Another piece from the Sunderland Echo that may of be of interest to someone.

For those in peril on the sea - News - Sunderland Echo

Published on Tuesday 6 March 2007 09:11

THE wild and stormy North Sea has claimed a fortune in ships and cargo and a huge toll in lives over the centuries. A new book, Shipwrecks from the Tees to the Tyne, details dozens of the tragedies. SARAH STONER takes a look.


"JOY and sorrow walk hand in hand with tales of heroism and tragedy," says Maureen Anderson of her book, Shipwrecks from the Tees to the Tyne.




"There have been many thousands of wrecks and rescues. These are the stories of just a few of those that took place along the North East coast."




Although our coastline can appear staggeringly beautiful in calm weather, the fierce winds and stormy seas of winter can be treacherous.




Many thousands of seafarers have been lost in, and saved from, its grasp, and it is to these brave sailors and rescuers that the book is dedicated.




"The crews of early sailing ships relied on the wind to carry them to their destinations but, too often, it carried them to their deaths," said Maureen.




"In inclement weather, the scene can change in an instant. Storms bring sleet, snow and rain, and the wind churns the sea until it rages and boils."




The earliest recorded rescues were carried out by fishermen, who bravely launched their own small boats into heavy seas to save stricken sailors.




By the end of the 18th century, however, special life-saving boats were being designed, which could be launched using a team of horses and were manned by volunteer rescuers.




A wide range of rescues are detailed within the pages of Maureen's new book, and she devotes a large chapter to the wrecks of Seaham and Sunderland too.




"Thousands of seafarers were lost in, and saved from, the fickle North Sea," she said.




"But for the bravery of local people, and the formation of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the scale of such tragedies would have been far greater."




* Shipwrecks from the Tees to the Tyne by Maureen Anderson is published by Wharncliffe Books at 12.99.




Wrecks and disasters that litter our coast




THE MONKWEARMOUTH PILOTS, 1852




STORMS at the end of October 1852 left many ships stranded or wrecked off the coast of Sunderland.




Indeed, the waves were so high that Thomas Bolton, keeper of the south lighthouse, was forced to abandon his post for the safety of the shore.


Just a short time later, the brig Beaver struck the south pier. Badly damaged, she was driven up the harbour before filling with water and sinking.




The Rebecca Johanna, sailing from Hamburg, was next to hit the pier, with the crew being rescued with the use of Carte's rocket lines.




A Sunderland-based brig, Napoleon, then followed suit, smashing into the south pier before being driven against the north pier by the waves.


One of the crew was pulled alive from the water near the pier, while another was washed out to sea before rescuers could reach him.




But three pilots from Monkwearmouth, William Welsh, Alexander Campbell and William Ward, braved the stormy sea to reach two others.




The Napoleon captain, Mr Palmer, was dragged to safety by the pilots. The other man, however, slipped from their grasp before sinking into the waves.




A CATALOGUE OF CATASTROPHES, 1854


JANUARY 1854 saw temperatures dip below freezing and a strong wind blowing in from the east.




The Albatross of Sunderland was the first ship to fall victim to the weather, being driven into the bar.




The crew was rescued by rocket lines.


But just before dawn a few hours later, on January 4, disaster struck. As dozens of vessels made for the safety of port, the entrance became blocked.




Some of the ships collided with each other and sunk, while others, including the Kate and the Content, were stranded ashore on the Potato Garth.




The badly-damaged Harvest, from Sunderland, was then thrown violently against the Maria, causing 11 other ships to hit the end pier.




The crew of the Italian brig San Francisco were so frightened by their ordeal that they deserted in a hurry, leaving all their belongings behind.




A group of men were later sent in to salvage the items, but then promptly disappeared after stealing the money, tobacco and Italian ornaments. The group was dubbed The Cornish Wreckers and hunted down for the theft. Three were later caught and prosecuted.




THE SUNDERLAND PIERS BETWEEN 1856 AND 1857




IT was late at night and pitch black when the lookout on the screw-streamer James Hartley spotted another ship heading straight towards them.




Captain Baldwin immediately ordered the engines to be reversed, but it was too late – the vessels collided three miles off the Sunderland coast in 1856.




The Hartley, which belonged to the West Hartlepool Steam Navigation Company, lost her bowsprit and jib boom, but was still seaworthy.


The other ship, Shields brig Messenger, simply disappeared. However, two of her crew were dragged aboard the steamer and taken safely into port.




In January 1857, the Rienzi was driven on to rocks at Hendon Mill, while the One was driven ashore near Ryhope Dene and a Sunderland brig, Emily, was beached at Hawthorn Dene.




Tragedy struck again a few days later, when the Jeanette and Mary hit Sunderland's south pier. The tiller was thrown from the captain's hand and struck sailor George Raffle. He died from a fractured skull.




The French schooner Trois Soeurs was also driven behind the south pier at this time and, with waves dashing over her, the crew were in great peril.




But Sunderland's legendary sea rescue hero Joseph Hodgson, better known as The Stormy Petrel, was on hand. Risking his own life to swim through the surf, he tied rescue equipment to the ship and the sailors were taken off safely by cradle.




Other ships to fall victim to the weather that year included the Apollo, the Harmony, Don Quixote and a Perth schooner, the Blossom.




CLIFF RESCUE, 1874




NOVEMBER and December 1874 brought the worst storms and highest seas to Seaham for 37 years.




On the morning of November 29, 1874, a small Well schooner loaded with wheat, the Mary Ann, tried to make her way into Seaham Harbour.




But with waves crashing over the decks, and the sailors lashed to the rigging, she was driven behind the north pier. The crew of Seaham's lifeboat assembled, but knew it would be useless to attempt a rescue, as they would be dashed against the rocks.




Instead, lines were thrown to the stricken ship and three of the crew were dragged to safety.




The ship's master, Ransom, was the last man aboard. But, when the rigging gave way, he drowned.




STORMY SEAS, 1880




OCTOBER 1880 saw strong gales and heavy seas lash the coastline of Seaham.




The Faversham brig British Ensign became the town's first casualty on October 27, after it was spotted drifting towards the shore.




Seven men could be seen clinging to the rigging and members of The Volunteer Life Brigade were quickly called to the scene.




A cradle was used to rescue the men, although a young apprentice, Edward Packman, slipped from the rescue equipment and drowned.




Hours later another vessel – the brigantine Zosteria – came ashore between Ryhope and Seaham. Coastguards waded up to their necks into the sea and rescued several sailors using a cradle. But two fell off and one drowned.




About noon the following day, the Huntley was seen drifting ashore near the new gasworks at Hendon, her sails in tatters. Rocket lines were used to rescue the crew and all six were brought to safety.




Later that same day, a Portsmouth schooner – the Henry and Elizabeth – came ashore at Ryhope Dene.




Three of the crew were rescued by local man Henry Wilson using a line.


A few hours later, guns were fired from the Brigade House after the brig Rapid was spotted burning flares off Ryhope. A steam tug, Rescue, was sent out to tow in the stricken vessel.




Exploits of thr Stormy Petrel




JOSEPH Hodgson was hailed as a hero dozens of times after risking his life to save people from the North Sea.




Whenever a gale blew up, Hodgson – nicknamed The Stormy Petrel – could be seen searching the skyline for ships in distress.




Dozens of people owed their lives to the man whose bravery was compared to that of sailor Jack Crawford.




But, while Crawford's heroic deeds at the Battle of Camperdown are still celebrated, memories of Hodgson seem to have faded.




His great-great-grandaughter Christine Sexton, told The Echo last year: "He saved the lives of so many people; surely there should be something to mark what he did."




Hodgson, a joiner's son, was born in Dunning Street, Bishopwearmouth, in 1829, and was educated at The Gray's School. By the age of 10, he was working with a gang of riggers, but spent his spare time painting and carving wood.




Hodgson made his first recorded rescue in 1844, at the age of 15, jumping into the River Wear to save three-year-old John Snowdon.




He then saved John Nicholson in 1844 and pulled carver John Marshall from the river, near the Ferry Boat Landing, in 1847.




Marshall repaid Joseph by training him as a carver and decorator, but Joseph still continued his life-saving, rescuing dozens more.


His rescues over the next few years included:


* Joseph Alexander, who was knocked overboard by a keel's tiller in 1847.


* Miller Carnegie, a seaman who fell into the river in 1847.


* John McTeen, washed from a lifeboat following a shipwreck in 1849.


* The crew of the ship Thomas Clarkson in 1852.


* The crews of the Medina and the Harmony in January 1854.


* A baby and its mother from the sinking Samuel and Sarah ship in 1854.


* A boy from the wrecked Niagara, as well as the crews of the Victoria, the Coldstream, the Calypso and the Margaret – all in 1854.


* The master of the brig Brenda in 1855, wrecked near the South Pier.


* The crew of the Maddalena in September 1856.


* The crews of the Rienzi at Hendon, the schooner Isabella near the South Pier and the Six Sisters, wrecked near the North Pier, in 1857.


* The crew of the French schooner, Les Trois Soeurs, in 1857, for which he received a gold medal from the Emperor of France, Napoleon III.


* The crews of the Blucher and the Poulton in 1858 and, in 1869, he pulled a man from the river at Coxgreen.




Hodgson moved to London at the age of 40, where he worked for the West African Shipping Company – but continued to save lives. He rescued a man from the Regent's Canal Docks in 1872, winning a Royal Humane Society medal, and saved another man during a voyage to Africa.




But despite his many rescues, of which there are thought to be hundreds, he died a poor man – forced to pawn his bravery medals just to survive.