BOOK REVIEWS
Memories of an Islander:
A Life on Scattery and Beyond
-by Don Scanlan
(CLASP Press,
Clare County Library Headquarters, Mill Road, Ennis, Co Clare);
ISBN 1 900545 17 9;
paperback, 86 pages,
46 monochrome photos,
€10
DON SCANLAN was born on Scattery Island, Co Clare, in the Shannon Estuary. After some years at sea he applied to the Commissioners of Irish Lights and became a Lighthouse Keeper in our Service. He served as a full-time Lightkeeper for 38 years and then was appointed Attendant of Youghal Lighthouse in 1985. On final retirement he returned to Co Clare with his wife Mai, and now lives in Ennis.
In partnership with Clare Local Studies Project (clasp) in co-operating with fás, Don has written this beautiful memoir of life on Scattery Island, and his subsequent life as a Lightkeeper.
The Scattery men earned their living mainly as seafarers, Shannon Estuary pilots, as lightshipmen and lightkeepers, from fishing, and from the land as small farmers. The women worked on the land, made butter, kept hens, and sold their produce on the mainland in Kilrush. Don describes the life and customs of the island which mostly revolved around the seasons and church festivals and holy days. The monastery, founded by St Senan in the sixth century, has the highest round tower in Ireland, and St Senan continued to have an important place in the customs of the island.
Chapters are contributed by Bríd O'Mahony on the National School and by Fidelma Mullane on the traditional dwelling houses of the island. The island children were taught Greek in the National School in the 1890s!
Scattery was the base for pilotage on the Shannon for 100 years from the 1840s. Don's father was a pilot, and pilotage and seafaring was important to the life of the island, providing a steady income, as did employment in Irish Lights. When Don was born there were 14 families on the island. Their names will be well known to older hands in Irish Lights: Brennans, Griffins, McMahons, Melicans, Morans, and Scanlans-families that made a valuable contribution to our Service and to the safety of life at sea. He lists the names of those who were pilots, lightshipmen, lightkeepers, seafarers, and those who lost their lives at sea.
The book also lists the population of the island in 1901 and the children at the school in the 1930s. After World War II the pilot station was moved to the mainland and the population declined until the two last inhabitants left for the mainland in 1978.
Don completes his book with an account of his life as a Lightkeeper and of the lighthouses at which he served.
This lovely book, attractively designed, with beautiful black and white photographs that bring the text to life, is a great credit to Don Scanlan, clasp, and FÁS.
I hope Don continues to enjoy his retirement with Mai for many years to come.
Death in the North Channel:
The loss of the Princess Victoria January 1953
-by Stephen Cameron
(Colourpoint Books, Unit D5, Ards Business Centre, Jubilee Road, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 4YH);
ISBN 1 904242 01 4;
paperback, 144 pages,
170 photos and illustrations,
£13.99 Stg in UK
AMONG the major news items I remember from my childhood, one that stands out was the sinking of the Princess Victoria off the coast of Co Down, on 31 January 1953, with the loss of 135 lives-a tragedy that should never have happened. I remember my grandfather telling me that because the stern doors opened inward rather than outward, the heavy seas had pushed the doors open letting the water into the ship. This was only part of the story, however, and Stephen Cameron's painstaking research reveals many more details. His book stands as a memorial to those who lost their lives.
The Princess Victoria was launched in 1946, the fourth vessel of that name built for the Larne -Stranraer route, all of which were built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton. Her predecessor had been requisitioned for war service only eight weeks after having been commissioned and was sunk in the Humber estuary in May 1940 with the loss of 36 lives.
The latest Princess Victoria had an open car deck with opening stern doors that would allow cars and lorries to drive on and off, making her one of the earliest roll on/roll off car ferries. The stern doors were hinged at the sides and opened inwards. It was possible for someone on the car deck to look out at the sea over the doors. The after end of the car deck was open to the elements to allow the ship to carry a double-decker bus. It emerged at the subsequent enquiry that the stern doors were designed to prevent anyone from falling overboard, not to prevent the sea from coming in.
A steel vertical guillotine door was added in May 1949 in an effort to prevent spray coming over the top of the stern doors wetting the cargo. At the same time the car deck was strengthened to allow milk tankers to be transported, though the builders warned that the structure of the ship would be altered and an element of danger introduced. What I take from this is that the stability of the vessel was compromised, though the author does not state this clearly.
Just six months after these alterations were made two milk tankers overturned in heavy weather and the tanks broke away from the vehicles, resulting in the ship listing 10 degrees. The list caused sea water to enter the car deck and there was also spillage of petrol from the vehicles' fuel tanks.
In an attempt to reduce the list on the ship the Second Officer drained the milk from the overturned tanks which resulted in 6,000 gallons of milk, mixed with sea water and petrol, flowing about the deck in free surface effect. Crew members swept this liquid towards the scuppers but it took over 40 minutes to clear the spillage off the car deck. These scuppers had been designed to drain away small quantities of water used to wash down the car deck. It was never envisaged that the scuppers would have to clear away large volumes of water.
It appears that this incident was not fully reported and the ship's shore management did not appreciate its seriousness. During the ensuing few years there was a number of other incidents which should have warned the vessel's managers.
The original owner of the Princess Victoria was the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, but at the beginning of 1948 the railways in Great Britain were nationalised and ownership of the vessel passed to the British Transport Commission, more usually known as British Rail. The designated manager was Capt. Harry Perry who, with a staff of 11 assistant managers, had responsibility for the superintendence of 25 ships operating between Great Britain and Ireland. Pery oversaw the alterations made to the ship in 1949. He was succeeded by Capt. J. D. Reed in January 1952.
Stephen Cameron reconstructs the last disastrous voyage of the Princess Victoria on 31 January 1953. Gale warnings had been issued. Why, knowing this, Capt. James Ferguson proceeded to sea is not certain but the author suggests pressure from shore management. When the storm arrived it turned out to be one of the worst of the twentieth century causing much damage and many deaths throughout Europe.
Stranraer is at the head of Loch Ryan. Even in the sheltered waters of the Loch the sea was quite rough when the Princess Victoria started her journey at 0745. The passage up the Loch into the Irish Sea normally took around 30 minutes but this day it took well over an hour. By the time the ship reached the entrance to the North Channel the wind was gusting up to 60 knots from the north-west, with waves of over 45 feet.
What happened next is not entirely clear. Capt. Ferguson seems to have attempted to turn the ship back into the Loch. This exposed the stern doors and the open space above them to the heavy seas. As the ship turned an exceptionally heavy sea burst open the stern doors flooding the car deck with 200 tons of water. Attempts to close the doors proved useless and the scuppers could not clear away such a volume of water. An attempt to deploy the bow rudder to allow the ship to reverse back into the Loch also failed.
The ship was now listing badly. Capt. Ferguson sent an urgent message to Portpatrick Radio requesting the assistance of a tug. Ferguson gave the ship's position as off the mouth of Loch Ryan but the engines were still running and the ship was actually seven or eight miles north-west of Loch Ryan.
Rescue efforts were hampered by inadequate radio communications. Portpatrick Radio and Portpatrick Coastguard were in separate buildings twenty yards apart with no direct communications between them. Messages received by the radio station were written down by the operator, passed to a supervisor, then brought to the Coastguard who would decide what action to take and write down any messages in response which would then be taken back to the radio station for transmission. The radio station was not permitted to transmit any information on their own initiative; they could only transmit messages given to them by the Coastguard. Another difficulty was that the Princess Victoria could only communicate by Morse, whereas the vessels involved in the rescue attempt could only communicate by radio telephone (speech).
It seems extraordinary that Capt. Ferguson only sent an urgency message initially. Another three quarters of an hour elapsed before he sent a distress (SOS) message at just after 1030 but the position he gave was inaccurate and the rescue effort was concentrated on the wrong area. As the list on the ship increased and the captain and officers tried to deal with the situation on board, they did not realise that the Princess Victoria was still moving south-west towards Belfast Lough. Eventually at 1217 radio direction finders at Malin Head and Portpatrick ascertained that the ship was now 12 miles from Mew Island. At 1330 the order was given to abandon ship. Ten minutes later the Donaghadee Lifeboat was launched. At 1400 the Princess Victoria sank five miles east of Mew Island.
The author describes in graphic detail the plight of the passengers and crew, the rescue effort, the subsequent commemorations, distress funds and compensation payments, the inquiry, and the appeal. The inquiry found the superintendence of the ship by the owners and managers to be inadequate.
British Rail, the owners of the Princess Victoria, and the manager, Capt. J. D. Reed, appealed this finding to the High Court in Belfast. Capt. Reed's appeal was allowed but that of British Rail was dismissed, the Court finding that they had failed to ensure that water could be drained from the car deck and that the stern doors were strong enough; Capt. Perry, the previous manager was also criticised.
Only 10 crew members and 44 passengers survived, all male. All the women and children on board were lost, and all the senior officers were lost. With great humanity Stephen Cameron has included in the book brief biographies of all who were on board the Princess Victoria for her last voyage, passengers and crew, lost and saved, with their photographs where available.
I recommend this book, though it makes sad reading.
Lighthouses - by Lynn F. Pearson
(Shire Publications Ltd, Cromwell House, Church Street, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, HP27 9AA, England);
ISBN 0 7478 0556 3;
paperback, 64 pages,
104 colour and 6 monochrome photos,
£4.99 Stg in UK
A slim volume, generally well researched and accurate, providing a concise overview for the non-specialist reader.
Beginning with the earliest lighthouses and passing quickly over the mediaeval period the author describes the developments of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including the first rock lighthouses. The origins of Trinity House Lighthouse Service, the Northern Lighthouse Board, and the Commissioners of Irish Lights are briefly described. Light sources and optics are covered lucidly and succinctly, as are modern developments and automation.
The book mainly covers lighthouses of Great Britain but Irish lighthouses are mentioned also. It dates the light at Hook Head, which according to tradition was established by St Dubhán in the fifth century, only from the early twelfth century. South Rock Lighthouse, completed 14 years earlier than Bell Rock and the oldest wave-washed rock lighthouse in the world still standing, though discontinued as a lighthouse in 1877, is forgotten. Also, for Irish readers, it might have been of interest to mention that Alexander Mitchell was born in Dublin and that he lost his sight in childhood so that by the age of 16 he could no longer read. His engineering achievements went far beyond the patented Mitchell screw pile and mooring.
Lynn Pearson is an architectural historian.
A Life on Scattery and Beyond
-by Don Scanlan
(CLASP Press,
Clare County Library Headquarters, Mill Road, Ennis, Co Clare);
ISBN 1 900545 17 9;
paperback, 86 pages,
46 monochrome photos,
€10
DON SCANLAN was born on Scattery Island, Co Clare, in the Shannon Estuary. After some years at sea he applied to the Commissioners of Irish Lights and became a Lighthouse Keeper in our Service. He served as a full-time Lightkeeper for 38 years and then was appointed Attendant of Youghal Lighthouse in 1985. On final retirement he returned to Co Clare with his wife Mai, and now lives in Ennis.
In partnership with Clare Local Studies Project (clasp) in co-operating with fás, Don has written this beautiful memoir of life on Scattery Island, and his subsequent life as a Lightkeeper.
The Scattery men earned their living mainly as seafarers, Shannon Estuary pilots, as lightshipmen and lightkeepers, from fishing, and from the land as small farmers. The women worked on the land, made butter, kept hens, and sold their produce on the mainland in Kilrush. Don describes the life and customs of the island which mostly revolved around the seasons and church festivals and holy days. The monastery, founded by St Senan in the sixth century, has the highest round tower in Ireland, and St Senan continued to have an important place in the customs of the island.
Chapters are contributed by Bríd O'Mahony on the National School and by Fidelma Mullane on the traditional dwelling houses of the island. The island children were taught Greek in the National School in the 1890s!
Scattery was the base for pilotage on the Shannon for 100 years from the 1840s. Don's father was a pilot, and pilotage and seafaring was important to the life of the island, providing a steady income, as did employment in Irish Lights. When Don was born there were 14 families on the island. Their names will be well known to older hands in Irish Lights: Brennans, Griffins, McMahons, Melicans, Morans, and Scanlans-families that made a valuable contribution to our Service and to the safety of life at sea. He lists the names of those who were pilots, lightshipmen, lightkeepers, seafarers, and those who lost their lives at sea.
The book also lists the population of the island in 1901 and the children at the school in the 1930s. After World War II the pilot station was moved to the mainland and the population declined until the two last inhabitants left for the mainland in 1978.
Don completes his book with an account of his life as a Lightkeeper and of the lighthouses at which he served.
This lovely book, attractively designed, with beautiful black and white photographs that bring the text to life, is a great credit to Don Scanlan, clasp, and FÁS.
I hope Don continues to enjoy his retirement with Mai for many years to come.
Death in the North Channel:
The loss of the Princess Victoria January 1953
-by Stephen Cameron
(Colourpoint Books, Unit D5, Ards Business Centre, Jubilee Road, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 4YH);
ISBN 1 904242 01 4;
paperback, 144 pages,
170 photos and illustrations,
£13.99 Stg in UK
AMONG the major news items I remember from my childhood, one that stands out was the sinking of the Princess Victoria off the coast of Co Down, on 31 January 1953, with the loss of 135 lives-a tragedy that should never have happened. I remember my grandfather telling me that because the stern doors opened inward rather than outward, the heavy seas had pushed the doors open letting the water into the ship. This was only part of the story, however, and Stephen Cameron's painstaking research reveals many more details. His book stands as a memorial to those who lost their lives.
The Princess Victoria was launched in 1946, the fourth vessel of that name built for the Larne -Stranraer route, all of which were built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton. Her predecessor had been requisitioned for war service only eight weeks after having been commissioned and was sunk in the Humber estuary in May 1940 with the loss of 36 lives.
The latest Princess Victoria had an open car deck with opening stern doors that would allow cars and lorries to drive on and off, making her one of the earliest roll on/roll off car ferries. The stern doors were hinged at the sides and opened inwards. It was possible for someone on the car deck to look out at the sea over the doors. The after end of the car deck was open to the elements to allow the ship to carry a double-decker bus. It emerged at the subsequent enquiry that the stern doors were designed to prevent anyone from falling overboard, not to prevent the sea from coming in.
A steel vertical guillotine door was added in May 1949 in an effort to prevent spray coming over the top of the stern doors wetting the cargo. At the same time the car deck was strengthened to allow milk tankers to be transported, though the builders warned that the structure of the ship would be altered and an element of danger introduced. What I take from this is that the stability of the vessel was compromised, though the author does not state this clearly.
Just six months after these alterations were made two milk tankers overturned in heavy weather and the tanks broke away from the vehicles, resulting in the ship listing 10 degrees. The list caused sea water to enter the car deck and there was also spillage of petrol from the vehicles' fuel tanks.
In an attempt to reduce the list on the ship the Second Officer drained the milk from the overturned tanks which resulted in 6,000 gallons of milk, mixed with sea water and petrol, flowing about the deck in free surface effect. Crew members swept this liquid towards the scuppers but it took over 40 minutes to clear the spillage off the car deck. These scuppers had been designed to drain away small quantities of water used to wash down the car deck. It was never envisaged that the scuppers would have to clear away large volumes of water.
It appears that this incident was not fully reported and the ship's shore management did not appreciate its seriousness. During the ensuing few years there was a number of other incidents which should have warned the vessel's managers.
The original owner of the Princess Victoria was the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, but at the beginning of 1948 the railways in Great Britain were nationalised and ownership of the vessel passed to the British Transport Commission, more usually known as British Rail. The designated manager was Capt. Harry Perry who, with a staff of 11 assistant managers, had responsibility for the superintendence of 25 ships operating between Great Britain and Ireland. Pery oversaw the alterations made to the ship in 1949. He was succeeded by Capt. J. D. Reed in January 1952.
Stephen Cameron reconstructs the last disastrous voyage of the Princess Victoria on 31 January 1953. Gale warnings had been issued. Why, knowing this, Capt. James Ferguson proceeded to sea is not certain but the author suggests pressure from shore management. When the storm arrived it turned out to be one of the worst of the twentieth century causing much damage and many deaths throughout Europe.
Stranraer is at the head of Loch Ryan. Even in the sheltered waters of the Loch the sea was quite rough when the Princess Victoria started her journey at 0745. The passage up the Loch into the Irish Sea normally took around 30 minutes but this day it took well over an hour. By the time the ship reached the entrance to the North Channel the wind was gusting up to 60 knots from the north-west, with waves of over 45 feet.
What happened next is not entirely clear. Capt. Ferguson seems to have attempted to turn the ship back into the Loch. This exposed the stern doors and the open space above them to the heavy seas. As the ship turned an exceptionally heavy sea burst open the stern doors flooding the car deck with 200 tons of water. Attempts to close the doors proved useless and the scuppers could not clear away such a volume of water. An attempt to deploy the bow rudder to allow the ship to reverse back into the Loch also failed.
The ship was now listing badly. Capt. Ferguson sent an urgent message to Portpatrick Radio requesting the assistance of a tug. Ferguson gave the ship's position as off the mouth of Loch Ryan but the engines were still running and the ship was actually seven or eight miles north-west of Loch Ryan.
Rescue efforts were hampered by inadequate radio communications. Portpatrick Radio and Portpatrick Coastguard were in separate buildings twenty yards apart with no direct communications between them. Messages received by the radio station were written down by the operator, passed to a supervisor, then brought to the Coastguard who would decide what action to take and write down any messages in response which would then be taken back to the radio station for transmission. The radio station was not permitted to transmit any information on their own initiative; they could only transmit messages given to them by the Coastguard. Another difficulty was that the Princess Victoria could only communicate by Morse, whereas the vessels involved in the rescue attempt could only communicate by radio telephone (speech).
It seems extraordinary that Capt. Ferguson only sent an urgency message initially. Another three quarters of an hour elapsed before he sent a distress (SOS) message at just after 1030 but the position he gave was inaccurate and the rescue effort was concentrated on the wrong area. As the list on the ship increased and the captain and officers tried to deal with the situation on board, they did not realise that the Princess Victoria was still moving south-west towards Belfast Lough. Eventually at 1217 radio direction finders at Malin Head and Portpatrick ascertained that the ship was now 12 miles from Mew Island. At 1330 the order was given to abandon ship. Ten minutes later the Donaghadee Lifeboat was launched. At 1400 the Princess Victoria sank five miles east of Mew Island.
The author describes in graphic detail the plight of the passengers and crew, the rescue effort, the subsequent commemorations, distress funds and compensation payments, the inquiry, and the appeal. The inquiry found the superintendence of the ship by the owners and managers to be inadequate.
British Rail, the owners of the Princess Victoria, and the manager, Capt. J. D. Reed, appealed this finding to the High Court in Belfast. Capt. Reed's appeal was allowed but that of British Rail was dismissed, the Court finding that they had failed to ensure that water could be drained from the car deck and that the stern doors were strong enough; Capt. Perry, the previous manager was also criticised.
Only 10 crew members and 44 passengers survived, all male. All the women and children on board were lost, and all the senior officers were lost. With great humanity Stephen Cameron has included in the book brief biographies of all who were on board the Princess Victoria for her last voyage, passengers and crew, lost and saved, with their photographs where available.
I recommend this book, though it makes sad reading.
Lighthouses - by Lynn F. Pearson
(Shire Publications Ltd, Cromwell House, Church Street, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, HP27 9AA, England);
ISBN 0 7478 0556 3;
paperback, 64 pages,
104 colour and 6 monochrome photos,
£4.99 Stg in UK
A slim volume, generally well researched and accurate, providing a concise overview for the non-specialist reader.
Beginning with the earliest lighthouses and passing quickly over the mediaeval period the author describes the developments of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including the first rock lighthouses. The origins of Trinity House Lighthouse Service, the Northern Lighthouse Board, and the Commissioners of Irish Lights are briefly described. Light sources and optics are covered lucidly and succinctly, as are modern developments and automation.
The book mainly covers lighthouses of Great Britain but Irish lighthouses are mentioned also. It dates the light at Hook Head, which according to tradition was established by St Dubhán in the fifth century, only from the early twelfth century. South Rock Lighthouse, completed 14 years earlier than Bell Rock and the oldest wave-washed rock lighthouse in the world still standing, though discontinued as a lighthouse in 1877, is forgotten. Also, for Irish readers, it might have been of interest to mention that Alexander Mitchell was born in Dublin and that he lost his sight in childhood so that by the age of 16 he could no longer read. His engineering achievements went far beyond the patented Mitchell screw pile and mooring.
Lynn Pearson is an architectural historian.