On the outside of the parish church of Wyke Regis in Dorset (now a suburb of Weymouth) is a remarkable memorial plaque - a very rare example of a monument to those who lost their lives aboard an East Indiaman: One such terrible wreck occurred in 1815 when an East Indiaman, the HCS (Honourable Company’s Ship) Alexander went down with a loss of many lives, having sailed all the way from Bombay to the coast of England. Right: The East India Company grave at Wyke Regis.

But failure to do so would often lead to tragedy, often on the Shambles, a lethal sandbank just a few feet beneath the water’s surface, even at low tide. Often ships would try and get to the safety of Weymouth Bay with its natural harbour. The area of Portland and Weymouth saw a disproportionate number of wrecks, because the prevailing south-westerly wind naturally pushes ships towards the shore. It is one of the curious features of the passage to India that the coast of Southern England proved to be the most treacherous part of the whole voyage to India.

Empire total war indiaman