Said to be the largest collection of Merchant Navy ship figureheads in the world, the figurehead collection was that of Sydney Cumbers, nicknamed “Long John Silver” due to the eye-patch he wore after a childhood accident.
A successful businessman, Cumbers built up a significant collection of more than 100 figureheads – carved wooden figures which decorated the prows of sailing ships, which he and his wife – The Mate – kept along with a larger collection of maritime memorabilia at their residence in Kent nicknamed ‘The Look-Out’ (which features rooms named after parts of a ship).
In 1953, he donated the collection to the Cutty Sark a restoration of which had recently been completed so it could be opened to the public.
The figureheads, which are made from a variety of woods including oak and teak, date mostly from the 19th century. They depict a range of characters, some anonymous, and others taken from history and myth.
The latter include everyone from Sir Lancelot, the classical warrior Thermopylae and Hiawatha to Elizabeth Fry, Florence Nightingale and William Wilberforce. Others feature political figures such as Benjamin Disraeli, William Pitt and William Gladstone.
The collection is dedicated to the merchant seamen of Great Britain and the flotilla of small ships that rescued the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in 1940.
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