The Tommies who met their death on an English beach 100 years since tragedy befell group of Midland soldiers
IT was a tragedy born of the Great War bloodbath – but it has been almost forgotten by time.
In fact, the loss of nine men, all drowned off the North-East coastal town of Blyth, seems to have been totally erased from the history books in the West Midlands.
Yet seven of the victims hailed from in or around Birmingham.
Now, a wartime museum in Blyth aims to honour the dead with a memorial service staged on August 24 – 100 years to the day after the 1917 mass drowning.
And it has issued an appeal for relatives of victims of the terrible Blyth beach tragedy to step forward.
On that hot day, 600 men from the Warwickshire Regiment were tasked with marching along the coast, then partake in a “bathing parade”.
Near exhausted and hit hard by the heat, the men entered the water at Blyth Sands, Northumberland.
But laughter soon gave way to cold panic. The following day, The Times reported: “A large number of soldiers were in the water, and some of them got into difficulties and were carried away seawards.
Private Edward Beavon, just 18, who lived with his parents at 31 Havelock Road, Saltley.
Private Thomas Fortey, aged 19, from Birmingham.
Private Harry Blanchard Southern, aged 18, who lived with his parents in Park Road, Aston Manor.
Sergeant John Riley, aged 24, from Ladywood, a man who was only days away from getting married.
Private Jesse Blunn, just 17, who lived with his parents in Highbury Road, Kings Heath. It was some days before his body was found.
Private Frederick Shale, aged 19, who lived with his parents in Mint Terrace, Handsworth.
The other two Warwickshire Regiment casualties were not local. Private Edward Noy, aged 18, was born in Gulval, Penzance, while Private William Henderson, also 18, was from Weston-superMare.
Much of what happened on that fateful day remains shrouded in mystery, but an inquest into the deaths heard the tide was out and those who perished were swimming between the West Pier and the Link House – a stretch of water known to be dangerous at low tide.
There was no boat on the sand, so soldiers linked hands to pull struggling servicemen to safety. The nation, already struggling to come to terms with the war’s death toll, was stunned by what happened on Blyth beach, so close to home.
Under the headline “Distressing Scenes”, the Morpeth Herald of August 31, 1917, reported: “About noon on Friday, a shocking tragedy occurred at Blyth when nine soldiers lost their lives.
“Some hundreds of soldiers were bathing at a spot between the West Pier and Gloucester Lodge. There was a strong southerly wind and a heavy thrash on the sea. The tide was at a low ebb, making the spot very dangerous for bathers under such circumstances.
“There are at this spot below water deep channels cut in the sand by the currents where the water rushes with irresistible force. The soldiers had not been long in the water when two or three were seen to be in difficulties and were being washed out seawards in spite of their struggles.
“A number of soldiers rushed to the assistance of their comrades until at the fateful spot 13 men were seen struggling and evidently drowning. There was no boat on the spot at the time and the stoutest swimmer could render little aid.
“The soldiers formed a chain by joining hands and waded as far as the could into the fast ebbing tide and succeeded in saving five of their comrades, three of whom were very exhausted when brought ashore. The other eight were drowned.”
At the inquest, the battalion’s chaplain, the Rev GJF Verschoyle, was praised for his efforts to save
The soldiers had not been long in the water when two or three were seen to be in difficulties