Lt. Cdr. John Lindsay Quine

Title: Lt. Cdr.

Epithet: MHK, naval officer and inventor (1886-1980)

Record type: Biographies

Biography: From ‘New Manx Worthies’ (2006):

John Lindsay Quine was born in the School House in Dalton Street, when his father, the Revd (later Canon) John Quine was headmaster of the Grammar School. He was the second child and first son in the family.

At four he attended a private school in Woodbourne Square, run by a Miss Bourne. It was in that same year on a voyage to Liverpool on the Prince of Wales that he was invited to visit the engine room - an opportunity which was to influence his future choice of career as a marine engineer.

Later the family moved to Derby Square and then in 1895 to Lonan Vicarage, on his father's appointment to the incumbency. After private tuition at home young John attended the local school at Laxey.

It was never easy raising a large family on a small stipend but his mother was a wonderful cook, and expert in bee-keeping and growing vegetables. The older children were taught to hunt and fish; the family became almost self-sufficient and even provided generous 'after service' hospitality for parishioners.

After three years at secondary school, in 1901 John began an engineering apprenticeship with W. & J. Knox of Douglas. He spent five happy years there, receiving a sound all-round training. In the evenings he ran the lighting system in the Gaiety Theatre.

His apprenticeship completed, he took a post as a marine engineer with the Harrison Line. His first long voyage began on 16th October 1906, on the SS Workman bound for Calcutta. From then until December 1910 he sailed on a number of Harrison Line ships to South Africa, India, the East Indies, Mexico, USA, and many other places.

He kept a detailed diary recording his adventures. However, he never lost his love of home, sending money and gifts for his brothers and sisters. His father and mother wrote to him often, and John carefully preserved all their letters for future reference.

When he had completed the necessary qualifying years at sea he spent periods ashore, studying at the Central Technical School in Liverpool for the Board of Trade qualifications. In 1911 he left the Harrison Line, and in the following year obtained his first class certificate (marine engineering). He was employed by the Central School to teach evening classes in the subject.

During a trip home in 1913, he and his younger brother Sylvester Lindsay Quine constructed the first wireless transmitter in the Isle of Man. A twin wire aerial was suspended from the top of the church tower, passing to a high fir tree in the vicarage garden then down leads to the wireless transmitter in the house. The average height of the aerial was not less than 50ft., with a tuned circuit, rectifier and headphones. They could receive messages in Morse code from the Eiffel Tower, Poldhu Point, Cornwall, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, Ireland and Isle of Man steamers.

The call signs allocated to their two stations, in a transmitter licence up to 250 watts, were Lonan Vicarage LXO, and portable set LXP. A Press report by Alan C. Christian, the Laxey correspondent of the Isle of Man Times, told how Christian, Sylvester and Mrs Quine sat up until 1.20am one night, decoding news from all over the world, including the death of Pierpont Morgan, the multimillionaire financier, and messages to the liner Oceanic. On the outbreak of World War I, their licence had to be surrendered and the station was removed by the GPO.

In March 1913 John started work in the steam turbine shop of Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, working on turbines for super Dreadnoughts and going to sea on Dreadnought acceptance trials. Once settled in a job ashore, he married his fiancée Margaret Ottewell of Raby (now Pine) Lodge, Baldrine Hill. She was a gifted musician who played the Lonan Church organ.

John moved on to the drawing office at Cammell Laird, but on the outbreak of war he was recalled from holiday in the Island and appointed to join Lieutenant J.D. Rees, the navy inspector of engineering materials in Sheffield. He was to take over the supervision and approval of steels ordered by the Admiralty for four destroyers and two cruisers. While stamping his initials on approved steels he noticed the Three Legs of Man on some bars. On enquiry he found it to be a stipulation made by Jonathan John Oxton Kermode of Peel, a marine engineer and inventor, in lieu of payment for use of some of his designs.

On 31st December 1914, as there was a shortage of marine engineers to man new war ships, he took up a naval commission as an engineer officer on the cruiser HMS Achilles in Cromar ty Firth. The ship sailed with the Grand Fleet of 21 battleships, twelve cruisers and 21 destroyers. During the war, he served as engineer officer in charge on the Monitor, HMS Prince Rupert (with two 35ft guns, each weighing 46 tons) and the destroyers HMS Termagant and HMS Valentine, taking part in the Zeebrugge and Ostend operations. He also spent time with the Dover Patrol where part of his ship's duty was ferrying VIPs - including King George V - across the Channel.

After observing the bombardment of the Belgian coast and attacks by enemy aircraft John submitted a design for a high angle anti-aircraft mirror gunsight to the Admiralty. A model was sent to Whale Island, Portsmouth, on the order of the commander-in-chief there.

The command of the Termagant was taken over by A.B. Cunningham, who was later to become Admiral of the Fleet. Cunningham wrote of John when he left the ship in 1918: 'Eng. Lieut. Comdr. J.L. Quine conducted himself very much to my satisfaction. A hard working and capable officer. He kept his department in a most efficient condition'. The two men were later to become firm friends.
John met him officially when his ship visited the Isle of Man in 1923.

Other commanding officers under whom he served described him as 'a zealous and competent engineering officer' (C.D. Blake), and 'Entirely satisfactory. Very able' (H.O. Reinhold). Several times, because of his expe-rience in Cammell Laird of supervising the building and acceptance sea trials of engine room machinery, he was temporarily withdrawn from his own ship to help with the machinery installation and commissioning of other warships.

He joined the Valentine in 1918, remaining on patrol in the Baltic until he left the navy on 19th November 1919, though remaining on Special Reserve until 1931. He had a stock of stories about his adventures, one of the most amusing being the rescue of a 20hp Model T Ford abandoned by Americans clearing a depot in Brest. He was eventually able to get his 'tin lizzie' back to the Island.

On return to civilian life John Quine built The Spinney in Baldrine, and set up an engineering consultancy. In 1924 he took up a post at the Municipal Technical College in Hull. This involved setting up a new course in marine engineering, and gave him much enjoyment. He had always been interested in flying, having seen so many air combats and, partly influenced by the exploits of his brother Sylvester, he took lessons at Heddon [now in Humberside] aerodrome, gaining a pilot's licence to fly all types of planes and becoming a founder member of the Hull Aero Club. He finally retired from the college in December 1941.

Back in the Island, he contested a by-election in Garff and became the third member of the family to be elected to the House of Keys, sitting from 1942-1951 and from 1956-1961. In 1950, partly due to a family connection with Richard John Seddon, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand, he was chosen to represent the Manx government at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in New Zealand. Apart from visiting Manx Societies in Australasia, he was also able to meet some of the Christian family in Pitcairn.

A passionate lover of his country, John prepared carefully researched studies of the Island's fishing and tourist industries, the transport system, electricity and water supplies, whilst serving on several boards. When he left the Keys, he kept busy writing his memoirs, fishing, gardening and spending summer holidays with his visiting family until his death following a fall.

(Later Sir) Henry Charles Kerruish, Speaker of the House of Keys, said of him: 'He was a dedicated Manxman, extremely fair and just'. Other members: 'A doughty fighter, meticulous in preparation, forthright in answer, a man of courage, kindly, courteous and helpful'.

Biography written by Marjorie Quine (daughter-in-law).

(With thanks to Culture Vannin as publishers of the book: Kelly, Dollin (general editor), ‘New Manx Worthies’, Manx Heritage Foundation/Culture Vannin, 2006, pp.388-90.)

Culture Vannin

#NMW

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 26 January 1886

Date of death: January 1980

Name Variant: Quine, Lt.Commander R.N.

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