Part 51 (1/2)

I have no other object to serve now; but after the clear proof that I was correct in the opinion I shared with so many other persons of the entire inability of any of the present floating s.h.i.+ps, boats, or war engines to cope with any moderately constructed and well-armed land battery, I think it right once more, and this time more formally, to urge upon Government the consideration of the construction of armaments mechanically constructed and properly fitted for the special object. I beg to say that I do not mean a consideration in the ordinary mode, by the able and practical, but still executive officers of departments, whether engineers or s.h.i.+p-builders, because I believe that I must be myself, from my practical experience in this particular branch, at least as competent, if not more so, to judge in questions of mechanical construction, whether it be the forging or casting of a gun of large dimensions, or the construction of a vessel fit for navigation and capable of resisting shot, or the best mode of propelling such a vessel--on all which branches I have had much and tolerably successful practice; but I ask on public grounds for the deliberate consideration by men of judgment and experience in the military branch of the subject, such as the attack upon a fortified place, of which I cannot pretend to be a competent judge, and by men in a position to be able to express freely their independent opinions of the advantages that might be attained by the principle I propose, if capable of being successfully carried out.

Although the want of efficient gun-boats was then severely felt, this letter appears to have produced no effect upon the Board of Admiralty.

But the friend who had originally brought the matter under the notice of the Board took the bold step of writing to Lord Palmerston, and acquainting him with what had pa.s.sed.

Lord Palmerston at once saw the importance of investigating the subject, and sent for Mr. Brunel, who explained the plans to him. Lord Palmerston then asked him to see the officials at the Admiralty. Mr. Brunel did so; but great delay followed. It was, however, unimportant, as hostilities soon afterwards terminated, and there was no further need of gun-boats, good or bad.

This project did not exist only in the outline in which it is described in the memorandum given above. Mr. Brunel had worked out all the calculations of displacement, &c., and had made designs and models for the boat and its various appliances, and had been for some months in constant communication with Mr. W. G. Armstrong upon the form and construction of the gun.

This will be a fitting place to mention that in 1855 Captain Cowper Coles, C.B., showed Mr. Brunel the designs for his shot-proof raft, the principle of which was afterwards developed in the turret s.h.i.+p. Mr.

Brunel gave Captain Coles the benefit of his advice on the various questions involved, and allowed him to use the services of his princ.i.p.al draughtsman, and to have the drawings got out in his office without expense.

Captain Coles, in a lecture which he delivered at the United Service Inst.i.tution on June 29, 1860, warmly acknowledged the obligations he was under to Mr. Brunel for this act of kindness and generosity, and said that it had greatly encouraged him to persevere in bringing his plans into public notice.

_Renkioi Hospital._

In February 1855, after the first winter of the allied armies in the Crimea, Mr. Brunel was asked by the War Department to undertake the design and construction of hospital buildings for the East.

He replied (on the same day that he received this application, February 16) that his 'time and best exertions would be, without any limitations, entirely at the service of Government.'

He was accordingly appointed as engineer, and proceeded to design and superintend the manufacture of the required buildings and all their internal arrangements. They were sent out under his supervision, and erected at Renkioi, on the Dardanelles. All use for the buildings was ended with the conclusion of peace; but, for the seven months during which they were occupied, they added much to the comfort of more than thirteen hundred sick and wounded soldiers.

Many of the special arrangements adopted at Mr. Brunel's suggestion have been since brought into general use; and the success of these buildings was, to a considerable extent, influential in leading the Americans to construct similar hospitals during their civil war. These are now (1870) being copied in the German armies.

The history of the Renkioi hospital buildings is a striking instance of the zeal with which Mr. Brunel entered into any undertaking which had a claim upon his a.s.sistance, of the varied experience and fertility of invention which he could bring to bear upon any subject, however remote it might seem to be from his ordinary occupations, and of the minute personal attention he was accustomed to give to every detail, as the only certain means of ensuring success.

Mr. Brunel entered upon his duties on February 16, and reported to the War Office on March 5 that he had not lost any time nor spared any exertion or any means in his power to forward the important business he had undertaken. He stated that he availed himself freely of the advice and a.s.sistance of all persons to whom he could apply with any prospect of advantage; and he added, 'It is most gratifying to be able to state that from everybody I have received the most zealous and cordial a.s.sistance, and found it sufficient to mention the object of my enquiries to obtain immediately every a.s.sistance I could possibly require.'

An experimental ward was erected a few days afterwards on the premises of the Great Western Railway at Paddington, and was carefully criticised by competent persons; and, the plans having been approved of, specifications were made, with drawings of the various parts, and tenders were invited for the construction of the buildings.

The following paper gives a description of the buildings, and was written by Mr. Brunel in order to satisfy the curiosity of his friends:[l]--

March 1855.

The conditions that it was considered necessary to lay down in designing these buildings were,--

First. That they should be capable of adapting themselves to any plot of ground that might be selected, whatever its form, level, or inclination, within reasonable limits.

Secondly. That each set of buildings should be capable of being easily extended from one holding 500 patients to one for 1,000 or 1,500, or whatever might be the limit which sanitary or other conditions might prescribe.

Thirdly. That when erected they might be sure to contain every comfort which it would be possible under the circ.u.mstances to afford. And--

Fourthly. That they should be very portable, and of the cheapest construction.

The mode in which it has been sought to comply with these conditions is as follows:--[186]

The whole hospital will consist of a number of separate buildings, each sufficiently large to admit of the most economical construction, but otherwise small and compact enough to be easily placed on ground with a considerable slope, without the necessity of placing the floor of any part below the level of the ground, or of having any considerable height of foundation to carry up under any other part.