The Solomon Browne

Today marks thirty five years since one of the worst maritime disasters in Cornish history. 

On the night of December 19, 1981, eight volunteers put to sea in horrendous conditions determined to save the lives of eight people, including a pregnant mother and her two children, on board the foundering coaster the Union Star. 

The men, all from Mousehole, all volunteers, didn't hesitate in their dedication to the RNLI and the Penlee lifeboat, the Solomon Browne, was launched at 8.12pm. 

A little over an hour later she was lost with all hands. 

Search and rescue crews set off and worked through the night in a vain attempt to find the lifeboat, her crew and those on board the Union Star. 

Sennen lifeboat launched but was unable to make any headway in the horrendous conditions. 

With no thought of the personal danger, the crews of St Mary's lifeboat and the Lizard lifeboat joined in the search and rescue mission, which continued throughout the subsequent days with the help of helicopter crews of RNAS Culdrose and a small fleet of fishing boats.

Just before 1am the first wreckage washed up in Lamorna Cove and when it was identified as having come from the Solomon Browne it became clear that the unthinkable had happened. The lifeboat had gone down, taking her crew with her. 

They were: coxswain Trevelyan Richards, second coxswain/mechanic Stephen Madron, assistant mechanic Nigel Brockman, emergency mechanic John Robert Blewett and crew members Charles Thomas Greenhaugh, Kevin Smith, Barrie Robertson Torrie and Gary Lee Wallis. 

The coaster was also lost with all hands. Here we tell the story of what happened that night.

Mousehole in December 1981 was no different from countless other fishing villages around the coast of Cornwall. 

It was a place where everyone knew everyone and many were related, with generations of families following in their forefathers' footsteps by going to sea as fishermen and by volunteering for the local lifeboat crew. 

Christmas is big in Mousehole and 35 years ago, the harbour was aglow with festive lights. Villagers would have been gearing up for Tom Bawcock's Eve, the annual festival held on December 23 to celebrate the efforts of the Mousehole legend to lift a famine from the village.

As the festival suggests, much of village life revolved around the sea. 

A big part of that for the men and boys of the village was serving on the volunteer crew of the lifeboat. There had been a lifeboat stationed at Penlee, about a quarter of a mile from the village, since 1914. 

Speaking to The Mirror in 2006, Neil Brockman, son of Nigel and then-coxswain of the new Penlee lifeboat, talked about his family's connection with the RNLI - a connection which was shared by many of the others involved.

Neil then said: "My son wants to join the crew and I'm happy about that. I was the same. I can't remember a time when the lifeboat wasn't part of my life. Dad and his friends were involved, and the lifeboat was always an exciting part of village life. The launching signal was the two maroons - signal rockets - which exploded with a short interval between. When the second one went off, all the boys would run to the boathouse to watch the lifeboat launch." 

He said no-one ever spoke about the dangers of being a lifeboatman. They were never a consideration.

The Solomon Browne was the pride and joy of her crew and of west Cornwall, just like the lifeboats that preceded and have followed her. 

She had spent all of her 21 years of service stationed at Penlee. 

Two decades previously, in 1960, the £35,000 vessel was launched as the most up-to-date and best-equipped, self-righting lifeboat money could buy. 

A 47ft Watson-class wooden lifeboat, the Solomon Browne could hit a top speed of nine knots. 

Pamela Leeds, who worked for the West Briton and witnessed the jubilant launch of the new lifeboat, wrote: "The Penlee crew made no attempt to hide their delight in her."

And of a trip onboard, she added: "I found the lively motion of the Solomon Browne a little disconcerting but this was not surprising as she was built to withstand anything the elements could fling at her." 

And withstand she did, being launched 238 timed on service and saving 98 lives, the Solomon Browne had faced hellish sea conditions on numerous occasions. 

In 1975 several members of the crew were awarded medals and certificates for gallantry after they went out in force 12 gales, responding to a mayday call from the MV Lovat, though its crew had abandoned ship by the time the Solomon Browne reached them and there were no survivors. 

Designed to be unsinkable, nobody could have foreseen the tragedy that would strike six days before Christmas in 1981.

A 222ft coaster, the Union Star was on her maiden voyage when she was wrecked on the rugged coast near Land's End.

Built in Denmark in 1981, she was one of four ships constructed to the same design for owner Union Transport Ltd. 

Captain Henry Morton was appointed as her first master and joined his new vessel on November 28 at the builder's yard in Ringkøbing, standing by during sea trials with a chief engineer. 

The Union Star passed muster and was accepted by her owner on December 11. Four days later Mr Morton received orders to sail to Ijmuiden in the Netherlands to load fertiliser bound for Arklow on the east coast of Ireland. 

At Ijmuiden the Union Star was loaded with 1,250 metric tonnes of calcium nitrate and on December 17, engineer George Sedgwick joined the crew. 

Before leaving the port, Mr Morton had several conversations with his superiors and on one occasion asked permission for his wife Dawn and her children, Sharon, 16, and 14-year-old Deana, to board the ship at Imjuiden. 

Permission was granted, though Dawn was expected to sign on as cook. 

The Union Star left port at 5.15pm on December 17. Onboard were Mr Morton, 32, Mr Sedgwick, 50, and mate James Whittaker, 26. Two Portuguese seamen, Anghostino Verressimo and Manuel Lopes, both of whom had sailed with Mr Morton previously, completed the ship’s company. 

Unknown to the owners, Mr Morton made an unauthorised detour of about 40 miles to pick up Dawn, who was pregnant, and her daughters so that they could be together for Christmas. They boarded the vessel at Brightlingsea in Essex, just after 8am on December 18.

Now with eight on board, the Union Star continued on her southerly course through the Straights of Dover, into the English Channel and onwards down the coast of Devon and Cornwall. 

She was last sighted at 10am on the morning of the storm by the captain of another coaster near the Eddystone Lighthouse near Plymouth. All appeared well and the master later reported that she had been proceeding normally and on a good trim.

Mr Morton first reported that his ship had broken down at 6.04pm, citing its position as eight miles east of Wolf Rock. 

The call was heard by Falmouth coastguard and prompted the senior watch officer Colin Sturman to put the Penlee lifeboat on notice that she might be needed and request that a Sea King helicopter at RNAS Culdrose be brought to immediate readiness. 

Mr Sturman also decided to confirm the presence of a salvage tug in Mount's Bay and put the two vessels in contact with each other. 

On that night a Dutch tug, the Noord Holland, was on salvage station in the bay and its captain, Guy Buurman, called the Union Star offering 'Lloyds Open Form' - a procedure meaning the Union Star’s owners would have to pay a fee whether or not the tug was used. 

Mr Morton rejected the offer, telling the coastguards "all he’s interested in is money at the moment". 

At about 7pm Mr Morton called Mr Fisher, Union Transport’s assistant ship’s superintendent, who recalled in a statement that the main engine, both auxiliaries and the forward emergency generator had all broken down. The ship was in total darkness except for emergency lights. 

The cause of the trouble was water in the fuel and the call ended with Mr Fisher advising Mr Morton to take a tow. Mr Fisher rang the tug company and at 7.23pm Lloyd’s Open Form was agreed, more than an hour after the tugmaster’s original offer was declined. However the tugmaster had already decided to proceed without an agreement and was already on his way. 

By 7.36pm, the Sea King helicopter was airborne and at 7.50pm the helicopter crew gave the Union Star’s position as just two miles from Tater-Dhu lighthouse at Boscawen Point near Lamorna Cove, dangerously close to shore. 

The coastguard requested the launch of the lifeboat and by 8.12pm the Solomon Browne was on the water, making her way in hurricane conditions towards the stricken coaster. 

Meanwhile the crew of the helicopter, piloted by Lieutenant Commander Russell Smith of the US Navy, an experienced Sea King pilot, watched helplessly from above as the Union Star rolled in 30ft to 40ft swell with waves breaking over the hatch covers and occasionally over the bridge. 

The wind was gusting at up to 90 knots (100 mph or hurricane force 12) and the powerless coaster was being blown towards the rocks at Boscawen Point. 

The helicopter crew tried repeatedly to airlift those onboard to safety but the wind combined with the high swell and the vessel's proximity to the rocks made such a rescue impossible. 

By 8.30pm the lifeboat was communicating with the Union Star, the helicopter and the tug captain on VHF radio. All parties agreed that efforts must continue to remove the woman and children. 

Mr Buurman, having left Mount's Bay and standing by to the south of the Union Star, and Mr Morton discussed the situation but decided it would be impossible for the Noord Holland to help. 

At 8.46pm, the Solomon Browne and her crew had reached the Union Star but it was decided that those on the helicopter would make another rescue attempt with the extended highline. It did not work and ten minutes later Mr Richards said he would try to bring the lifeboat alongside the ship's port side. 

Watched from above, the lifeboat made three or four attempts, each time being set heavily onto the ship in the raging seas. 

The crew could be seen on deck desperately trying to hold the boat alongside with ropes over the Union Star's guardrails. 

They waved to those on the larger ship to leave the wheelhouse but apart from one man hanging a rope ladder, there appeared to be no response. 

The Solomon Browne could not stay alongside for long but each time she was thrown off, her crew doggedly returned for another attempt. 

At 9.04pm the helicopter reported that the lifeboat appeared to be having trouble - the Union Star was in shallower water close to the coast and the waves were getting higher, reaching up to 60ft. 

Despite the danger, the Solomon Browne and her crew continued their efforts until it was decided to try again with the helicopter, even if only to persuade people to come out of the wheelhouse. 

But the Union Star was too close to the cliffs and at 9.14pm Lt Cmdr Smith was forced to stop. 

Once again, the Solomon Browne and her crew threw themselves without regard for their own safety into the rescue attempt, at one point being lifted on top of the ship before sliding back into the sea. 

But they didn't hesitate, and those in the helicopter saw the Solomon Browne immediately come back around for another attempt. Figures were seen jumping from the Union Star onto the lifeboat. 

That was the last action seen by the helicopter, which left at 9.21pm. 

But on the shore and at sea there were those still watching. 

Barely 50ft from the looming Boscawen cliffs, the lifeboat was glimpsed atop one of the huge waves before descending into a trough. 

Then she was gone. 

Falmouth coastguards - who had minutes earlier heard the strong voice of the coxswain confirm: “We’ve got four on board” - desperately tried to make contact. 

“Penlee lifeboat: Falmouth Coastguard. Over.” 

Low, quiet static was the only response. 

Again, “Penlee lifeboat: Falmouth Coastguard. Over.” 

There was no answer.

The increasingly desperate hunt for survivors - and later for bodies and wreckage - continued between Christmas and new year. 

On December 20, Royal Navy divers from HMS Drake worked in horrendous conditions, blasting through the hull of the Union Star but reported no signs of life.

Pieces of the lifeboat washed ashore at Lamorna Cove and along the coastline, including an 8ft by 4ft section of her gunwale and hull, and the RNLI launched its own investigation, commissioning a diver, named in records only as Mr Carswell, to recover as much of the wreck as possible and to record the position of the pieces. 

Within days of the disaster the Government had also ordered an inquiry and the investigation took several months, culminating in a hearing held over 29 days between March 14 and April 27, 1983. 

The formal investigation was held in the Queen's Hotel at Penzance and heard evidence from many involved, including members of the coastguard, tug captain Mr Buurman, two members of the public who witnessed the stranding of the Union Star and the helicopter crew. 

The purpose of the investigation was to determine the cause of the double tragedy and, secondly, to ask whether the "wrongful act or default of any person" caused or contributed to the loss of the vessels or their crews. 

A lawyer representing the families of Mr Wallis and Mr Smith alleged that the the loss of the Solomon Browne and her crew was caused or contributed to by the actions of Mr Morton and of certain coastguard officers, however he withdrew the allegations against individual officers at the end of the Department of Trade's case. 

The investigation did not find fault against any party but did make several recommendations, including that the Department of Trade should consider drawing the attention of masters to the importance of making a distress call when a ship was in grave danger - something that Mr Morton had not done - and that the the RNLI and the coastguard jointly consider the phraseology and procedures for requesting a lifeboat to launch. 

In the end the inquiry found that the loss of the Union Star was due to the irreparable failure of the ship's engines due to contamination by seawater combined with the "extreme severity" of the weather. 

The loss of the Solomon Browne was caused by "the heroism of the coxswain and crew ... in their selfless endeavours to save those from the Union Star is an episode in the nation's maritime history, which will never be forgotten". 

The report continued: “It is right also to record the skill and courage displayed by Lt Cmdr Smith and his crew in the helicopter Rescue 80, who made repeated attempts to effect a rescue in extreme conditions of wind and sea. 

“Mr Buckfield fully deserves his commendation for his descent over the cliffs near Tater-Dhu and we should not forget the dangers faced by the lifeboatmen of St Mary’s, Sennen and the Lizard who put to sea that night in search of survivors from the Union Star and for their comrades from Penlee."

Aside from formal investigations and inquiries, in Mousehole, the community was grieving the loss of its sons, brothers, fathers and husbands. 

Twelve children were left fatherless on the night of the disaster and countless others lost family members and friends. 

And while, incongruously, Christmas neared, the people of Mousehole buried their dead. 

The funeral of coxswain Trevelyan Richards took place on Christmas Eve at a packed Paul Parish Church.

A story on the front page of The Cornishman reported: "With arms linked and heads bowed, eight men of Penlee, the replacement crew of the lifeboat, wearing their RNLI jerseys with pride, carried the coffin of their skipper. 

“Two others walked in front and another behind while the coffin itself was covered by the RNLI flag. 

“On top was a huge cross of red flowers and a coxswain's peaked cap." 

The funeral of Nigel Brockman that afternoon was attended by so many that loudspeakers had to be set up outside for those who could not fit inside Paul Parish Church.

The 43-year-old assistant lifeboat mechanic and fish salesman had been connected with the lifeboat for many years, according to the vicar of Paul, the Reverend Hugh Cadman, who conducted the service. 

He said: "I am told he started as a 'runner' aged 14 ... at that age or thereabouts he was on the crew." 

He added: “He was a happy extrovert, never consciously unkind, always happy and ready to serve and a great family man. 

“He was a vital soul, full of laughter, mischief and fun, always ready to help, to give a brother a lift on his way. 

“Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends and after all, they are not friends, really are they? They are strangers. But they are friends because we share a common humanity.”

The landlord of The Ship Inn, Charles Greenhaugh, who had three daughters, was buried on December 30 at St Uny Parish Church, Lelant. His service took place together with that of his mother, Hilda Greenhaugh, who died two days after her 46-year-old son. 

The funeral of 43-year-old John Blewett, the lifeboat's emergency mechanic, took place at Paul Parish Church on New Year’s Eve.

A British Telecom engineer, Mr Blewett left behind a widow, Caroline, and his son and daughter.

Kevin Smith, 23, was single, like his crew mate Gary Wallis, who was the youngest onboard that night at 22.

Stephen Madron, whose grandfather had been a Penlee coxswain, was married with two children, as was 33-year-old Barry Torrie.

Of the eight, Lt Cdr Smith, Sea King pilot, said: "The greatest act of courage that I have ever seen, and am ever likely to see, was the penultimate courage and dedication shown by the Penlee crew when it manoeuvred back alongside the casualty in over 60ft breakers and rescued four people shortly after the Penlee had been bashed on top of the casualty's hatch covers. 

"They were truly the bravest eight men I've ever seen, who were also totally dedicated to upholding the highest standards of the RNLI."

Within three days of the disaster the men of the devastated village had volunteered to form a new lifeboat crew. 

A replacement lifeboat had been brought in to cover the area normally covered by the wrecked Penlee lifeboat and the Lizard lifeboat, which had been damaged during gales. 

A report in The Cornishman on December 31 said: "Young and old came forward to volunteer to wear the jersey of Penlee and to continue their gallant village heritage. 

“The more experienced would supplement the full-time crew of the 70ft Charles H Barrett, which had come to Newlyn, in case of emergency, and the others would begin the process of selection and training." 

Among the 25 volunteers was 17-year-old Neil Brockman, who had been turned away from joining the eight onboard the Solomon Browne on the night of the tragedy and whose father had died. 

Mr Richards had refused to take the disappointed teen, saying one member from each family was enough. 

The RNLI's deputy chief of operations told The Cornishman that the men had requested that they not be photographed, not be seen as heroes or to make press statements. 

Commander George Cooper said: “They simply want to get on with the job of getting the lifeboat into operation at Penlee without further delay." 

And that is what they did. 

By 1982, the Penlee lifeboat crew was looking forward to welcoming a new state-of-the-art lifeboat, the Mabel Alice. 

The Western Morning News reported that November that the 52ft Arun-class lifeboat was nearing completion in Cowes on the Isle of Wight and was expected to arrive early in 1983. 

Mabel Alice would be stationed in Newlyn Harbour, rather than the old Penlee boathouse, which was closed after her arrival but kept as it would have been in 1981, as a permanent memorial to the eight. 

Ten years later, Neil Brockman became Mabel Alice’s new coxswain. 

Of the appointment in 1993, Neil, then 29, said: “Mother and all the family are very pleased. 

“I am very proud, in particular, for father and all the men who were lost." 

In 2003 Penlee welcomed another new lifeboat, the Severn-class Ivan Ellen, and in 2008, after nearly 30 years of continuous service, Neil decided to leave.

His deputy, current coxswain Patch Harvey, took over and Penlee carries on as ever, never with any shortage of volunteers.

The crew of the Solomon Browne are commemorated in many different ways, including in a number of songs. 

This year, London-based community choir the Trad Academy Sea Shanty Choir released the Ballad of Lifeboat 954, telling the story of the dramatic rescue and paying tribute to the heroic crew who made the ultimate sacrifice that night, and the families that they left behind. 

The record can be streamed and downloaded here with all proceeds going to the RNLI.

Today we remember the Solomon Browne and the men who served on her and lost their lives trying to save others. 

As is now the custom, there will be a memorial service in Paul Parish Church and in a private act of remembrance, the crew of the lifeboat will take the families out to sea. 

This morning, the old lifeboat station will be open from 9am to midday for people to pay their respects and this evening, poignantly Mousehole's Christmas lights, apart form the angel and the cross, will be turned off for an hour between 8pm and 9pm.

Volunteer press officer at Penlee, Elaine Trethowan, said that in the understated nature of the events, they had been guided by what the families wanted. 

She said: "[It will be] very simple. Not too much fuss really." 

And while the loved ones of those lost mourn with quiet dignity, their incredible bravery will be remembered with awe all over the country.