Lutine Bell

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
john sefton
Posts: 1816
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

Lutine Bell

Post by john sefton » Sun May 23, 2010 9:38 pm

The stamp shows the Lutine Bell, which is rung at Lloyd's every time that the sinking of a ship at sea is announced. This bell was recovered from HMS Lutine which sank during the Napoleonic Wars while carrying bullion estimated at that time to be worth in excess of a million pounds - and worth nearer a billion pounds sterling at present values.

Log Book August 1984

Cayes of Belize SG?
Attachments
Lutine Bell.jpg

aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Lutine Bell

Post by aukepalmhof » Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:14 pm

The ship's bell (engraved "ST. JEAN - 1779") was recovered on 17 July 1858. The bell was found entangled in the chains originally running from the ship's wheel to the rudder, and was originally left in this state before being separated and re-hung from the rostrum of the Underwriting Room at Lloyd's. It weighs 48 kilograms (106 lb) and is 46 centimetres (18 in) in diameter. It remains a mystery why the name on the bell does not correspond with that of the ship. The bell was traditionally struck when news of an overdue ship arrived - once for the loss of a ship (i.e. bad news), and twice for her return (i.e. good news). The bell was sounded to ensure that all brokers and underwriters were made aware of the news simultaneously. The bell has developed a crack and the traditional practice of ringing news has ended: the last time it was rung to tell of a lost ship was in 1979 and the last time it was rung to herald the return of an overdue ship was in 1989.
During World War II, the Nazi radio propagandist Lord Haw-Haw asserted that the bell was being rung continuously because of Allied shipping losses during the Battle of the Atlantic. In fact, the bell was rung once, with one ring, during the war, when the Bismarck was sunk.
It tolls when a member of the Royal Family dies and was heard after the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. It is now rung for ceremonial purposes to commemorate disasters such as the 9/11 disaster, the Asian tsunami, and the London Bombings, and is always rung at the start and end of the two minutes silence on Armistice Day
The bell has hung in four successive Lloyd's Underwriting Rooms
The Royal Exchange 1859 - 1928;
Lloyd's building in Leadenhall Street 1928-1958;
Lloyd's first Lime Street headquarters 1958-1986;
The present Lloyd's building in Lime Street since 1986.[

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Lutine_(1779)
Cayes of Belize 1984 75c sg?, scott
Montserrat 1984 sgMS ?, scott 542 A (the bell is in the margin of the MS.)
The cargo vessels depict on the miniature sheet are.
LADY NELSON: http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... f=2&t=8326
CHIGNECTO: http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... ecto#p9261
SOLENT (1878): http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... f=2&t=6990
DEE (1841) : http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... allery]/1/
Attachments
1984 lutine bell .jpg

Post Reply