Diving News
Veteran wreck divers have succeeded in putting a hold on a planned auction of gold and jewellery found on the wreck of the 19th-century steam clipper Royal Charter off Anglesey.
The widow of John Leyland, one of the divers who discovered treasures at the site in 1972, had intended to sell six sovereigns, a half-sovereign, a nugget pin and eternity and signet rings valued at £4000, according to a report in the Daily Post.
Other members of the dive-group objected, saying that the items should instead be put on public display on Anglesey,
The Royal Charter ran aground off Moelfre to the north-east of the island in a storm in October 1859, while carrying a cargo of gold from Melbourne, Australia, to Liverpool. It was the worst shipwreck tragedy to occur off the Welsh coast, with 450 passengers, including all women, children and crew losing their lives. There were 39 survivors.
“We had an agreement with the authorities at the time that the group would be the custodian of the gold, and that no individual from the group could offer the items for sale without the express permission of all concerned,” Peter Day, one of the original Royal Charter Salvage Expedition divers, told the newspaper.
“I and the other members of the group don’t want to sell the items to private individuals.”
The items recovered were declared to the Receiver of Wreck at the time, and the current Receiver has confirmed that the group retains custody of them. Day said that the divers wanted to see them displayed at the RNLI Seawatch Centre at Moelfre, and hoped they could work with Leyland’s widow to that end.
