Historical Disasters in Morecambe Bay

[Sir Wilcomb]

I have often heard tell of people being buried alive in the quicksands, of stagecoaches crossing the sands from Morecambe to Grange and disappearing never to be seen again, but recently in the pub I was told of something I had never heard about before.

This is not simply heresay as it was reported in the Illustrated London News in September 1895 as follows:

Here on Monday September 9th at eleven in the morning, the landing stage at the end of the pleasure pier which projects far into the sea was crowded with people when part of the floor of this structure composed of iron gratings supported by iron piers too slender for the unusual weight of such a throng, suddenly broke down beneath them. About 50 men women and children were thrown into the water.

Three people died and many were injured. The disaster might easily have caused a much greater loss of life.

This was the central pier which at the time extended as 'far out' as 912 feet into the sea. At the time the West End Pier was still under construction and would eventually extend as far as 1800 feet. Goodness only knows what the Times would have thought of that.

The reason why so many peoople were crowded onto the end of the pier was that they were waiting for a paddle steamer, 'The Express', to take them on a day trip to Blackpool.

Reconstruction following this disaster included the building of an exotic pavilion at the end of the pier, presumably on stronger foundations, which itself was destroyed by fire in 1933. The pier suffered further collapse and damage during the storms of 1986 and was finally demolished in 1992.

The West End Pier also had a pavilion on the end but that was destroyed even earlier in 1917, again by fire and the pier itself was demolished in 1972.

Do any of you remember the piers in their heyday?

[WillowTheWhisp]

I remember both piers and have one particular memory of sitting opposite the entrance to the West End pier one lovely warm summer evening as music came from the arcade. We'd just been to a show at the Alhambra and although it was late(ish) Morecambe was still very much alive and buzzing with coloured lights and music.

The West End pier was 'our' pier because we were always down that end as a child when we went to Morecambe. I very rarely ventured up beyond the Midland unless we were going to the Winter Gardens or the fun fair behind there.

[kidstypike]

I fished from the Central Pier as a kid, danced on it as teenager, drank on it as an adult and have regretted its demise for many a year.
Dave

[trevnhil]

Yes I too well remember both Piers. They both used to have shows on in the summer months. The central pier seemed to be the one with the longest season. In fact I do not know if it closed for Winter or not.

Trev..

[lilacgirlie]

Sadly I only remember the Central Pier towards the end of its time, I would have loved to have seen both the piers in all their glory.

Its very interesting to hear about things that have happened and over time forgotten about. It must have been a terrifying experience for the folk on the pier.

Thanks for sharing the story

Lilac

[adrian]

I used to go roller skating at the end of the west end pier and can remember the day after the storm which more or less destroyed it, lots of people gathering up the pennies on the beach from the slot machines! Happy days!

[Sir Wilcomb]

I wonder how many of those coins sank into the sand. Might be worthwhile scouring the area with a metal detector. Some of those coins could be collector's items by now. It would have been just after decimalisation wouldn't it?

[pompeypete]

I used to go roller skating on West End Pier as well, usually on a Saturday after playing cricket in tha Lancaster & District League.
I'd meet my girl friend first. She worked at Smith's Cafe.
After the skating we'd have a coffee in the Alhambra cafe before getting the bus back to Lancaster.

[lifeboat1721]

I to remember the Piers and Moby Dick that caught fire on the Same day as the Alhambra and the fire brigade could not handle the Two jobs at once so they let the Moby Dick burn away..

Ian

[trevnhil]

'THE HEST BANK MIRACLE'

Not exactly in Morecambe bay, but Hest Bank is near enough..




During the early hours of a morning in May 1965 a train was derailed and some carriages turned on their sides. The reason it was called a miracle was that no one died, and only eleven people were injured enough for a hospital visit, with just two being detained.

home.clara.net/gw0hqd/media/lep200565/lep200565.htm

I do remember it, maybe not as well as I should.

Regards. Trev..

[WillowTheWhisp]

From the photograph it looks like they were very lucky. My maternal Grandfather worked on the railways and he was once run over by a train and survived with only scratches. I'm not sure how or why he was on the track but it was in the line of duty but a runaway train hit him and knocked him forward. He landed between the lines and the whole train ran over him. He just lay still in the middle until it had gone and then was able to get up with only superficial injuries. The story made the papers at the time as 'Man run over by train lives to walk away'

[mpprh]

I remember this.

There was a full page aerial photo published at the time in many newspapers showing the extent of the incident.

I can't find that photo on google.

Peter

[odom]

I was booked to sing at the Alhambra for the Summer season when it caught fire. I was devastated about the Moby Dick. We all ended up at Heysham Towers Holiday Camp singing that Summer. I lived in Hest Bank at the time of the train wreck and remember it well. We got down there to see it before it was cordoned off. There is a photographer from Morecambe and Lancaster that used to cover all the aerial shots for the power station when it was going up. He also did tons of other aerial shots, bet he has a full length of the train wreck. Peter Whitehead I think was his name. I once flew with him on a shoot the pilot was from a Blackpool airstrip and we flew in a small Cessnar. (Not sure how to spell that).

[odom]

I danced to Alvin Atkins on a Sat night at the Central Pier. Fished off the end of the pier from the dressing room window when the tide was up in between shows when we performed there for Archie Collis players. Saw Tom Jones before he got famous and left us. Anyone remember Acker Bilk at the Floral Hall on Wednesday nights in the summer As a kid we would go under the pier and retrieve the pennies that dropped down from the slot machines on the boardwalk to the entertainment areas. Do you remember the Gaument. I remember seeing the movie Rock Around the Clock with Bill Haley and us kids dancing in the aisles to the music. I loved the circular ballroom attached and the dancing waters. Wish someone had photos of the insides of these places and the gardens out back. The Palladium with the Roy Rogers Club on a Sat morning. Does anyone remember Johnny Wiesmuller (Tarzon) at the swimming baths? Odom