31 January 1953. A storm is building that will cause one of the UK’s worst natural disasters. Despite the gale warnings, at 7.45am the British Railways ferry Princess Victoria begins her regular passage across the Irish Sea. She will never make land again

With 177 people onboard, and 44 tonnes of cargo, the Princess Victoria steamed out of Stranraer. This was a 20-mile route she had plied since 1947, taking passengers from the London train to connecting services in Larne. As the ferry rounded into the open sea from the relative shelter of Loch Ryan, she was hit by the full force of the storm. Waves battered the stern, driving water into the 1.5m rear doors and fatally damaging them. Wave after wave sent water flooding onto the car deck. As the Princess Victoria began to list to starboard, Captain Ferguson decided to return to the shelter of Loch Ryan. But in the howling winds and building waves, the crew were unable to alter the rudder to turn back. The captain had no choice but to set a course for Northern Ireland that would protect the stern as much as possible. A desperate rescue effort In the signal room, Radio Officer David Broadfoot had been sending a steady stream of updates on the ferry’s position to Portpatrick Radio Station. The first SOS went out at 10.32am, prompting the launch of Portpatrick lifeboat. Broadfoot would stay at his post as the ship went down, and posthumously earn the George Cross for his bravery. A host of other vessels, including naval and merchant boats, were rushing to their aid. HMS Contest ran close by the Princess Victoria before she sank, but visibility in the wintry squalls was so poor they passed unseen. A full gale from the north was building to a hurricane by the time Portpatrick’s lifeboat crew arrived at the position given in the SOS.
They found nothing – the ferry had drifted further south. As rescuers struggled to find a fix on the ferry’s position, terrified passengers gathered on deck. Reports suggest a group of women and children made it onto a lifeboat, only for it to be smashed into the side of the ship. It would be mid-afternoon before Portpatrick’s volunteers finally spotted wreckage and rescued two men from liferafts in the water. They continued to search before being guided in to Donaghadee by Cloughey lifeboat later that evening. Meanwhile, Donaghadee lifeboat crew members had returned home from a rugby match to the terrible news unfolding. They launched at 1.40pm. After a confusion of signals, the crew heard from SS Orchy that she was standing by near a group of survivors, unable to get them aboard without drawing the ship’s lifeboats into the propellers. Coxswain Hugh Nelson altered course, and at 3.15pm the lifeboat reached the scene of the disaster.
The crew rescued 33 people, thanks to Nelson’s careful manoeuvring in wild seas. They searched on until 5pm, but found no other survivors and made for Donaghadee. Counting the cost There were just 44 survivors. British Pathé newsreel (available on YouTube) shows some of them standing in line by the water, bandaged heads and blanketed shoulders, smiling shakily at the camera. At home for just 4 hours, a revised crew relaunched the Donaghadee lifeboat at 9.45pm to collect one more survivor from the trawler Eastcotes, along with six people who had perished and seven bags of mail recovered from the sea. On 1 February they put to sea again at 7am, scouring the sea for over 12 hours for more survivors. They brought home 12 more bodies to be laid to rest. One hundred and thirty-three people died in the disaster, including all the Princess Victoria’s crew. Not a single
woman or child survived. Years on, stories of bravery and sacrifice continue to emerge. As part of a BBC Radio Ulster documentary marking the 60th anniversary of the disaster, Margaret Njonjo talked about her mother Nansy Bryson: ‘She was one of the bravest women onboard. She whispered words of comfort to other passengers and led them in singing a hymn ... She also tried to help a 3-year-old child into one of the [ship’s] lifeboats but failed to do so, going under herself in the process.’
The coxswains of the Donaghadee and Portpatrick lifeboats, Hugh Nelson and William McConnell, were awarded RNLI Bronze Medals for Gallantry and British Empire Medals. Mechanics James Armstrong and James Mitchell received the Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum. Their crews, along with
those from Cloughey and Newcastle, were also thanked for their assistance. The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland said in a broadcast: ‘One cannot speak too highly of the assistance given by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In the teeth of the gale the lifeboat crews … searched the sea for survivors and brought to land as many as could be found.’ Time to remember Families on both sides of the Irish Sea lost loved ones – no one in Stranraer or Larne was left untouched by the tragedy. To mark the 65th anniversary this January, RNLI crews from Donaghadee, Portpatrick and Larne laid wreaths at the wreck site. Coxswain Philip McNamara says: ‘To look out and see three lifeboats from Northern Ireland and Scotland was an incredible sight. We in Donaghadee are very proud of the lifeboat crew who went before us, who rescued 33 survivors in what must have been horrific conditions.’ The disaster is largely forgotten in wider history, eclipsed perhaps by the unprecedented flooding that hit Britain the following day. But these communities remember, and so will we. With local council support, funds are being raised to restore Donaghadee’s lifeboat, Sir Samuel Kelly. And thanks to research by historian Liam Kelly, the names of two ‘forgotten men’ have been added to the Larne memorial. Two further reminders of a loss that many thought impossible, on so short a journey.

Words: Philly Byrde
Photos: Planet News, RNLI/(David Branigan, Niamh Stephenson), Roger M Smith, Trinity Mirror/Mirror Pix/ Alamy

Around the RNLI

During the storm, lifeboats across the RNLI went to sea in horrendous conditions to see if they could be of service. On 30 January, hurricaneforce winds and 18m waves had hit the trawler Michael Griffith – which filled with water and began drifting without power in the Outer Hebrides. Two crew members
onboard the Islay lifeboat collapsed and died in the engine room during the search for the 13-strong crew. The fishermen were never found. As night fell on 31 January, a storm surge bought devastating
floods to the east of England. The RNLI volunteers at Southend-on-Sea launched seven times and spent more than 26 hours rescuing people. Clacton-on-Sea lifeboat crew saved six adults, two children, two dogs and a cat from the roof of a bungalow, greeting them onboard with biscuits and
hot soup. Many showed great bravery in protecting or saving lives – six men unconnected to the RNLI received the Thanks of the Institution Inscirbed on Vellum. These included Misters Smith, Ellender and Jay, who rowed their 4m flat-bottomed boat out of Wells harbour and into a gale, to rescue a coastguard officer marooned on the beach. Sixteen lifeboat stations in England and Scotland suffered damage – Wells, Sheringham and Cromer all saw their station doors washed away. All lifeboats were back up and running by the evening of 2 February except Cromer No. 1, which was set right by lunchtime the following day.

7.45am
The Princess Victoria leaves Stranraer with 179 people onboard.

9am
A wave bursts through the ferry’s stern doors.

9.46am
First signal sent by Morse code: ‘Hove to off mouth Loch Ryan. Vessel not under command. Urgent assistance of tug required.’

10.32am
SOS call made: ‘Car deckflooded.’

11am
Portpatrick lifeboat Jeanie Speirs launches.

12.52pm
Messages report that the starboard engine room is flooded and the ferry’s position critical.

1.15pm
Message: ‘We are preparing to abandon ship.’

1.40pm
Passengers are ordered on-deck. Donaghadee lifeboat Sir Samuel Kelly launches into a full gale.

1.58pm
Radio Officer David Broadfoot sends his last message.

2pm
The ferry’s list is so bad that lifeboats can’t be lowered from her starboard side. She sinks shortly afterwards.