1 00:00:09,607 --> 00:00:11,996 Coast is home. 2 00:00:13,007 --> 00:00:16,841 And we're exploring the most endlessly fascinating shoreline 3 00:00:16,887 --> 00:00:20,846 in the world - our own. 4 00:00:23,567 --> 00:00:27,765 The quest to discover surprising, secret stories 5 00:00:27,807 --> 00:00:31,163 from around the British lsles continues. 6 00:00:35,287 --> 00:00:38,040 This is Coast. 7 00:01:02,407 --> 00:01:07,959 We're here to explore what happens when our coast becomes a wild frontier. 8 00:01:10,967 --> 00:01:15,643 Land and sea don't always live in harmony. 9 00:01:18,287 --> 00:01:22,200 When the water boils, the land quakes, 10 00:01:22,247 --> 00:01:23,919 and so do we. 11 00:01:27,287 --> 00:01:29,801 Whole villages washed away. 12 00:01:30,567 --> 00:01:33,718 Boats in a battle of life and death. 13 00:01:35,367 --> 00:01:40,043 What becomes of us when we face peril from the seas? 14 00:01:42,767 --> 00:01:47,318 We're venturing to wild waters in the Western lsles. 15 00:01:48,407 --> 00:01:52,923 Dick is with one of the unsung heroes of the RAF, 16 00:01:52,967 --> 00:01:57,165 weather forecasters who helped determine the outcome of D-Day, 17 00:01:57,207 --> 00:01:59,880 battling Atlantic storms. 18 00:01:59,927 --> 00:02:02,395 MAN: Quite a few aircraft were struck by lightning. 19 00:02:02,447 --> 00:02:03,800 Chunks of ice would fly off 20 00:02:03,847 --> 00:02:07,283 and you'd hear a bang on the side of the fuselage, quite a loud bang. 21 00:02:07,327 --> 00:02:12,799 NlCK: Down on the southeast coast, peril from the seas strikes Tessa. 22 00:02:12,847 --> 00:02:15,407 Ding, clash, dong, bang! 23 00:02:15,447 --> 00:02:20,441 NlCK: How did the Victorian iron men, building the new ironclad navy, 24 00:02:20,487 --> 00:02:22,523 help shape our welfare state? 25 00:02:22,567 --> 00:02:24,364 They received medical treatment 26 00:02:24,407 --> 00:02:28,036 beyond the wildest dreams of everybody bar the very rich. 27 00:02:28,087 --> 00:02:31,716 NlCK: On the icy North Sea, Coast's newcomer, 28 00:02:31,767 --> 00:02:35,237 poet and storyteller lan McMillan 29 00:02:35,287 --> 00:02:39,678 uncovers a century-old shipwreck that shocked the nation... 30 00:02:39,727 --> 00:02:43,242 and made our perilous seas safer. 31 00:02:43,287 --> 00:02:46,006 One woman was lucky enough to get off the stricken ship, 32 00:02:46,047 --> 00:02:48,277 but, then, Mary Roberts was a lucky lady. 33 00:02:48,327 --> 00:02:50,887 Two years before she'd been rescued from the Titanic. 34 00:02:50,927 --> 00:02:54,442 But she said the shipwreck off Whitby was even worse than that. 35 00:02:55,607 --> 00:02:59,998 NlCK: My tale of peril starts on the shore of East Anglia... 36 00:03:02,167 --> 00:03:05,125 ..where trouble is brewing. 37 00:03:06,487 --> 00:03:11,322 The curious calm here in Norfolk seems idyllic enough. 38 00:03:12,367 --> 00:03:17,202 But a breath of wind brushing your cheek brings a change of mood. 39 00:03:18,087 --> 00:03:21,159 The hairs on the back of your neck bristle. 40 00:03:21,207 --> 00:03:24,643 Something wicked this way comes. 41 00:03:27,327 --> 00:03:29,682 lt's November, 1 703. 42 00:03:29,727 --> 00:03:34,960 A megastorm is about to devastate a huge swathe of southern Britain, 43 00:03:35,007 --> 00:03:37,157 leaving thousands dead. 44 00:03:38,407 --> 00:03:41,843 Lethal winds whipped across the land 45 00:03:41,887 --> 00:03:44,959 before blowing out into the North Sea. 46 00:03:47,567 --> 00:03:53,642 Go back 300 years and windmills were a common sight on the coast of Norfolk. 47 00:03:53,687 --> 00:03:58,477 Then one dreadful night in November, the weather turned. 48 00:04:01,487 --> 00:04:04,763 And so did the sails of the mills. 49 00:04:06,167 --> 00:04:07,725 lnside there's a brake, 50 00:04:07,767 --> 00:04:12,557 a wooden block that presses against the spinning shaft to stop the sails. 51 00:04:12,607 --> 00:04:15,201 But the wind is irresistible. 52 00:04:15,247 --> 00:04:20,924 There's no stopping the sails and they spin faster and faster. 53 00:04:21,847 --> 00:04:25,601 The wooden parts of the mill run out of control. 54 00:04:25,647 --> 00:04:27,877 Friction creates smoke. 55 00:04:27,927 --> 00:04:31,556 And where there's smoke, there's fire. 56 00:04:35,327 --> 00:04:41,675 lt's said the great storm set over 400 windmills alight. 57 00:04:41,727 --> 00:04:45,686 They were seen blazing like monstrous candles. 58 00:04:45,727 --> 00:04:48,924 While they burned, thousands of people perished 59 00:04:48,967 --> 00:04:51,640 around the coasts of southern Britain. 60 00:04:53,847 --> 00:04:59,205 There's a way to relive that terrible night as if it were yesterday. 61 00:05:00,847 --> 00:05:02,724 When the wind died down, 62 00:05:02,767 --> 00:05:07,363 one man was determined to make sense of the chaos. 63 00:05:08,767 --> 00:05:14,205 The journalist who wrote the definitive account of the great storm of 1 703 64 00:05:14,247 --> 00:05:18,604 is a great hero of mine, Daniel Defoe. 65 00:05:19,647 --> 00:05:24,801 Defoe was a commentator on the momentous events of his day. 66 00:05:24,847 --> 00:05:26,439 He knew Norfolk well. 67 00:05:26,487 --> 00:05:30,639 This was a prosperous part of Britain 300 years ago, 68 00:05:30,687 --> 00:05:33,520 thanks to trade across the North Sea. 69 00:05:34,407 --> 00:05:39,640 Daniel Defoe's travels around these shores inspired his work. 70 00:05:39,687 --> 00:05:43,919 He'd go on to write the classic castaway story Robinson Crusoe, 71 00:05:43,967 --> 00:05:46,845 but this book, Defoe's first book, The Storm, 72 00:05:46,887 --> 00:05:52,245 tells true tales of ordinary folk battling extraordinary odds. 73 00:05:52,287 --> 00:05:55,643 He says of the storm, ''No Pen can describe it, 74 00:05:55,687 --> 00:05:59,999 no Tongue express it, nor Thought conceive it.'' 75 00:06:01,447 --> 00:06:05,725 Defoe investigated the facts behind the great storm, 76 00:06:05,767 --> 00:06:07,598 and key to that investigation 77 00:06:07,647 --> 00:06:10,798 was the drawing together of eye-witness accounts. 78 00:06:10,847 --> 00:06:14,476 Daniel Defoe's use of first-person testimony 79 00:06:14,527 --> 00:06:17,599 was a revolutionary approach to journalism, 80 00:06:17,647 --> 00:06:22,721 which he used to produce a vivid overview of the storm's impact. 81 00:06:22,767 --> 00:06:25,725 lt affected a massive area. 82 00:06:25,767 --> 00:06:27,644 From the southwest and Wales, 83 00:06:27,687 --> 00:06:31,236 it hit London and crossed East Anglia, where l am now. 84 00:06:31,287 --> 00:06:37,157 Defoe carefully catalogued the tales of devastation left in the storm's wake. 85 00:06:37,207 --> 00:06:41,883 The first impacts were felt here, on the coast of Cornwall. 86 00:06:41,927 --> 00:06:46,318 The storm blew in from the Atlantic. 87 00:06:47,327 --> 00:06:52,879 The granite outcrops of Cornwall's coast were impervious to the battering, 88 00:06:52,927 --> 00:06:55,122 but the people were not. 89 00:06:57,607 --> 00:07:02,044 The most infamous casualty died alone. 90 00:07:02,087 --> 00:07:07,639 Henry Winstanley was inside the lighthouse he'd recently completed 91 00:07:07,687 --> 00:07:09,803 on the Eddystone Rocks. 92 00:07:09,847 --> 00:07:12,759 lt had taken years to build 93 00:07:12,807 --> 00:07:17,597 but was blown away in minutes by the devilish sea. 94 00:07:17,647 --> 00:07:21,242 Winstanley's body was never recovered. 95 00:07:22,207 --> 00:07:25,404 The storm raged on along the south coast, 96 00:07:25,447 --> 00:07:29,804 taking a terrible toll on the Royal Navy. 97 00:07:29,847 --> 00:07:34,125 A staggering one in five of their sailors perished. 98 00:07:34,167 --> 00:07:39,287 Many of them died here, on the Goodwin Sands, just off Kent. 99 00:07:39,327 --> 00:07:43,445 There's a really graphic picture drawn at the time 100 00:07:43,487 --> 00:07:47,799 showing the naval ships running aground on the sands 101 00:07:47,847 --> 00:07:51,396 and sailors desperately struggling to reach the shore. 102 00:07:51,447 --> 00:07:55,918 Defoe's description was so graphic that it would have shocked his readers. 103 00:07:55,967 --> 00:08:01,803 He wrote, ''The fatal Goodwin Where the wreck of navies lies 104 00:08:01,847 --> 00:08:06,204 A thousand dying sailors Talking to the skies. '' 105 00:08:10,247 --> 00:08:14,365 The storm wreaked her fury across the whole of southern Britain 106 00:08:14,407 --> 00:08:17,205 before the killer wind whipped over Norfolk, 107 00:08:17,247 --> 00:08:19,522 out across the North Sea. 108 00:08:20,807 --> 00:08:25,756 There were tales of ships off this coast getting swept 1 00 miles away. 109 00:08:25,807 --> 00:08:28,879 One ship ended up in Norway. 110 00:08:28,927 --> 00:08:31,521 That dreadful night three centuries ago 111 00:08:31,567 --> 00:08:35,799 was even more severe than the notorious storm of 1 987. 112 00:08:36,487 --> 00:08:42,278 Then southern England again witnessed extraordinary scenes of devastation. 113 00:08:43,487 --> 00:08:48,083 But if a storm on the scale of 1 703 raged across Britain today, 114 00:08:48,127 --> 00:08:52,325 it would cause catastrophic damage in built-up areas, 115 00:08:52,367 --> 00:08:56,042 estimated at more than £1 0 billion. 116 00:08:57,247 --> 00:08:59,841 Wherever we live in our isles, 117 00:08:59,887 --> 00:09:04,677 what blows in from the ocean puts us all in peril from the sea. 118 00:09:09,647 --> 00:09:14,516 lt's an ill wind indeed that someone can't find a use for. 119 00:09:24,967 --> 00:09:29,165 Those in search of the biggest breeze head northwards. 120 00:09:32,047 --> 00:09:37,360 The Western lsles of Scotland are some of the windiest bits of Britain. 121 00:09:39,207 --> 00:09:43,439 Our weather often blows in this way from the Atlantic, 122 00:09:43,487 --> 00:09:49,039 so there's an automated weather station on the tiny isle of Tiree. 123 00:09:49,087 --> 00:09:53,478 Reports from Tiree are a familiar sound for many. 124 00:09:53,527 --> 00:09:58,317 RADlO BROADCAST: Tiree Automatic, southeast by east 6, slight showers, 125 00:09:58,367 --> 00:09:59,959 five miles, 987... 126 00:10:00,007 --> 00:10:05,001 NlCK: What's less well known is how vital Tiree was to weather forecasters 127 00:10:05,047 --> 00:10:07,845 who helped win the Second World War. 128 00:10:08,767 --> 00:10:12,680 To relive a rarely told tale of aerial heroics, 129 00:10:12,727 --> 00:10:17,039 Dick is with veteran RAF weather observer Peter Rackliff, 130 00:10:17,087 --> 00:10:20,079 who's flying back to his wartime base. 131 00:10:21,167 --> 00:10:23,920 - When was the last time you were in Tiree? - 1 945. 132 00:10:23,967 --> 00:10:27,596 - 1 945? - Yes. l'd just turned 1 9. 133 00:10:27,647 --> 00:10:30,002 DlCK: How debonair are you there? Look at that. 134 00:10:30,047 --> 00:10:34,802 Debonair? Well, l don't know. l didn't put my Brylcreem on that day. 135 00:10:34,847 --> 00:10:36,405 - No? - No Brylcreem, no. 136 00:10:36,447 --> 00:10:40,201 DlCK: Peter wasn't a Brylcreem Boy of Fighter Command. 137 00:10:40,247 --> 00:10:44,365 He flew in a Halifax bomber converted to carry met observers, 138 00:10:44,407 --> 00:10:49,162 men measuring the weather coming in from the Atlantic, heading towards Europe. 139 00:10:50,807 --> 00:10:53,002 Peter and his comrades of 5 1 8 Squadron 140 00:10:53,047 --> 00:10:55,959 were storm chasers of the Second World War, 141 00:10:56,007 --> 00:11:00,000 at the forefront of the forecast running up to D-Day. 142 00:11:02,367 --> 00:11:05,564 Advance warning of the weather was a life or death matter in the war. 143 00:11:05,607 --> 00:11:07,916 D-Day could have been a disastrous failure 144 00:11:07,967 --> 00:11:11,403 were it not for people like Peter feeding observations into the forecast. 145 00:11:11,447 --> 00:11:17,682 The painstaking preparations for D-Day meant planning for every eventuality, 146 00:11:17,727 --> 00:11:19,638 especially bad weather. 147 00:11:19,687 --> 00:11:23,202 A storm would make the landings impossible. 148 00:11:23,247 --> 00:11:27,638 The forecasters of 5 1 8 Squadron would help set the date for D-Day. 149 00:11:31,567 --> 00:11:34,764 But the work down here at Tiree has largely been forgotten. 150 00:11:34,807 --> 00:11:36,559 We're here to put that right. 151 00:11:37,687 --> 00:11:40,121 - Peter, you recognise this runway? - l do, yes. 152 00:11:40,167 --> 00:11:41,839 So you would use this runway? 153 00:11:41,887 --> 00:11:43,559 - Definitely, yes. - Where did you go? 154 00:11:43,607 --> 00:11:48,840 Well, one flight was westerly into the Atlantic for 800 miles, 155 00:11:48,887 --> 00:11:51,355 and then we flew northeast towards lceland, 156 00:11:51,407 --> 00:11:53,682 returning to base at Tiree. 157 00:11:53,727 --> 00:11:55,558 lt was a ten-and-a-half-hour trip, yes. 158 00:11:57,247 --> 00:12:01,843 Those lengthy forecasting flights took them nearly halfway to Canada 159 00:12:01,887 --> 00:12:04,526 before coming back to the airfield at Tiree. 160 00:12:05,647 --> 00:12:11,995 From 1 943, planes like this rolled out day and night onto the tarmac at Tiree 161 00:12:12,047 --> 00:12:14,561 to measure the weather coming in from the Atlantic. 162 00:12:17,967 --> 00:12:21,118 Soon the ocean was all too close below. 163 00:12:22,167 --> 00:12:25,318 PETER: We used to like to get down to about 60 feet if we could. 164 00:12:25,367 --> 00:12:28,916 l was right up in the nose. A navigator sat immediately behind me. 165 00:12:28,967 --> 00:12:30,446 l used to give him surface winds, 166 00:12:30,487 --> 00:12:34,560 and he used to give me the winds at height, which were very important. 167 00:12:34,607 --> 00:12:39,635 DlCK: The crews deliberately flew into weather that would ground other planes. 168 00:12:40,727 --> 00:12:44,925 PETER: The pilots often had a job to handle it. 169 00:12:44,967 --> 00:12:47,037 The second pilot and the skipper would have to 170 00:12:47,087 --> 00:12:49,726 sort of do whatever they could do with the controls 171 00:12:49,767 --> 00:12:53,077 to try and keep the aircraft reasonably stable. 172 00:12:55,207 --> 00:12:58,244 DlCK: They flew into the face of Atlantic storms 173 00:12:58,287 --> 00:13:01,757 measuring temperature, pressure and wind speed, 174 00:13:01,807 --> 00:13:05,038 readings sent back in coded radio messages. 175 00:13:06,287 --> 00:13:09,085 PETER: lt went to the stations in Bomber Command, 176 00:13:09,127 --> 00:13:12,676 and it meant that they could draw a pretty comprehensive chart, 177 00:13:12,727 --> 00:13:15,560 and that would make a radical improvement to their forecast. 178 00:13:18,087 --> 00:13:21,477 DlCK: The finest hour for the forecasters of 5 1 8 Squadron 179 00:13:21,527 --> 00:13:25,315 came in early June 1 944. 180 00:13:28,287 --> 00:13:31,643 NEWSREEL: The landings were the greatest hour of crisis of the global war. 181 00:13:31,687 --> 00:13:36,841 The Germans had boasted it could not be done, but it was done, and a mighty... 182 00:13:36,887 --> 00:13:39,924 DlCK: But the success of D-Day wasn't a done deal. 183 00:13:41,607 --> 00:13:43,484 Weather flights from here on Tiree 184 00:13:43,527 --> 00:13:46,360 played an important part in planning the invasion. 185 00:13:46,407 --> 00:13:51,197 Meteorologist Sarah Cruddas is showing me the forecast map from D-Day. 186 00:13:52,047 --> 00:13:54,880 Lots of observations marked around Britain, 187 00:13:54,927 --> 00:13:58,078 but the weather was blowing in from the far Atlantic. 188 00:13:58,127 --> 00:14:00,800 That was our blind spot. 189 00:14:00,847 --> 00:14:03,361 That's why places such as Tiree were so important. 190 00:14:03,407 --> 00:14:07,605 They were able to fly a thousand miles up towards the lcelandic gap 191 00:14:07,647 --> 00:14:10,320 and really collect all that information that was missing. 192 00:14:10,367 --> 00:14:12,517 Because our weather comes from the west, 193 00:14:12,567 --> 00:14:14,876 we could get a better idea of what was coming, 194 00:14:14,927 --> 00:14:17,282 and it gave us an advantage over the Germans. 195 00:14:17,327 --> 00:14:20,364 There'd been high pressure over France, low pressure over England, 196 00:14:20,407 --> 00:14:23,080 so it had created quite windy conditions just before D-Day. 197 00:14:23,127 --> 00:14:27,086 But this area here, just by the Normandy landings, that's called a ridge. 198 00:14:27,127 --> 00:14:31,598 That brought in settled conditions, calmer seas and less windy conditions. 199 00:14:31,647 --> 00:14:35,356 There was just enough of a break in the weather for them to be able to land. 200 00:14:35,407 --> 00:14:37,443 DlCK: Timing the day of the invasion 201 00:14:37,487 --> 00:14:39,955 to coincide with the brief break in the weather 202 00:14:40,007 --> 00:14:41,918 was a masterstroke ofjudgment. 203 00:14:43,327 --> 00:14:47,957 Group Captain James Stagg was responsible for the D-Day forecast. 204 00:14:50,287 --> 00:14:54,360 To help him, Stagg used vital information from 5 1 8 Squadron, 205 00:14:54,407 --> 00:14:59,162 who flew out over the Atlantic to measure an incoming cold front. 206 00:15:00,447 --> 00:15:04,156 PETER: This cold front was formed by two depressions 207 00:15:04,207 --> 00:15:06,846 which merged to the northwest of Scotland. 208 00:15:06,887 --> 00:15:11,677 Our aircraft must have flown through it from Tiree on half a dozen occasions 209 00:15:11,727 --> 00:15:14,082 on 3rd and 4th June. 210 00:15:14,127 --> 00:15:16,516 l know Eisenhower wanted to go on the 5th, 211 00:15:16,567 --> 00:15:20,526 but, l mean, he just couldn't do it, because Group Captain Stagg told him, 212 00:15:20,567 --> 00:15:24,037 ''Well, that cold front that we've been able to locate by our aircraft 213 00:15:24,087 --> 00:15:28,080 is going to be in the Channel on the morning of the 5th, 214 00:15:28,127 --> 00:15:33,076 and it's going to cause an awful lot of grief on the French coast. 215 00:15:33,127 --> 00:15:37,962 So if you can time it to go on the 6th, then everything should be fine.'' 216 00:15:41,047 --> 00:15:44,198 DlCK: The men storming the beaches of Normandy on 6th June 217 00:15:44,247 --> 00:15:47,239 couldn't have known that shoulder to shoulder with them 218 00:15:47,287 --> 00:15:52,919 were the storm chasers of 5 1 8 Squadron some 700 miles away on Tiree. 219 00:15:54,007 --> 00:15:56,601 To forecast the weather heading towards France, 220 00:15:56,647 --> 00:16:01,163 they had to fly high over the Atlantic into thin freezing air. 221 00:16:01,207 --> 00:16:02,959 Their enemy was ice. 222 00:16:04,927 --> 00:16:06,679 PETER: Chunks of ice would fly off 223 00:16:06,727 --> 00:16:09,799 and you'd hear a bang on the side of the fuselage, quite a loud bang. 224 00:16:10,807 --> 00:16:14,800 DlCK: They weren't just measuring the weather. They were part of it. 225 00:16:14,847 --> 00:16:17,361 PETER: Quite a few aircraft were struck by lightning, 226 00:16:17,407 --> 00:16:21,286 and on the nose raindrops used to fracture 227 00:16:21,327 --> 00:16:24,683 and you'd get what l called a golden spark discharge. 228 00:16:24,727 --> 00:16:27,799 lt was simply charged-up raindrops hitting the Perspex 229 00:16:27,847 --> 00:16:32,637 and producing a little golden-coloured spark. 230 00:16:32,687 --> 00:16:34,996 lt was actually quite dangerous, these missions. 231 00:16:35,047 --> 00:16:37,561 - There was loss of life, wasn't there? - Oh, yes, yes. 232 00:16:37,607 --> 00:16:41,885 ln the 1 8 months l was here, we lost 1 2 aircraft. 233 00:16:41,927 --> 00:16:44,282 Some went missing on the North Atlantic, 234 00:16:44,327 --> 00:16:46,682 but unfortunately we never found any wreckage. 235 00:16:46,727 --> 00:16:50,515 They just seemed to be, you know, swallowed up by the ocean, 236 00:16:50,567 --> 00:16:51,966 l think, most of them were. 237 00:16:52,007 --> 00:16:53,998 We certainly lost quite a few crew. 238 00:17:00,247 --> 00:17:02,920 DlCK: You must feel some pride about what you achieved 239 00:17:02,967 --> 00:17:06,562 and the work of 51 8 Squadron. 240 00:17:06,607 --> 00:17:09,997 PETER: Yes, l do, l think the world of the squadron, 241 00:17:10,047 --> 00:17:13,039 and l think they did a marvellous job over the Atlantic, 242 00:17:13,087 --> 00:17:16,796 and, there we are, it's one of those things in the past 243 00:17:16,847 --> 00:17:19,202 which is something you never forget. 244 00:17:37,407 --> 00:17:41,798 NlCK: We're on a journey to explore peril from the seas 245 00:17:41,847 --> 00:17:44,361 that surround our isles. 246 00:17:47,247 --> 00:17:49,078 On the south coast of England, 247 00:17:49,127 --> 00:17:53,484 we've often faced unfriendly neighbours across the Channel. 248 00:18:00,167 --> 00:18:04,445 Along this shore there once lay a ring of steel - 249 00:18:04,487 --> 00:18:07,524 steel ships to protect us from invasion. 250 00:18:12,167 --> 00:18:17,685 Naval seamen sign up knowing they may be called upon to roam savage seas. 251 00:18:18,767 --> 00:18:20,962 But even in dock, 252 00:18:21,007 --> 00:18:24,602 ships at close quarters bring their own dangers. 253 00:18:25,647 --> 00:18:27,524 Go back 1 50 years 254 00:18:27,567 --> 00:18:32,721 and building Britain's first iron fleet was a lethal business. 255 00:18:35,127 --> 00:18:38,722 Our naval dockyards used to be perilous places, 256 00:18:38,767 --> 00:18:40,883 as they know in Chatham. 257 00:18:43,767 --> 00:18:48,887 A shipbuilding boom transformed this workplace into hell on earth, 258 00:18:49,727 --> 00:18:52,844 a story Tessa's here to explore. 259 00:18:54,007 --> 00:18:59,127 TESSA: Chatham is home to a remarkable cathedral-like structure. 260 00:18:59,167 --> 00:19:01,840 Built to house wooden warships, 261 00:19:01,887 --> 00:19:05,243 the roof protected their timbers from rotting. 262 00:19:05,287 --> 00:19:09,883 But by the mid 1 800s these huge halls were slipping into history. 263 00:19:09,927 --> 00:19:12,839 The age of wooden warships was over. 264 00:19:12,887 --> 00:19:16,243 The navy's future was iron. 265 00:19:16,287 --> 00:19:18,084 Here in Chatham in 1 861 , 266 00:19:18,127 --> 00:19:21,597 they began building their first iron giant, the Achilles. 267 00:19:21,647 --> 00:19:26,960 Bending the metal into shape on the ship took a terrible toll on its workers. 268 00:19:27,007 --> 00:19:31,000 Charles Dickens came to Chatham and saw the construction of the Achilles. 269 00:19:31,047 --> 00:19:36,724 The site struck him as a wild frontier, a vision of a new industrial hell. 270 00:19:38,327 --> 00:19:41,763 TESSA: The nightmarish sounds inspired Dickens to write.. 271 00:19:41,807 --> 00:19:45,595 ''Ding, clash, dong, bang! 272 00:19:45,647 --> 00:19:48,559 This is, or soon will be, the Achilles. 273 00:19:52,567 --> 00:19:58,836 lron armour-clad ship, 1 200 men over her bows, over her stern, 274 00:19:58,887 --> 00:20:01,720 under her keel, between her decks, 275 00:20:01,767 --> 00:20:05,396 crawling and creeping into the finest curves of her lines 276 00:20:05,447 --> 00:20:09,042 wherever it is possible for men to twist.'' 277 00:20:09,727 --> 00:20:13,766 Building in metal was always a dangerous game, 278 00:20:13,807 --> 00:20:18,676 where health and safety consisted of flat caps and quick hands. 279 00:20:18,727 --> 00:20:24,006 ln the Victorian era, the welfare of workers often wasn't considered, 280 00:20:24,047 --> 00:20:27,483 but constructing warships was so crucial to the empire 281 00:20:27,527 --> 00:20:31,645 that the builders of the queen's fleet enjoyed special care. 282 00:20:35,567 --> 00:20:39,401 By the mid 1 800s, the health and welfare of shipbuilders 283 00:20:39,447 --> 00:20:41,483 had become so vital to the Royal Navy, 284 00:20:41,527 --> 00:20:43,119 they received medical treatment 285 00:20:43,167 --> 00:20:46,796 beyond the wildest dreams of everybody bar the very rich. 286 00:20:46,847 --> 00:20:51,841 For instance, when they were injured, they were treated by top naval surgeons. 287 00:20:54,527 --> 00:20:58,486 Here in Chatham the surgeon was William Gunn. 288 00:20:58,527 --> 00:21:03,043 His letters detail the new perils the men faced from working with iron. 289 00:21:03,087 --> 00:21:06,966 Each letter is a window into the world of surgeon William Gunn. 290 00:21:07,007 --> 00:21:09,805 lt's almost as if he's talking to you. 291 00:21:10,767 --> 00:21:13,964 MAN: ''The men in the metal mills work five nights in the week, 292 00:21:14,007 --> 00:21:18,797 and they are very liable to accidents from the peculiar nature of their duty. 293 00:21:20,487 --> 00:21:24,321 Contusions, lacerated and punctured wounds and burns, 294 00:21:24,367 --> 00:21:30,078 particularly of the head, hands, feet, face and eyes are now very common.'' 295 00:21:31,607 --> 00:21:36,283 TESSA: The dockyard surgery dealt with a steady stream of casualties. 296 00:21:36,327 --> 00:21:40,605 Medical historian Richard Biddle has seen how the shift to metalworking 297 00:21:40,647 --> 00:21:43,320 led to different kinds of injuries. 298 00:21:43,367 --> 00:21:46,484 With wood they're very focused on the lower half of the body 299 00:21:46,527 --> 00:21:49,917 because the men are using axes to chop wood. 300 00:21:49,967 --> 00:21:52,322 Then when they begin to use iron, 301 00:21:52,367 --> 00:21:57,202 if you're riveting iron plates, for example, you're up here, 302 00:21:57,247 --> 00:21:59,841 and so what happens is the injuries shift upwards. 303 00:21:59,887 --> 00:22:01,286 The old injuries continue, 304 00:22:01,327 --> 00:22:04,763 but injuries to the eyes and burns - eyes in particular. 305 00:22:04,807 --> 00:22:08,163 Did surgeons see suddenly their work quadruple, if you like? 306 00:22:08,207 --> 00:22:13,839 Well, Gunn certainly talks about how the frequency of injuries go up, 307 00:22:13,887 --> 00:22:16,765 but he's also concerned by the new nature of injuries. 308 00:22:16,807 --> 00:22:18,240 They're horrific, some of them. 309 00:22:18,287 --> 00:22:22,758 His surgery, we ought to think about it as being a cross, l would say, 310 00:22:22,807 --> 00:22:25,879 between what we would think now as a GP surgery 311 00:22:25,927 --> 00:22:28,725 and then an accident and emergency facility. 312 00:22:30,927 --> 00:22:35,603 TESSA: The workers also received home care and half pay while off injured. 313 00:22:36,927 --> 00:22:41,284 To check up on his patients, William Gunn paid them surprise visits. 314 00:22:42,527 --> 00:22:46,281 Surgeon Gunn soon learnt that where there are welfare benefits, 315 00:22:46,327 --> 00:22:48,795 there are also welfare cheats. 316 00:22:49,687 --> 00:22:52,042 On 5th October, 1 864, 317 00:22:52,087 --> 00:22:55,796 surgeon Gunn decided to call in on a man called William Tiltman. 318 00:22:55,847 --> 00:22:58,202 He was meant to have been off sick for three months, 319 00:22:58,247 --> 00:22:59,316 but when he found him, 320 00:22:59,367 --> 00:23:02,518 he discovered he'd actually been moonlighting as a butcher. 321 00:23:04,687 --> 00:23:07,565 Those early benefit cheats got the sack. 322 00:23:07,607 --> 00:23:12,556 But plenty of genuine cases needed the special skills surgeon Gunn developed 323 00:23:12,607 --> 00:23:16,043 to deal with horrific metalworking accidents. 324 00:23:16,927 --> 00:23:19,839 MAN: ''As injuries of the eyes caused by pieces of metal 325 00:23:19,887 --> 00:23:22,037 had become so frequent of late, 326 00:23:22,087 --> 00:23:24,965 l have demanded an electromagnet.'' 327 00:23:25,007 --> 00:23:27,316 l mean, that's a pretty clever thought. 328 00:23:27,367 --> 00:23:30,803 lt is, yeah, and we've actually tried to mock up 329 00:23:30,847 --> 00:23:34,157 an electromagnet and iron filings in an eye, 330 00:23:34,207 --> 00:23:38,598 which l thought would be interesting to see whether this thing works or not. 331 00:23:38,647 --> 00:23:41,002 TESSA: Oh, my G... - They're not human. 332 00:23:41,047 --> 00:23:44,881 - You're going to switch on the power. - l'm switching on, so here we go. 333 00:23:45,687 --> 00:23:48,247 TESSA: They're just hopping out. - lncredible, isn't it? 334 00:23:48,287 --> 00:23:50,437 TESSA: lt looks almost painless. 335 00:23:50,487 --> 00:23:52,796 You've got a stubborn one. Let's get that last one. 336 00:23:52,847 --> 00:23:55,964 - Go on, give it a go. TESSA: The man is screaming in agony. 337 00:23:57,087 --> 00:23:59,362 Yeah. Yeah, sure enough. 338 00:23:59,407 --> 00:24:01,159 RlCHARD: People with eye injuries, 339 00:24:01,207 --> 00:24:06,725 despite, when you read, the initial accidents appear to be very gruesome, 340 00:24:06,767 --> 00:24:09,804 they do go on to recover and return to work. 341 00:24:10,727 --> 00:24:13,799 TESSA: So they could keep bashing metal ships into shape, 342 00:24:13,847 --> 00:24:16,520 the navy's new iron men were patched up 343 00:24:16,567 --> 00:24:20,446 and given privileges the public could only dream of. 344 00:24:20,487 --> 00:24:23,843 lt took nearly 1 00 years and two world wars 345 00:24:23,887 --> 00:24:27,675 before free health care became a right for all. 346 00:24:29,327 --> 00:24:32,558 When servicemen began returning home in 1 945, 347 00:24:32,607 --> 00:24:36,441 the mood of the nation was to build a Britain fit for heroes. 348 00:24:36,487 --> 00:24:39,763 The time was ripe for the birth of the welfare state. 349 00:24:40,807 --> 00:24:44,038 NEWSREEL: On July 5th the new National Health Service starts. 350 00:24:44,087 --> 00:24:46,476 Are you sure l don't have to pay anything for all this? 351 00:24:46,527 --> 00:24:48,722 Nothing. You and your family... 352 00:24:48,767 --> 00:24:51,201 Do you think the work here was actually a precursor 353 00:24:51,247 --> 00:24:53,044 to our modern-day welfare state? 354 00:24:53,087 --> 00:24:56,523 Certainly what you see in Chatham is the beginnings of a welfare state. 355 00:24:56,567 --> 00:25:00,242 lt's a microcosm, perhaps, of things that happen after that. 356 00:25:00,287 --> 00:25:03,165 So for Chatham as a dockyard town, 357 00:25:03,207 --> 00:25:05,516 l think it functioned as a welfare state. 358 00:25:07,007 --> 00:25:11,319 TESSA: Building Britannia's ships to rule the waves was a dangerousjob, 359 00:25:11,367 --> 00:25:15,883 but it left a legacy of welfare for workers that we all now enjoy. 360 00:25:25,247 --> 00:25:30,037 NlCK: Unexpected benefits come from our relationship with the sea. 361 00:25:35,007 --> 00:25:39,080 But so do some clear and ever present dangers. 362 00:25:40,887 --> 00:25:45,199 Many who live on the coast are in peril from the sea. 363 00:25:46,367 --> 00:25:50,838 And the sea shows no mercy to those who venture offshore. 364 00:25:55,007 --> 00:25:57,441 Each wreck tells a story. 365 00:25:58,447 --> 00:26:01,917 The most famous fictional tale of a foundered ship 366 00:26:01,967 --> 00:26:04,561 began here at Winterton. 367 00:26:07,047 --> 00:26:14,317 Author Daniel Defoe was as captivated as me by this calm yet perilous coast. 368 00:26:14,367 --> 00:26:18,201 So fearsome was the reputation of this shore 369 00:26:18,247 --> 00:26:22,160 that Daniel Defoe used it to open his book Robinson Crusoe. 370 00:26:25,847 --> 00:26:31,524 Crusoe was eventually marooned on a distant isle in foreign seas. 371 00:26:31,567 --> 00:26:34,286 But the first shipwreck in this book 372 00:26:34,327 --> 00:26:37,558 is here at Winterton on the coast of Norfolk. 373 00:26:43,767 --> 00:26:47,965 The dangers here can't be seen from the beach. 374 00:26:48,007 --> 00:26:50,885 l've got to venture out to sea. 375 00:26:53,287 --> 00:26:56,836 Way offshore there are deadly strips of sand, 376 00:26:56,887 --> 00:27:00,675 which only reveal themselves at low tide. 377 00:27:00,727 --> 00:27:05,482 This looks like dry land, doesn't it? But it's not. lt's a sandbank. 378 00:27:05,527 --> 00:27:08,837 ln an hour or so it's going to be covered in water. 379 00:27:08,887 --> 00:27:12,084 And if you look over there, one and a half miles away across the open sea, 380 00:27:12,127 --> 00:27:14,516 you can see mainland Britain. 381 00:27:14,567 --> 00:27:17,764 The coast of Norfolk is lined by many other sandbanks 382 00:27:17,807 --> 00:27:20,367 which lurk just beneath the surface. 383 00:27:20,407 --> 00:27:23,524 This is the graveyard of countless ships. 384 00:27:23,567 --> 00:27:27,526 You can understand why Daniel Defoe chose this lethal coast 385 00:27:27,567 --> 00:27:31,446 for the opening passages in his book Robinson Crusoe. 386 00:27:33,247 --> 00:27:37,081 Sandbanks and ships don't mix. 387 00:27:38,167 --> 00:27:40,397 The church at nearby Happisburgh 388 00:27:40,447 --> 00:27:44,599 has a grim memorial to those in peril on the sea. 389 00:27:50,287 --> 00:27:52,164 This neatly tended plot 390 00:27:52,207 --> 00:27:57,486 is the mass grave of 1 1 9 men. 391 00:27:57,527 --> 00:28:02,362 They drowned when HMS lnvincible failed to live up to her name, 392 00:28:02,407 --> 00:28:07,242 coming to grief on a notorious sandbank in 1 801. 393 00:28:12,847 --> 00:28:15,122 So many ships foundered here 394 00:28:15,167 --> 00:28:20,799 that parishioners decided they couldn't rely solely on spiritual salvation. 395 00:28:20,847 --> 00:28:23,236 They took more practical steps. 396 00:28:24,207 --> 00:28:29,281 And they cleverly combined doing a good turn with turning a profit. 397 00:28:30,727 --> 00:28:32,683 The boatmen from Norfolk villages 398 00:28:32,727 --> 00:28:36,879 set up their own rescue teams long before the RNLl was born. 399 00:28:36,927 --> 00:28:40,237 What those rescuers needed was a vantage point like this 400 00:28:40,287 --> 00:28:42,562 where they could spot ships in trouble. 401 00:28:44,367 --> 00:28:46,835 l've got a photograph from further along the coast. 402 00:28:46,887 --> 00:28:50,562 You can see a wooden watchtower built by one of the rescue teams 403 00:28:50,607 --> 00:28:52,643 and below it their hut. 404 00:28:52,687 --> 00:28:56,965 Rescue teams like this were some of Britain's earliest emergency services. 405 00:28:58,247 --> 00:29:00,807 They called themselves ''beachmen'' 406 00:29:00,847 --> 00:29:04,317 and were only found on the East Anglian coast. 407 00:29:04,367 --> 00:29:08,406 lf you go looking in the dunes of Winterton-on-Sea, 408 00:29:08,447 --> 00:29:11,484 there are still clues to the beachmen's presence. 409 00:29:11,527 --> 00:29:14,519 David Higgins is showing me. 410 00:29:14,567 --> 00:29:18,685 - Around here they had their watch houses. - How do you know? 411 00:29:18,727 --> 00:29:21,366 Here you can see some of the building materials they used 412 00:29:21,407 --> 00:29:23,045 to make the watch house. 413 00:29:23,087 --> 00:29:27,319 This has still got mortar attached to it. Look. How interesting. Look at that. 414 00:29:27,367 --> 00:29:29,517 DAVlD: Within the dunes there's rectangles 415 00:29:29,567 --> 00:29:32,286 defined by plants that shouldn't be here, 416 00:29:32,327 --> 00:29:33,965 and even here is an apple tree. 417 00:29:34,007 --> 00:29:36,043 Look at that. With apples on it. 418 00:29:36,087 --> 00:29:39,602 So this is probably an apple core hurled down from the watchtower 419 00:29:39,647 --> 00:29:42,366 by a beachman who'd been looking out for wrecked ships. 420 00:29:42,407 --> 00:29:44,398 Who exactly was a beachman? 421 00:29:44,447 --> 00:29:48,679 DAVlD: A beachman was a man who did salvage work on the sandbanks, 422 00:29:48,727 --> 00:29:51,241 looking for ships to snag themselves on the sandbanks 423 00:29:51,287 --> 00:29:53,926 and then they would race out there and get the salvage work 424 00:29:53,967 --> 00:29:55,400 and hopefully get a good payout. 425 00:29:55,447 --> 00:29:58,757 They drove a hard bargain when they got out there and talked to the masters. 426 00:29:58,807 --> 00:30:01,446 They would tell the master they were in grave danger 427 00:30:01,487 --> 00:30:03,921 and they'd readily sign up to get this work done. 428 00:30:03,967 --> 00:30:06,322 You make them sound like land-based pirates, 429 00:30:06,367 --> 00:30:09,200 rushing out to take advantage of other people's misfortunes. 430 00:30:09,247 --> 00:30:10,839 Well, they didn't see it that way. 431 00:30:10,887 --> 00:30:14,357 They saw themselves as rectifying the master's mistakes. 432 00:30:14,407 --> 00:30:17,604 NlCK: There's a part of you that would have been a beachman, isn't there? 433 00:30:17,647 --> 00:30:20,286 l can see you running down the beach to grab the tiller first 434 00:30:20,327 --> 00:30:23,524 and setting off towards Scroby Sands to pick over a derelict, David. 435 00:30:23,567 --> 00:30:26,035 Well, l would love to have done that, yes. 436 00:30:26,847 --> 00:30:28,838 And David isn't alone. 437 00:30:28,887 --> 00:30:34,200 Generation after generation wanted to join the beachmen. 438 00:30:34,247 --> 00:30:38,399 Well, this is a book of the family trees of the Winterton beachmen, effectively, 439 00:30:38,447 --> 00:30:39,926 all the families, 440 00:30:39,967 --> 00:30:43,755 but particularly the Georges which was the biggest family in the village. 441 00:30:45,527 --> 00:30:47,358 - My goodness. - We go... 442 00:30:47,407 --> 00:30:49,967 - lt goes on and on. - 1 6 feet. 443 00:30:50,007 --> 00:30:51,440 Make some space on the... 444 00:30:51,487 --> 00:30:55,639 ls the beach big enough, David? Wow. 445 00:30:55,687 --> 00:30:58,155 And that's how important the George family was 446 00:30:58,207 --> 00:31:01,563 to the whole seafaring community here in Winterton. 447 00:31:01,607 --> 00:31:05,919 NlCK: Lifesaving runs in the blood of the boatmen here, 448 00:31:05,967 --> 00:31:11,439 a promise to protect and serve passed from father to son. 449 00:31:11,487 --> 00:31:15,639 The beachmen were trailblazers in making lifesaving into a living. 450 00:31:15,687 --> 00:31:20,442 But by the late 1 800s their boats were out-dated, 451 00:31:20,487 --> 00:31:26,164 and the rescue service pioneered here in Norfolk had grown nationwide. 452 00:31:26,207 --> 00:31:30,405 So beachmen became part of the Royal National Lifeboat lnstitution, 453 00:31:30,447 --> 00:31:32,438 operating from Caister. 454 00:31:34,487 --> 00:31:40,403 By the 1 960s, their station held the record for the most lives saved. 455 00:31:40,447 --> 00:31:45,157 They had rescued over 1 800 seafarers, 456 00:31:45,207 --> 00:31:48,438 but that wasn't enough to save their own service. 457 00:31:49,607 --> 00:31:53,486 Faster lifeboats could now cover a greater area. 458 00:31:53,527 --> 00:31:57,361 The RNLl thought fewer stations were needed. 459 00:31:57,407 --> 00:32:00,683 ln 1 969 they left Caister. 460 00:32:02,007 --> 00:32:06,603 But the beachmen's descendants wouldn't hang up their sou'westers. 461 00:32:06,647 --> 00:32:12,005 Derek George is a fifth-generation beachman of the famous George family. 462 00:32:12,047 --> 00:32:15,642 How did Caister keep their lifeboat afloat? 463 00:32:15,687 --> 00:32:18,247 Many people in the village thought it was impossible. 464 00:32:18,287 --> 00:32:23,441 There were no precedent, no previous experience, to run a private lifeboat, 465 00:32:23,487 --> 00:32:26,081 but nevertheless a ten-man committee was formed, 466 00:32:26,127 --> 00:32:28,641 and over the years... 467 00:32:28,687 --> 00:32:34,319 This is our 41 st year of independence and we are here still today. 468 00:32:34,367 --> 00:32:37,916 As we approached the millennium and technology marches on, 469 00:32:37,967 --> 00:32:40,561 we needed to have a more modern lifeboat. 470 00:32:40,607 --> 00:32:46,716 August of 2004 we took delivery of the fastest lifeboat in the United Kingdom. 471 00:32:46,767 --> 00:32:50,919 1 ,000 horse power, 40 gallons of fuel an hour. 472 00:32:50,967 --> 00:32:53,356 Are you trying to get one up on the RNLl? 473 00:32:53,407 --> 00:32:55,477 l can't answer that question. 474 00:33:00,607 --> 00:33:06,603 NlCK: You only really appreciate just how powerful this beast of a boat is 475 00:33:06,647 --> 00:33:10,162 when you've got the salt spray parting your hair. 476 00:33:13,767 --> 00:33:18,283 l think it's safe to say the spirit of the original beachmen 477 00:33:18,327 --> 00:33:21,000 still survives on these seas. 478 00:33:24,727 --> 00:33:30,279 Those that work on water know how perilous the sea can be. 479 00:33:31,647 --> 00:33:34,764 Whether their boats are big or small, 480 00:33:34,807 --> 00:33:40,325 fishermen keep a weather eye on the sky right around our shores. 481 00:33:42,047 --> 00:33:46,484 Like here on the edge of the English Channel at Alderney. 482 00:33:50,007 --> 00:33:55,843 This tiny isle gets battered by weather rolling in from the wild Atlantic. 483 00:33:57,407 --> 00:34:00,046 So the fishermen look for feathered friends 484 00:34:00,087 --> 00:34:02,203 to help with the forecast. 485 00:34:03,247 --> 00:34:07,763 And folklore plays its part, as Andy Torbet's finding out. 486 00:34:14,367 --> 00:34:17,439 AND Y: lt's a lonely old business being a skipper at sea. 487 00:34:17,487 --> 00:34:21,400 Spotting a storm can mean the difference between life and death. 488 00:34:21,447 --> 00:34:25,281 lt's no surprise, then, that fishermen can be a superstitious bunch, 489 00:34:25,327 --> 00:34:27,557 and they look to the creatures that surround them 490 00:34:27,607 --> 00:34:30,326 for signs of approaching wild weather. 491 00:34:30,367 --> 00:34:33,404 Now, this little chap is a storm petrel, 492 00:34:33,447 --> 00:34:36,883 so called because to see one of these little sea birds 493 00:34:36,927 --> 00:34:39,964 was a signal that a big storm was heading your way. 494 00:34:46,047 --> 00:34:48,925 AND Y: The storm petrel gets its name and its fame 495 00:34:48,967 --> 00:34:51,356 from its weather forecasting talents. 496 00:34:51,407 --> 00:34:53,637 When they're feeding, they seem to walk on water, 497 00:34:53,687 --> 00:34:57,202 but if they sense an approaching storm, they fly to land, 498 00:34:57,247 --> 00:34:59,363 a sure sign for fishermen to follow them. 499 00:35:00,647 --> 00:35:03,798 l want to see this feathered weather bird for myself, 500 00:35:03,847 --> 00:35:06,486 but l've got my work cut out. 501 00:35:06,527 --> 00:35:08,722 ln the English Channel in the 1 950s 502 00:35:08,767 --> 00:35:12,521 it was thought there was 1 0,000 storm petrels. 503 00:35:12,567 --> 00:35:15,286 Today it's less than a tenth of that number. 504 00:35:16,327 --> 00:35:20,684 lncreased pollution of our seas hit the storm petrel population hard. 505 00:35:20,727 --> 00:35:23,002 They only come to land to breed, 506 00:35:23,047 --> 00:35:25,880 spending the rest of their lives out on the open sea. 507 00:35:27,807 --> 00:35:30,002 l'm going to try and track them down, 508 00:35:30,047 --> 00:35:34,086 and l'm starting my search with those who know these little birds best. 509 00:35:36,447 --> 00:35:40,235 Like storm petrels, fishermen here are few and far between these days, 510 00:35:40,287 --> 00:35:42,755 but Ray Gaudion is hanging on. 511 00:35:42,807 --> 00:35:44,718 - How you doing? - Pleased to meet you. 512 00:35:44,767 --> 00:35:47,201 - Can l come on board? - Yeah. 513 00:35:48,007 --> 00:35:49,679 Ray is going to take me out on a trip 514 00:35:49,727 --> 00:35:51,957 in the hope of seeing the storm petrels at sea. 515 00:36:00,687 --> 00:36:02,996 So you're normally out here looking for lobsters, 516 00:36:03,047 --> 00:36:06,437 but today we're looking for these chaps, storm petrels. 517 00:36:06,487 --> 00:36:09,843 - They're tiny little creatures to see. - The size of a sparrow? 518 00:36:09,887 --> 00:36:13,436 Well, l'd say more like a starling. They fly fast as well. 519 00:36:13,487 --> 00:36:15,159 And do you see as many as you used to? 520 00:36:15,207 --> 00:36:18,756 No, l don't. l'm sure, when l was younger, you used to see a lot more. 521 00:36:18,807 --> 00:36:20,798 There's quite a few kind of myths and legends 522 00:36:20,847 --> 00:36:22,917 surrounding the storm petrels, aren't there? 523 00:36:22,967 --> 00:36:25,640 Well, they've always been revered, to start with. 524 00:36:25,687 --> 00:36:28,247 With the older seamen that l went to sea with, 525 00:36:28,287 --> 00:36:32,883 we never had long-range shipping forecasts or anything like that, 526 00:36:32,927 --> 00:36:37,523 and we'd always, ''Oh, Mother Carey's chickens. There's bad weather coming.'' 527 00:36:37,567 --> 00:36:39,762 That's one of their nicknames, isn't it? 528 00:36:39,807 --> 00:36:43,482 That's what we always, the old fellas always used to call them, you know. 529 00:36:45,167 --> 00:36:49,479 AND Y: Whatever you call them, these storm petrels are elusive blighters. 530 00:36:49,527 --> 00:36:52,121 Ray's seen storm petrels here before, 531 00:36:52,167 --> 00:36:55,796 but without a storm, they could be far out at sea. 532 00:36:55,847 --> 00:36:58,680 l'll have to tempt them with some tasty treats. 533 00:37:00,007 --> 00:37:03,477 ln here is a special recipe 534 00:37:03,527 --> 00:37:08,362 of cod-liver oil, mackerel, herring and skate guts. 535 00:37:11,767 --> 00:37:15,555 l am assured this potent mix is perfect for attracting petrels. 536 00:37:17,647 --> 00:37:20,480 RAY: Well, the gulls like it. - Yeah. 537 00:37:20,527 --> 00:37:24,805 lt's attracted a load of black-backed gulls and some herring culls, 538 00:37:24,847 --> 00:37:27,725 but no storm petrels yet. 539 00:37:29,247 --> 00:37:31,636 The scavengers are loving the free lunch, 540 00:37:31,687 --> 00:37:35,521 but it seems my own quarry has a more refined taste. 541 00:37:39,847 --> 00:37:43,920 Looks like l'll have to go the extra nautical mile or so to find them. 542 00:37:48,447 --> 00:37:51,041 l learnt to drive boats just like these in the forces, 543 00:37:51,087 --> 00:37:53,043 maybe not bright orange ones, 544 00:37:53,087 --> 00:37:55,203 so l'm going to take us across to the island now. 545 00:37:56,127 --> 00:37:58,721 l'm heading to a storm petrel breeding site. 546 00:38:02,087 --> 00:38:04,920 Appearing now off the bow is Burhou lsland. 547 00:38:04,967 --> 00:38:06,286 Now, that's a welcome sight 548 00:38:06,327 --> 00:38:10,798 for birds that'll spend the vast majority of their life out at sea 549 00:38:10,847 --> 00:38:13,998 and they come back to land on these rare occasions to breed. 550 00:38:16,047 --> 00:38:20,086 l'm joining a team of scientists here to study the petrels. 551 00:38:27,607 --> 00:38:28,835 - Liz? - Hi. 552 00:38:28,887 --> 00:38:31,526 Heading up the conservation efforts is Liz Morgan. 553 00:38:31,567 --> 00:38:34,286 Welcome to Burhou. 554 00:38:34,327 --> 00:38:37,763 Most storm petrels won't come back till after dark, 555 00:38:37,807 --> 00:38:41,800 but a few may still be on their nests deep in this old wall. 556 00:38:41,847 --> 00:38:44,077 Liz has a trick to find out. 557 00:38:44,127 --> 00:38:46,322 LlZ: This is a storm petrel call. 558 00:38:46,367 --> 00:38:49,200 lf an adult's on the nest, it should reply. 559 00:38:49,247 --> 00:38:51,238 (Bird call) 560 00:38:54,327 --> 00:38:56,602 Can you hear a little peeping noise? 561 00:38:56,647 --> 00:38:58,683 Yeah, l can hear that, yeah. 562 00:38:58,727 --> 00:39:00,319 Yeah, that's a storm petrel chick. 563 00:39:00,367 --> 00:39:02,597 The chicks are probably sat there by themselves. 564 00:39:02,647 --> 00:39:04,603 The adults out at sea fishing 565 00:39:04,647 --> 00:39:08,162 won't come back to land while it's light 566 00:39:08,207 --> 00:39:10,243 because of predators like the gulls. 567 00:39:10,287 --> 00:39:13,677 Under the cover of darkness, that's the only time they feel safe. 568 00:39:13,727 --> 00:39:14,796 (Chirping) 569 00:39:14,847 --> 00:39:17,884 That's it, my first storm petrel. 570 00:39:21,047 --> 00:39:24,039 With baby home alone, the parents can't be far away, 571 00:39:24,087 --> 00:39:26,317 but they won't be back till night. 572 00:39:26,367 --> 00:39:29,916 As darkness falls, Liz and her colleagues set up nets 573 00:39:29,967 --> 00:39:33,198 to ring and monitor Burhou's population. 574 00:39:33,247 --> 00:39:38,275 After that flop with the bait before, let's hope sky fishing works better. 575 00:39:40,927 --> 00:39:45,125 These nets normally do very well as the birds sweep in off the sea. 576 00:39:46,087 --> 00:39:47,918 Stretched across their flight path, 577 00:39:47,967 --> 00:39:52,643 these nets are specially designed to catch but not damage these little birds. 578 00:39:55,327 --> 00:39:58,205 Now we have to wait, and hope. 579 00:40:13,247 --> 00:40:15,158 Got one! 580 00:40:17,007 --> 00:40:18,645 And another. 581 00:40:24,247 --> 00:40:27,683 With the nets filling up nicely, Paul Veron picks the petrels out. 582 00:40:27,727 --> 00:40:30,525 AND Y: lt's not actually doing them any harm, is it? 583 00:40:30,567 --> 00:40:34,037 No, they hit the net and drop into this little pocket 584 00:40:34,087 --> 00:40:35,998 and then we have to go and take them out. 585 00:40:36,047 --> 00:40:38,959 lmagine that bird riding out the fiercest storms 586 00:40:39,007 --> 00:40:41,646 that the oceans can throw at it. 587 00:40:42,687 --> 00:40:47,158 AND Y: ln all we get 61 birds, a great sign for the petrel population, 588 00:40:47,207 --> 00:40:50,643 which Paul now reckons is around 1,000 breeding pairs. 589 00:40:55,607 --> 00:41:01,239 This fragile little chap somehow manages to survive the perils of the sea. 590 00:41:01,287 --> 00:41:05,758 lt's a rare privilege just to see one. To hold him is magical. 591 00:41:07,607 --> 00:41:10,075 You don't really get any closer than that. 592 00:41:10,127 --> 00:41:13,563 - Paul, shall l release it now? - Yes, please, just on the grass. 593 00:41:15,087 --> 00:41:18,636 Designed for a nomadic life, bravely roaming the oceans, 594 00:41:18,687 --> 00:41:21,759 the storm petrel is almost helpless on dry land, 595 00:41:21,807 --> 00:41:24,958 where they stumble around like little drunken sailors. 596 00:41:41,847 --> 00:41:46,398 By the morning, the wild seas have reclaimed these drifting creatures. 597 00:41:46,447 --> 00:41:49,883 Until the next storm, we're unlikely to see them again. 598 00:42:00,727 --> 00:42:03,480 When you're tucked up warm at home, sheltering from a storm, 599 00:42:03,527 --> 00:42:07,281 rain lashing at the window can be strangely comforting. 600 00:42:07,327 --> 00:42:09,318 But think of those at sea. 601 00:42:11,447 --> 00:42:16,999 When in peril, beacons of bright hope bring seafarers comfort. 602 00:42:27,327 --> 00:42:31,923 We have over 200 lighthouses around our coastline. 603 00:42:32,967 --> 00:42:37,757 Now their keepers have been retired, the lights shine automatically, 604 00:42:37,807 --> 00:42:40,367 but they still need maintenance. 605 00:42:41,847 --> 00:42:47,205 The Northern Lighthouse Board looks after those in Scottish waters. 606 00:42:47,247 --> 00:42:51,365 There's one visit that brings back dreadful memories, 607 00:42:51,407 --> 00:42:54,444 of tragedy on the Flannan lsles. 608 00:43:04,807 --> 00:43:08,004 We're now just approaching the Flannans. We can see them up ahead here. 609 00:43:08,047 --> 00:43:09,799 We can see islands quite clearly there, 610 00:43:09,847 --> 00:43:13,157 and you can see the lighthouse very prominent on the north side. 611 00:43:13,207 --> 00:43:19,237 NlCK: The Flannan light stands as a sombre reminder of peril from the seas. 612 00:43:19,287 --> 00:43:21,847 Growing up, of course, we heard about the mystery 613 00:43:21,887 --> 00:43:24,162 of the Flannan lsles and the keepers. 614 00:43:24,207 --> 00:43:27,483 Probably first of all when l was in primary school 615 00:43:27,527 --> 00:43:30,758 and we did the poem by Wilfred Gibson about the Flannan lsles. 616 00:43:32,727 --> 00:43:36,561 ''Of the three men's fate we found no trace 617 00:43:36,607 --> 00:43:39,838 Of any kind in any place.'' 618 00:43:39,887 --> 00:43:41,923 NlCK: Men like Captain Eric Smith 619 00:43:41,967 --> 00:43:48,236 remember how, on 1 5th December, 1 900, the Flannan light went out. 620 00:43:48,287 --> 00:43:52,803 lts three keepers had vanished, never to be found. 621 00:43:52,847 --> 00:43:57,716 Were they snatched by sea monsters? Were they plucked away? Did aliens land? 622 00:43:57,767 --> 00:44:00,804 Were they kidnapped by some foreign boats? Who knows? 623 00:44:00,847 --> 00:44:04,886 There were all these stories going around cos nobody knew any different. 624 00:44:07,047 --> 00:44:10,039 Copter is just coming in to land now on the island. 625 00:44:16,647 --> 00:44:20,037 Today it's just such a quiet day, flat, calm, 626 00:44:20,087 --> 00:44:22,647 what little weather there is coming from the north, 627 00:44:22,687 --> 00:44:25,884 absolutely nothing between us and America, 628 00:44:25,927 --> 00:44:28,999 and it's hard to appreciate what could happen 629 00:44:29,047 --> 00:44:31,038 and how big the seas get up here. 630 00:44:34,367 --> 00:44:36,085 Because you know something happened, 631 00:44:36,127 --> 00:44:38,925 there's a kind of eerie feeling sometimes. 632 00:44:40,687 --> 00:44:43,918 First time l've been here since well over 20 years. 633 00:44:45,687 --> 00:44:51,045 And now this is the living area, living room. 634 00:44:51,087 --> 00:44:53,078 Very cramped. 635 00:44:54,487 --> 00:44:56,478 But it's functional. 636 00:44:56,527 --> 00:44:59,405 This would have been the principal light keeper's. 637 00:44:59,447 --> 00:45:03,884 He's got two windows, l suppose, cos he's the senior man. 638 00:45:10,047 --> 00:45:13,323 Well, here we are at the optic for the light, 639 00:45:13,367 --> 00:45:16,245 which is the main reason for all this, 640 00:45:16,287 --> 00:45:21,281 the lighthouse, the construction, the landings, everything - to keep this optic turning. 641 00:45:25,567 --> 00:45:28,764 A terrible, terrible tragedy. There's no other way. 642 00:45:28,807 --> 00:45:32,197 Three people lost their lives and all the families were affected. 643 00:45:32,247 --> 00:45:34,886 lt was just so incredible that such a thing could happen. 644 00:45:36,007 --> 00:45:40,762 NlCK: The inquiry into the lost lighthouse keepers was inconclusive. 645 00:45:40,807 --> 00:45:45,676 lt's thought a huge wave washed the three men away. 646 00:45:52,167 --> 00:45:57,036 Peril from the sea used to strike in secret around our shores. 647 00:45:58,367 --> 00:46:01,564 Today there's help at hand. 648 00:46:02,727 --> 00:46:05,195 From the air. 649 00:46:06,607 --> 00:46:08,518 From the water. 650 00:46:10,687 --> 00:46:16,398 While we sleep, remarkable rescues take place in pitch darkness. 651 00:46:18,767 --> 00:46:22,077 But once the sea held sway, 652 00:46:22,127 --> 00:46:24,197 like here at Whitby. 653 00:46:30,967 --> 00:46:33,481 Holidaymakers are unaware, 654 00:46:33,527 --> 00:46:37,759 but 1 00 years ago the town looked out to sea in horror 655 00:46:37,807 --> 00:46:41,686 as a tragedy unfolded within sight of land. 656 00:46:42,527 --> 00:46:46,918 Unravelling a dramatic yet forgotten disaster story 657 00:46:46,967 --> 00:46:52,519 is Coast newcomer, poet and storyteller lan McMillan. 658 00:46:54,887 --> 00:46:57,003 l've got here the front page of the Daily Mirror 659 00:46:57,047 --> 00:46:59,880 from Monday, November 2nd, 1 91 4. 660 00:46:59,927 --> 00:47:03,715 A hospital ship has foundered just a few hundred yards from this coast, 661 00:47:03,767 --> 00:47:07,442 but it's so stormy that it's almost impossible to rescue the crew. 662 00:47:09,407 --> 00:47:11,875 One woman was lucky enough to get off the stricken ship, 663 00:47:11,927 --> 00:47:14,202 but, then, Mary Roberts was a lucky lady. 664 00:47:14,247 --> 00:47:16,920 Two years before, she'd been rescued from the Titanic, 665 00:47:16,967 --> 00:47:20,277 but she said the shipwreck off Whitby was even worse than that. 666 00:47:22,007 --> 00:47:27,127 Now, with the help of Mary Roberts's relatives and lifeboat men of Whitby, 667 00:47:27,167 --> 00:47:29,397 l'm going to tell a tale of terror at sea 668 00:47:29,447 --> 00:47:31,802 that gripped the entire nation for days. 669 00:47:34,087 --> 00:47:36,442 A disaster that caused outcry 670 00:47:36,487 --> 00:47:40,446 and helped propel Britain's coastal rescue services into the modern age. 671 00:47:40,487 --> 00:47:43,160 Our seas would never be the same again 672 00:47:43,207 --> 00:47:45,880 after the wreck of the hospital ship Rohilla. 673 00:47:45,927 --> 00:47:50,876 To see why, l'm going to examine the tragedy of her loss with a forensic eye. 674 00:47:55,927 --> 00:47:58,680 Every accident investigator needs an incident room, 675 00:47:58,727 --> 00:48:01,639 and l've set mine up here at Whitby lifeboat station. 676 00:48:03,847 --> 00:48:06,600 l've collected a precious few of the possessions 677 00:48:06,647 --> 00:48:09,286 that were recovered from the wreck of the Rohilla. 678 00:48:09,327 --> 00:48:13,400 Her story starts on 29th October, 1 91 4, 679 00:48:13,447 --> 00:48:17,076 scarcely three months after Britain had declared war on Germany. 680 00:48:23,247 --> 00:48:27,638 The hospital ship Rohilla left harbour in Scotland, bound for France. 681 00:48:29,807 --> 00:48:33,038 So, what happened next? 682 00:48:33,087 --> 00:48:36,636 To see why Rohilla came to be wrecked just off the Whitby coast, 683 00:48:36,687 --> 00:48:38,564 l'm meeting up with Colin Brittain. 684 00:48:38,607 --> 00:48:41,838 He's spent years researching the dramatic events. 685 00:48:44,047 --> 00:48:47,483 We're looking out here so we can more or less see where the Rohilla ended up. 686 00:48:47,527 --> 00:48:52,157 That's right. There's just a small part of the ship's double planking. 687 00:48:52,207 --> 00:48:54,675 - The weather was terrible, wasn't it? - lt was very bad. 688 00:48:54,727 --> 00:48:58,606 - lt turned into a very severe gale. - Why did she end up down here? 689 00:48:58,647 --> 00:49:00,956 Because of the wartime restrictions, 690 00:49:01,007 --> 00:49:04,966 all the lights were turned out and the navigational buoys were silenced. 691 00:49:05,007 --> 00:49:10,161 This part of the coastline here, at Whitby Rock, is a very treacherous part. 692 00:49:10,207 --> 00:49:12,516 lt's claimed many ships in the past. 693 00:49:12,567 --> 00:49:14,956 lAN: And it had a big impact throughout the country. 694 00:49:15,007 --> 00:49:15,996 COLlN: lt did. 695 00:49:16,047 --> 00:49:18,845 lt's still recorded today in the annals of the RNLl 696 00:49:18,887 --> 00:49:21,276 as one of the worst it's attended. 697 00:49:22,327 --> 00:49:26,479 So, on 30th October, 1 91 4, at 4am, 698 00:49:26,527 --> 00:49:29,246 the Rohilla hits rocks and tears apart. 699 00:49:31,927 --> 00:49:36,523 Later that morning it became clear just how close the wrecked ship was to land. 700 00:49:37,607 --> 00:49:41,236 But a raging storm stopped survivors from swimming ashore. 701 00:49:42,647 --> 00:49:46,196 Rockets with ropes attached were fired from the cliffs. 702 00:49:48,727 --> 00:49:50,046 But they all missed. 703 00:49:50,687 --> 00:49:55,397 Rohilla had no rockets to fire a safety line herself, a fatal lapse. 704 00:49:56,887 --> 00:49:59,560 Now she was relying on Whitby's lifeboat. 705 00:50:02,447 --> 00:50:06,122 The rescuers here on shore could almost reach out and touch the Rohilla, 706 00:50:06,167 --> 00:50:08,203 500 yards out there on the rocks, 707 00:50:08,247 --> 00:50:10,124 but the boiling sea kept them back. 708 00:50:10,167 --> 00:50:14,126 For those onboard, trying to swim to safety looked like a suicide mission. 709 00:50:14,167 --> 00:50:15,885 So where was the lifeboat? 710 00:50:15,927 --> 00:50:18,441 MAN: Pull. 711 00:50:18,487 --> 00:50:22,275 My next witness is Peter Thomson, a former lifeboat coxswain. 712 00:50:23,887 --> 00:50:27,641 This is the kind of boat they would have tried to row out to the Rohilla on? 713 00:50:27,687 --> 00:50:30,804 This is exactly the same as the original boat 714 00:50:30,847 --> 00:50:33,964 that made the first rescue attempts. 715 00:50:34,007 --> 00:50:36,805 lAN: And it feels like a very sturdy kind of boat, 716 00:50:36,847 --> 00:50:39,520 but the conditions at the time were terrible, weren't they? 717 00:50:39,567 --> 00:50:43,321 PETER: What we have to remember is that we're approaching the harbour now, 718 00:50:43,367 --> 00:50:46,916 and the waves across there will be anything from 1 5 to 20 foot high, 719 00:50:46,967 --> 00:50:48,685 breaking seas. 720 00:50:48,727 --> 00:50:52,481 The boat is 34 foot long, so it would have just been swamped. 721 00:50:54,847 --> 00:50:56,166 lAN: With the storm raging, 722 00:50:56,207 --> 00:50:59,404 it was impossible to row beyond the safety of the harbour. 723 00:50:59,447 --> 00:51:04,282 Outside the sturdy walls, monstrous waves lay in wait. 724 00:51:04,327 --> 00:51:07,399 Going out into the open sea wasn't an option. 725 00:51:10,127 --> 00:51:13,836 lnstead, they decided to launch the lifeboat from shallower water, 726 00:51:13,887 --> 00:51:16,355 on the beach beside the Rohilla, 727 00:51:16,407 --> 00:51:19,126 but that meant manhandling their heavy wooden boat 728 00:51:19,167 --> 00:51:21,283 over an eight-foot high sea wall 729 00:51:21,327 --> 00:51:23,557 and across the rocks on the other side. 730 00:51:24,807 --> 00:51:28,516 Then, of course, it was straight into the surf opposite the wreck 731 00:51:28,567 --> 00:51:30,558 and the rescue started then. 732 00:51:33,567 --> 00:51:35,558 lAN: When the lifeboat reached the Rohilla, 733 00:51:35,607 --> 00:51:39,964 the five women aboard the stricken ship were the first to be rescued. 734 00:51:40,007 --> 00:51:41,679 Among them was Mary Roberts, 735 00:51:41,727 --> 00:51:44,525 who had survived Titanic just two years earlier. 736 00:51:46,127 --> 00:51:49,802 We think this is Mary here. Let's go and meet her relatives. 737 00:51:51,367 --> 00:51:54,484 Today her great-granddaughter Mandy, and her husband Ray, 738 00:51:54,527 --> 00:51:57,644 have returned to the scene of Mary's traumatic ordeal. 739 00:52:00,287 --> 00:52:03,563 RAY: She seemed to have spent most of her life at sea. 740 00:52:03,607 --> 00:52:07,885 Quite a woman for that age. We're talking back in the early 1 900s. 741 00:52:08,887 --> 00:52:10,400 But she did compare, actually, 742 00:52:10,447 --> 00:52:14,440 that the Titanic was an easier wreck than this one out here. 743 00:52:14,487 --> 00:52:15,681 This was the worst wreck. 744 00:52:15,727 --> 00:52:19,686 l guess that's cos with the Titanic, it just hit an iceberg, it wasn't a storm, 745 00:52:19,727 --> 00:52:22,161 whereas this was in this terrible, terrible storm. 746 00:52:22,207 --> 00:52:25,836 Yeah, and, of course, being able to get survivors off of this beach, 747 00:52:25,887 --> 00:52:28,276 with the cliffs, must have been horrific. 748 00:52:28,327 --> 00:52:31,046 Must have been so frustrating for the people on the cliff 749 00:52:31,087 --> 00:52:32,156 to see the boat there. 750 00:52:32,207 --> 00:52:35,722 MAND Y: And not be able to get down and do anything. 751 00:52:35,767 --> 00:52:37,962 What did she do then? Gave up the sea forever? 752 00:52:38,007 --> 00:52:39,235 - Went back to sea. - Did she? 753 00:52:39,287 --> 00:52:40,276 Absolutely. 754 00:52:41,207 --> 00:52:45,883 ln all, the lifeboat took 1 7 survivors from the Rohilla on its first attempt. 755 00:52:46,847 --> 00:52:49,077 Dragging the lifeboat over the rocky shore 756 00:52:49,127 --> 00:52:51,118 tore a hole in her hull. 757 00:52:51,167 --> 00:52:54,045 Even so, she managed a second rescue attempt, 758 00:52:54,087 --> 00:52:56,920 bringing back 1 8 more survivors. 759 00:52:56,967 --> 00:52:59,117 But then she had to be abandoned. 760 00:52:59,167 --> 00:53:02,762 The lifeboat was dashed on the rocks and pounded to pieces. 761 00:53:05,887 --> 00:53:07,878 Hope faded with her. 762 00:53:10,007 --> 00:53:11,440 Survivors brought back to shore 763 00:53:11,487 --> 00:53:14,638 painted a terrible picture of conditions for those left on the wreck, 764 00:53:14,687 --> 00:53:17,599 corpses lashed to woodwork battered by the storm, 765 00:53:17,647 --> 00:53:20,480 survivors clinging to the wreckage as the ship broke up. 766 00:53:20,527 --> 00:53:24,156 No wonder some of those left on board tried to brave the raging seas 767 00:53:24,207 --> 00:53:26,038 and make that terrible swim to shore. 768 00:53:28,047 --> 00:53:31,642 Rohilla wasjust over 500 yards out to sea, 769 00:53:31,687 --> 00:53:36,602 but only 35 of the 229 on board had been rescued. 770 00:53:39,967 --> 00:53:42,037 As news of the unfolding tragedy spread, 771 00:53:42,087 --> 00:53:44,806 a newsreel crew was dispatched to film the drama 772 00:53:44,847 --> 00:53:47,998 for a public hungry for news of the tragedy. 773 00:53:48,047 --> 00:53:50,038 Let's see what they saw. 774 00:53:57,047 --> 00:54:00,960 lt is funny, when you watch this, you realise how close it is. 775 00:54:01,007 --> 00:54:04,317 lt does genuinely look like you could just wander out to it. 776 00:54:07,127 --> 00:54:12,520 lt's also quite gobsmacking to think that here's a piece of film of it, 777 00:54:12,567 --> 00:54:16,355 that what was before just a story, a thing in a newspaper, 778 00:54:16,407 --> 00:54:18,477 suddenly it's there, it's moving. 779 00:54:18,527 --> 00:54:22,156 You can see the waves moving, the waves crashing against the boat. 780 00:54:23,927 --> 00:54:26,441 Hard to fathom how terrifying it must have been, 781 00:54:26,487 --> 00:54:31,277 but you do get a very good image of it from here. 782 00:54:33,167 --> 00:54:36,876 So this was rolling news from nearly 1 00 years ago. 783 00:54:37,687 --> 00:54:40,724 Some desperate souls swam for shore. 784 00:54:40,767 --> 00:54:43,156 Many others remained on board the wreck. 785 00:54:43,207 --> 00:54:47,246 As darkness fell, those battling for their lives on the Rohilla 786 00:54:47,287 --> 00:54:50,006 braced themselves for a night of horror. 787 00:54:55,807 --> 00:54:59,038 Saturday morning didn't bring any respite from the atrocious weather. 788 00:54:59,087 --> 00:55:02,636 More than 24 hours after the hospital ship Rohilla had struck the rocks, 789 00:55:02,687 --> 00:55:05,963 lifeboats from along the Yorkshire coast were struggling to reach her. 790 00:55:08,767 --> 00:55:10,439 So despite heroic efforts, 791 00:55:10,487 --> 00:55:14,036 the rescue crews couldn't get close enough to the boat for long enough, 792 00:55:14,087 --> 00:55:15,839 cos these boats relied on manpower, 793 00:55:15,887 --> 00:55:19,004 and rowing against the power of the sea proved impossible. 794 00:55:20,327 --> 00:55:24,115 But help was on its way - motorised help. 795 00:55:24,167 --> 00:55:25,919 From up the coast on Tyneside, 796 00:55:25,967 --> 00:55:29,357 a lifeboat that represented the future for the RNLl 797 00:55:29,407 --> 00:55:31,682 had powered her way down to Whitby. 798 00:55:32,567 --> 00:55:36,037 Motorised lifeboats able to battle through rough seas 799 00:55:36,087 --> 00:55:38,840 were few and far between in 1 91 4. 800 00:55:40,367 --> 00:55:43,757 But now she was the last and only hope. 801 00:55:46,287 --> 00:55:47,800 At 6.30 on a Sunday morning, 802 00:55:47,847 --> 00:55:51,078 the Henry Vernon, a motorised lifeboat similar to this old gem, 803 00:55:51,127 --> 00:55:52,560 sets off to the Rohilla, 804 00:55:52,607 --> 00:55:56,156 where the survivors have been clinging on for more than two days. 805 00:55:56,207 --> 00:56:00,962 On board in 1 91 4 was second coxswain James Brownlee. 806 00:56:01,887 --> 00:56:05,277 On board now is his granddaughter Dorothy Brownlee. 807 00:56:06,567 --> 00:56:10,845 First light, they set off from Whitby harbour 808 00:56:10,887 --> 00:56:14,323 and they picked up the last 50 survivors. 809 00:56:14,367 --> 00:56:17,484 My granddad's quoted in a newspaper 810 00:56:17,527 --> 00:56:21,202 as saying that they were bruised from head to foot. 811 00:56:21,247 --> 00:56:26,116 And l think it just touched everyone who saw the state of all these people. 812 00:56:26,167 --> 00:56:27,646 lAN: So without your granddad, 813 00:56:27,687 --> 00:56:29,917 the loss of life would have been much greater. 814 00:56:29,967 --> 00:56:30,956 lt really would. 815 00:56:31,007 --> 00:56:34,477 l can't see any way in which those last 50 men could have survived. 816 00:56:34,527 --> 00:56:38,520 Efforts had just about been given up because it was too severe. 817 00:56:38,567 --> 00:56:42,606 The storm showed very little signs of abating. 818 00:56:42,647 --> 00:56:46,083 lt certainly proved the value of a motor lifeboat, 819 00:56:46,127 --> 00:56:49,597 because the men didn't get so exhausted. 820 00:56:49,647 --> 00:56:52,115 So you must be very proud of your granddad. 821 00:56:52,167 --> 00:56:54,886 l really am, yes, l'm very proud. 822 00:56:54,927 --> 00:56:59,557 Here's a picture of him, which was very familiar to me as a child, 823 00:56:59,607 --> 00:57:01,598 and he's wearing his medals. 824 00:57:01,647 --> 00:57:05,162 Three of them are for the Rohilla rescue. 825 00:57:05,207 --> 00:57:07,596 lAN: But who was the last person off the boat? 826 00:57:07,647 --> 00:57:11,162 The captain was the last person to come off the boat, 827 00:57:11,207 --> 00:57:14,882 and it is said that he climbed up the ladder 828 00:57:14,927 --> 00:57:19,045 and he was carrying a small black cat, the ship's cat, 829 00:57:19,087 --> 00:57:23,717 which apparently had been unperturbed by all the commotion. 830 00:57:26,047 --> 00:57:31,440 Of the 229 people on board His Majesty's hospital ship Rohilla, 85 perished, 831 00:57:31,487 --> 00:57:34,160 but, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the rescuers, 832 00:57:34,207 --> 00:57:38,166 1 44 survived to tell their extraordinary story. 833 00:57:39,607 --> 00:57:43,759 Rescuing survivors from our perilous seas would never be the same again. 834 00:57:43,807 --> 00:57:47,004 More motorised lifeboats were brought into service. 835 00:57:47,847 --> 00:57:50,964 The days of rowing to the rescue were numbered. 836 00:58:02,087 --> 00:58:06,877 NlCK: Where the sea meets the land, danger is ever present. 837 00:58:09,207 --> 00:58:13,359 Many have met that challenge - and still do - 838 00:58:13,407 --> 00:58:15,875 facing peril from the seas 839 00:58:15,927 --> 00:58:20,796 with ingenuity, resourcefulness and simple courage. 840 00:58:20,847 --> 00:58:23,919 Manning every lifeboat is the crew, 841 00:58:23,967 --> 00:58:29,599 and it's these brave men and women who keep us safe on our wild coast.