Repatriation of RMS Rhone artifacts

Hi Everyone:

My name is Dr. Cassander "Sandy" Titley-O'Neal and I'm the Director of the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands in the British Virgin Islands.

In September of 2023, a variety of artifacts recovered from the wreck site of RMS Rhone in the 1960’s, surfaced in a collection located in Florida. They include a large stock pot from the ship’s kitchen, a selection of bottles, egg cups, cutlery, and silverware. Other earlier artifacts in the collection include onion bottles, musket balls, and the remains of two muskets, all recovered from HMS Astrea, a fourth-rate British warship that sank on the Anegada reef in 1808.

The aim of this project is to raise the money necessary to purchase and repatriate these artifacts back to the Virgin Islands, for curation by the National Parks Trust, with the projected intention of creating a permanent exhibit telling the story of RMS Rhone.

Your donation will purchase the artifacts which are currently outside of the BVI and repatriate them back to Trust, where in the future it can be proudly displayed to both residents and guests alike. Thank you for your support in advance.

Cassander Titley-O'Neal

Director

National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands