1901 Caister Lifeboat Disaster
Encyclopedia
Caister-on-Sea
Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a settlement in Norfolk in the United Kingdom, close to the large town of Great Yarmouth. It is a seaside resort and busy holiday destination on the "Golden Mile", with its main attraction being its sandy "Georgian Beach". It is home to Great...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Events took place during what became known as the "Great Storm" which caused havoc down the East coasts of England and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Disaster events
Poor weather conditions on 13 November contributed to the disaster. A galeGale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
created lashing rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
and a heavy sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
. Shortly after 11:00 PM, flares
Flare (pyrotechnic)
A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...
were seen from a vessel on the Barber sands. The Cockle light-ship
Lightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
fired distress signal
Distress signal
A distress signal is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals take the form of or are commonly made by using radio signals, displaying a visually detected item or illumination, or making an audible sound, from a distance....
s to indicate a vessel in trouble. The crew of the Lifeboat "Beauchamp" were alerted and an attempt was made to launch the Lifeboat. The heavy seas washed the boat off her skids and she was hauled back up the beach for another attempt. The crew fought until 2:00 AM in the dark and cold with warp and tackle to get the Lifeboat afloat.
After the launch most of the launching crew went home to change their wet clothing. James Haylett
James Haylett
James Henry Haylett was the most famous lifeboatman of his age. Decorated by King Edward VII with the RNLI gold medal for his efforts in the 1901 Caister Lifeboat Disaster, which claimed the lives of nine men...
Snr, who had been the assistant Coxwain for many years and was now 78 years old, remained on watch despite being wet through and having no food. He had 2 sons, a son in law and 2 grandsons in the boat.
The Coxwain steered towards the stricken vessel but the sea conditions forced the boat back towards the beach and she struck the beach bow first about 50 yards (45.7 m) from the launch point. The heavy sea struck the starboard quarter and capsized the boat. breaking off the masts and trapping the crew beneath the boat. The "Beauchamp" was a Norfolk and Suffolk class non self righting boat, 36 feet (11 m) in length , 10 and a half feet wide and weighing 5 tons without her gear. When fully crewed and equipped and with ballast tanks full she needed 36 men to bring her ashore.
The time was now around 3.00 AM. Frederick Henry Haylett returned to the Lifeboat house after getting changed and alerted his grandfather James Haylett
James Haylett
James Henry Haylett was the most famous lifeboatman of his age. Decorated by King Edward VII with the RNLI gold medal for his efforts in the 1901 Caister Lifeboat Disaster, which claimed the lives of nine men...
Snr to the cries coming from the boat. They ran to where the Beauchamp lay keel up in the surf. James Haylett
James Haylett
James Henry Haylett was the most famous lifeboatman of his age. Decorated by King Edward VII with the RNLI gold medal for his efforts in the 1901 Caister Lifeboat Disaster, which claimed the lives of nine men...
managed to pull his son-in-law Charles Knights from the boat. Frederick Haylett also ran into the surf and pulled John Hubbard clear. James Haylett
James Haylett
James Henry Haylett was the most famous lifeboatman of his age. Decorated by King Edward VII with the RNLI gold medal for his efforts in the 1901 Caister Lifeboat Disaster, which claimed the lives of nine men...
returned to the water to pull his grandson Walter Haylett clear. Despite the bravery of these two men these were the only survivors.
After the disaster
Eight bodies were subsequently recovered at the scene with another, that of Charles Bonney George being washed away only to be recovered months later in April of the following year. The Crewmen lost were Aaron Walter Haylett (Coxswain), James Haylett Jnr (Late Cox), William Brown (Second Coxswain), Charles Brown, William Wilson, John Smith, George King, Charles George and Harry Knights. Asked at the inquest to their deaths why the crew had persisted in the rescue, retired coxswain James HaylettJames Haylett
James Henry Haylett was the most famous lifeboatman of his age. Decorated by King Edward VII with the RNLI gold medal for his efforts in the 1901 Caister Lifeboat Disaster, which claimed the lives of nine men...
in response to the question from the coroner — "I suppose they had given up the job and were returning" — said, "They would never give up the ship. If they had to keep at it 'til now, they would have sailed about until daylight to help her. Going back is against the rules when we see distress signals like that." This response was translated by journalists to become the famous phrase "Caister men never turn back", "Never Turn Back" was later to become a motto of the RNLI. Haylett was subsequently awarded the RNLI Gold Medal in recognition of his gallantry and endurance.
The victims are all buried in Caister Cemetery where a monument raised by public donation was raised to them in 1903.
The Beauchamp
Following the disaster the Beauchamp never returned to service and was abandoned in a boatyard before finally being broken up. The Beauchamp, the cost of which was presented to the Institution by Sir Reginald Proctor Beauchamp, Bart, was placed on her station in 1892, and up to the time of the accident she had been launched to the aid of vessels in distress on 81 occasions, and saved 146 lives; while the total number of lives which the lifeboats at Caister have saved during the past forty-three years is 1281, a 'record' as regards the lifeboat stations of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The RNLI lifeboat station at Caister
Caister-on-Sea
Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a settlement in Norfolk in the United Kingdom, close to the large town of Great Yarmouth. It is a seaside resort and busy holiday destination on the "Golden Mile", with its main attraction being its sandy "Georgian Beach". It is home to Great...
was closed by the Institution in October 1969 after the Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
and Gorleston
Gorleston
Gorleston-On-Sea, also known colloquially as Gorleston, is a settlement in Norfolk in the United Kingdom, forming part of the larger town of Great Yarmouth. Situated at the mouth of the River Yare it was a port town at the time of the Domesday Book. The port then became a centre of fishing for...
lifeboat station received a fast 44 ft (13.4 m) Waveney class lifeboat
Waveney class lifeboat
The Waveney class lifeboat was the first class of lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution capable of operating at speeds in excess of . Based on an American hull design, 22 were in operation between 1964 and 1999 at the RNLI's stations around the coast of the United Kingdom...
. The Caister Lifeboat
Caister Lifeboat
Caister is the home to only one of three offshore lifeboats in the UK that is independent of the RNLI. A lifeboat at Caister was first documented in 1791, being used by the Caister Beach Company to salvage ships wrecked on the sand banks offshore from Caister. Between 1856 and 1969 lifeboats at...
station re-opened as an independently run lifeboat station, and continues to save lives today.