This is an old article: The training ship Wellesley on fire in the Tyne in 1914 Exactly a century ago, the fledgling Pathe News, pioneers of the cinema newsreel, hot-footed it to Tyneside to record a drama on the river. Fire was engulfing the training ship Wellesley, a converted wooden warship that had been HMS Boscawen, and which was moored off North Shields. As rowing boats and a variety of other craft circled the ship, more than 200 boys and staff were taken off the vessel. Pathe captured the scene for the cinemas which were opening everywhere, and it will all be remembered afresh in an exhibition on the Wellesley which opens tomorrow at Segedunum Roman Fort and Museum in Wallsend. Visitors will hear the voice of Captain EJ Hatfield giving a first-hand account of the blaze and life aboard the ship. He was one of the evacuated boys, who were rescued by the tug Vigilant. In 1977, Capt Hatfield recorded three hours of memories about his time on the Wellesley and his passage through life, which is now part of the audio collection of Tyne Wear Archives and Museums (TWAM). He went on to become a master mariner. It was in 1866 that Parliament gave magistrates the power to send destitute youngsters under 14 to a certified industrial school. In 1868, Tynemouth ship owner James Hall proposed that such a school should be established on a ship moored in the Tyne. The 74-gun HMS Cornwall was acquired and was renamed Wellesley. In 1873, it was replaced by HMS Boscawen, which had been built in 1844, and continued the Wellesley name.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 13:13:09 +0000
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