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SS Baron Innerdale Massacre

On July 29, 1904, the British steamer SS Baron Innerdale departed Karachi bound for Liverpool carrying a cargo of grain and timber.

However, potentially owing to bad weather or a monsoon, the ship ran aground about 25 miles off the coast of Oman on or around August 2.

On August 6, the captain either gave the order to abandon ship or to launch a party to seek help on land. Two boats were launched. The smaller boat subsequently disappeared and no sign of it was ever fond. The captain accompanied the larger of the boats, along with between 17 and 21 of his men. A skeleton crew of approximately 8-10 was left on board the ship.

The captain and the men of the larger lifeboat made it ashore. Upon landing, the crew were met by some of the local inhabitants, who were friendly at first. At some stage, one of the crew members fired a pistol and a fight ensued. As a result, 21 of the sailors, including the captain were killed. The Arab tribesmen buried the bodies in the sand near Ra's Qudifah, close to the northern point of the island of Masirah.

The only survivor was a cabin boy who was later rescued by the steamer Dalhousie. Another ship, the SS Prome, subsequently spotted the stranded Baron Innerdale and notified other upon reaching port in Aden. A rescue effort was then launched. The SS Baron Innerdale was later refloated and was able to reach Bombay, arriving on 12/25.

Upon hearing of the massacre, British authorities reached out to the Sultan of Muscat, seeking justice. The ringleader of the massacre and 9 men identified as murderers were later captured and executed. A number of other tribesmen complicit were imprisoned. punished by the orders of the Sultan of Muscat, with some being executed.

In 1943, a group of airmen stationed at RAF Masirah built a monument with a cross on behalf of the captain's widow. it was erected at a site that is believe to be close to the burial spot of the crew. Though the monument misspelled the name as "Inverdale" it was never corrected. The monument was still in place as of 2007.

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