Mary Ann Rogers – A True Victorian Heroine: The Stella Memorial, Southampton, Hampshire

• Short film I made with That’s Solent TV.  The SS Stella Memorial, Southampton. Film by Shan Robins (Twitter: @ShanTwoots ). Uploaded to You Tube 5.2.2016.

A few weeks ago, I made a short film with That’s Solent TV ‘s senior broadcaster, Shan Robins (see above). Shan and I made our film on a day with practically hurricane force winds! The microphone struggled a little bit, but nonetheless, hope you enjoy.

Shan Robins filming at the Stella memorial, Southampton. ©Come Step Back In Time

 SS Stella: Stewardess Mary Ann Rogers

The Stella Memorial (previously known as The Rogers Memorial and before that The Stella Stewardess Memorial Fountain) is located on the Western Esplanade in Southampton. The monument has intrigued me for a long time, having passed it numerous times on foot whilst en-route to the city’s heritage quarter. The memorial is dedicated to Southampton stewardess, Mary Ann Rogers (nee Foxwell) (1855-1899), who lived in Southampton and drowned when the SS Stella sank in March 1899.

Mary’s backstory is heart-breaking. Born in Frome, Somerset on 14th February, 1855. She had 6 siblings, 2 of which were born after the family moved to 19 Weston Shore Road, Southampton shortly before 1865. In 1871, aged 17, Mary moved out of home and went to work as a general servant for Charles Trubbett and his family. Mary didn’t go far, the Trubbett family lived next door at 17 Weston Shore Road.

On 20th March, 1876, Mary married Richard Rogers (c.1852-1880) at the Independent chapel, Northam, Southampton. The couple had 2 children, Mary Ellen (b.1878) and Frederick Richard (b.1881). The Rogers’ marital home was located in Chantry Road, Southampton. Richard, a seaman, worked for London and South Western Railway (LSWR). On 21st October, 1880, 4 years into their marriage, Mary 6 months pregnant with their 2nd child,  Richard drowned at sea. He was swept overboard on the SS Honfleur whilst working as a second mate.

His death was in an era long before the Health and Safety Executive, ambulance chasing lawyers and large compensation claims being brought by family members against negligent employers. Instead, in 1899, it was normal practice for railway companies to offer employment to the immediate family of deceased employees. A job would be offered to either the surviving spouse or eldest child in the family. The latter in this instance was, of course, not an option.

This precedent negated the company’s responsibility to have to pay either compensation or provide a livable pension to the family. In other words, pay money out with no return for an indefinite period of time. There was considerable pressure to accept employment. With a toddler already and another baby on the way, Mary had no option but to accept a job with LSWR.

Almost immediately after the birth of her son in January 1881, Mary began work as a stewardess for LSWR. Her earnings were 15 shillings a week plus any tips received from passengers. For a woman in her circumstances, this was a decent, stable income and in modern terms, a job with prospects. It also kept her family out of the workhouse.

Mary’s parents, James (d.1899) and Sophia (d. 1894) Foxwell, looked after their 2 grandchildren in their home at 22 Albert Street, Southampton while Mary spent long periods of time away at sea. The family eventually moved into 45 Clovelly Road, Southampton and named their home Frome Cottage, a nod to their Somerset roots.

At first, Mary suffered from severe seasickness but after 5 years began to find her ‘sea legs’ and did well in the role. She was popular with passengers and known for her cheery and caring disposition.  Dr John Price explains the role of a steamship stewardess:

…. was in essence that of a lady’s maid or nursery nurse and many of the duties were essentially domestic in nature, such as attending to the needs of ladies in their bedrooms or in the female lounge, and washing and tending to the children.

As one contemporary examination of the role of a stewardess reported, ‘by far the most appreciable services they render is in attending upon and administering to the wants of lady passengers during sea sickness and other illnesses on board.’

Now, though, as the Stella pitched and rolled, throwing its passengers around like skittles, the stewardesses were wholly responsible for the lives of the women and children, rather than simply for their domestic requirements.

(Heroes of Postman’s Park: Heroic Self-Sacrifice in Victorian London by Dr John Price, The History Press, 2015, pp.133-34)

The Stella memorial, Western Esplanade, Southampton, 2015. ©Come Step Back In Time

The SS Stella

The SS Stella was one of 3 sister ships built for LSWR at a cost of £62,000 (nearly £4 million in today’s money). Completed in October 1890, she had a top speed of 19 knots and was licensed to carry 712 passengers. Fitted-out with all mod-cons, electric lighting and 1st class cabins had en-suite toilets. There was even a Ladies’ Saloon and a Smoking Room for gentlemen. The Stella serviced the popular Southampton to Guernsey and Jersey route.

By 1899, Mary had become a senior stewardess. Accompanying Mary on that fateful Maundy Thursday in 1899, was Ada Preston. It was to be Ada’s 1st day at sea working as an under-stewardess on the Stella.  Ada had known Mary since the early 1890s when she lived at 74 Derby Road, just a few streets away from Mary’s home in Clovelly Road. Ada subsequently moved to 37 Radcliffe Road but they kept in touch. Dr John Price comments:

In fact, it is likely that the two women walked together to the quay in Southampton on the morning of 30 March 1899; the same quay where, the following day, relatives of those on board the Stella gathered anxiously to wait for news of their loved ones.

(Ibid. p.135)

Ada’s father had worked for London South-Western Railway but an accident had recently left him paralysed so, like Mary, she went to work for LSWR in order to support her family. Incidentally, SS Stella’s captain, William Reeks, also lived in the next road to Mary, Oxford Avenue.

The Sinking of the SS Stella

At 11.25am on the 30th March, 1899, the SS Stella left its Southampton berth, 10 minutes late. She was on her first daylight service of the season and a special Easter voyage. There were 174 passengers and 43 crew on board. The liner left Southampton in clear weather but several hours later, at 3pm, she hit a bank of patchy, heavy fog.  (Source: The Wreck of The Stella: Titanic of The Channel Islands)

Captain Reeks continued at high-speed, reportedly refusing to reduce his speed which also resulted in a miscalculation of his ship’s position. This decision would seal the SS Stella’s fate. At 3.30pm, the SS Stella, sounded its fog whistle and Captain Reeks set a look-out in the bows to listen for the Casquets’ foghorn. (Source: The Wreck of The Stella: Titanic of The Channel Islands)

At 4pm, the foghorn sounds and Reeks orders full speed Astern. He spins the wheel hard to Starboard and scrapes the Stella’s port side. Shortly after 4pm, the ship strikes Black Rock, one of the notorious Casquets group, 8 miles west of Alderney. The engines are torn from their mountings and water pours in along half her length. At 4.08pm, she vanishes beneath the surface. (Source: The Wreck of The Stella: Titanic of The Channel Islands)

The Stella was fitted with 2 lifeboats, 2 cutters, a dinghy and 2 Berthon collapsible boats. There were life jackets for 754 people and 36 life buoys. However, the lifeboats could only carry 148 passengers. There was not enough time to lower the 2 Berthon boats.

Five lifeboats were launched at rapid speed. One boat drifted until the Vera found it at 7am on Good Friday. Another boat drifted for 23 hours and was rescued off Cherbourg. The  port side lifeboat capsized after launching, stranding its passengers. It drifted for several hours then was righted by a high wave. The survivors managed to pull themselves in.

Unfortunately, they could not find the boat’s bung and the vessel filled, almost to its top, with seawater. The airtanks were the only reason the lifeboat managed to remain afloat. Survivors had to continually bail out the waist-height water with their hats and shoes. Four people died in this lifeboat, including its only woman survivor. The others were rescued by a French tug, Marsouin, at 3pm on Good Friday. One of the Marsouin’s crew straightaway located the bung on a chain!

The starboard cutter and dinghy, commanded by Second Officer Reynolds, contained mainly female passengers. These boats drifted for 15 hours in dense fog and rough seas until they were found 10 miles west of the Casquets at 7am on Good Friday.  (Source: S.S. Stella Disaster by Jake Simpkin)

Mary is said to have refused a lifeboat and insisted on staying with the ship. She declined a place in one of the lifeboats because she had just witnessed the port side vessel capsize and feared an extra person would determine the fate of the boat she had been invited to join.  Her heroic actions were reported in the Jersey Times (15th April, 1899):

Mrs Rogers, with great presence of mind and calmness, got all the ladies from her cabin to the side of the ship and after placing life belts on as many as were without them, she assisted them into the small boats. Then, turning around, she saw yet another young lady without a belt, whereupon she insisted on placing her own belt upon her and led her to the fast-filling boat. The sailors called out, ‘jump in, Mrs Rogers, jump in’, the water being then but a few inches from the top of the boat. ‘No, no!’ she replied; ‘if I get in I will sink the boat. Good-bye, Good-bye’ and then with uplifted hands she said, ‘Lord, save me’ and immediately the ship sank beneath her feet.’

(Heroes of Postman’s Park: Heroic Self-Sacrifice in Victorian London by Dr John Price, The History Press, 2015, p.136)

Unfortunately, detailed passenger lists are not available, these went down with the Stella. Many of the bodies were never recovered, including that of Mary and Ada. Captain Reeks also went down with his ship. Out of the 217 passengers and crew on board the SS Stella that day, 112 survived and 105 drowned. A total of 86 passengers and 19 crew members perished. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) sent a message of sympathy to the bereaved families via the LSWR offices.

Witnesses observed that the sea surrounding the wreck was littered with life belts, timber, luggage, personal effects and a furniture van. Some of the bodies were located in unusual places because of tidal flows. One was found in the mouth of the River Seine and the final corpse washed-up on a Guernsey beach 9 months after the sinking.  Many of the corpses were found floating still in their life belts leading to the conclusion that death had been caused by exposure rather than drowning.

The Board of Trade enquiry began on 27th April, 1899 at the Guildhall, Westminster. Its conclusion, ‘the SS Stella was not navigated with proper and seamanlike care.’ The wreck of Stella was discovered in June, 1973, by two Channel Islands divers. It lies in 49 metres (161 ft) of water south of the Casquets. The tragedy is sometimes referred to as ‘The Titanic of The Channel Islands’.

Me at the Stella memorial, Southampton, 2015. ©Come Step Back In Time

The Glover Family

Many tragic stories emerged following the sinking of the SS Stella. One of the saddest is the fate of the Glover children.  Seaman Thomas Glover drowned in the tragedy, he left behind a 2nd wife and 5 children from his previous marriage.

Thomas Glover’s 1st wife, Rosina Bella Glover, (nee Rickman) was born in Southampton, 1866. In July 1897, Rosina was run down by a Misselbrooke & Weston horse and cart in Shirley High Street, Southampton. Misselbrooke and Weston were an established local, family-run grocery business which had opened in 1848. The business was eventually sold to Tesco.

Shortly after his wife’s death, Thomas took his family to live in Jersey where he met his 2nd wife (name unknown).  Following Thomas’ death on the Stella, his 2nd wife did not wish to bring-up his 5 children. Consequently, on 10th June, 1899, she deposited them at Southampton Workhouse.  The siblings were split-up never to see each other again. The fate of the Glover children was as follows:

• Laura Mary Glover (1887-1899). Died of tuberculosis in a Dorset nursing home and is buried with her mother in Southampton’s Old Cemetery;
• Thomas Richard Glover (b.1889).  Sent to LSWR Servant’s Orphanage, Clapham, London in June, 1899. Thomas returned to Southampton to work in his Uncle George Samuel Payne’s butcher shop (102, 150 and 168 Northam Road as well as 95 Derby Road). He joined the Royal Navy and was sent to a shore base in 1911. Incidentally, George Samuel Payne became one of the 1st directors of Southampton Football & Athletic Company Ltd (8.7.1897) which then became known as Southampton Football Club;
• William George Glover (b. 1892) remained in the Workhouse until 1901 and then also went to work for his Uncle George before joining the Hampshire Regiment;
• Frederick Glover (baptised January 1894). Sent to Lady Breadalbane’s Home, also known as The Kenmore Orphanage, in Perthshire, Scotland. This was a small private establishment run by Lady Breadalbane herself. In 1912, a number of orphans created when the SS Titanic sank were also sent there too;
• Elsie Lilian Glover (b.1896). Fate unknown following her admission to the Workhouse.

SS Stella Memorial

The memorial was unveiled on Southampton’s Western Esplanade by Lady Emma Crichton (daughter of the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire) during the morning of Saturday 27th July, 1901. Present also at the unveiling were Mary’s sister, son and son-in-law.

The Stella memorial, Southampton. Once a drinking fountain but it has long since ceased to function as one. ©Come Step Back In Time

Artist Herbert Bryan’s original suite of designs, submitted to Southampton Borough Council and Estates Committee, included a drawing of a memorial seat. The Committee rejected the proposed seat in favour of a more appropriate and practical drinking fountain. However, the memorial has long since ceased to function as a drinking fountain and 3 bronze masks (grotesques) from whose mouths water flowed have now been removed. (Source: Southampton Memorials of Care For Man and Beast by A.G. K. Leonard, published by Bitterne Local History Society: Southampton, p.46).

Close-up of stone-carved roses on the Stella memorial. ©Come Step Back In Time

The memorial is carved in Portland stone topped by a stepped canopy, with a ball finial. There are 6 outer columns and on the cornice blocks beneath the roof, 32 roses were carved in the 13th century fashion, echoing the roses in the Southampton coat of arms.  (Source: Ibid. p.46)

The memorial was paid for by public subscription. The sum of £570  15 shillings 8d (approximately £35,000 in today’s money) was raised from 519 subscribers. Amongst the subscribers were Emily Davies (1830-1921) and Dr Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917).  Emily was a prominent feminist, educational reformer and suffragist born in Carlton Crescent, Southampton. Elizabeth was an English physician and feminist, the 1st Englishwoman to qualify as a physician and surgeon in Britain.

After the memorial costs had been covered, £50 was paid to Mary’s daughter as a wedding gift. Her son received £200 to be paid at intervals until his shipwright apprenticeship finished. A sum was also allocated to pay for Mary’s father’s funeral costs, he had died shortly after the Stella disaster.

There were 4 key individuals behind the memorial’s creation:

• Mrs Annie J. Bryans (1857-?). Wealthy lady who resided at Woollet Hall (now Loring Hall), North Cray, Kent. Annie wrote to the Editor of The Times (23.6.1899) to generate support for a memorial to  honour Mary’s heroic actions. She wrote: ‘Her beautiful deed shines out with a lustre which makes it not irreverent to say, “This that this woman hath done shall be told for a memorial of her.”‘ Annie made 4 voyages on the Stella and had been impressed with Mary’s good humour. Apparently, Mary had confided in Annie about her story of widowhood, struggle to be the sole support of her ageing parents and problems raising her 2 young children being away at sea so much. Mary had also told Annie she was intending to leave her seafaring life very soon. At the time of the Stella tragedy, Mary’s daughter, Mary Ellen (20) was to be married. Mary planned to live with her daughter and new husband, at the end of 1899. Annie also wrote a booklet about the Stella disaster, published by John Adams, a Southampton bookseller. Her booklet included the poem ‘The Wreck of the Stella’ written by the Poet Laureate, Alfred Austin (1835-1913). The booklet was handed out to VIPs and general public who attended the unveiling ceremony in 1901;
• Herbert William Bryans (1856-1925), Annie’s husband and well-respected stained glass artist. Herbert designed the memorial with input from his wife, Frances Cobbe and artist G.F. Watts.

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• Irish philanthropist and religious writer Frances Power Cobbe. 1860.

• Miss Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904). Frances was a well-known Victorian feminist pioneer and religious writer. Active in Bristol as a philanthropist, working in ragged schools, reformatories and workhouses before moving to London where she became a journalist. She focused upon promoting women’s interests and rights in wider contexts. She was one of the first members of the central committee of the National Society of Women’s Suffrage, established in 1871. Frances was a driving force behind the Stella memorial. (Source: Southampton Memorials of Care For Man and Beast by A.G. K. Leonard, published by Bitterne Local History Society: Southampton, p.44). Writing to The Times with G.F. Watts in 1899 (23rd June), she made a plea that a separate fund than that relating to the memorial be set-up for survivors and their families: ‘I have a great desire that our heroine’s death, as well as her life, should practically help others, and that through her, as it were, many sufferers from the Stella disaster may be benefited.’ She also wrote a lengthy tribute to Mary which was engraved on a bronze plaque fixed to the central pillar of the memorial. The tribute reads:

In memory of the heroic death of Mary Ann [e] Rogers Stewardess of the “Stella” who on the night of the 30th March, 1899, amid the terror of shipwreck aided all the women under her charge to quit the vessel in safety giving up her own life-belt to one who was unprotected. Urged by the sailors to makes sure her escape she refused lest she might endanger the heavily-laden boat. Cheering the departing crew with the friendly cry of “Good-bye, good-bye.” She was seen a few moments later as the “Stella” went down lifting her arms upwards with the prayer “Lord have me” then sank in the waters with the sinking ship.

Actions such as these – revealing steadfast performance of duty in the face of death, ready self-sacrifice for the sake of others, reliance on God – constitute the glorious heritage of our English race. They deserve perpetual commemoration, because among the trivial pleasures and sordid strike of the world, they recall to us forever the nobility and love-worthiness of human nature.

Bronze plaque with inscription by Frances Cobbe. Stella memorial. ©Come Step Back In Time

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• Platinum print photograph (1892) by Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933) of British artist George Frederic Watts. Known as ‘England’s Michelangelo’, Watts was one of the most important painters of the late Victorian period.

• George Frederic Watts RA (1817-1904) advised Annie, Herbert, Frances and their group on the design of the memorial. Local newspapers reported that the designer, Herbert: ‘acted under the advice of Miss Cobbe and G. F. Watts, R.A.’ but it is uncertain how much the latter, then nearing the end of his distinguished artistic career, contributed to the actual design of the memorial.’ (Source: Southampton Memorials of Care For Man and Beast by A.G. K. Leonard, published by Bitterne Local History Society: Southampton, p.46).

Postcard, issued in 1903, showing the memorial on Western Esplanade, Southampton. There were many postcards of local views and landmarks of Southampton in circulation at this time. This postcard was a particularly popular image which was photographed by Whitfield Cosser of Hanover Buildings, Southampton. The cannons shown here, British nine-pounders, were spoils of war from the Crimean campaign (1853-56) and were smelted down during World War Two.

 

 

Celebrating Cunard’s 175th Anniversary: Memories Of Glamour On The High Seas

Queen Mary 2, Sunday 3rd May, 2015, Southampton before sailing out into Southampton Water with her sister ships, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. Queen Mary 2 has 2,000 bathrooms, 3,000 telephones, 280,000 square yards of fitted carpets and 5,000 stairs. ©Come Step Back In Time

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• Poster produced for Southern Railways (SR) to advertise the first sailing of Queen Mary, and tickets to the event from London train stations. The Queen Mary could accommodate 776 first-class, 784 tourist and 579 third-class passengers, together with 1101 officers and crew. She also won the Blue Riband of the Atlantic in 1936 and 1938, and served as a troop ship in World War Two. Artwork by Leslie Carr, who painted marine subjects and architectural and river scenes and designed posters for the SR, London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) and British Railways (BR). Dimensions: 1016 mm x 1270 mm. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Sunday 3rd May, 2015 – Sailing of The ‘3 Queens’ From Southampton, Hampshire

In 2015, one of the most famous names in shipping, Cunard, celebrates its 175th anniversary.  On Sunday, 3rd May, I joined the crowds of onlookers at Mayflower Park and Town Quay, Southampton (yes, I did have to make a dash between both locations to get the best images!), to witness the historic spectacle of Cunard’s ‘3 Queens’ sailing out into the Solent.

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•  A view of a restaurant aboard Queen Mary 2. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Queen Mary 2, Sunday 3rd May, 2015, Southampton.©Come Step Back In Time

©Come Step Back In Time

Queen Mary 2 (2003) led her sister ships, Queen Victoria (2007) and Queen Elizabeth (2010), on a ‘thank-you’ procession down Southampton Water and into the Solent. Queen Elizabeth was heading for Hamburg, Queen Victoria to Guernsey and Queen Mary 2 to New York.

Queen Mary 2, Sunday 3rd May, 2015, Southampton. ©Come Step Back In Time

Queen Elizabeth, Sunday 3rd May, 2015, Southampton. ©Come Step Back In Time

©Come Step Back In Time

Queen Victoria, Sunday 3rd May, 2015, sailing past Mayflower Park, Southampton to join Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth. ©Come Step Back In Time

Queen Mary 2 setting sail on Sunday 3rd May, 2015. ©Come Step Back In Time

Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth set sail, Sunday 3rd May, 2015. ©Come Step Back In Time

Cunard’s distinctive red funnels belonging to the ‘3 Queens’ can be seen sailing off into Southampton Water on their respective voyages, Sunday 3rd May, 2015. ©Come Step Back In Time

Cunard’s Early History

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• Sir Samuel Cunard, founder of Cunard Line in 1839.

Cunard Line was formed in 1839 by Canadian born, Sir Samuel Cunard (1787-1865), who had answered an advertisement placed by the British Admiralty for bidders to operate a timetabled steamship service to carry the Royal Mail between Britain and the North American colonies. Sir Samuel was the son of a master carpenter and timber merchant who had fled the American Revolution (1765-1783) and settled in Halifax, Canada.

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• PS Britannia, 1840. Model (scale 1:48). She was built for the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Co, which became the Cunard Steamship Co Ltd. Her 3 sister-ships, the Acadia, the Caledonia, and the Columbia were also built on the Clyde at the same time.  There was accommodation for a 150 passengers. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) crossed on the Britannia in 1842, which he recorded in his ‘American Notes’. (Photo by Science & Society Picture Library/SSPL/Getty Images)

Despite the considerable risks involved in tendering for this contract (no ship, no maritime experience, huge financial risks, stiff penalties for late delivery of mail etc.), Sir Samuel uprooted his family and moved to Britain. On July 4th, 1940, steamship Britannia left Liverpool, arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 12 days and 10 hours later, averaging a speed of 8.5 knots. Three more ships joined the fleet and by the end of 1840, Cunard offered a scheduled weekly service across the Atlantic.

• ‘175 Years. Forever Cunard – A Voyage Through History’ by Cunard. Uploaded to You Tube 12.1.15.

A Celebration of 175 Years of Cunard – Exhibition Southampton City Art Gallery

From 1st May until 5th September 2015, there is an exhibition of rarely seen images from the Cunard archive on display at Southampton City Art Gallery. Also featured will be iconic a portrait of the QE2 that was presented to the city by Cunard in 2008 following the ship’s last day in Southampton, her home port.

The exhibition also includes popular posters from the eras which were used by travel agents to sell ocean travel in the most attractive light. A dedicated ‘wall of fame’ will take visitors back to one of the most glamorous eras as they discover which Hollywood stars graced Cunard’s decks.

Southampton City Art Gallery is open Monday to Friday, 10am-3pm and on Saturdays 10am-5pm. Admission to the Gallery and this special exhibition is free. For further information, click here.

A list of free Cunard talks taking place at the Gallery over the coming months can be found here.

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• 4th September 1947, Southampton, actress Elizabeth Taylor is pictured on board Queen Mary with her two French Poodle dogs, ready to return to America after a short stay in London (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Notable Cunard Liners

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• 15th April, 1912: Carpathia arrives to pick up survivors in lifeboats from the Titanic. Original Publication: The Graphic – pub. 1912 (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
• Carpathia – Launched 1902, maiden voyage 5th May, 1903, rescued 705 survivors from doomed liner Titanic, torpedoed southeast of Ireland and west of the Isles of Scilly by German submarine U-55, 17th July, 1918;

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• c.1909: The dining room aboard the Lusitania. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
• Lusitania – Launched 1906,  maiden voyage 1907, torpedoed by German U-boat U-20 on Friday 7th May, 1915 with a loss of 1,191 lives out of a total passenger and crew of 1,962, of the 139 American citizens aboard the ship, 128 lost their lives. This maritime tragedy initiated a chain of events that resulted in America declaring war on Germany on 6th April, 1917. In 2015, it is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania and Cunard’s Queen Victoria is currently on a commemorative voyage (sailing until 10th May). On board will be a number of events as well as an on-board temporary exhibition of china, silver, brochures, postcards, memorabilia, and souvenirs that will bring to life Lusitania’s story. On Sunday 10th May, Sea City Museum, Southampton will be offering free entry to all visitors as part of their special family day. Expert on the Lusitania, Chris Frame, will be there to give a talk on the ship’s history, 10.15am-11.15am, cost £3 (pre-booking essential).

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• Passengers drinking in one of the bars on board the Mauretania as it draws into Fishguard, Pembroke. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

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• The Dining Saloon of the Mauretania c.1900. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
• Mauretania – Launched 1906, maiden voyage 17th November, 1907, Blue Riband, out of service 1934 and scrapped 1935;

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• Interior of the Grill Room aboard the Aquitania, c.1920. (Photo by Paul Popper/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
• Aquitania – Launched 1913, maiden voyage 30th May, 1914, last surviving four-funnelled ocean liner, Blue Riband, served in both World Wars, scrapped in 1950;

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• c.1920: A line of women waving goodbye to the vessel Laconia as she leaves Liverpool. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
• Laconia – Launched in 1921, maiden voyage 25th May, 1922, sunk by torpedo from German U-boat U-156 on 12th September, 1942. Aboard were 2,732,  crew, British and Polish soldiers, civilian passengers and Italian POWs.  The final survivor count varies, different sources estimate that there were somewhere between 1,104 and 1,500. Captain of the German U-boat, Werner Hartenstein (1908-1943), ordered his submarine to surface and go back for survivors, this extraordinary turn of events led to what is known as ‘The Laconia Incident.’

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• The luxurious wood-finished 1st class smoking saloon of the Laconia. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

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• The 2nd class saloon of the Laconia, with a painted ceiling and pillared colonnade. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

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• The observation saloon of the Queen Mary serves as the sleeping quarters for American soldiers, while the vessel carries out her duties as a troopship during World War Two. Original Publication: Picture Post – 1825 – Queen Mary troopship – unpub. (Photo by Haywood Magee/Getty Images)

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• The luxury dining room of the Queen Mary serves as a mess for American soldiers, while the vessel carries out her duties as a troopship during World War Two. Original Publication: Picture Post – 1825 – Queen Mary  troopship – unpub. (Photo by Haywood Magee/Getty Images)
• Queen Mary – Launched 1934, maiden voyage 27th May, 1936, Blue Riband, served as a troopship in World War Two and after the war G.I. Brides were transported on her back to America, retired from service 9th December, 1967, now a hotel ship, restaurant and museum in Long Beach Harbour, California;

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• 10th July, 1947: The Queen Mary at Southampton after her refitting at the end of World War Two during which she was used as a troopship. (Photo by J. A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

• ‘Queen Mary Crew Members’, interviews with crew members who served on the Queen Mary in her heyday. Uploaded to You Tube 22.9.14.

• ‘Queen Mary War Brides’, former war bride, June Allen, recalls the thrill of coming to America on the Queen Mary. Uploaded to You Tube 22.9.14.

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• The cocktail bar and observation lounge of the Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary. The bar is made of Macassar ebony with a mural by Alfred R. Thomson behind. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

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• Dining-room aboard Queen Elizabeth in 1946. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

• Queen Elizabeth – Launched 1938, pre-war maiden voyage 3rd March, 1940, in World War Two she served as a troopship and after the war G.I. Brides were transported on her back to America, her service career as a passenger liner began officially on her post-war maiden voyage, 16th October, 1946, she was retired in 1968, destroyed by fire in 1972;

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• Smoking room aboard the Queen Elizabeth, 1950. In this shot, some of the chairs have ropes securing them to the floor, presumably to stop them sliding about in rough seas. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

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• 1974, view of a swimming pool showing passengers having fun, aboard Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), (Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
• QE2 (Queen Elizabeth 2) – Launched 1967, maiden voyage 2nd May, 1969, retired from service 2008 and now laid-up in Dubai awaiting her final fate which it is hoped will be transformation into a luxury floating hotel, similar to Queen Mary;

Hollywood Glamour Aboard Cunard’s Luxury Liners

In 1997, I worked as a research assistant on Romancing Hollywood, a conference and exhibition at Millais Gallery, Southampton. The exhibition celebrated the glamour of Hollywood as it was perceived from the 1930s until the 1950s in Britain. Focussing mainly on Southampton, Romancing Hollywood, explored the ways in which glamour was not only received by local people via Hollywood but also created.

During the 1930s Southampton, as a gateway to the rest of the world, became a mecca for stars of stage and screen travelling on Cunard’s popular transatlantic route to New York. The exhibition concentrated on Cunard’s Queen Mary whose maiden voyage departed from Southampton on 27th May, 1936 and the Queen Elizabeth, launched in 1938.

I had the privilege of interviewing crew members who had worked on the original ‘Queens’, amongst other luxury transatlantic liners, during the golden-age of pre and post-war ocean travel. Here are a few extracts from those interviews that were published in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition (Romancing Hollywood by A. Massey, E. Stoffer, A. Forsyth and J. Bushnell,1997, ISBN 1 874011 62 1).  All interviewees described what life was like for the ordinary Cunard employee aboard these glamourous and luxurious ‘floating hotels’.

Jack Barker was born in 1919 and worked in a London Hotel as a Page Boy before going to work for Cunard in 1937 (Andania). After World War Two, Jack worked on the Queen Elizabeth (1938) for 16 years, rising to position of Head Waiter: ‘You would start the morning at half past six. Before the restaurant opened at eight o’clock for breakfast, you would have a scrub out to do, and you had to get into your uniform, which you had to buy yourself, and then breakfast went on till ten, and then after that you had to get your station ready for lunch, and you had to be in the restaurant by  half past twelve, you didn’t get any time off. You got used to it. I must have met hundreds of stars. Alfred Hitchcock, he just took a liking to me as a waiter.’

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• Crew members working in the engine room of the liner Queen Mary during a transatlantic crossing, 12th August, 1939. Original Publication : Picture Post – 198 – Atlantic Crossing – pub. 1939 (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Ralph Clarke was born in 1929 and worked on the railway boats at Southampton Docks for 6 months prior to starting work as a Trimmer on board the Queen Mary (1936) in April 1948. He worked on board the Queen Elizabeth (1938) in the late 1940s for 3 trips after an accident on board the Queen Mary, to which he returned: ‘Everything was SO BIG, extraordinarily big for the first month I was virtually lost on the Queen Mary. It was a massive, great big, beautiful ship. Danny Kaye and his wife and two children came down and he would say ‘Hello everybody,’ and he gave a song, one or two chaps in the crew used to be able to play the piano. We had Bing Crosby, we then had Paul Robeson and Jack Dempsey the boxer and he used to come down and say, ‘If anyone feels like a spar with me you are welcome to do it? They used to mix, no matter how big a star, they used to talk to us as if we were human beings and they used to be great friends.’

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• 1948, Bellboys from the Queen Mary  being inspected by the chief steward prior to leaving Southampton for New York (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

John Dempsey was born in 1920 and first went to sea in 1934 on the Mauretania (1907) as a Bell Boy at the age of fourteen. While working on the Berengaria (formerly the SS Imperator but after being brought by Cunard, sailed under the name Berengaria), he volunteered to assist the masseur, Arthur Mason in the Turkish Bath. When he moved to the Queen Mary (1936), Arthur Mason requested that John rejoin him, which he did until the until the outbreak of war. John joined the Queen Elizabeth (1938) for its post-war maiden voyage and worked in the Turkish Bath as a masseur until 1960: ‘The majority of first class passengers, mostly the Jewish community, loved their Turkish bath and massage. The hours of the gentlemen were 7am to 10am and from 2pm to 7.30pm. These people were running around upstairs and in the smoking lounges and the observation bars and had to behave themselves to a certain extent. What they wanted was to take their clothes off and be normal. So they came to the Turkish bath, off with their clothes and, ‘Hey John, go and get me a pint of beer’. They used to tell stories and do drinks. They were letting their hair down, for about the one and half hours that they were there. These were film stars, all lovely people, great people. I had a Christmas party in the Turkish bath with Noel Coward. It was a Christmas trip and he said to us ‘Have you got any parties?’ Well all the ship had parties, a fellow called Tommy MacDonald and the ship’s dispenser. We were drinking and telling stories, and that was our party. Coward sent me a Christmas card another year.

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• Swimming Pool on-board the 2nd class of the Queen Mary. March the 3rd, 1936 (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images) [Swimming Pool der zweiten Klasse auf der ‘Queen Mary’, Southampton, England, Photographie, 3,3,1936]

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• Passengers on the Queen Mary eating dinner in the luxurious cabin class restaurant during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, May 1936. The radiating light on the map by Macdonald Gill at the far end of the room constantly pinpoints the vessel’s location. (Photo by Hudson/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Terry Hargroves was born in 1928, after demob from the Air Force he worked on the Queen Mary. Terry started by washing dishes, working his way up over 14 years to a Bedroom Steward in first class: ‘I had a set of rooms, which usually depended on something called a section, which was a set of about 5, 6, or 10 rooms. You were responsible for keeping them clean, making of all the beds, and attending to the passengers that used them. You took the passengers on, took their luggage and sorted that out. You fetched and carried for them and you tried to look after them the best you could until they got off the other end. The passengers lived in the middle of the ship and crew lived at either end. Either end of the boat there was part of the boat tied up. On the back end of the boat there was an area where the ropes came in to tie the ship up and for the cargo. That big area was designated as the crews’ ‘Pig and Whistle’. They had a little bar, that was the crews’ pub. You found an empty beer barrel or you sat on the bollards or an empty beer crate. Every now and again Bob Hope or Tommy Cooper came down there. Quite a few people were persuaded to come down. The crew would decorate it with a few flags and couple of spotlights. I think Bob Hope said that he’d played in many theatres but he rarely played in a sewer.’

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• 12th August 1939: Staff on the Queen Mary pass the time during a transatlantic crossing in one  the ‘Pig And Whistle’. Original Publication: Picture Post – 198 – Atlantic Crossing – pub. 1939 (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Getty Images)

• Bob Hope and Loretta Young were among a number of American film actors and actresses who arrived at Southampton on the Queen Mary for the Royal Command Film Performance in London on November, 1947. (Photo by Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images)

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• A steward unpacking a passenger’s luggage while a stewardess arranges a vase of flowers on the Queen Mary, 1948. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

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• Cabin class passengers enjoy a tea in the middle of the Atlantic on the promenade deck of the Queen Mary c.1939. Original Publication: Picture Post – 198 – Atlantic Crossing – pub. 1939 (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Getty Images)

Frank Makinson was born in 1925, he joined the Queen Mary (1936) in 1944 while serving as a troopship and stayed with her until 1967 for her last voyage to Long Beach. Frank continued to work in the pantry of both the Queen Elizabeth and QE2 until 1970: ‘We always supplied the in-between meals, sometimes we also had a night pantry which I was in for quite a while. When there was music and dancing going on, on the ships, we had to supply sandwiches and various things to these rooms where they had these sessions. I remember getting an order for cold meat from Victor Mature, and he stressed that he wanted a whole turkey sliced up. It was just about the time his Samson and Delilah [1950] picture was about, so I think he wanted to let everyone know that he was a big eater. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were on the Queen Elizabeth towards the end, that was when they had recently got back together, and she had a great big fancy ring. I didn’t see them, but I had dealings with regards to the stewardess, she used to want Stilton cheese for them. One of them liked a lot of the blue of the Stilton, and one liked a lot of the white. Just who was what, I don’t know.’

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• Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton on the QE2; c.1960; New York. (Photo by Art Zelin/Getty Images)

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• Cabin verandah grill on the Queen Mary – postcard from 1930s. (Photo by Apic/Getty Images)

John Minto was born in 1927, he joined Cunard in 1949 as a cabin steward aboard the Queen Mary (1936). He worked his way up to first-class waiter and ultimately became the Captain’s Tiger (waiter). John left the Queen Mary in 1955 and became Mayor of Southampton in 1978/9: People like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Winston Churchill used to go in the Verandah Grill, they used to go incognito and the cost of going in there for a meal was ten shillings which was fifty pence. In the Veranda Grill, everything was on tap. If you wanted oysters, you got oysters, if you wanted caviar, you got caviar. Each kitchen, each galley was divided into specific areas. You had the pastry, the soup and the grills. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor never came down to the main restaurant, they always went to the Verandah Grill. The thing that always struck me about them was the amount of luggage they had.’

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• Cabin bedroom on Queen Mary – postcard is from 1930s (Photo by Apic/Getty Images)

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• A bootblack cleans the passengers’ shoes on the Queen Elizabeth (1938), as she makes her way from Southampton to New York, May 1964. (Photo by Bert Hardy Advertising Archive/Getty Images)

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• 20th October 1964, American actress Carroll Baker, born 1931, on board the Queen Mary on her way to London for the premiere of her film ‘The Carpetbaggers’ (Photo by Paul Popper/Popperfoto/Getty Images

Beatrix Brice Miller & “The Old Contemptibles” – Stories From The Great War Part 5

Bronze memorial plaque dedicated to “The Old Contemptibles” who sailed from Southampton Docks in 1914. Located at the crossroads of Platform Road and Central Road on the building to the right of Dock Gate 4, Southampton Docks. The plaque was unveiled on 9th April, 1950. Poem inscription is by British war poet Beatrix Brice Miller (1877-1959) and is reprinted in full below. ©Come Step Back in Time.

Oh little mighty Force that stood for England !
That, with your bodies for a living shield,
Guarded her slow awaking, that defied
The sudden challenge of tremendous odds
And fought the rushing legions to a stand
Then stark in grim endurance held the line.
O little Force that in your agony
Stood fast while England girt her armour on,
Held high our honour in your wounded hands,
Carried our honour safe with bleeding feet
We have no glory great enough for you,
The very soul of Britain keeps your day !
Procession ? – Marches forth a Race in Arms ;
And, for the thunder of the crowd’s applause,
Crash upon crash the voice of monstrous guns,
Fed by the sweat, served by the life of England,
Shouting your battlecry across the world.
Oh, little mighty Force, your way is ours,
This land inviolate your monument.

‘To The Vanguard’ (1914) by Beatrix Brice Miller (1877-1959)

Regular readers will know my penchant for finding unusual historical objects. I recently came across the above bronze memorial whilst taking a Sunday stroll along Southampton’s waterside. I stood reading the poem inscription by Beatrix Brice Miller and was intrigued to find-out more about the plaque’s back-story.

I identified three questions which would need further investigation:

1. Who were “The Old Contemptibles”?;
2. Who was Beatrix Brice Miller?;
3. Why was this memorial plaque commissioned in the first place?

Before embarking upon my research quest, I first needed to correctly identify the memorial. I consulted the War Memorials Archive (managed by the Imperial War Museums) which is easy to use and publicly available on-line.  Armed with dates, facts and figures, I then spent several months conducting further research which included visiting local archive collections. Finally, I had answers to all three questions. I am glad this object piqued my interest, the back-story is really rather fascinating.

Who Were “The Old Contemptibles”?

In August 1914, Southampton was designated No. 1 Military Embarkation Port under the command of Major General Charles Guinand Blackader (1869-1921) CB, DSO.  By the end of November 1914, Southampton had embarked 359,417 officers and men to the Western Front.

At midnight on 12th August, 1914, staff at the London General Headquarters of The British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) were requested to report to the Polygon Hotel, Southampton before embarking the following day for Le Havre. On August 13th, Lieutenant General Sir James Grierson (1859-1914) and Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928) arrived at Southampton’s Dolphin Hotel. Apparently, Haig’s sister, brother-in-law, Chief of Staff, John Gough and two aides-de-camp also arrived at the Dolphin the following morning and partook in a ‘sumptuous champagne lunch’. Later that evening the military men embarked on the Comrie Castle bound for Le Havre.  Southampton become an important gateway to the Western Front.

The Dolphin Hotel, Southampton. ©Come Step Back In Time.

In 1914, the B.E.F. were made-up of seven divisions of British regular army and reserves. The B.E.F fought at the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, Aisne and Ypres. On 26th December, 1914 the B.E.F. were divided into First and Second Armies (further divisions were created later on in the war). B.E.F. remained the official name of the British Army in France and Flanders throughout World War One.

Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) is thought to have made a number of dismissive comments about the B.E.F. including the infamous Order, issued on 19th August, 1914 (the original of which has never been found), to: ‘..exterminate the treacherous English and walk over General French’s [Field Marshal John J. P. French – 1852-1925] contemptible little army.’ Survivors of the B.E.F. decided to call themselves and their post-war veterans’ association, “The Old Contemptibles”. For more information about the truth and myth behind this nickname, see the veterans’ website.

According to the veterans’ website, the qualifying criteria for calling oneself a member of “The Old Contemptibles“, is:

To qualify as an “Old Contemptible” the soldier would have to have seen active service actually in France and Flanders between 5 August and 22 November 1914. For this he would qualify for the medal known as the 1914 Star. This medal was introduced in 1917. In 1919 a clasp bearing the qualifying dates was authorised and given to soldiers who had actually been under fire between those dates. It was also known as the “Mons Star”.

At the very top of Southampton’s memorial plaque, there is a relief detail depicting the “1914 Star”/”Mons Star”, identifiable by its distinctive colours of red, white and blue.

Who was Beatrix Brice Miller?

Beatrix was born in Chile, South America in 1877. Her mother was Kent-born Mary Louise Brice Miller (née Walker). Beatrix enjoyed all the trappings of a privileged upbringing, including a private education. When her father died, she moved back to England where she lived in Goring-on-Thames.

When World War One broke-out Beatrix, who was now in her late thirties, travelled to France alongside her mother to serve with the B.E.F. The women became Red Cross VAD ‘Lady Helpers’.  They were amongst some of the first women to arrive in France at the start of the War. They would have had to obtain special permission from the War Office to make such a journey. Travelling to France was a dangerous experience, even in the early days of the War. Brice Miller and her mother sailed across the Channel and continued their journey by motorcar. Women who undertook these self-funded trips, were usually from very wealthy and influential backgrounds. The experience had a profound effect on Beatrix and when the War ended she dedicated herself to supporting “The Old Contemptibles”.

Brice Miller was a prolific writer and highly regarded poet. Her first poem, ‘To the Vanguard’ was published in The Times on 2nd November, 1916. The poem was written to remember the first soldiers who went to fight in France in 1914. This is the poem that features on the Southampton memorial plaque. Brice Miller also organised a commemorative event at the Royal Albert Hall in 1917 with General Sir William Pulteney (1861-1941) GCVO, KCB, KCMG, DSO to honour the B.E.F.

In August 1939, the BBC broadcast a documentary that Brice Miller had worked on several years earlier. The programme explored B.E.F’s involvement in World War One, particularly in relation to the fighting which took place from Mons to Ypres. Brice Miller died on the 25th May, 1959, aged 82, 9 years after the unveiling of “The Old Contemptibles” memorial plaque.

Printed below are some of Brice Miller’s poems which were published in the slim anthology (date unknown), To The Vanguard and Other Songs To The Seven Divisions . She dedicates the publication: ‘To The Fallen, the Disabled, the Prisoners, and those still Fighting.’

‘Army of August’

Five score thousand men at arms marching in
the van.
Bare your heads and stand aside !
See them in their tragic pride
Swinging grandly down the way.
Bandaged feet that never stay ;
Aching eyes that may not sleep
Watch and ward unceasing keep ;
Fighting to the blood-choked breath,
Fighting through the gates of death
See, beyond your praise or tears,
Leading ever down the years,
Salute the men who died.

Where e’er we march they lead the way,
We follow on the beat,
The drum beat of a marching host
Re-echoes from the farthest post.
The endless tramp that calls beyond
Till throbbing heart, and will respond.
Oh, follow, follow, none may stay,
They blazed for us the scarlet way
To track their unseen feet.

Where e’er we fight they fight ahead,
We feel their ghostly shield,
The force that never knows defeat
Is with us where the Armies meet
And men go up to battle, then

We know our strength, the Souls of men.
We see them fighting swift and strong,
We hear them cheering us along,
On every shell swept field.

Five score thousand men at arms marching in
the van.
Bare your heads, and stand aside!
Immortal, though for you they died.
England, our Land, awake at last,
Across thy heart they’re marching past.
Living, they suffered all for thee,
Dying, they led thy sons to thee,
Thine everlasting pride.

‘Guns of Le Gateau’

Guns of the Fifth Division on you depend this day
The destinies of Europe, you cover here the way,
If you go, then the army goes,
And Paris lies before her foes.

WE have fought since early morning
And the end is drawing near;
They knew we had no warning
Of the odds that face us here.
We have fought since early morning,
They knew we had no warning
Of the trap before us yawning,
But we’ve pulled the army clear.

We have fought the fires of hell,
My guns, O my guns !
Fought together what befell,
My guns, O my guns !
We have fought the fires of hell,
Fought together what befell,
And you served our need right well,
My guns, O my guns !

The glorious Line are fighting
Like tigers all the day;
And the gunners firing, sighting,
Steady to be slain or slay.
The glorious Line are fighting,
With the gunners firing, sighting,
And we’ve stunned that host afrighting,
And we’ve saved the Force to-day.

For our men don’t know defeat,
My guns, O my guns !
And they’ll give you glory meet,
My guns, O my guns !
For our men don’t know defeat,
And they’ll give you glory meet,
For you’ve covered the retreat,
My guns, O my guns !

There’s a zone of death around,
Where the hail of shrapnel streams ;
And behind they’ve trenched the ground
So we can’t get up the teams.
There’s a zone of death around,
Where the lydite blasts the ground,
So there’s no way to be found,
To break through and bring the teams.

But there’s not a round to fire,
My guns, O my guns !
And the dead are piling higher,
My guns, O my guns !
But there’s not a round to fire
And the dead are piling higher,
And the orders to retire.
My guns, O my guns !

You are battered, smashed and shaken,
And the foe will profit naught,
All your sights and breech-blocks taken
Left, the havoc they have wrought.
You are battered, smashed and shaken,
All that we can carry taken,
And we leave you here forsaken,
By the dead with whom you fought.

But I swear by God’s own name,
My guns, O my guns !
I will bring you back again,
My guns, O my guns !
From Berlin, across the slain
Every yard of fire and pain,
I will bring you back again,
My guns, O my guns !

‘Their Job’

When Regulars went on their regular job
To fight in the regular way,
When every munition of war was short
And a laggard land at bay.

When every Platoon did Battalion’s work,
While Officers fought till they fell,
Fought through the day but to fight all night
The fresh flung horde of hell.

Fought when the guns were overwhelmed
In number, size, and power,
Fought while the column dealt out shells
Reckoned in sums per hour.

Fought while they marched the nightmare leagues,
Or crawled when their feet were done,
Fought while they scraped a shallow trench
They fought and by God they won !

Now Divisions hold what Battalions held
With an army in strong support,
And cover is found in a world underground,
In the land where the vanguard fought.

For every gun that speaks from the East,
A giant shouts it dumb,
For every shell that rips our ranks,
Tenfold revenge doth come.

Why was this memorial plaque commissioned in the first place?

An Epic That Will Never Die – Great day at docks or Old Contemptibles.

Nearly 36 years ago, the men described by the Kaiser as a “contemptible little army” marched through the gateway of Southampton Docks on their way to France. Many who had not set foot in the town since then came back to the Docks yesterday afternoon to revive old memories, when a commemorative tablet was unveiled to recall the sailing in 1914 of the Old Contemptibles.

(Southern Daily Echo, 10.4. 50)

“The Old Contemptibles” memorial plaque was unveiled on Sunday the 9th April, 1950 on the side of the former Docks’ Post Office and Telegraph building, Southampton Docks. It is mounted on the front of the building which stands at the entrance to Dock Gate 4 (the same location where the Titanic sailed from in 1912). It is through this Dock Gate that “The Old Contemptibles” marched in August 1914, en-route to the Western Front.

The suggestion to erect this memorial was first made before World War Two by Hector Young, O.B.E., J.P. Young was patron of the Southampton branch of “The Old Contemptibles”. The last remaining survivor of the 1914 Christmas truce and an “Old Contemptible”,  Alfred Anderson, died aged 109 in 2005.

In April 1950, over six hundred veterans from the association were in attendance at the ceremony and the plaque was unveiled by Admiral of the Fleet Sir Algernon Willis, G.C.B, K.B.E, D.S.O, R.N. (1889–1976). The association paid for two-thirds of the plaque and one-third was paid for by Ms Beatrix Brice Miller. Brice Miller was also part of the unveiling ceremony. It must have been a proud and poignant moment for her to be able to witness such an occasion.

Thirty-six years ago they were the officers and men of the B.E.F. on their way to France and Belgium, to take their place on the flank of the Allied battle-front. They covered themselves with glory in the late summer and autumn of 1914, and played a decisive part in checking the advance of the German hordes. In particular, the B.E.F. saved the Channel ports. Had those ports fallen into enemy hands the threat of invasion would have been very real.

(Southern Daily Echo, 10.4. 50)

The former Southampton Docks’ Post Office and Telegraph building, south side of Platform Road, Dock Gate 4. The memorial is located on the front of the building. ©Come Step Back In Time.

The Pier’s Bicentenary Celebrated In BBC Documentary ‘The End of The Pier Show’

©Come Step Back In Time.

The handsome Pier which your lordship has so kindly consented to open may be taken as an additional proof of the desire of the residents of this place to render their town as attractive and beneficial as possible to the numerous visitors who are in the habit of resorting thither.

It was certainly a singular thing with respect to an enterprise of this novel character, which would have been almost impossible 50 years ago, and if steam and electricity had not brought Hastings so near the metropolis. It was originally intended to associate a harbour with the pier, but that part of the scheme had been abandoned.

It happened he [Earl Granville, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports] had not seen many of the most modern piers, but, as far as his experience went, he had never seen a more beautiful work designed for enjoyment, recreation, and restoration of health.  It appeared to him that this was a peerless pier – a pier without a peer, excepting, perhaps, the unfortunate peer who had the honour of addressing them.

He would only add further that he trusted the pier would give enjoyment, recreation, and restoration of health not to hundreds, not to thousands, but to millions of their fellow-countrymen, that it would give some reasonable profit at all events to the shareholders, who had actuated not so much by purely commercial motives as by an honourable public spirit, and that it would confer all the advantages upon that ancient town and delightful watering-place which the promoters of the undertaking had a right to expect.

(Quotes from a contemporary newspaper, 6th August, 1872, reporting on the opening of Hastings Pier)

Hastings pier, November, 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

It was announced last week that the first planks of wooden decking have been laid at Hastings Pier in East Sussex. This event marks the first stage of a £14m project which will result in the historic Victorian pier reopening, Spring 2015. Back in October 2010, this iconic structure suffered 95% damage in an arson attack and its future looked very bleak indeed. But thanks to determination shown by the people of Hastings, a new chapter in the pier’s history has begun, which will see its reinvention as a vibrant seaside attraction, capable of meeting the demands of the 21st Century visitor.

Hastings Pier, November 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

The surviving Edwardian balustrade will be repaired at the Parade Extension, metal trusses, and beams, missing bracing, damaged columns and missing deck sections will also be replaced and/or repaired. The rest of the structure will be rebuilt/refurbished in a new, contemporary, design.

Hastings Pier, November 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

The Grade II listed landmark became property of Hastings Pier Charity (HPC) in August 2013. So far HPC have raised £13.7m but need a further £500k to complete the project.  This regeneration enterprise is funded via a combination of £11.4m awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund together £2m raised by public donation and institutional sources. It is hoped that the £500k shortfall will be filled via a Community Share Scheme, whereby members of the public have until early April 2014 to purchase £1 shares (to a minimum value of £100 per person). The first £200k of this shortfall is required to fund a walkway over the sea. Hastings Pier was originally built under an 1867 Act of Parliament which allowed local investors to subscribe to its construction. Back then, a total of £25,000 was raised and the pier cost £23,250 to build.

Hastings Pier, November, 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

The rise and fall and rise again of Hastings Pier is now the subject of a major new BBC documentary by Producer/Director Matthew Wheeler. The End of The Pier Show will be shown on BBC2, at 5.30pm, Sunday 16th March. The programme is a celebration of the golden age of the British seaside pier as well as exploring its fascinating two hundred year old history. There are also on-screen contributions from me.

Ryde Pier, Isle of Wight, November, 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

2014 marks the bicentenary of Britain’s first pier which opened in Ryde, Isle of Wight, on the 26th July, 1814. On the 12th July, 1880, a railway opened on the pier and in 1924, Southern Railway took over its ownership. When the pier opened it was extremely popular.

Ryde Pier, Isle of Wight, November, 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Shortly after Ryde Pier opened, The Royal Pier Hotel was built in the town, specifically to cater for increased number of passengers visiting the attraction. After the Second World War, the pier’s pavilion concert hall was converted into a ballroom, known in the 1950s as the Seagull Ballroom. The structure is now Grade II listed.

Royal Pier Hotel, Ryde, Isle of Wight. Built shortly after the pier opened in 1814. The Hotel was demolished in 1931.

Brighton Pier at Dusk, early 1980s. From our family archives. ©Come Step Back In Time.

I have long had an interest in the social history of piers and seaside culture. Perhaps this is due, in part, to having spent my childhood growing-up on the South Coast of England and taking regular trips to the seaside with my family. I also lived in Hastings for many years and remember its pier very well, so am delighted that it is being given a new lease of life.

Me on Bournemouth beach in the 1990s. ©Come Step Back In Time.

My mum enjoying the seaside on Hythe beach, Kent, just after the Second World War, c. 1946. ©Come Step Back In Time.

My mum enjoying a Winter picnic on Brighton beach, c.1984. We visited the seaside whatever the weather. True Brit grit! ©Come Step Back In Time.

Hastings Pier opened on St. Lubbock’s Day, Monday 5^th August, 1872. Unfortunately, the day was blighted by torrential rain and storms; perhaps an omen for the pier’s future which has been blighted by fires, storms, bombings and an arson attack.  On its opening day, a special train service ran from London Bridge at 08.30am direct to Hastings, costing five shillings for a return fare.  The ceremony had all the pomp you would expect from a grand civic occasion in Victorian Britain. One contemporary newspaper article reported:

The rain being heavy the streets were not very crowded, and nearly everyone carried an umbrella. The pier was gaily decorated with innumerable flags floating from the sides, and volunteers and fireman lined the approach to the pavilion. When the Lord Warden arrived at the entrance he was loudly cheered. Protected by a waterproof, he walked up the pier during a pelting rain, being preceded by the Royal Marine band playing, the coastguardsmen, the Mayor and corporation, and the principal functionaries of the pier company. The Countess Granville found shelter from the storm in a bath chair and Mrs Brassey, the wife of the member for the borough, and some other ladies reached the pavilion by joining the procession in the same kind of vehicle.

Enticing tourists to Hastings and St. Leonards. Tourist guidebook advertisements from the 1920s.

The pier was located on the Hastings side of the dividing line between Hastings and St. Leonards, opposite the Sussex Infirmary which was eventually knocked down to make way for the White Rock Theatre (opened 1927). The pier’s architect, Eugenius Birch (1818-1884), built many of Britain’s iconic piers including Eastbourne, Bournemouth, Margate, and the former West Pier in Brighton.

Brighton’s Palace Pier, November 2013. Opened on the 20th May, 1889. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Brighton’s West Pier, November, 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Brighton’s West Pier, November, 2013. Designed by Eugenius Birch, opened on the 5th October, 1866. It fell into decline in 2002 and was destroyed by a huge fire in 2003. In the recent 2014 storms, the structure split in two and a section fell into the sea. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Birch was a brilliant engineer who is credited with being the first pier architect to use screw piling to stabilise his structures. Hastings had three hundred and sixty cast-iron columns fixed using this method. Birch’s architectural design for Hastings Pier was in the Alhambra style, a Moorish inspired aesthetic which gave the building an air of exoticism and sought to inspire in its visitors a mix of fantasy scenarios and promise of hedonistic pleasures.

Replica bathing machine used by King George III when he visited the seaside town of Weymouth. He spent fourteen summers there, between 1789 and 1805. ©Come Step Back in Time.

Prior to the Victorian era, a visit to the seaside had been the preserve of well-to-do aristocrats who would have had enough money to support such a trip.  These jaunts were predominantly to ‘take the sea air’. Salt-water bathing was considered the very best cure for aches and pains, as well promoting all-round well-being. During the eighteenth century, the concept of a ‘seaside resort’ developed in tandem with the ‘health resort’. King George III (1738-1820) helped to popularise sea bathing and regularly visited Weymouth in Dorset. His first visit was in 1789 when he hoped that the sea water and fresh air would aid recovery from his first attack of porphyria. He continued to visit Weymouth regularly until 1805. The transition of the seaside from a medicinal haven to a resort bursting with leisure pursuits and activities, is perfectly illustrated by the social history of the pier.

Recently renovated statue of King George III. Erected on Weymouth seafront and commissioned by the ‘Grateful Inhabitants’ of the town. Unveiled in 1810 to commemorate the royal patronage. ©Come Step Back in Time.

Historically, piers have always been revenue generating. Halfpenny would get you onto the pier, sixpence into the pavilion or dance hall at the end and of course a small fee of a penny to hire a deck chair or sit down on the fixed seating lining the promenade deck. Hastings had two thousand six hundred feet of continuous seating and a pavilion with seating enough for two thousand patrons.  On both sides of the pavilion there were landing stages that were suitable for pleasure steamers, row-boats and yachts to pull-up alongside. This would certainly have helped to increase visitor numbers to the pier. During its first decade of trading, Hastings Pier was extremely successful and on St. Lubbock’s Day, Monday 6^th August, 1883, approximately nine thousand four hundred people passed through its turnstiles in just one day. A healthy footfall for a leisure attraction even by today’s standards. It is no wonder then, local governments in late Victorian Britain considered the pier a worthy financial investment.

The Industrial Revolution had transformed Britain’s travel infrastructure resulting in the expansion of canal ways and of course the development of an extensive rail network connecting inland towns to seaside locations. The pier became the epicentre of any vibrant seaside venue, a pleasure palace where the holiday maker could forget their woes for an afternoon. The greater range of attractions and facilities offered by a pier, the more enticing it would be.  Visitors also needed places to stay, eat and shop which meant that the rest of the town profited. A seaside town with its own pier, made good financial sense.

Victoria Pier, Folkestone, Kent, c.1927. The pier opened on the 21st July, 1888. In 1907, a seven hundred seat pavilion was added. It was destroyed by fire in 1943 and subsequently demolished in 1954.

Advertisement for hotel/holiday lodgings from a 1920s tourist guidebook for Kent.

The history of the British pier is also interwoven with the history of class and social conventions. Victorians and Edwardians were fixated with strict codes of conduct and social hierarchy, whether it was in the workplace, travelling, in the home or leisure activities, cross-class interaction was strongly discouraged by the ruling elite. However, the pier is one of the few spaces where these rules appear to have been relaxed a little. Perhaps due in part to the fact that the structure, although connected to the land, was sufficiently distanced from it so as to create a sort of ‘no-man’s-land’ where nobody really knew what rules to adhere to.

Ryde Pier, Isle of Wight, early 1900s. Unchaperoned young ladies walking along the promenade.

The pier became a melting pot of people drawn from all walks of life both male and female. Unchaperoned young ladies could promenade, accompanied by their female companions, with little disapproval. However, liberal attitudes must have been pushed to their limits on Bournemouth pier. In the early 1900s, a bylaw was introduced to prohibit loitering on the pier for the purposes of prostitution!

Bournemouth Pier, 2011. Designed by Eugenius Birch, it cost £21,600 to build and opened on the 11th August, 1880. The theatre opened in 1959 and has continued to draw big names from the world of entertainment and variety ever since. Bournemouth Pier still draws the crowds and is an extremely successful seaside venue. ©Come Step Back In Time.

The Industrial Revolution had also created a new social infrastructure. The emerging middle classes had surplus income and skilled working people were now better paid. Consequently, by the end of the nineteenth Century, Britain’s economy was booming and leisure pursuits were increasingly popular.  The Bank Holiday Act of 1871 was passed by Liberal politician and banker Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913) which designated four public holidays every year. The August public holiday (known as St. Lubbock’s Day in honour of Sir John) was traditionally set as the first Monday in the month and remained so for the following hundred years until 1971, when it changed to the last Monday in August and remains in place to this day. A newspaper reporting in 1872 about the new Bank holidays observed:

Employers have found that a day’s re-cooperation is not a day lost for themselves or their servants. The day’s leisure secured, then comes the question, how it is to be enjoyed; and here the facilities are increasing to a manifold extent. The railways running from London put forth tempting programmes of excursions to all the most pleasant places in our isle. Our readers may be glad to be reminded that trains for Dover leave the South Eastern station at London Bridge at 07.55am, and for Margate and Ramsgate at 07.40am. The new pier at Hastings is to be opened on Monday, and a train will run from London Bridge 08.30am, the return fare being five shillings. The Great Eastern will run the usual excursions from Bishopsgate to Hunstanton and to Harwich, Dovercoart, and Walton-on the Naze; and, in common with most other lines, offers an extended time for ordinary return tickets over the Bank holiday.

The Saturday to Tuesday excursions to the Isle of Wight offer a delightful holiday; while for those who cannot spare the time a day trip is arranged for Monday. While thousands will be drawn to the coast by the attractions of yellow sands and the prospect of a dip in the briny, there are a few who will prefer the calmer pleasures of rural scenery. At this season we are looking forward to a more extended holiday than that of a single day, and are preparing for tours in all directions. The Graphotyping company opportunely send us a parcel of their instructive and valuable shilling guidebooks, which we cordially recommend to travellers. All the books are embellished with maps and illustrations.

St. Lubbock’s Day was more popular in the south than the north where ‘wakes week’ were favoured. The wakes week began in the Industrial Revolution and consisted of a week’s unpaid leave, taken during the months of June to September, in which the factories, mills, collieries and other industrial outlets closed to enable workers to have a rest or take a holiday. During wakes week, firms often provided transport to the seaside for their workers. A holiday to the seaside was a popular choice for families if they could afford the return train fares.

Tourist guidebook for Deal, Dover, Folkestone, and Hythe, Kent from 1927-28. ©Come Step Back in Time.

Tourist guidebooks during the late Victorian era right-up until the Second World War were very popular. Even during the late Victorian era and for those who could afford it, short trips to Paris, France were also an option. Following the advent of motor travel, at the end of the nineteenth century, tourist guidebooks quickly developed into bulging tomes packed full of endless travel possibilities throughout the British Isles.

By the outbreak of war in 1939, approximately fifteen million people a year were visiting British seaside resorts.  These resorts needed to offer the casual day-tripper, as well as the long stay holiday-maker, an excellent range of activities. Resorts became a one-stop destination seeking to satisfy all of your holiday requirements. Competition between towns to attract visitors was very fierce indeed.

Publicity material created in the 1950s to encourage visitors to Southsea and specifically, South Parade Pier. On display at Portsmouth City Museum.

Hastings Pier had an impressive selection of facilities including a bowling alley (1910), shooting gallery, bingo hall and from the 1930s a Camera Obscura (so too did Eastbourne Pier). Roller skating rinks could also be found on a number of piers. This was an activity first popularised by the Edwardians and continued to be a favourite with visitors until the 1970s. St. Leonards pier (which no longer exists) had a rink, so too did Boscombe (from the 1960s); South Parade Pier and Clarence Pier in Southsea; Southampton’s Royal Pier (1906); Victoria Pier, Folkestone (1910) had the ‘Olympia’ rink on the shoreline, to the pier’s west.

Bournemouth Pier, 2011. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Bournemouth took a rather novel approach to this craze and instead of a purpose-built rink, they installed hard-wearing, teak decking so that visitors could roller-skate along the length of the pier. Southsea in fact boasted two roller rinks, one at the end of South Parade pier and The Open Air Roller Rink and Dance Floor located at the Bandstand Enclosure on the nearby Common.

A 1961 advertisement for the Open Air Roller Rink and Dance Floor located at the Bandstand Enclosure on Southsea Common.  On display at Portsmouth City Museum.

The South Parade Pier, Southsea, 2013. Designed by G. Rale, the pier opened in 1879. In the twentieth century it had a pavilion with two halls. One contained a one thousand two hundred seat theatre and the other by day was a Café and by night a dance hall. ©Come Step Back In Time.

The grandparents of businessman and long-time resident of Southsea, Robert Pearce. The picture was taken in the 1920s on Southsea beach and you can see South Parade Pier in the background. ©Robert Pearce.

Andrew and Robert Pearce, Southsea businessmen and owners of two award-winning bridal shops in the area (Creatiques and Inspired Bridal by Creatiques) recently shared with me their childhood memories of Summers spent in Southsea. Robert told me: ‘My family have always lived in the area and we regularly took trips to Southsea seafront. I loved to roller skate when I was a teenager. I used to skate quite a bit on the rink at South Parade Pier.’ I am grateful to Robert for providing me with the above photograph, taken in the 1920s, showing his grandparents on Southsea beach. South Parade Pier is just about visible in the background. I have also found a charming photograph, from c1908, showing two young ladies roller skating on the pier’s rink. Click Here.

During the Second World War, south coast piers, including Hastings, were breached, usually in the middle section, to hamper an invasion attempt and stop the pier being used as a landing stage. The only time in their history when these structures have been deliberately disconnected from the land. During the war, Hastings Pier was taken over by the armed forces and did suffer quite a bit of bomb damage as well as near-misses by V1 and V2 rockets. The pier re-opened to the public in 1946.

Front view of Clarence Pier, Southsea, November, 2013. This new building opened on 1st June, 1961. Still a popular attraction in 2014. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Clarence Pier, Southsea, November, 2013. It opened on the 1st June, 1861, extended in 1874 and 1882. It was originally called Southsea Pier but when South Parade Pier opened, it was renamed to avoid any confusion. On the 10th January, 1941, the Clarence was damaged extensively by enemy action. It did not reopen until 1st June, 1961. ©Come Step Back In Time.

The Laughing Sailor, a familiar sight in the 1950s at the entrance to Clarence Pier, Southsea. On display at Portsmouth City Museum. ©Come Step Back In Time.

The pier enjoyed a second Golden Age in the 1950s, particularly during the decade’s latter half. Car ownership had increased and Britain was in the midst of a consumer credit boom. Day trips to the seaside were back in vogue and the pier was once again an entertainment hub to be found at the heart of nearly every British seaside resort.

My family on Hythe beach, Kent in 1956. The annual holiday to Kent was mum’s favourite. Even Inkie the poodle (bottom left) enjoyed a welcomed break by the sea. I think Uncle Victor might have had a few nips of brandy on the journey down, since he has decided to wear a plastic bucket as a sunhat. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Many big names from the world of variety took-up summer residencies at pier theatres, pavilions or dance halls along the coast. Bournemouth was a favourite of Sid James, Arthur Askey and Freddie Frinton, Brighton attracted light entertainment favourites Dick Emery, Tommy Trinder and Doris and Elsie Waters.

Poster for South Parade Pier Theatre, Summer season, 1954. On display at Portsmouth City Museum.

Portsmouth at one time had four piers: The Albert (1847), The Victoria (1842), The Clarence (1860) and South Parade, Southsea (1879). The latter three were pleasure piers and The Albert was used predominately as a landing stage, it no longer exists but today the Harbour railway station operates on the same site. The Victoria was originally built as a landing stage for the steam packet ferry trade to the Isle of Wight and France. When The Clarence opened in 1860, the Victoria’s popularity declined. The current Victoria Pier, dates from 1930.

Victoria Pier, Old Portsmouth, November, 2013. This structure dates from 1930. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Heritage shelter on Southsea seafront. November, 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

During Summer months in the 1950s, South Parade Pier had band concerts in the pavilion every Sunday evening, Sid and Woolf Phillips, Tito Burns, Harry Gold and his Pieces of Eight with Sam Costa, Jack Parnell, Dickie Valentine, Lita Rosa and Dennis Lotis were just some of the headline acts. South Parade’s variety acts included Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, Bob Monkhouse and Derek Roy, playing to full houses every night. In 1974, the pavilion and main building on the pier burnt down during the filming of Tommy (1975) dircted by Ken Russell. It had to be rebuilt the following year at a cost of £600,000.

1954 poster for South Parade Pier Theatre, Southsea. On display at Portsmouth City Museum.

Unfortunately, these halcyon days did not last for long. During the 1960s, cheap foreign air travel and continental package holidays posed a threat to the pier’s survival. Holidaymakers could now jet-off abroad and enjoy guaranteed sunshine by the sea. By the early 1970s, a number of piers had fallen into a state of disrepair, revenue had dwindled and further investment looked unlikely. Sadly, many piers never recovered. Neglect as well as ownership issues were by-products of a British iconic that the public had simply fallen out of love with. It is only in recent years that interest in reviving and restoring these structures has gained momentum. Perhaps driven by the current trend for nostalgia coupled with the popularity of ‘staycationing’ due to the sluggish economy. Whatever the reason, the important point to make is that some of these structures, such as Hastings pier, are now being given a second chance to become a thriving seaside attraction once more.

Hythe Pier, Hampshire, November, 2013. Opened on the 1st January, 1881. The tramway opened in 1909. After the First World War, a second-hand locomotive was purchased from the Avon Mustard Gas Factory and brought into use on the pier in 1922. It still operates today. The pier is one of the longest in Britain. ©Come Step Back In Time.

Hythe Pier, Hampshire. November, 2013. ©Come Step Back In Time.

View from Mayflower Park of what remains of the derelict Royal Southampton Pier. The railway station that operated here has long since deteriorated. Trains didn’t operate during the First World War and the pier’s iron work suffered bomb damage during the Second World War. There are plans to redevelop the waterfront, so the pier’s future may look a little brighter in due course. ©Come Step Back In Time.

This stunning gate-house building is all that remains of Southampton’s Royal Pier. The gate-house was built in 1937 and is now an upmarket, Pan Asian Thai restaurant, Kuti’s Royal Thai Pier. Southampton Royal Pier was designed by Edward L. Stephens. It was opened on the 8th July, 1833 by the Duchess of Kent and Princess (later Queen) Victoria. It cost £25,000 to build. ©Come Step Back In Time.

According to the National Piers Society, there are currently fifty-eight piers still surviving in Britain today, quite a few only just, for example Victoria Pier in Colwyn Bay and Birnbeck Pier in Weston-Super-Mare. The list of piers that have been lost forever now totals forty-one.

•  The End of The Pier Show documentary will be shown on BBC2, at 5.30pm, Sunday 16th March. The programme is a celebration of the golden age of the British seaside pier as well as exploring its fascinating two hundred year old history. Radio Times have selected it as one of their TV picks for Sunday, 16th March, so do please tune-in or catch it on iPlayer later. Click here.  Jane Rackham writes:

This rather jolly documentary about Hastings pier was originally shown in the South East region earlier this year. But the demise of the seaside pier is a familiar tale repeated all around our coast and so a wider audience deserves to see it. Much like a stick of rock there are glorious old photos and film clips all the way through it, although the footage of the 2010 fire that threatened to make it Britain’s 42nd lost pier is a sad sight. Happily the much-loved structure is being restored to its glory days when 56,000 people passed through its turnstiles in just one week. Worth watching wherever you live.

Brighton Pier. Early 1980s. From my family archive. ©Come Step Back In Time.