Images(2)

White Star pattern sextant

Date1925

Object number00054733

NameSextant

MediumCopper alloy, glass, wood

DimensionsOverall: 120 × 260 × 325 mm, 1895 g

ClassificationsTools and equipment

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Isabel McBryde

Terms

DescriptionWhite Star pattern sextant produced by Lawrence and Mayo. It comprises a bronze 'ace of clubs' frame sextant with a wooden handle in an original timber case with a set of sextant telescopes. On the back of the lid, the manufacture's mark featuring a white eight point star with text in black reading: Lawrence & Mayo The White Star Sextant, London. The sextant may have been used by Capt McBryde during his work with the Straits Steamship Company and then the Federated States of Malaya Customs Service from 1924 to 1927, and later in the 1920s in Western Australia.HistoryThis White Pattern pattern sextant relates to the career of John Smyth McBryde (1896 - 1987) who, after serving an apprenticeship in sail, served on active service during both the First and Second World Wars, returning to the merchant service after 1945. The sextant was possibly acquired by McBryde during his work with the Straits Steamship Company and later the Federated States of Malaya Customs Service in the 1920s. McBryde served as Fourth Officer on KANIMBLA as a merchant vessel, then later as 1st Lieutenant when the vessel was requisitioned into the Royal Navy (1939-43). After WW II McBryde was Chief Officer of the KANIMBLA 1950-57 and then Master 1957- 61. He retired in 1963. Originally based in London, instrument makers Lawrence and Mayo opened offices in Egypt, Spain, Portugal, India, Ceylon [Sri Lanka] and Singapore during the 19th century. The company opened its first Indian office in Calcutta in 1877. The company became wholly Indian owned in 1967. SignificanceThis sextant is significant as an example of an instrument acquired by a merchant officer in the 1920s which remained his primary navigation tool until his retirement in 1963. Its extended use underlines the relatively slow progress in the development of navigation technology in the 19th and 20th centuries.