GALE IN ENGLAND.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 January 1925, Page 2

GALE IN ENGLAND.

60-MILE-AN-HOUR GUSTS

SEVENTEEN MEN DROWNED

One of the worst gales of recent years swept England from end to end in the early hours of November 27. On land and sea its track was marked by casualty. The most serious occurrence was the loss of seventeen members of the crew of the steamer Hartle'y, which foundered in the Channel. At Hull a dock labourer was buried and killed beneath a stack of timber that was blown over by the wind; and at Leicester a householder, his wife, and their infant child were seriously injured by the collapse of a gable into their bedroom. ~ , , From the south coast, the east and the west came reports of unusually heavy seas, of ships in distress in the Channel, the North Sea, and off the Isle, of Man, and of gallant rescues by . life-boatmen and the crews of motorboats. In the. early morning the crosschannel s.s. Dieppe ran aground at the entrance to Newhaven Harbour, and the tug Ri clime re., which went to her assistance, was driven on to the beach. , All hands were rescued, and the Dieppe was refloated four hours later. The Continental passenger and mail services have all been maintained, .but exceedingly rough voyages have been iiiade. « The fury of the gale, was not confined to the coast. In Midland towns it played pitch-and-toss with tiles and chimney-pots, in the country it levelled ancient trees and ruined orchards ; and it effectively deprived the majority of Londoners of their sleep. Seventeen men of the steamer Hartley were drowned in sight of safety off Porland Bay, after their vessel had foundered aTid the lifeboat capsized. Two men were saved. The first indication of the tragedy was an “5.0.5.” message received at Portland and picked up by several ships, which read: “S.S. Hartley, off Portland Bill; hatches burst.; sinking; needs assistance.” Vessels were at olice sent out in search of her, including the light cruiser Calliope, and also the Weymouth lifeboat. The Hartley, however, had foundered long before they could get to her, and they never found anv trace, of her or any wreckage of anv kind. From wireless messages subsequently received at Portland it appeared that the first vessel to reach the sinking ship was the steamer Machaon, which was joined by the Sbutherh Railway Company’s steamer Alberta, bound from Southampton to the Channel Islands. On reaching the Hartley, the Machaon found that her lifeboat capsized in the tremendous seas and all the cretv were thrown into the water. . . The Machaon got near enough to throw lifelines and lifebuoys, and two men were picked upi but the other seventeen, after feebly straggling to keep afloat and making frantic efforts to grasp the lifebuoys and spars thrown overboard, disappeared. The vessels steamed round for some time, but the terrific seas made it clear that none of the other men could have survived, and after signalling to Niton (Isle of Wight) what liad occurred, resinned their respective voyages. 1 1 he Machaon was believed to be bound tor Dunkirk. , The search vessels which went out from Portland, as well as the V\eymouth lifeboat, returned, having failed to find any trace of wreckage. One ot the tugs reported that the seps "'ere terrific, and slie was badly knocked about herself. “No small boat could, possibly have lived in such weather, 1 said one of the ship’s crew on arriving back at Portland. The Hartley was a new vessel, built 1 bv the Hartley Steamship Company, in Newcastle, last year. Her gross tonnage was 2147, and net tonnage , 1215.*