Freeman was sole survivor of a tragic disaster on 9 February 1861, when his 12 fellow crew members drowned. This[…]
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Category: Hazards & Challenges
This category includes tales of shipwreck, rescues and disasters caused by storms, misfortune and war as well as the development of lighthouses, lifeboats and safety equipment such as lifejackets.
Hurricane hits Liverpool, 1839
Based on research in local newspapers of the time, this article illustrates some tragic losses and heroic rescue attempts off[…]
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Crossing the turbulent tides of the Severn
During his travels, Daniel Defoe finds himself at Aust, awaiting a ferry to cross the Severn Estuary from Gloucestershire, England[…]
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Pilots in the Bristol Channel: 1930s
The tidal range of the Bristol Channel has always been a challenge to shipping approaching from the Atlantic, and conditions[…]
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Perilous storms in Plymouth Sound: 1703
In this extract by Daniel Defoe, he reflects on the town of Plymouth, noting its importance as a safe anchorage[…]
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Bishop Rock and Wolf Rock lighthouses
Many ships have been lost off the westernmost rocks of the Isles of Scilly, one of the most well known[…]
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The rocky coast of Finistère: lighthouses, lifeboats and seaweed
Île Vierge marks the south-western limit of the English Channel and is a small islet off the approach to l’Aber[…]
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Ferocious storms and fearless lifeboat crews: 1880
The Coxswain and crew of the RNLI lifeboat ‘Lady Leigh’, ably assisted by the ‘rocket apparatus’ of the Coastguards, spent[…]
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1859 storms hit Wales and the West
In October 1859 there occurred a storm that wreaked such havoc around the coasts of Britain that is probably unique[…]
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Storm off Winterton Ness, 1692
Daniel Defoe describes a terrible disaster when 200 sailing colliers were lost off the east coast of England in 1692.[…]
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