Geoff Cotton’s account Storm 1935
Geoff Cotton’s account of storm September 1935
Geoff Cotton: Harbour Storm 1935 account 1930s, 1960s
Tag Archives: cox
Eileen Smith: Harbour, Storm 1930s
There was that September, a terrific gale. There was water over the Quay and almost up to the Square. Boats in the harbour were sending out distress calls and drifting their moorings. It was so rough, Walt Cotton wouldn’t let them launch the boarding boat to go across. There was water over Bridge Road so they floated her round, put her over the rails. Three men went out with ropes attached and brought the Lifeboat alongside.
There was one man drowned that night, in the harbour. That was a night!
Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921
Funeral of storm victim,September 1935
Revd. Stanley Woodin leading the procession, followed by Robert May, verger and undertaker. Lifeboat crew members Charlie Lansdowne front right in cap, Walter Cotton cox following
Sue Russell: Harbour, lifeboat, 1950s, 1960s
Lifeboat Crew 1966
Our Father was lifeboat Coxswain for many years and the maroons were let off from our garden, under the clothes line. We always had to make sure the line was empty of clothes otherwise they would have gone up too. I was paid, I think it was two shillings and 6 pence, to time from when the maroons went off to when lifeboat left the harbour, which was a lot of money in those days. Sue Russell nee Hayles b 1940