain Kinnier with a silk Union flag which was later presented by the family to Saltcoats Burgh Council in May 1931;;.
Later Accounts of the Escape of the Ortega
In his 1927 book, Sea Escapes and Adventures, Commander Taprell Dorling D.S.O. commemorated Kinnier's exploits thus: "Seldom have honours been better deserved. Pursued by a vessel which could have blown his ship out of the water with a single broadside, nobody could have blamed Captain Kinnier if he had hauled down his colours and surrendered. But this was not the sort of stuff of which British captains are made. Loyally helped by his officers and men, with great presence of mind and an excellent display of seamanship and navigation, he first escaped from his enemy and then brought his ship to safety through a channel dangerous enough to appal the stoutest heart, doing so without denting a single plate. Captain Kinnier had taken a huge risk, but came through with flying colours. His behaviour affords a shining example of the splendid spirit which animated the officers and men throughout those stormy and nerve-racking days of the worldwide war".Similar sentiments were expressed by Captain Frank Shaw in his history of the British Merchant Navy, Flag of the Seven Seas: "But this instance of British Merchant Navy resourcefulness is illuminating. In the very waters where Drake - himself a merchant seanman - displayed the courage and resourcefulness that blazoned the name of England through the then-known world, another merchantman, also inspired with the tradition of the sea, which demands of its devotees that there shall be no surrender so long as life persists, signally thwarted a greedy enemy and snatched a valuable ship and many more valuable lives from capture or possible death. Men like Captain Kinnier of the Ortega may not have monuments erected to their memory in Westminster Abbey, but they live enshrined in the hearts of patriots".
The escape of the Ortega was also used as the basis for the short novel Tom Chatto RNR.
Captain Kinnier died on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
1916 following surgery to repair an ulcer
Peptic ulcer
A peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...
. He was buried in Bebington Cemetery on 30 December 1916.