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The Hayle lifeboat New Oriental Bank (later renamed E. F. Harrison) with the wreck of the SS Escurial in the background, Portreath, Cornwall. 25th January 1895
Wall Art and Photo Gifts from Royal Cornwall Museum
The Hayle lifeboat New Oriental Bank (later renamed E. F. Harrison) with the wreck of the SS Escurial in the background, Portreath, Cornwall. 25th January 1895
SS Escurial, an iron built schooner-rigged screw steamer built by Alex Stephens of Lighthouse, Govan, for Raeburn and Verel of Glasgow in 1879, was outward bound from Cardiff, laden with 1, 350 tons of coal for the Adriatic port of Fiume. The weather was bitterly cold with the threat of snow. She had a bows on collision with a Welsh pilot cutter at midnight, but neither was apparently harmed. However, in the rising seas Captain Andrews was concerned about a list that she had taken on while loading at Cardiff and ordered Second Officer Nicol to inspect the foreholds. This revealed a bad leak forward of the engine room. After a long battle to reduce the water intake and the list, which was further complicated by the failure of machinery plus injuries to members of the crew, life belts were issued and distress signals fired. As dusk fell, the gale increased with the wind from due north. The Hayle lifeboat had to be taken overland to Portreath to be launched. Several attempts at rescue were made by the lifeboat and coastguard rocket. In the photograph, men can be seen clinging to the ships rigging awaiting rescue. Of the crew of nineteen, eleven lives were lost due to the rescuers being unable to reach the vessel because of the position of the ships grounding far out in the surf, the mountainous seas and bitterly cold weather. Photographer: John Charles Burrow
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TRURI : SE.0026.1
Media ID 19729411
© From the collection of the RIC
Coast Rescue Ship Shipping Ships Shipwreck Victorian Wreck Lifesaving Lives Saving
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This poignant print captures the devastating aftermath of a maritime tragedy that unfolded on January 25th, 1895. In the backdrop stands the Hayle lifeboat New Oriental Bank (later renamed E. F. Harrison), a symbol of hope and rescue amidst the chaos. The wrecked SS Escurial looms in the distance, serving as a haunting reminder of lives lost at sea. The iron-built schooner-rigged screw steamer, constructed by Alex Stephens for Raeburn and Verel in 1879, was en route from Cardiff to Fiume with a heavy load of coal when disaster struck. A collision with a Welsh pilot cutter had initially seemed harmless, but it revealed an alarming leak forward of the engine room. As Captain Andrews battled against rising seas and machinery failures, distress signals were fired into an unforgiving sky. With dusk descending and gale-force winds intensifying from due north, desperate attempts at rescue were made by both the valiant crew aboard the Hayle lifeboat and coastguard rocket teams. Tragically, despite their heroic efforts, eleven lives were lost among the nineteen crew members stranded on board. The treacherous positioning of the grounded ship far out in turbulent surf proved insurmountable for rescuers battling mountainous waves and bitter cold. Photographer John Charles Burrow captured this heart-wrenching scene as men clung desperately to rigging while awaiting salvation that would never come for some. This photograph serves as a somber testament to both human resilience in times of crisis and nature's unyielding power over mortal endeavors on Cornwall's unforgiving shores.
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