GALE IN ENGLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19375, 10 January 1925, Page 7

GALE IN ENGLAND.

GUSTS. 17 MEN DROWNED* LONG TRAIL OF 'WRECKAGE. One of tho worat gales of recent years swept England from end to end in. tho parly hours of November 27. On land and sea ita track was marked by casualty. The moat serious occurrence was the loss of 17 member# of the crew of tho steamer Hartley, which foundered in'the Channel. At Htul a dock labouxw was buried and killed beneath a stock of timber tliat was blown over by the wad ; at Boatluunpton, in the height of the gale, a man was killed upon the railway ; and at Leicester, a householder, _ his wile, and their infant child were sonanaly injured by the collapse of a gable into their bedroom. From the south coast, the *® B V * n “ the west come reports of unusually heavy seas, of ship# in distress in the Channel, the North Sea, and off tho Isle of Man, and of gallant rescues hy life-boatmen and the crows of motor-boats. In the early morning, the cross-Channel #.a. Dieppe ran aground at tho to Newnavcn Harbour, and the tng Richmere, which wont to hex assistance, was driven on to tho beach. All hands were rescued, and the Dieppe was refloated lour hours later. The Continental passenger and mail services have all been mmntaiirefl, but exceedingly rough voyage# have been made. The fury of the gale was not confined to tha coast. In Midland towns It played pitch-and-toes with tile# and chimney-pots, in the country it levelled ancient trees aod ruined orchards j and it effectively deprived the majority of Londoners of their sleep. Seventeen men of tho steamer Hartley were drowned in sight of safety oil Portland Bay, after their vessel had foundered and the lifeboat capsized. Two men were saved. The first indication of tho 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 j sinking; needs assistance.” Vessels wero at once sent out in search of her, including tho light cruiser Calliope, and also tho Weymouth lifeboat. The Hartley, however, had foundered long before they could get to her, and they never found any trace of hear at any wreckage of any land. From wireless message# subsequently received at Portland it appeared that tbo first vessel to reach tho sinking ship was tho steamer Machaon, which, was joined by tho Southern Railway Company’s steam or Alberta, bound from Southampton to the Channel islands. On reaching the Hartley, tho Machaon found that her lifeboat had been launched, ond she immediately endeavoured to rescue the 13 men, hut tho lifeboat capsized in the tremendous sea# and ail tho crow wero thrown into tho water. Tho Machaon got near enough to throw lifelines and lifebuoy#, and two mon were picked up, but the other 17, after feebly struggling to keep afloat and making frantic efforts to grasp tha lifebuoys and spars thrown overboard, disappeared. 71io vessels steamed round for some time, but tho terrific seas made it clear that none of the other men could have survived, and after signalling to Niton (Isle of Wight) what had occurred, resumed thoir respective voyages. Tbo Machaon was believed to bo bound for Dunkirk. Tho search vessels which went out from Portland, as well as tho Weymouth lifeboat, returned, having failed to find any trace of wreckage. One of tho tugs reported that tho seas wero terrific, and she was badly knocked about herself. "No small boat could have possibly lived in such weather,” said one of the ship's crew on driving hack at Portland. The Hartley was a new vessel, built by the Hartley Steamship Company, in New-, castle, last year. Her gross tonnage was 2147, and not tonnage 1216. COAST TOWNS' ORDEAL. Most of tho South Coast towns suffered severely from tho effects of the gale and tho heavy waves which, in many cases, swept over the promenades and inundated houses and shops in the streets. Many of the houses lost slates from the roofs, trees were uprooted, and windows were broken. At Hastings shop window# on the sea front were blown in, trees were nprooted, and hoardings damaged. The gale continued throughout tile day, accompanied l>y very heavy seas. For the first time for 15 years the sea ran past tho memorial in tho centre of tho town, tearing up many yards of wood blocks. On some parts of tho front the sea was 3ft deep. Outside tho houses relays of men were stationed at short intervals along the parade to remove the vast quantities of sand and stone which have been washed up. Bournemouth felt the full force of the gale. Tremendous seas broke over tho Undercliff Drive and piers, whilst a number of beach tents on the promenade were swept to tho sea with their contents and cast up at tho base of tho cliffs some distance away. In tho town shop fronts wore blown in, and during tho early hours falling slates made it dangerous to walk in tho streets. Spray was sweeping tho streets at Sandgato, and the main road between Sandgate and Hytho wore awash, motors making a detour over Shomcliffa Camp. At Southend-on-Sea windows were wrenched from their fastenings, and tiles and chimney-pots torn from roofs. Many wireless poles and fences suffered damage. Tho heaviest flooding in living memory was occasioned at Sidmouth, Boats wore rowed through the main streets, and there was sft to 10ft of water in some cottages. Very serious damage was done to the sea wall, recently repaired at a cost of £28,000. Many fishing and pleasure boats were smashed to pieces. The gasworks were flooded. The Dover meteorological station recorded a wind force of 57 miles an hour. Seas wero breaking across the road, and into tho gardens of the Marine Parade houses at high tide, a condition of things not remembered since tie building of the southern breakwater.