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Marconi's apparatus at the South
Foreland Lighthouse
 - Photo
Marconi
Corporation plc.
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- Setting the Scene
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- By the last years of the 19th Century the Corporation
of Trinity House had long needed some system of
signalling with their off-shore establishments, Two
methods had been tried and found lacking. The first was
by cable connections but these were under a constant
strain when the lightships were anchored in open sea and
frequently came into contact with the hawsers of the
vessels. The second was the Post Office inductive system
and this also proved unsatisfactory. So seeing an
opportunity Marconi's Company offered ship-to-shore
demonstrations by wireless telegraphy. The Elder Brethren
of Trinity House accepted this offer and selected to
link, for a trial period, the twelve miles between the
South Foreland Lighthouse and the East Goodwin
Lightship.
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- The installations were completed in December 1898 and
two-way communications established on Christmas Eve.
George Kemp, Marconi's assistant, who was operating the
East Goodwin Station, recalls in his diary some of the
messages he sent for onward transmission by telegraph.
For instance he sent compliments of the season to all the
editors of the leading newspapers and to all friends and
relations of the lightship's crew and the Wireless
Telegraph staff.
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- The First Use of Wireless as an Aid
to Ship in Distress
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- On Saturday the 11th March, 1899, the first practical
use of this link between the East Goodwin Lightship and
the South Foreland Lighthouse was made. The occasion was
a ship going aground. The three masted sailing ship
'Elbe' was laden with slates from Nantes and returning to
its home port of Hamburg. It went ashore on the Goodwin
Sands at 2 in the morning, a thick fog prevailing at the
time. The South Goodwin Lightship fired signals. It often
happened that when the wind was blowing off-shore the
signal guns of the lightships could not be heard on land.
However, in this case the signals were heard by the East
Goodwin Lightship. It communicated by wireless telegraphy
to the South Foreland Lighthouse and from there
telegraphic messages were sent to the authorities. The
lifeboats at Ramsgate, Deal, and Kingsdown were not
launched but they were all standing by. As it happened
the 'Elbe' was able to re-float eight hours later with
the assistance of boatmen and with the tug 'Shamrock' in
attendance. But it was the first occasion in the history
of the world in which lifeboats had been alerted by the
means of wireless.
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George
Kemp's Letter
 - Photo
Marconi
Corporation plc.
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- By a strange coincidence the East Goodwin Lightship
was itself involved in a collision at sea with a steamer,
'R.E. Matthews', 1964 tons, of London, sailing from the
Tyne with coal for Genoa. It happened shortly after the
'Elbe' incident on the 28th April 1899 and use of
wireless helped to avert a situation that might have
involved the loss of life.
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- Although a lightship is moored it is still capable of
some movement as its cables allow it some change of
position if the rudder is used. On the day in question
there was very dense fog in the Channel. The evidence is
that the approach of the steamer was noticed, the helm
was put down and the lightship was swung by the tide.
Even so she was struck and sustained some damage. Using
the wireless telegraphy from the lightship to the shore,
Capt. Clayson, the master of the lightship, later
described the incident to a reporter:
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- "We number seven hands all told. Fortunately none
of us were hurt, but we all had a very severe shaking.
There was a very dense fog when the collision occurred,
and we had a very narrow escape from being cut in two, as
the vessel nearly caught us broadside on. We had just
time to put our helm down, and let the tide swing the
ship a bit: otherwise the steamer must have run right
through us. As it was, she gave us a violent glancing
blow across the bows. Our stem is completely smashed down
to the water line, and the covering boards and plank-ends
on each side of the stem are started (damaged). The ship
hung to us, and our vessel scraped along one side of the
steamer, giving us a severe grinding, and carrying away
our upper works and plating above water. The ship is very
badly damaged, and but for the fact that the sea was calm
and has remained calm since, we could not have kept
afloat. The steamer remained alongside to see if we
required assistance, and subsequently proceeded down the
Channel, having sustained damage herself. Before the
steamer left we told the captain we had telegraphed to
the South Foreland, and they had promised to send aid if
we required it. The cause of the vessel running into us
was that she did not make sufficient allowance for the
tide, which was running very strong at the time. The
lightship is so badly damaged that she must be replaced,
and we are waiting for the Trinity boat Warden, which is
on her way up Channel from Beachy Head, with the
superintendent on board. She is to bring with her another
lightship to replace us, and tow us back."
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East Goodwin
Lightship
 - Photo
Marconi
Corporation plc.
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- The Marconi
aerial can be seen suspended from the spar at
the masthead.
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- Capt. Clayson was asked if he had had any difficulty
in getting communication with the South Foreland
Lighthouse after the accident happened. He replied:
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- "I had not the slightest trouble. The collision
occurred at half past eight. I called the South Foreland
up about two minutes after the steamer got clear of us,
and while she was still standing by: and I got the reply
immediately from Mr Bullocke, to whom I telegraphed
briefly the particulars of the collision."
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- Mr Bullocke, Marconi's assistant, was on the premises
at South Foreland Lighthouse when he heard the alarm bell
ringing. He realised it was the lightship communicating
and later reported that he had received the following
message:
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- "We have just been run into by the steamer 'R.F.
Matthews', of London. Steamship is standing by us. Our
bows are very badly damaged."
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- The newspaper accounts reported that he immediately
transmitted the message to the Trinity House authorities
at Ramsgate and it was further arranged that if the
lightship required immediate assistance the lighthouse
people would telephone to Ramsgate, Deal, and Kingsdown
for the lifeboats to be sent out.
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- It is strange that despite a verbatim account by the
Captain, reported in many newspapers. Trinity House
stated a few days later that the collision with the
steamer had only caused slight damage. The truth of what
actually happened can never be finally resolved as the
definitive papers were destroyed in the blitz, Although
the lifeboats were not needed, the wireless link with the
shore had enabled the Trinity House rescue ship to set
out much more quickly than would otherwise have been the
case.
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Ramsgate Lifeboat "Bradford"
1893-1905
 - Photo East Kent Maritime
Trust
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- The significance and immense importance of what
happened did not escape the people involved at the time.
Here was a system that enabled a vessel in distress to
communicate with the shore. At that time messages could
only cover a short distance but as a naval correspondent
then wrote about the future of wireless in 'The Morning
Post',
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- "its potentialities are infinite, but in regard to
long distances it still remains to translate these
potentialities into definite facts." They soon would
be.
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