Where were you when the Titanic sunk?

Well, I wasn’t even a twinkle in my father’s eye, but hopefully we were both twinkles in my grandfather’s eye. And we know pretty well where he was!

 

Francis St George Wise was born in 1875, the son of a West Country doctor. Shunning the medical profession, at the age of 16 he was a cadet in the Navy on HMS Conway, eventually earning his Master Mariner (Captain) certificate.

 

Much of his training and early career was under sail, but the steamship was making hefty inroads into merchant shipping. Many of these small merchant steamers became the Cinderellas of international trade, circumnavigating the globe to deliver valuable goods across the continents.

 

SS Indravelli

SS Indravelli

And so it was in 1912 he was working for the Indra Line, based in Liverpool. His particular charge in April 1912 was the SS Indravelli, a modest 400 ft, 15  year old steam cargo vessel, with a maximum speed of a mere 11 knots.

 

On 10th April 1912, the Indravelli broke moorings at New York at 6.45pm to set sail to Gibraltar. It was 9.31pm when she had been guided out by the pilot, and faced the open sea under full steam. The weather over the next few days was reported as clear and fine, sea was smooth until 13th April, when it was recorded as moderate. Progress was only slowed by nearly 3 and a half hours of stopped engines over a couple of days ‘for eng. purposes’.

 

SS Indravelli log

SS Indravelli log

Her log shows her heading east at the same latitude until 23rd April, when she changed course toward the south.

 

Allowing for time correction, her position was taken at 12 noon each day. On 14th April, this was deduced by dead reckoning, but there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of this.

 

Simple interpolation gives her position at 40.19N 56.75W at midnight (30 minutes after Titanic struck the iceberg). This is a reasonable assumption given the stability of the weather, and no incidents recorded in the log. Titanic was sinking at 41.46N 50.14W, putting my grandfather and his ship 311 nautical miles away.

 

Unfortunately, I can find no record of his aged workhorse being retrofitted with wireless telegraphy, so despite the best efforts of the wireless officers on the Titanic, he would have been deaf to their appeals. Even if he had heard them, sadly with a maximum speed of 11 knots (but an average of 8.2) he could have done little to help.

 

Map showing SS Indravelli and RMS Titanic

Map showing SS Indravelli and RMS Titanic

Maybe if the pilot had expedited the departure, or ‘eng. purposes’ hadn’t delayed progress. But ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ are just that.

 

So near, yet so far.

 

RIP

Whitstable assault

Police are appealing for information or any witnesses after a 43-year-old Whitstable man reported that he was assaulted in the town’s Nelson Road on Friday evening (2 March 2012).

 
The man was walking with a friend when he was approached by a group, believed to have been three or four young men and a woman, who punched him and kicked him after he fell over. They are believed to be aged in their late teens and wearing dark clothing.

 
The man was taken to the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, following the assault just before 10pm and was treated for a lip injury.

 
Police have carried out house to house inquiries and anyone who can help the investigation is urged to contact Kent Police on 101, giving reference ZY/6004.

Don’t tell him, Pike

Actor Philip Madoc died today aged 77.

 

A well established actor on both radio and television, he is undoubtably best remembered for his role as a U boat captain in Dad’s Army. As well as being one of David Croft’s finest scripted moments, Philip does well to stifle the giggles during the performance.

 

RIP Philip Madoc.

 

 

Bethnal Green Tube Disaster

Bethnal Green entrance in wartime

Bethnal Green entrance in wartime

On March 3rd 1943, the worst civilian disaster of WWII took place as people sought safety from an air raid.

 

The Bethnal Green tube station was part of the Central Line extension east of Liverpool Street, which commenced in 1936. With the outbreak of war, work ceased on the extension, leaving Bethnal Green almost complete, but without track. The depth of the station made it ideal as an air raid shelter; it could accommodate some 7,000 people.  Locals preferred the relative comfort of the station rather than the cramped and dingy Andersen or Morrison shelters at home.

 

At 8.17pm, the air raid warning sounded.

 

Air raid warnings were part of everyday life and a well practice routine. Things had been a bit quieter lately, but retaliation was expected after Berlin had been bombed 2 nights previously. As the siren sounded, three buses unloaded their passengers and a cinema evacuated their customers so they could take safe shelter.

 

Bethnal Green stairs (4 March 1943)

Bethnal Green stairs (4 March 1943)

Although crowded, everything was in order until a woman carrying a baby tripped and fell as she went down the steps to the platform The man behind her tripped over her, and the domino effect took over, compounded by the fact that permanent stair rails were yet to be fitted.

At 8.27pm, further panic ensued at the top of the stairs as unfamiliar heavy explosions were heard, and people pushed into the shelter unaware of the horror in front of the. The unfamiliar explosions were an anti-aircraft unit testing an experimental rocket weapon in nearby Victoria Park.

 

About 300 were crushed into the stairway measuring about 15 x 11 feet. When they were pulled out 27 men, 84 women and 62 children had been crushed to death, with a further 60 surviving but requiring hospital treatment.

When their bodies were recovered, Kenny had the impression of a hobnail boot on his face. George senior had been carrying Maureen and he was found with his arms outstretched, where he had tried to throw Maureen clear of the mass of people.

Maureen was pulled out alive and was taken to hospital, where my great grandmother stayed with her. She intended to bring her up if she pulled through. Unfortunately Maureen died about 5 hours later. She died with a tear in her eye.

Lorraine Smith

Tragically, no air raid took place that night, the disaster was a direct result of the panic induced by the new weapon being tested. Lack of proper hand rails, lack of supervision and light (due to the blackout) also played their part.
Little mention was made of this in the press at the time to maintain morale – even the results of the Government enquiry were delayed until after the war.

We were just told to lay out the bodies and then load them on to lorries. One or two near the bottom were still alive. But most of the faces, they were all purple and mauve.

Jimmy Hunt (aged 15 at the time)

This is necessarily a brief outline of 2 minutes in time that had a devastating impact on the local community.
Much of this information has been gleaned from the Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust, which aims keep the memories of the heroes and victims of this awful night alive.

 

Please pay them a visit for further information, including first hand accounts, and make sure those that died are never forgotten.

Have you lost a wedding ring in Canterbury?

Kent Police is hoping to trace the owner of a lost wedding ring that is 100 years old this year.

 

The wide gold band was found in Bhs in the Marlowe Arcade in Canterbury and has now been handed into Canterbury Police Station after no-one claimed it from the store.

 

Two initials and a date in 1912 have been engraved inside the ladies ring. If it is yours go along to Canterbury Police Station, Old Dover Road, Canterbury CT1 3JQ or phone Kent Police on 101.

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