Page 20 • The HERALD • 5th January 2023 v SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES v • Re-Skimming • Rendering • Coving • Dry Lining • Tacking • Artex Covered • Floor Screeding www.tbrownplastering.co.uk Call: 07919 183989 Friendly • Reliable • Professional • Free Estimates We offer a Full Range of Carpentry and Building Services: • Full Design Service • Garage and Loft Conversions • Extensions • Fitted Kitchens and Bathrooms • Brickwork • Flat Roofs • Conservatories • PVCu Windows • Decking • Fencing, Pergolas and Gates D&G CARPENTRY & BUILDING Over 25 years experience, so for a fast and friendly service with free estimates call on 07767 833227 or 023 8089 9371 Accidents and Tragedies of the Past at Hythe Pier by Marc Heighway, mheighway@hotmail.com Hythe Pier opened on New Year’s Day, 1881. Over the last 142 years the pier has witnessed many memorable events. Unfortunately, not all these events have been memorable for the right reasons. Here is just a handful of selected incidents that have occurred during the pier’s rich history… e rst I’d like to share with you happened in June 1895. ree people were enjoying a leisurely trip in a small pleasure boat on Southampton water. eir day would not go to plan though, as when passing Hythe Pier, the boat capsized. ankfully Miss Marie Louise Evans was walking on the pier at the time and heard the commotion. Described in the local press as a “splendid swimmer”, she is said to have calmly removed her gloves and dived fully clothed into the water. She managed to grab one woman and bring her safely back to the pier. She then returned to the water and saved the remaining man and girl. Miss Evans would receive a silver medal from e Royal Humane Society in recognition of her bravery. Just two years later, an accident would not have such a happy ending. Reports in June 1897 explain how twin brothers named Stephens were swimming o the pier. ey got into di culty and would drown despite the e orts of onlookers. A decade passed until the next major incident occurred. It was September 1907 when a steam yacht owned by a Member of Parliament, Robert P. Houston, was anchored o the pier. It was hit by would die moments later. No trace was found of the other two members of the party. ey were presumed drowned. It would be another 25 years until tragedy struck again. But this time, the event would be shrouded in mystery. In March 1934, a woman dressed all in black was discovered face-down and dead in the mud next to the pier. Nobody knew who she was, how she got there, or how she died. Some days later the police managed to establish that her name was Annie Ellis, a London woman who had been missing for a fortnight. Only days before the grisly discovery she’d checked into a Southampton hotel under the ctitious name of M. Gough Critchley of Torquay. In August 1976 a re on the pier was put out by a re boat. ere then appears fewer incidents of note reported until this century. e most infamous example was 2003 when a 680-ton dredger crashed into the pier, creating a huge gap. e dredger’s captain was later jailed a er he admitted drinking whilst on the job. Given the number of people who have walked on the pier, used the ferries, or boated nearby since 1881, it’s fair to say that the chances of you succumbing to an accident are extremely slim. However, next time you buy a ticket for the ferry, pay £2 to walk the pier, or ride the train, spare a thought for those who didn’t manage to walk back down the planks and return to Hythe safely. another boat and within minutes the yacht had sunk, but thankfully not before the crew was rescued. Another boating incident would be reported a few years later, but this time, sadly lives were lost. e tragedy happened one morning in August 1911, when a party of four le Hythe Pier for Southampton in a small boat. However, they soon got into trouble when the boat sprung a leak and started to sink. One of the party, Albert Sloper, managed to keep himself and an elderly preacher named Watson a oat, until a rope was thrown to them from a passing steamer. e pair were pulled aboard, but Watson Waterside Quilters are a friendly group of patchworkers who meet on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month from 10am until 12.30pm at St Andrew’s Church, Dibden Purlieu. At the meetings they hand sew their own projects and have an optional monthly set project. Co ee and a chat about ideas are also part of the morning. Whether youare anovice or experienced patch worker you will be welcome to join their friendly and creative group to share ideas and knowledge and co ee and biscuits! If you would like to know more and are interested in joining them please contact Ann Purdy on: 023 8084 3759 or Alison Smith on: 023 8089 4835. Give Quilting a Go Lyndhurst and District U3A meet on the second Wednesday of the month, not in August, in Lyndhurst Community Centre. You are welcome to go along to see if you’d like to join them. Doors open at 2pm for a 2.30pm start. ere is a £2 entrance fee for nonmembers. As always there is tea, co ee and cake a erwards with time for much chatter. For more details, please contact Betty Tennant on 023 8028 2445. Lyndhurst and District U3A
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