Who was Mathias Sydanmatsa?

“The river’s coming down rushed and troubled as if it’s hiding something. Enter Florence Saunders paddling. Harry Kingscott and William George Montague, both with no shoes. Sarah Matthews, epileptic, shouting curses at her mother. And the entire Bedford family arguing. Enter unnamed sailor weeping with Matthias Sydamnasta of Finland, holding a rung of rigging.”

 

(Oswald, 2009: 20) 



‘A Sleepwalk on the Severn’ by Alice Oswald, has introduced me to a long list of enigmatic and tragic characters. The Finnish sailor, ‘Matthias Sydamnasta’ being the most intriguing. This sailor, more at home on the Baltic Sea but now appearing as an apparition on the River Severn, captured my interest. Oswald’s ‘Sleepwalk’ shows us real people, who lost their lives in the river. I searched for information about Sydamnasta and accessed the ‘Severn Project’, part of the Gloucestershire Archives, gaining an insight to Oswald’s creative methodology. Here under the title ‘Drownings and other deaths’ was the entry, “Mathias Sydanmatsa of Finland, sailor, accidentally drowned after falling off rigging of his ship, 1867 (CO1/I/13/D/24)”. I also noticed the different spelling of his name in the archive.

 

Other characters from her book are listed in the same document. This somehow enhanced the impact of Oswald’s words for me as the suffering of Sydanmatsa alongside these other people, was now more visceral. The record of his death in the archives provided a description of the accident, even indicating the name of his ship.


This also shows that his death was recorded in Oldbury, a village on the banks of the Severn so this could indicate the region in which this accident may have occurred. Oldbury marks the point where the river becomes a large estuary with deadly currents. 

 

I started to draw my impression of Sydanmatsa’s physical appearance, using additional archives such as the Maritime History Archive and the Maritime Museum of Finland. Through further investigation (after making these initial drawings), I discovered that Sydanmatsa was only twenty two years old when he died, but apart from that I know very little about his life. However, by making many quick drawings using a variety of materials, I’m starting to explore the possible characteristics of this man.

 

These sketchbook drawings are initial investigations, ideas and composition explorations which may or may not move beyond the pages of my sketchbook, but the story of this man, who died over a thousand miles from his assumed birthplace, demands further investigation.
































References

 

Oswald, A., (2009). A Sleepwalk On The Severn. London: Faber.

 

Ww5.gloucestershire.gov.uk. n.d. Gloucestershire Archives: Severn Project - Archive Sources. [online] Available at: <https://ww5.gloucestershire.gov.uk/exhibitions/severn/html/archivalmaterial.html> [Accessed 21 March 2021].

 


Location: Oldbury-on-Severn, Bristol BS35, UK

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