Page "Charles Lightoller" Paragraph 5

While on the Medic, on a voyage from Britain to South Africa and Australia, Lightoller was reprimanded for a prank he and some shipmates played on the citizens of Sydney at Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour.

In 1900, the Boer War was raging in distant South Africa, where Australian troops were fighting alongside British in the first war in which the colonies had taken part.

As a result passions were high when the White Star Line's Medic sailed into Sydney Harbour and dropped anchor in Neutral Bay.

Spending time ashore with shipmates the young sailor was amazed by the depth of concern expressed by locals concerning the South African conflict, so he decided to have some fun at their expense.

In the pre-dawn darkness one morning, Lightoller – accompanied by four midshipmen – quietly rowed to the fortress and climbed its tower.

They hoisted a makeshift Boer flag from its lightning conductor and loaded a cannon with of blasting powder.

They added white cotton waste and poured in some fine-grain powder, then lit a fuse and quickly made their escape back to the Medic to watch the spectacle from its decks.