A STORMY FINALE

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 266, 6 August 1931, Page 9

A STORMY FINALE

Bank Holiday Week-end In England THRONGS AT SEASIDE (Rec. August 5, 5.5 p.m.). Official Wireless. Rugby, August 4. Fine weather prevailed yesterday over the greater part of England, and very large August Bank Holiday crowds thronged the beaches of seaside places. Riverside resorts also proved popular, and the heaths, downs and public parks around London were in the possession of picnic parties. The road traffic was exceptionally heavy, but there was a remarkable absence of serious accidents, due, it is believed, to the desire shown by the drivers of motor-cars and coaches to observe the social and moral obligations .suggested in the Ministry of Transport’s highway code. Thousands Sleep on Beach. The railway traffic also was heavy, a large number of special trains being run to the Sussex and Kent resorts from London, while Southend—where, it is stated, 6000 slept on the beach on Sunday night—experienced the usual invasion, A total of 110 holidaymakers’ trains arrived in Blackpool during the day. Several bathing fatalities are reported, including the drowning of three members of one family at Wittering, near the Isle of Wight. Yesterday was the 60th anniversary of the institution of the August Bank Holiday, which was first observed in 1871 after the passing of the Act in that year. Higli Seas in ClianneL The end of the holiday week-end coincided with a severe storm. Thunder broke over London and the south-east-ern counties last night, and crowds returning late were drenched by heavy rain. , , High seas running in the Channel and the Thames estuary buffeted pleasure steamers, delaying some for four or five hours. The crossing from France was declared to be the worst this summer. The storm was followed to-day by a thick fog over the sea, in which an oiltanker of 6000 tons went ashore near Dungeness, but was refloated this afternoon. All shipping was slowed down.