Fact of the Day - May
May 1st, 1810.
The New High Light house in Tyne Street was illuminated for first time. Construction began in 1807. It was designed by John Stokoe for Trinity House. Stokoe (1756-1836) was a Newcastle-based builder and architect.
The New Low Light was built and illuminated at the same time. The High Light stands 18m high and the Low Light 26m high.
The new lights were powered by oil lamps until 1861, when they were replaced by gas, and in 1927 by electricity. The new 100,000 candle power lights had a range of 17 nautical miles or 31km. Both were stone constructed.
The new lighthouses replaced the Old High and Low Lights of 1727, which in turn replaced earlier lights dating back to 1536. The High and Low Lights were decommissioned in the 1990s and are now privately owned. Both are Grade II listed buildings.
May 2nd, 1959
North Shields said farewell to one of its oldest drinking establishments when demolition began on the Marquis of Granby.
The pub, locally referred to as simply ‘The Granby’, stood on the junction of Tyne Street and Church Street perhaps since as early as 1822 (there is a recorded entry in a trade directory in 1827). At one time it hosted a good darts team which took part in a local league.
It closed officially in April 1955 and stood empty until its demolition.
May 3rd, 1312
Edward II and his favourite Piers Gaveston fled from King Edward’s Bay, Tynemouth, abandoning his pregnant queen at Newcastle. The first ‘Piers’ at Tynemouth!
May 4th, 1941
Death of 107 people including 43 children and many others injured in the Wilkinson Lemonade Factory air raid shelter, North Shields. The worst bombing tragedy in the North East during WW2, when a German bomb struck the factory on the corner of George Street and King Street, sending heavy machinery through the weak shelter ceiling.
On May 8th, 66 burials took place at Preston Cemetery, with many graves having multiple casualties. Tynemouth Council later provided the sandstone grave markers with family inscriptions. Clearance of the disaster site and recovery of victims took several days. News coverage at the time was heavily censored.
Local man, Peter Bolger, has researched the disaster and written a book, North Shields 173.
May 5th, 1875
A fatal accident occurred on board the ship Emmanuel lying moored off New Quay, North Shields.
While John Rogerson, a Customs officer ‘was engaged in rummaging the sails of the vessel for the purpose of seeing whether there were any contraband goods concealed, he fell from the top gallant yard onto the deck and was killed’.
The deceased was about 42 years old and had been ‘upwards of 20 years in Customs service’.
May 6th, 1871.
‘A most fearful’ collision took place off the bar of the Tyne, in which a new steamship, the David Burn was sunk and entirely lost. The 1,200 ton steamer left Tyne Dock with 50 people on board and went out to sea for a trial trip.
After about an hour she was enveloped in dense fog. The screw steamship the Earl Percy with goods and passengers, bound for London, emerged close to her, striking her ‘amidships with a tremendous crash’.
The plates of the David Burn were stoved in. The master kept her engines running while the people were taken off by the Earl Percy. Just after the last man had transferred, the David Burn sank.
The Earl Percy was damaged at the bow, and it was feared she too would sink. Another steamer, Rambler, came alongside and people transferred and were taken back to the New Quay. The Earl Percy returned to the New Quay for repair.
May 7th, 1859.
A meeting was held with a view to forming a volunteer artillery unit at Tynemouth. This would become the first Artillery Volunteers unit formed in response to the fear of a war with the resurgent French Third Empire.
As a privilege, they were later permitted a distinctive ‘Tynemouth’ shoulder flash on their tunics.
The training depot was eventually located at New Clifford’s Fort, North Shields.
May 8th, 1945.
VE Day – Victory in Europe.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill broadcast the news to the nation at 3pm that Germany had surrendered. People took to the streets across the borough to celebrate; trestle tables and bunting appeared and rations were pooled to provide a feast.
May 9th, 2019.
The £75m Silverlink interchange, the North East’s first triple deck junction, was officially opened by Elected Mayor of North Tyneside, Dame Norma Redfearn DBE.
The junction of the A19 and A1058 Coast Road is one of the region’s busiest, used by about 80,000 motorists a day. Before the new interchange there was severe traffic congestion at peak times.
More than 1,000 days were spent working on site, using 16 times the amount of steel in the Angel of the North. 80,000 cubic metres of soil had to be removed to create the underpass - enough to fill 32 Olympic swimming pools.
May 10th, 1889.
The death of Edward (Edmund) Jennings, who lived at King George’s Stairs off Bell Street. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Preston Cemetery.
Born in County Mayo around 1820, aged 16 he enlisted into the horse artillery with the Honourable East India Company. He served in the First Afghan War (Ghazni) and the First Sikh War of 1845-1846. He was awarded the Victoria Cross by election of his comrades while fighting as a rough rider during the Indian mutiny of 1857. He’d shown outstanding gallantry in saving the life of a young lieutenant.
Sir Colin Campbell (Commander-in-Chief and General during the Indian Mutiny) said that he would gladly have given him a commission were he able to read and write.
Jennings served for 23 years in India. Sadly, he fell into financial hardship and was later forced to sell his VC to a private collector. He was employed by Tynemouth Corporation as a ‘Scavenger’ - a road cleaner.
In September 1997, following an appeal by family members, a headstone was placed on his grave.
May 11th, 1973.
Shields Weekly News: A director of North Shields-based shipping company Stag Line, Mr Nicholas J Robinson, was installed as president of the Tyne and Wear Chamber of Commerce.
He urged the North East to shape its future ‘dynamically’.
He said support should be given to growing local firms with roots and management in the region, rather than importing branch factories from other areas ‘which tend to wither away when the cold wind blows’.
Mr. Robinson was also president of the World Shipping Society, governor of the South Shields Marine and Technical College, an associate of the North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Ship Builders, and chairman of the engineers’ section of the Merchant Navy Training Board.
May 12th, 2024.
Following a service for fishermen lost at sea at Fiddler’s Green, North Shields, a blue plaque was unveiled nearby, on the wall of the Fishermen’s Mission to commemorate the late Henry Howard, a retired fisherman, who was the inspiration behind the sculpture.
It was after a conversation with his granddaughter, Courtney, who asked why there was no memorial to fishermen lost at sea at North Shields, that a project to fund the Fiddler’s Green sculpture began. Henry was a dedicated fundraiser and co-founder of North Shields Fishermen’s Heritage Project which raised money for the sculpture, by Ray Lonsdale, now a much-loved landmark.
May 13th, 1940.
The Evening News reported that the previous morning, a barrage balloon got out of control, causing ‘chimney stack and roof damage of a more or less serious character’ to 20 houses – nine in Linskill Terrace, eight in Park Crescent and three in Princes Street, North Shields. The balloon was eventually brought to the ground at the junction of Linskill Terrace and Preston Avenue, near to Tynemouth golf clubhouse.
While many roofs ‘were holed’ by falling debris, a large number of chimney pots and coping stones crashed into front gardens and backyards. One resident said: “I thought the Germans had come over. What a fright I got.”
May 14th, 1973.
The North Shields eight-bed Frater maternity home was re-opening today having been closed since mid-February.
The lengthy closure was because of the gas workers’ dispute, the hospital workers’ dispute and the conversion of the home to take natural gas supplies.
May 15th, 2021.
British journalist and scientist Oliver J. Gillie died. Born in North Shields in October 1937 into a Quaker family, his father John Gillie was a well-known nautical instrument maker who for many years had a business on Clive Street.
His newspaper articles included such topics as healthy food, the risks of the contraceptive pill, the easiest way to stop smoking and the best exercise.
His health page, started in The Independent in 1986, was the first to appear in a British newspaper.
He had a fascination with sunlight and its role in supplying the body with vitamin D. He authored the 2008 groundbreaking report, funded by the Scottish Government ‘Scotland's Health Deficit: An Explanation and a Plan’.
In 2014, he was awarded the Medical Journalists’ Association Lifetime Achievement Award for his work.
May 16th, 1901.
The death was announced of the old Shields Chartist Thomas Thompson, aged 73.
In his youth was described as a leading radical in the working-class community of North Shields, seeking to improve their lives through political reform. Early in 1851, the Old Assembly Rooms in Church Street played host to a band of these young men who were ‘imbued with a spirit of liberty’.
The Chartist movement was the first mass movement driven by the working classes. It grew following the failure of the 1832 Reform Act to extend the vote beyond those owning property. Another North Shields born man Robert Lowery played a significant role nationally in the movement.
May 17th, 1979.
The Journal reported that the health authority was short of cash and needed to cut food bills which would impact on the meals served in local hospitals.
Two weeks later the newspaper reported that following this decision, its reporters had spoken to patients at Preston Hospital who said the food was ‘just great’.
One patient said ‘it’s marvellous’ and that they were served three tasty meals a day.
May 18th, 1951
Shields Daily News reports that work on the construction of the new 700ft dry dock at Smith’s Dock ‘gathers momentum and gives a rapidly changing appearance to the Ballast Hill area’.
May 19th, 1870
T. and W. Smith, shipbuilders of North Shields, presented to the Tynemouth Free Library museum two very fine models of Indian merchant vessels, built by them.
In addition to their beauty and value, the models illustrate the vast progress made in the construction of merchant ships. They represent the class of vessels whose route is by the Cape and the newly-opened Suez Canal.
One was a model of the Blenheim, built in 1850, and awarded a first prize in the exhibition of 1851. The other was of the Crosby, an iron screw steamer, launched from Messers Smith’s yard in January 1870. The models - especially the Crosby - have been executed with extreme care and skilled workmanship.
May 20th, 1925.
A Grand Bazaar was held over two days at the Drill Hall, Military Road, North Shields, in aid of Tynemouth Infirmary extension fund.
‘A number of local ladies and gentlemen’, members of the Sports Committee of the Tynemouth Infirmary encouraged local people ‘to rally round’ and support the Bazaar ‘and thereby help such places where our sick can be nursed back to health and strength in the pleasant surroundings of the Tynemouth Victoria Jubilee Infirmary’.
May 21st, 1917.
2nd Lieutenant Colin Miller Jamieson of Newcastle Street was killed in action. A reservist in the Artists Rifles, he was called up on August 4th, 1914. After being badly wounded in December 1915 in both legs, arm and head, a year later, in December 1916, he went to Cambridge University for officer training.
His parents were only told on March 3rd, 1918, that he was presumed missing and killed on 21st May 1917 in the Battle of Arras, while serving with the 15th Battalion, the London Regiment.
Passing through Peterborough on his way to Cambridge he made an entry in the visitors’ book of the welfare canteen at the station: “When the war-drum throbs no longer, may I, going North, be here again.”
C M Jamieson, Cadet, Cambridge, 28/12/1916.
May 22nd, 1888.
Shields Daily News: Sale by auction at the Albion Grill, North Shields, of an ‘excellent freehold dwelling house’ on the north side of Dockwray Square.
This comprised a dining room and drawing room on the ground floor, two bedrooms on the first floor, three bedrooms on the second floor, with nursery and bedroom above, kitchen and large stores in the basement. A ‘very noble yard’ to the rear containing the ‘usual out-offices and laundry with a back entrance from Charlotte Street.
Large elegant Georgian houses were built in the area that became known as Dockwray Square for wealthy ship owners who wanted to move away from the congestion of the ‘low town’, along the quayside and its banks, later migrating to the North Close which was renamed Northumberland Square.
May 23rd, 1880.
Two boys escaped from the Wellesley training ship moored in Shields harbour. The boys took a rowing boat and pulled over to the Mill Dam, South Shields; there they took a salmon fishing boat, stole a sail and set out to sea. They were spotted off Whitley Bay and the boat was found abandoned on Blyth beach, where it was assumed they had gone ashore. The two were apprehended at Alnwick.
May 24th 1906.
There were great celebrations for Empire Day. Flags were flown from the Tyne Sailors’ Homes and other buildings while the boats of HM Customs and steam tugs on the river were decorated for the occasion.
At 10am, the boys of the Wellesley Training Ship ‘manned the yards’ of the vessel and accompanied by the band, sang the Empire Song and the National Anthem. A large crowd assembled on the bank top ‘and envinced great interest’ in the proceedings.
The boys were given a day’s holiday.
May 25th, 1944.
Fish friers of North Shields, South Shields and the surrounding districts were invited to a special meeting in the Fishermen’s Mission, North Shields Fish Quay.
They heard first-hand information on the provision being made to keep them supplied with potatoes in the event of ‘the development of special transport difficulties’.
Forms prepared by the Ministry of Food were distributed at the meeting.
May 26th, 1980.
Norah Balls, the daughter of a North Shields mariner, who was a prominent suffragette with links to Emmeline Pankhurst, died aged 94.
At the start of WW1 she became involved with local causes, later serving as a local councillor, magistrate and community activist.
Throughout her adult life she was committed to improving the lives of girls, women and children. Norah travelled widely, was active in the World Wildlife Fund, RNLI and helped establish Girl Guides Northumberland.
A blue plaque was placed at her former home in King Edward Road, Tynemouth in 2022.
May 27th, 1896.
Shields Daily News: At North Shields Police Court a fish hawker was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Duke Street.
“Nothing unusual there”, I hear you say. After all, this is Shields which did have over 200 pubs to its name at that time. As one wag put it, North Shields was a drinking town with a fishing problem.
The unusual aspect of this court appearance was that this was the defendant’s 173rd appearance.
The article noted that he was fined 10 shillings (£85 in today’s money) which he duly paid before leaving with his friends, presumably for a drink to celebrate his release.
May 28th, 1915.
Captain George Knott, aged 44, from North Shields was lost at sea along with four of his crew during the sinking of SS Spennymoor in the English Channel on her maiden voyage from Sunderland to Cardiff.
He left his widow Jane and five children. The eldest , William Rainey Knott, was killed in action at Passchendaele in October 1917.
In January 2017 a stained-glass window was dedicated in his memory in Christ Church, North Shields, where for many years he was a bell ringer and member of the choir. It is one of the upper lights on the north side of the church. In the centre, King David the psalmist is represented, and the inscription includes the words: "The sea is His", and "Underneath are the everlasting arms”.
May 29th, 1919.
A report from the Durham Mining Museum lists the death of Henry Brown, aged 41, a stoneman, in an accident at Preston Colliery following a ‘premature explosion of shot’. A stoneman was someone who was excavating stone rather than coal.
Preston Colliery which operated between 1894 and 1929, was a big employer in North Shields. The highest number on its payroll was 1,254 in 1923.
May 30th, 1856.
Edward Liddell “Lyd” Sawyer was born at Linskill Street, North Shields.
His father Edward had a well-established photographic portrait studio in North Shields where he successfully combined the highly-skilled work of portrait painter and photographic colourist.
Lyd was an apprentice at his father’s studio and developed his professional education to eventually become one of the Victorian era's most gifted art photographers with studios in Newcastle and London.
He joined the Brotherhood of the Linked Ring in November 1895. This was an organisation of the very best photographers worldwide whose aim was to establish photography as an art form.
Dave Young will give a talk about Lyd Sawyer at the North Shields 800 Community Day at the Linskill Centre on June 28th.
May 31st, 1916.
Seventeen North Shields men were killed in the greatest naval battle in history between the British Grand Fleet (largest in the world) and the German High Seas Fleet off Jutland.
The Royal Navy suffered heavy losses – much greater than the enemy – but the action resulted in the German fleet withdrawing to port and was seen as a victory for the British forces.
Three ‘capital’ ships blew up at a cost of over 3,000 lives, with many other losses of ships and men.
The Rev George Stanley Kewney, chaplain to the ship, born in Tynemouth and sometime tutor to the future King George VI was among the 1,000 lost from HMS Queen Mary.