Henry Blogg
Encyclopedia
Henry George Blogg GC
BEM
(6 February 1876 – 13 June 1954) was a famous lifeboat
man from Cromer
on the north coast of Norfolk
, England
.
Henry Blogg of Cromer
is referred to as "the greatest of the lifeboatmen". From the epic rescue of the crew of the Pyrin and then of half of the crew of the Fernebo in 1917, through to his near drowning in the service to the English Trader in 1941, he would win the gold medal of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
three times and the silver medal four times, the George Cross
, the British Empire Medal
, and a series of other awards.
.jpg)
Born the son of Ellen Blogg, he was brought up in the family of James Davies (whose son John became Henry's stepfather after John Davies married Ellen Blogg in 1881), himself coxswain of the Cromer lifeboat. He first went to sea as a lifeboatman in 1894 in the rowing lifeboat Benjamin Bond Cabbell and then served in the Louisa Heartwell as second coxswain under Jimmy 'Buttons' Harrison. When coxswain Harrison retired in 1909 due to ill health, Blogg won the vote to take on the leadership role.
Away from lifeboat duties, Blogg was foremost a crab fisherman
but Cromer
being a popular holiday
resort, he also ran a deckchair
and beach hut
hire business.
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century lifeboats around the coast of Britain relied on the strength of the oarsmen and the power of the wind. The Cromer boat was launched from an open beach, and judgement and determination were the prime requirements of the coxswain. In the early hours of a fierce January morning in 1917 the Cromer lifeboat was launched to aid a vessel just in sight off Cromer, the Pyrin. The Cromer men rowed their boat through the breakers, succeeding in coming alongside the stricken vessel, and taking off her crew. They rowed back to Cromer. As they reached the beach the Swedish vessel the Fernebo struck a naval mine
and was blown in half. The two halves drifted towards the beach.
From one half, about 16 men set out in a ship's boat. As they reached the edge of the breakers onto the beach, their boat was capsized. Teams of men, grasping each others arms, had walked into the water, and they were able to help the men from the boat, and aid them ashore. Meanwhile the lifeboat was rehoused on its trailer and was pushed again into the breakers, to launch to the other half of the Fernebo.
The ferocity of the sea threw the boat back onto the beach. Recarriage and try again. This happened at least three times. It was not until midnight, under the light of searchlights from the clifftop, that the lifeboat finally reached the stricken half-vessel and took off its crew. Blogg had led his men for nearly 24 hours of heroic effort.
In 1924 Blogg was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal
by the King. In 1927, Blogg was awarded a gold watch and his crew a silver watch each after a rescue on the Haisborough Sands
.
Henry received a Silver Medal from the RNLI in 1932 for rescuing 30 men and a dog from the steamer Monte Nevoso
aground on the Haisborough Sands. The Canine Defence League
awarded him their own Silver Medal.
In October 1939 the lifeboat went to the SS Mount Ida
. During the long night-time rescue the lifboat was damaged and the no. 2 boat was required to help.
In 1941 he was awarded the BEM
. At around the same time it was announced that the Empire Gallantry Medal he was awarded in 1924 was to be substituted with the George Cross
which he was awarded in October that year.
.jpg)
The call out to the English Trader in 1941, aground on Hammond's Knoll
off Happisburgh
, nearly led to disaster when the motor lifeboat H.F.Bailey rolled onto her side, throwing five of her crew in the water. Blogg was one of them.
Still on board, crewman William H. Davies grasped the wheel and steered the lifeboat towards the men in the water. One by one they were picked up. Signalman Walter Allen would not survive long; his heart was failing. Blogg turned the lifeboat from the English Trader and headed for the nearest harbour at Great Yarmouth
.
At 3 a.m. the next morning, Blogg awoke his crew, ready to try again. They slipped from the wartime harbour and were soon back at the sands. The sea had abated, and forty-four men on the English Trader, who had not expected to live through the night, were saved. Henry was given the Silver medal for that rescue, the rest of the crew receiving Bronzes, Walter Allen posthumously.
Cromer Lifeboat Crew 'English Trader' shout
took over as coxswain of the Cromer Lifeboat.
A museum dedicated to the memory of Henry Blogg - "the greatest of the lifeboatmen" - opened in 2006. Unveiled by Ronnie Corbett
who started his stage career in Cromer, the museum is the first purpose-built RNLI museum to be opened since the Grace Darling
museum opened in 1938. On 15 April 2008, the museum was successful in bidding for two watches that had been awarded to Blogg.
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
BEM
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
(6 February 1876 – 13 June 1954) was a famous lifeboat
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...
man from Cromer
Cromer
Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
on the north coast of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, 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...
.
Henry Blogg of Cromer
Cromer lifeboat station
Cromer Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. The station operates two lifeboats - one for inshore work and the other for offshore work....
is referred to as "the greatest of the lifeboatmen". From the epic rescue of the crew of the Pyrin and then of half of the crew of the Fernebo in 1917, through to his near drowning in the service to the English Trader in 1941, he would win the gold medal of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
three times and the silver medal four times, the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
, the British Empire Medal
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
, and a series of other awards.
Life
Away from lifeboat duties, Blogg was foremost a crab fisherman
Crab fisheries
Crab fisheries are fisheries which capture or farm crabs. True crabs make up 20% of all crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with about 1.4 million tonnes being consumed annually. The horse crab, Portunus trituberculatus accounts for one quarter of that total...
but Cromer
Cromer
Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
being a popular holiday
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
resort, he also ran a deckchair
Deckchair
A deckchair is a folding chair, usually with a frame of treated wood or artificial material and a fabric or vinyl backrest and seat. It may have an extended seat, meant to be used as a leg rest, whose height may be adjustable...
and beach hut
Beach hut
A beach hut is a small, usually wooden and often brightly coloured, box above the high tide mark on popular bathing beaches. They are generally used as a shelter from the sun or wind, changing into and out of swimming costumes and for the safe storing of some personal belongings...
hire business.
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century lifeboats around the coast of Britain relied on the strength of the oarsmen and the power of the wind. The Cromer boat was launched from an open beach, and judgement and determination were the prime requirements of the coxswain. In the early hours of a fierce January morning in 1917 the Cromer lifeboat was launched to aid a vessel just in sight off Cromer, the Pyrin. The Cromer men rowed their boat through the breakers, succeeding in coming alongside the stricken vessel, and taking off her crew. They rowed back to Cromer. As they reached the beach the Swedish vessel the Fernebo struck a naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
and was blown in half. The two halves drifted towards the beach.
From one half, about 16 men set out in a ship's boat. As they reached the edge of the breakers onto the beach, their boat was capsized. Teams of men, grasping each others arms, had walked into the water, and they were able to help the men from the boat, and aid them ashore. Meanwhile the lifeboat was rehoused on its trailer and was pushed again into the breakers, to launch to the other half of the Fernebo.
The ferocity of the sea threw the boat back onto the beach. Recarriage and try again. This happened at least three times. It was not until midnight, under the light of searchlights from the clifftop, that the lifeboat finally reached the stricken half-vessel and took off its crew. Blogg had led his men for nearly 24 hours of heroic effort.
In 1924 Blogg was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal
Empire Gallantry Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, usually known as the Empire Gallantry Medal , was a British medal awarded for acts of the highest civilian gallantry . King George V introduced it on 29 December 1922...
by the King. In 1927, Blogg was awarded a gold watch and his crew a silver watch each after a rescue on the Haisborough Sands
Haisborough Sands
Haisborough Sands is a sandbank off the coast of Norfolk, England at Happisburgh. The shoal is long and wide and lies parallel to the North east coast of Norfolk. The shoal is marked to the north-west by north by the Haisbro Light Buoy, North cardinal...
.
SS Monte Nevoso
SS Monte Nevoso was a Merchant vessel which became stranded before becoming a total wreck off the coast of Norfolk, England at Haisbro Sands in between the 14 and 16 October 1932.-History:...
aground on the Haisborough Sands. The Canine Defence League
Dogs Trust
Dogs Trust, formerly known as the National Canine Defence League, is an animal welfare charity and humane society in the United Kingdom which specialises in the wellbeing of dogs. The charity rehabilitates and finds new homes for dogs which have been abandoned or given up by their owners...
awarded him their own Silver Medal.
In October 1939 the lifeboat went to the SS Mount Ida
SS Mount Ida
The SS Mount Ida was a merchant ship built in 1938 by William Hamilton & Co. Ltd of Glasgow. She had a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine which gave a service speed of around...
. During the long night-time rescue the lifboat was damaged and the no. 2 boat was required to help.
In 1941 he was awarded the BEM
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
. At around the same time it was announced that the Empire Gallantry Medal he was awarded in 1924 was to be substituted with the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
which he was awarded in October that year.
English Trader
The call out to the English Trader in 1941, aground on Hammond's Knoll
Hammond's Knoll
Hammond's Knoll is a six mile long sandbank off the coast of Norfolk, England at Happisburgh, to the east of Haisborough Sands. The sandbank at low tide has a depth of 6 fathoms at each end, and 3 fathoms in the centre.-Ships wrecked on Hammond's Knoll:...
off Happisburgh
Happisburgh
Happisburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated off the B1159 coast road from Ingham to Bacton.The civil parish has an area of , although this is declining due to cliff erosion. In the 2001 census, before the creation of Walcott parish, it had a...
, nearly led to disaster when the motor lifeboat H.F.Bailey rolled onto her side, throwing five of her crew in the water. Blogg was one of them.
Still on board, crewman William H. Davies grasped the wheel and steered the lifeboat towards the men in the water. One by one they were picked up. Signalman Walter Allen would not survive long; his heart was failing. Blogg turned the lifeboat from the English Trader and headed for the nearest harbour at Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
.
At 3 a.m. the next morning, Blogg awoke his crew, ready to try again. They slipped from the wartime harbour and were soon back at the sands. The sea had abated, and forty-four men on the English Trader, who had not expected to live through the night, were saved. Henry was given the Silver medal for that rescue, the rest of the crew receiving Bronzes, Walter Allen posthumously.
Cromer Lifeboat Crew 'English Trader' shout
| The Cromer Lifeboat | ||
|---|---|---|
| H. F. Bailey Cromer Lifeboat H F Bailey III H F Bailey III is the most famous Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat to have served from Cromer, because she was used by Coxswain Henry Blogg to perform many of his most famous lifesaving exploits. The lifeboat was on station for the ten years between 1935 and 1945... |
||
| Name | Rank | |
| Henry G Blogg | Coxswain | |
| John J ("Jack") Davies | Second Coxswain | |
| Henry W ("Swank") Davies | Mechanic | |
| James W ("Jimmy") Davies | Assistant Mechanic | |
| Edward W ("Boy Primo") Allen | Signalman | |
| William T ("Captain") Davies | Bowman | |
| John J ("Young Jack") Davies, jnr | Crewman | |
| Sidney C ("Kelly") Harrison | Crewman | |
| Henry T ("Shrimp") Davies Henry Thomas Davies Henry "Shrimp" Thomas Davies BEM was a famous lifeboatman from Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk, England. “Shrimp” Davies, as he was affectionately known was one of Cromer Lifeboat's longest serving coxswain. He retired as coxswain in February 1976. He had joined the crew of the Cromer... |
Crewman | |
| William H ("Pimpo") Davies | Crewman | |
| Robert C ("Bob") Davies | Crewman | |
| James R ("Dick") Davies | Crewman | |
Legacy
When Henry Blogg retired in 1947, after 53 years service and at age 71, 11 years past the usual retiring date, the new lifeboat at Cromer was named after him. He had been coxswain for 38 years of his service during which he had launched 387 times and rescued 873 people. Henry Blogg's nephew Henry "Shrimp" DaviesHenry Thomas Davies
Henry "Shrimp" Thomas Davies BEM was a famous lifeboatman from Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk, England. “Shrimp” Davies, as he was affectionately known was one of Cromer Lifeboat's longest serving coxswain. He retired as coxswain in February 1976. He had joined the crew of the Cromer...
took over as coxswain of the Cromer Lifeboat.
A museum dedicated to the memory of Henry Blogg - "the greatest of the lifeboatmen" - opened in 2006. Unveiled by Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...
who started his stage career in Cromer, the museum is the first purpose-built RNLI museum to be opened since the Grace Darling
Grace Darling
Grace Horsley Darling was an English Victorian heroine who in 1838, along with her father, saved 13 people from the wreck of the SS Forfarshire.-Biography:...
museum opened in 1938. On 15 April 2008, the museum was successful in bidding for two watches that had been awarded to Blogg.
See also
- SS Mount IdaSS Mount IdaThe SS Mount Ida was a merchant ship built in 1938 by William Hamilton & Co. Ltd of Glasgow. She had a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine which gave a service speed of around...
- SS GeorgiaSS GeorgiaSS Georgia was an oil tanker lost at Haisborough Sands off the coast of Norfolk, England in November 1927.-History:The ship began as hull No. 82 in the shipyard of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Newport News, Virginia in the United States of America. She was ordered in 1907 by...
- SS CantabriaSS CantabriaThe SS Cantabria was a Spanish cargo ship which was sunk in a military action of the Spanish Civil War, off the coast of Norfolk 12 miles ENE of Cromer on 2 November 1938...
- Cromer Lifeboat Benjamin Bond Cabbell II ON 12Cromer Lifeboat Benjamin Bond Cabbell II ON 12Benjamin Bond Cabbell II was a Cromer non self-righter type lifeboat stationed at Cromer in the English county of Norfolk from September 1884 until September 1902.-Design and construction:...
- Cromer Lifeboat Louisa Heartwell ON 495Cromer Lifeboat Louisa Heartwell ON 495The Louisa Heartwell ON 495 was the sixth lifeboat to be stationed at Cromer on the coast of the English county of Norfolk She was launched from the beach station and was on station from 1902 to 1932. During her period on station at Cromer the Louisa Heartwell had only two coxswains during her...
- Cromer Lifeboat H F Bailey ON 694Cromer Lifeboat H F Bailey ON 694H F Bailey was the second lifeboat at Cromer in the county of Norfolk to bear the name of H F Bailey. She replaced H F Bailey which had been stationed at Cromer until 1924. In 1936 she became the station's reserve lifeboat and was renamed J B Proudfoot.-Description:The lifeboat was built by J....
- Cromer Lifeboat Henry Blogg ON 840Cromer Lifeboat Henry Blogg ON 840HenryBlogg ON 840 was the eighteenth lifeboat to be stationed at Cromer in the county of Norfolk.ON 840 was stationed at Cromer from 1945 until 1966.-History:...