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The cartoon about the shipwreck from the serie KALEJDOSKOP where published in many newspapers in the 60 ties. The drawings are made by Helge Hansen, the texts by the now late chief editor Kai Schou.

The study of original English documents have later determined that it was the Cressy and not the Defence which took the St. George in tow. See The shipwreck

Drama on Christmas Eve I: During the wars with England 1807-14 in order to protect the shipping trade in the Baltic sea against Danish privateers and cannon boats, England had to tie about 100 warships to convoy service in the Danish waters. Nevertheless, many English merchantmen were siezed and captured and the rough weather added considerable losses to the convoy squadron in these waters where all lighthouses were closed. In November 1811 a couple of hundred ships gathered in the East-Swedish Hanø bay in order to try to reach the North Sea safe passing through the Danish Belts with an escort of warships. Already in the Baltic ship they ran into a storm.

Besides 12 merchantmen that were lost, the admiral-ship St. George (853 men, 98 guns) ran aground south of Lolland from where the ship with provisional rudder and masts with great difficulties were taken in tow for repairment at Gøteborg.

On the 17th of December, the scantily repaired St. George together with half a score other ships of the line (a.o. the Cressy and the Defence) and app. 120 merchantmen left Gøteborg. They had hardly passed the north point of Jutland, before the North Sea met them with a violent storm from NNW. For a couple of days the ships managed more or less to stay together, but then they separated. On December the 23rd, the ship council at the Cressy decided to turn away from the dangerous Danish west-coast and set sail towards England. Only the Defence were left alone to accompany the invalid St. George. The Captain on the Defence - by request from admiral Reynolds at the St. George - succeeded in providing the St. George with a hawser. But the taking in tow did not last long. The hawser broke.

Late in the night between the 23rd and 24th of December, the captain on the Defence saw blue light and heard minute guns from the St. George. The great warship had run aground, but he decided to stay with his admiral in the hour of danger. Around 2 o'clock his big stay sail were torn apart and the Defence were hove-to for the mizzen. Shortly afterwards the white breakers were seen in the dark - and then the Defence ran aground both fore and aft and after a few minutes all the masts broke. St. George had barely been notified with blue light about the stranding, when the cannons broke loose and the 40-50 year old ship began breaking apart under the attack of the roaring sea.

In the confusion that broke out on the Defence several tried to save themselves by reaching the coast outside Fjaltring. 4-5 women who were on the ship were the first to be washed over board. Captain Atkins together with five others tried to reach the shore on a studding-sail bar. The five men were dead when they reached land. The captain died after merely one hour During the next few hours 536 men died. Only 6 came ashore among them were Joseph Page who later told how he had managed to mount a raft together with40 other men. "When we reached the shore there were only 6 of us left. The Danes treated us well, gave us food and drink, dry clothes and put us to bed".

The St. George also met it's destiny on this Christmas night a little further to the south on the Danish west-coast. Having tried in vain to veer during the night and sail towards west an attempt to raise the jib failed (blew away) along with an attempt to enter the rig in order to loosen the fore topsail.
The placing of tarpaulins in the hammock nitting did not increase the speed either. They tried to set anchor in an attempt to veer, but it caught the provisional rudder and broke it. At 6 o'clock in the morning St. George ran aground on the outermost sand bank.

When the St. George ran aground it immediately took a serious list. The carpenter noted 10 feet water on the storage deck. The masts were capped to ease the weight and men were ordered to the pumps. All boats except the launch were washed over board. When 14 men tried to reach the shore it turned over and they all drowned. When the mizzen were to be cut away there were no axes. The men had to try to cut the rig with knives. Storm and waves sent the mast over board together with everybody near it. Many had already died from cold and exhaustion when a huge wave around 10 o'clock washed away about 400 men dead and alive. At 12 o'clock all command had ceased.

Some of the 150-200 men who were clinging to life on board the wreck of the St. George managed to make a raft. Half a score of men succeeded in getting on it, but only four managed to tie themselves to it and therefore they were the only ones that reached to shore - more dead than alive. Later 8 men came ashore on a bar and these 12 men were the sole survivors out of a crew of 853 men. From both the ships a total of 1392 people drowned. On Christmas morning there were nothing but pieces of wreck left of what had been to proud warships. As the hundreds of dead bodies drifted ashore they were buried in the dunes where a beautiful memorial stone were raised in honour of the victims 25 years ago.