Damage and Destruction

The Sankeys were not afraid of approaching an accident area, to captue news photos, and record the human impact of an event. In this case they went to sea, seizing the opportunity to capture the dramatic after effects of the tragic SS Vedra disaster, as shown on these album pages.

The Vedra, which had ran aground in Walney Channel, exploded when its cargo of benzine caught fire. Despite the brave efforts of local lifeboatmen, and the ship's crew, 34 of the 36 men on-board were killed. Of the two rescued one died a few days later; the sole survivor was 4th Engineer James Dixon

A larger image of the SS Vedra, after it had exploded. Initially concerns were only about the ship been lost after its stranding on the evening of 7 December 1914; about a mile south of Halfway Buoy in Morecambe Bay. Two tugs, the Walney and the Furness, and the Piel lifeboat, were sent to assist, but despite their attempts to save the ship and crew, at 3.30am on 8 December the cargo - benzine - caught fire. One of the lifeboatmen on board that night was Guy Charnley of Roa Island. It was his first experience as a crewman and he was only 17 years of age. The lifeboat was towed out by the tug Walney.

'The tug Furness was trying to tow Vedra off shoals but the position was hopeless. The weather worsened fairly quickly. The crew of the Vedra was urged to abandon ship, but they stayed onboard. We could see the ship was badly damaged and the sea for some distance leeward was covered with benzene. At about 2am we had just sailed clear of the ship's lee when she burst into flames from stem to stern and the sea, especially to leeward, was on fire. The lifeboat made several attempts to pick up survivors by sailing along the ship's weather side..On the lifeboat that night was Herbert Raby, J Crane, H Charnley, R Charnley, WK Charnley, ER Charnley, Ebb Charnley, WA Charnley, Guy Charnley, Allen Raby, W Kirkham, W Edmondson, T Edmondson and J Newby.

MEN ONLY! The one original rule for these baths was that they were: 'Not to be used by females.' The clause was soon deleted however. Opened in 1908, these unique floating swimming baths were in Ramsden Dock, Barrow. It cost 2d per adult and 1d per child to take a swim.

It was a popular attraction in the summer months with, for example, 523 visitors on 29 July 1912. Doubtless the purity of the water would not pass muster today - especially for the local school children who were taught to swim there. Damaged by a gale in December 1914, the structure was made redundant by the new baths on Abbey Road, which opened in May 1915. Further gales in March 1916 sealed its fate.

This is one of the first photos of the airship His Majesty's Airship No.1 (HMA1), as she was revealed on 22 May 1911. It was intended as a scout for the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. It is seen here being moved across the dock to the mooring post, where it stayed for two days with the crew aboard. The largest airship in the world at the time, with a length of 512ft and a diameter of 46ft, this leviathan was named Mayfly.

Ironically, given its name, it was discovered the airship was too heavy to lift off and so it was returned to the shed for modifications.

Four months later, on 24 September 1911, and the Mayfly re-emerged, after the removal of three tons in weight, the repositioning of the underslung gondolas and - crucially - the removal of the keel (which housed the officers' cabins). In front of public crowds and the press, and after it was winched part way out of its purpose-built shed, there was a squall of wind and the Mayfly buckled and snapped, as can be seen here. All parties were rescued from Cavendish Dock. By this time senior naval people, including Winston Churchill, were favouring aircraft as scouts and work on airships was abandonwed.

However, it was resurrected again a few years later when the advance of (German) Zeppelin's forced the Admiraility's hand.

Oak Lea, described as a beautifully situated mansion standing in the centre of Sowerby Woods had stood empty since the death of Mr. H.W. Schneider, Barrow's ‘Ironmaster’, in 1887.An alarm was raised on the night of 9 May 1913, as the occupants of the lodge discovered a fire, One report said it was 'One mass of flames, with the whole building destroyed, though Barrow Fire Brigade fought overnight to quell the blaze.'Arson was suspected when footprints corresponding to a female shoe were found in the house, and arrows were noticed chalked on stones outside which led to a copy of ‘The Suffragette’ newsletter which was found in the grounds - wrapped around a piece of lead. Suffragettes were known to be active in Barrow with chemicals being put in pillar boxes, and telegraph lines being cut in Dalton, as part of a militant campaign.

No one was ever identified or arrested by the police as a result of this incident.Damage was estimated at £10,000 and Elizabeth Grew, secretary of the Barrow Branch of Suffragettes claimed responsibility, declaring herself to be a ‘rebel’ and saying that she was, ’Frankly pleased’, with the destruction.'The Rev. Edwin Mould, vicar of St. James’ Church and a supporter of the Suffragette movement was noted as saying of the event, 'Men were often selfish beings and it was force and force only that would make them yield to the demands of right and justice'.Following the fire there were lively scenes and hostility when a Suffragette meeting was held at the Scotch Buildings, the tenements on Duke Street in Barrow. Elizabeth Grew, organiser of Women’s Social and Political Union, along with others addressed 500 people, but were forced to leave as stones were thrown and they were ‘rushed’ by Hindpool women.

On Sunday 18th November 1906, there was a large gathering of firemen and dignitaries at the Barrow Central Fire Station, for a presentation to Barrow’s late Mayor, Councillor G. S. Heath. J.P. A local news report explains what happened: 'Just as the company joined in singing ‘God Save the King’ the fire alarm bell sounded, with the news that there was blaze at Messrs. Waddington and Longbottom’s foundry in Hindpool Road. The National Anthem was left unfinished; the officers and men threw off their smart clothes for the fireman's uniform and, three minutes after receiving the call, the manual engine was being drawn out of the station yard en-route to the fire.

The new steam engine was in a very brief space of time also en-route, and shortly afterwards another engine was sent to the conflagration.The officials were seized with the general excitement, and there was a rush to Hindpool Road. The flames had already burst through the roof of the pattern shop, and with much inflammable material, the flare became apparent for miles around. Crowds congregated in Cornwallis Street and Hindpool Road, but they did not interfere with the firemens' efforts.Sometimes there were bursts of fire fully 30ft. high, but after two hours work the brigades were masters of the situation. The damage was very heavy, but there was no official estimate given of the cost.Another sensational incident happened about nine o’clock, when an old man, reported to be foreman at Messrs. Waddington’s, suddenly collapsed whilst standing against the ex-Mayor of Barrow, and died almost immediately.'

The surrounding streets were strewn with feathers from the ruined mattresses’, so wrote W E Swale of the fire, in his book on Grange-over-Sands. The image shows Borwick's Crown Hotel, Grange, after a fire burnt it out on the night of Monday, 12 October 1908.

The hotel's four-wheel coach is parked outside, and a group of men sit chatting or looking at the camera. The sign says 'Crown Hotel. Breakfast, Luncheon or Tea. Dinner, etc. at any hour. Picnic Parties Catered For. Posting in all its Branches. Bus meets all Trains.'

A rare action photo in the collection. A steam fire pump is being readied to fight a fire at Gradwell’s Timber Yard, at the western end of Devonshire Dock. The horses used to draw the pump to the location are standing to the right, by the entrance basin. The engine's fire has been lit. The boilers were specifically designed to produce steam quickly – in about 15 minutes. The pump has been positioned to draw water from the dock and hoses have been laid out ready. Already a crowd is gathering.No specific date for this event has been identified but believed to have happened between 1908-1910. The steam fire engine is one of two in service with the Barrow Fire Brigade at the time; one steam fire engine, introduced in 1872, could produce 550 gallons/minute and the second, introduced in 1892, 450 gallons/minute. The first motorised fire engine (a Merryweather Hatfield) arrived in November 1911 before the opening of the Abbey Road Fire Station in 1912. Although not a good year, Gradwell’s imported 11,150 loads of timber in 1908, Crossfields on Buccleuch Dock imported 16,085 loads. The timber yard was established by William Gradwell on land owned by the Furness Railway, when the dock was completed in 1867. Gradwell is considered one of the 'founding fathers' of Barrow and had strong interests in many businesses including construction. For example, he built the flour mill on Cornmill Sidings.

He died in 1882 and his interests were maintained by William Dawson, his nephew, whom he had employed in 1856.

The Barrow News 16/02/1907 reported (below is an edited version):CANTILEVER CRANE FALLSSerious accident in BarrowPeople living near Buccleuch Dock were startled early on Saturday morning by a terrific noise. About 3.15 a.m. the balancing box of the new cantilever crane, in course of erection on the Dock side, had fallen with a terrible crash on to the rails below, where in the ordinary course of the day’s business men would be working. Fortunately, no one was there at the time. The arm of the crane remains intact, but much of the lattice work of the column has been severely twisted and bent down to the foundations.

The crane, built by a German firm, is of steel lattice work, to offer least resistance to wind pressure, and is a four-sided tower securely fastened down to a massive concrete foundation. It is 174ft. high, and carries a horizontal jib 210ft. in length, including a counter-balance weighing about 130 tons. The damage to the rest of the crane, which is still standing, is so considerable that most of the parts will have to be renewed, and some more substantial design required to ensure the safety of the counter-balance. If that had given way with a full load of 150 tons on the flying jib the whole structure would collapse.

The following is based on a report of the accident shown in the image: 'The inhabitants of Millom were startled on Wednesday evening when the news spread that a serious railway smash had occurred at the station. The 6.26pm passenger train from Barrow was being shunted into the coach shed when a goods train from Whitehaven crashed into the last coach, which became a total wreck, being splintered like matchwood. The engine was derailed, and the carriage crashed over into the signal-box, which was practically demolished; the signalman, Holmes, having a narrow escape of being killed outright.

But for the fact that he was pinned to a chimney by a piece of wood, he would undoubtedly have been killed, but he was only cut about the head. The engine-driver and stoker of the goods train escaped without a scratch. Mr Jones, the wheel examiner, also had a miraculous escape, for his cabin was also wrecked. The wrecked signal-box and overturned coaches completely blocked the line, and a breakdown gang arrived shortly after eleven, and with the aid of the crane worked at the debris the whole of the night, After many hours of laborious work, the engine was again got on to the metals, and the line eventually cleared just before noon.The pathway to Haverigg was the scene of a large crowd the whole of yesterday, and photographers were early on the scene.The cause of the accident is attributed to the dense fog which prevailed at the time and the slippery state of the metals.'

The twisted metal beams bear witness to the raging fire that swept through the 300ft long Joiners Shop at Vickers Maxims and Sons on 8 October 1910. Six steam powered fire engines and 150 men fought the fire, including a detachment from HMS Hermione (who were in Barrow waiting for an airship to be completed). After much work the men succeeded in stopping the fire spreading to the adjacent moulding loft. By the end of the event, there were 18 inches of water in the basement. However, all the joinery machines, tools and seasoned timbers in the basement were destroyed along with the Engineering and Ship Tracing Departments, a large cooling tower associated with electric power generation, and the Polishing Shop. The cost of the fire was estimated to be at least £20,000-30,000. At this time, if shipyard workers could not work for any reason e.g. bad weather, they were sent home with no pay. As a result of the fire it was expected that many joiners, and women tracers, would be temporarily added to the list of unemployed.The fire was widely reported, including in Kilkenny, Belfast, Midlothian, Leeds and Buckinghamshire and Sussex. Interestingly, this is a picture of a Vickers' photograph, as indicated by the stamp in the bottom right.

The Joiners Shop was rebuilt and used until late 1960s when the upper floor became the Marine Engineering Drawing Office.