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Basalt

Again the date was on the picture 1957 another ship ashore at Redcar I didn’t think it was so dangerous at Redcar. The next post on the Archive of the same vessel explains all. Craig White commented: “I wondered if this small vessel has been deliberately beached to unload. It has a very large derrick/crane fitted and may have been engaged in scrapping or salvaging a wreck offshore. Just realised that there is another picture of Basalt on here with the comments that it was on salvage work and was deliberately beached after being holed. Amazingly whilst sorting old family photographs today found three pictures of Basalt sitting high and dry on Salt Scar rocks! No name was visible on these so it solves a bit of a mystery.”

Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Craig White for the updates.

Basalt – 1955

This image came to the Archive among a collection of photographs of ’shipwrecks’ off Redcar and the East Cleveland coast and at that time we had no knowledge of the origins! A different view of the Basalt – aground off the promenade at Redcar – in 1957. Alan Etherington tells us: ”This particular picture was taken by me and dated in my album as being taken in 1955, it is a scan of a contact print, the negative being long lost. The ship was being used to dismantle the Dimitris which ran aground on East Scar Rocks at Redcar. The story was that the Basalt had taken a shorter route back to the Tees and tried to get between West Scar Rocks and Salt Scar but had misjudged the tide and tore a hole in the bottom. It turned tail and ran as far up Redcar beach as it could, almost into Marks and Spencer’s. A repair was carried out and the Basalt refloated on a spring tide.”

Image courtesy of Alan Etherington, thanks to Derick Pearson for initial dating, but very grateful thanks to Alan Etherington for the image and an explanation of the situation.

Size Does Matter!

Well in this instant it did, has a larger one been landed since 1937?

Cutting from a collection gifted to the Archive, most of the cuttings coming from the Northern Echo and cover the period 1930 to 1940.

Residuum

That was the title to this cutting – red hot slag being run off one of the blast furnaces into buckets at Skinningrove Iron and Steel works – dated 9th February 1937.

Cutting from a collection gifted to the Archive, most of the cuttings coming from the Northern Echo and cover the period 1930 to 1940.

First Casualty

February 1940 and this is the first German bomber to be brought down on English soil. A North Eastern Gazette photograph of the ’plane after it had crashed into a farmhouse near Smeaton Castle. There is a commemorative stone to denote the situation of this event. David Richardson tells us: ”This was the Heinkel He111 that was shot down around 10.00a.m. on 3rd February 1940 at Bannial Flatt Farm, just outside of Whitby (half a mile from Sneaton Castle). The first German bomber shot down on British soil. The Luftwaffe crew were: Pilot – Fw Hermann Wilms, survived. Wireless Operator (/ Dorsal Gunner) – Uffz Karl Missy, wounded in both legs but survived. Observer – Uffz Rudolf (Rudi) Leushake, aged 23, died almost instantly. Mechanic (/ Ventral Gunner) – Uffz Johann Meyer, aged 25, mortally wounded.” Geoffrey Powell tells us: ”This plane was brought down by Pilot officer Peter Townshend, later Group Captain and equerry to Princess Margaret who was denied marriage to her by the establishment. As part of a disposal unit based at Goldsborough 1962, we travelled daily to Fylingdales to clear munitions so the builders could work in safety; building what is now an update of the original golf balls. One day when we were on the way back from a days work at Fylingdales we dropped off the truck and looked around with our mine detectors and found ammunition boxes and a machine gun in the undergrowth.” Sandie Dowkes tells us: ”My grandfather Leonard Frank Robinson took Police Sergeant Welburn from Hinderwell police station to search for the plane. When found the rear gunner was still sat in his seat unfortunately deceased. The pilot was taken into Whitby hospital where Group Captain Townsend later visited him.” John Richardson tells us: ”My mother, Marjorie (Peggy), née Oliver, of Guisborough was nursing at Whitby Memorial Hospital at the time and assisted at the operation to amputate one of Karl Missy’s shattered legs. She kept the bullet removed from his leg as a souvenir, my sister still has it.”  

From cutting part of a collection gifted to the Archive, most of the cuttings coming from the Northern Echo and cover the period 1930 to 1940. Thanks to David Richardson, Geoffrey Powell, Sandie Dowks and John Richardson for the updates.

Disaster

I think the caption says it all, my feelings are with the horse.

Cutting from a collection gifted to the Archive, most of the cuttings coming from the Northern Echo and cover the period 1930 to 1940.

Improvements

A newspaper cutting dated 20th June 1939 – with  the original caption – good view of Loftus bank showing the improvement to the roadway corner, with Skinningrove works in the background.

Cutting from a collection gifted to the Archive, most of the cuttings coming from the Northern Echo and cover the period 1930 to 1940.

Guisborough Church

A rather nice view from a postcard of the church and one that is a first for this site; being a view from the graveyard. The wall to the left being the boundary of the priory grounds.
Image courtesy of Keith Bowers.

Mulgrave Old Castle

I am presuming this is a postcard (by Tom Watson of Lythe) of the old castle but what a beautiful place it must have been wish I could have seen it in all it’s glory. David Richardson confirms with: “It is indeed a lovely view of the castle which dates from the 1890’s.”

Image courtesy of Keith Bowers, thanks to David Richardson for the update.

Old Saltburn

An old postcard view of Old Saltburn as the road doesn’t look to be made up yet. I know a morgue was one of the three buildings on the right but what were the other buildings? Callum Duff assists with: “The building nearest the road was the Saltburn Lifeboat House. Saltburn had 3 lifeboats from its inception to 1924 when the last ‘The Mary Batger’ was auctioned. The middle building housed the Rocket Brigade who aided in the rescue of ship’s crewmen in heavy seas, Saltburn’s answer to International Rescue! After the sale of the last lifeboat, more sophisticated life-saving techniques and road widening, these two buildings were demolished.”
Image courtesy of Keith Bowers, thanks to Callum Duff for the update.