Birkenhead Drill
Striking mural on the side wall of Gallagher’s pub, Chester Street, Birkenhead. The "Birkenhead Drill" refers to the historical event where soldiers aboard the sinking HMS Birkenhead in 1852 displayed remarkable discipline by staying in formation while prioritizing the evacuation of women and children into lifeboats.
"Women and children first", known to a lesser extent as the Birkenhead drill, is an unofficial code of conduct and gender role whereby the lives of women and children were to be saved first in a life-threatening situation, typically abandoning ship, when survival resources such as lifeboats were limited. However, it has no basis in maritime law.
Birkenhead Drill
Striking mural on the side wall of Gallagher’s pub, Chester Street, Birkenhead. The "Birkenhead Drill" refers to the historical event where soldiers aboard the sinking HMS Birkenhead in 1852 displayed remarkable discipline by staying in formation while prioritizing the evacuation of women and children into lifeboats.
"Women and children first", known to a lesser extent as the Birkenhead drill, is an unofficial code of conduct and gender role whereby the lives of women and children were to be saved first in a life-threatening situation, typically abandoning ship, when survival resources such as lifeboats were limited. However, it has no basis in maritime law.