MCI wants to commemorate the life of Grace Darling who died today, the 20th October 1842. Many of you will have never heard of Grace Darling or her heroic actions that ensured that she was embedded in the history of lifeboats forever. She was a lighthouse keeper’s daughter who lived in lighthouses all her life in Northumberland. It was a hard and isolated life for her family, the light in the lighthouse had to be maintained and lit all night to save boats from hitting the rocks.
In the early hours one morning, the Forfarshire – a boat heading up to Scotland from England with 62 passengers, hit the rocks in a storm. The boat had smashed in two and the survivors were trapped on the rocks. The storm was so bad that the lifeboat couldn’t be launched from North Sunderland. Grace and her father didn’t hesitate, and set out in a 6.5m rowing boat to pick up the survivors. Imagine rowing for a mile with no life jackets (they hadn’t been invented yet) and several long, water logged skirts in a storm. Nine people were saved that day in total. The weather was so bad that the survivors couldn’t leave the lighthouse for three days after they had been rescued.
The story of the daring rescue became national news and she found herself a celebrity. The precursor to the RNLI awarded Grace and her father the silver medal for bravery. Queen Victoria even helped set up a trust to look after Grace and her family financially. Fate, however, was to deal her a cruel blow and she caught TB only a few years later. She was being looked after at Alnwick Castle by the Duke of Northumberland, who gave her every comfort available. She passed in her father’s arms at only 26 years of age. She was buried in Bamburgh.
The story of her bravery lives on and you can still visit her monument at St Aidan’s church in Bamburgh.
MCI may not have embarked on daring rescue missions, but they have been involved in helping the maritime industry keep their vessels and docks going. From assisting His Majesty’s Armed Forces, port authorities, ferries to luxury yachts, over the years, MCI has helped them all.
If you have an electrical problem with your boat or equipment, give MCI a call on 01324 611371 to see how we can help keep your machinery and instruments going. Have a lovely weekend everyone!