Mary White (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Mary White was a lifeboat
based in Broadstairs
, Kent
, England
, named in 1851 after the completion of a heroic rescue of a brig
, the Mary White.
Such was the bravery displayed by the lifeboat crew on this occasion that it excited a great deal of enthusiasm throughout Kent and a ballad
was composed to honour the men involved.
On this occasion, the brig Mary White became trapped upon the Goodwin Sands
during a very severe gale blowing from the north. In response to the sight of the ship in distress the Harbour Master, Coxswain
Solomon Holbourn, mustered a crew for the lifeboat.
The new vessel was launched into the surf, from its horse drawn wagon-trailer as was the method of the times. It was a bitterly cold morning as the crew struggled against the high winds, hailstones, sleet and snow, to reach the stricken ship, after a while they were able to get close and cast a line to the Mary White and succeeded in getting seven of the ten crewmen aboard, to the relative safety of the lifeboat.
The Harbour Master and another of the lifeboat crew, George Castle, were on the Mary White with the ship's captain and the two others remaining of her crew, when the rope snapped and the lifeboat broke away from the wreck, which was rapidly going to pieces, soon to be devoured by the ‘Shippe Swallower’ (Goodwin Sands).
The Second Coxswain signaled that he was unable to get alongside the wreck, and those left on the Mary White were at the mercy of God and the sea. Captain White remained with his ship, and the lifeboatmen were unable to persuade the remaining two to abandon their captain or trust themselves to the waves. The Harbour Master and other lifeboatmen had no option but to make a swim for it, or face certain doom, Castle and Holbourn jumped into the maelstrom and made it to the lifeboat, whereupon, every option exhausted, the valiant band turned and rowed to shore.
This then, was the first lifeboat that had saved lives from the Goodwin Sands
. Due to the strange co-incidence of the recurrence of the names White, from Thomas and John the lifeboat builders, and the name of the brig Mary White and also the name of its captain, Mr. White, the lifeboat was thereafter named Mary White.
The RNLI also made a special award of silver medals for gallantry to all eight members of the crew. So pleased was John White, that he presented Broadstairs
with its second lifeboat shortly afterwards, this was named the ‘Culmer White
’.
This itself gives testimony to the link by marriage between Mary Culmer, daughter of George Culmer the owner of the shipyard, and John White (Vth) in 1721, then a Shipwright, whose family can be traced back to 1583.
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
based in Broadstairs
Broadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, named in 1851 after the completion of a heroic rescue of a brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
, the Mary White.
Such was the bravery displayed by the lifeboat crew on this occasion that it excited a great deal of enthusiasm throughout Kent and a ballad
Song of the Mary White
"Song of the Mary White" is a ballad written in Broadstairs, Britain around 1850.It has been suggested that news of the loss of the Irish packet Royal Adelaide with 250 lives, on the sands off Margate on April 6, 1850, prompted old Thomas White to present one of his lifeboats to his home town of...
was composed to honour the men involved.
1851 rescue
As recited in the ballad written to celebrate the occasion, the then unnamed lifeboat which had only recently (July 1850) been presented to Broadstairs by the shipwright Thomas White, saw its first use on 6 March 1851.On this occasion, the brig Mary White became trapped upon the Goodwin Sands
Goodwin Sands
The Goodwin Sands is a 10-mile-long sand bank in the English Channel, lying six miles east off Deal in Kent, England. The Brake Bank lying shorewards is part of the same geological unit. As the shoals lie close to major shipping channels, more than 2,000 ships are believed to have been wrecked...
during a very severe gale blowing from the north. In response to the sight of the ship in distress the Harbour Master, Coxswain
Coxswain
The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...
Solomon Holbourn, mustered a crew for the lifeboat.
The new vessel was launched into the surf, from its horse drawn wagon-trailer as was the method of the times. It was a bitterly cold morning as the crew struggled against the high winds, hailstones, sleet and snow, to reach the stricken ship, after a while they were able to get close and cast a line to the Mary White and succeeded in getting seven of the ten crewmen aboard, to the relative safety of the lifeboat.
The Harbour Master and another of the lifeboat crew, George Castle, were on the Mary White with the ship's captain and the two others remaining of her crew, when the rope snapped and the lifeboat broke away from the wreck, which was rapidly going to pieces, soon to be devoured by the ‘Shippe Swallower’ (Goodwin Sands).
The Second Coxswain signaled that he was unable to get alongside the wreck, and those left on the Mary White were at the mercy of God and the sea. Captain White remained with his ship, and the lifeboatmen were unable to persuade the remaining two to abandon their captain or trust themselves to the waves. The Harbour Master and other lifeboatmen had no option but to make a swim for it, or face certain doom, Castle and Holbourn jumped into the maelstrom and made it to the lifeboat, whereupon, every option exhausted, the valiant band turned and rowed to shore.
Aftermath
Jeff Morris, Honorary Archivist to the Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society, explains that Coxswain Jethro Pettit also received an RNLI Silver Medal, this being on the occasion of his retirement after the Rescue of the brig Mary White, Broadstairs, 1851.This then, was the first lifeboat that had saved lives from the Goodwin Sands
Goodwin Sands
The Goodwin Sands is a 10-mile-long sand bank in the English Channel, lying six miles east off Deal in Kent, England. The Brake Bank lying shorewards is part of the same geological unit. As the shoals lie close to major shipping channels, more than 2,000 ships are believed to have been wrecked...
. Due to the strange co-incidence of the recurrence of the names White, from Thomas and John the lifeboat builders, and the name of the brig Mary White and also the name of its captain, Mr. White, the lifeboat was thereafter named Mary White.
The RNLI also made a special award of silver medals for gallantry to all eight members of the crew. So pleased was John White, that he presented Broadstairs
Broadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...
with its second lifeboat shortly afterwards, this was named the ‘Culmer White
Culmer White
The Culmer White was a 19th century lifeboat of the Isle of Thanet.With the resounding success of the ‘Mary White’ in 1851 and the subsequent presentation of the ‘Culmer White’ in 1853 soon afterward, both the Coastguard and the R.N.L.I. were equipping their stations with White’s boats...
’.
This itself gives testimony to the link by marriage between Mary Culmer, daughter of George Culmer the owner of the shipyard, and John White (Vth) in 1721, then a Shipwright, whose family can be traced back to 1583.