Scarborough harbour

The following story is based upon a real life account written by Forrest Frank based upon a story by Captain William Kimmings. These appeared in the Scarborough Daily Post in 1920 as part of the 'Sea Dogs' stories by Forrest Frank.

It may not be generally known, but there was a movement once, just before West Hartlepool, was developed, to make a harbour on the North Side at Scarborough. Mr Ralph Ward Jackson, M.P., brought a gang of men down and made a survey with that object. The proposal was to make entrance at Peasholme Beck, to dig out the land where the lake is now, and a good distance surrounding it. The proposers, however, could not come to an agreement with the Woodalls for the land, and West Hartlepool was made instead. Amongst the men who came down on this survey was Billy Noble, who decided to stop in Scarborough. He was an old sailor, who had a pony and trap, which he would work when there was anything for him to do, and who would make a coal voyage, for a change.

My brother William, who was three years younger than myself, went prentice in the Wilberforce(Captain Elders), owned by Mr Craven, who lived in Wilberforce Place, Westborough, Between Brunswick Terrace and Vernon Place, where a row of shops stands now, but completed his time in the Clarinda. He passed for master when he was 24, and took the Content of Hartlepool, as his first command; trading in the Baltic, but felt that he would like to go into steam, which was then just beginning its serious competition with sail, so went mate of the Hettie. The Captain proved to be a very drunken man, and my brother had to take entire charge, throwing bottles of whiskey overboard by the dozen. He developed erysipelas on the passage, aggravated by the fact that owing to the Captain's incapacity he was unable to give himself the needed rest, and the steamer had put into to Gibraltar for him to receive treatment. The boat had to wait an hour or so for the arrival of a doctor before he could be landed, and the second mate told me afterwords that my brother, who was seated in the stern sheets, jumped up and fell back dead. He was only 28 years old at the time.



OTHER ARTICLES
• Harwood Brierleys description of Scarborough harbour at the opening of the 20th century
• The national RNLI and the Scarborough lifeboat of 1861.
• Coastal erosion in the 19th Century around the North Bay and Scarborough Castle area
• The 200 year history of scarboroughs RNLI
• The early years of the Scarborough Lifeboat
• The U-Boat campaign in the First World War
• The port of Scarborough in the late 15th Century
• Strange customs amongst the Scarborough shipbuilders
• When the Colliers came to Scarborough
• Hinderwells account of the first launch of the Scarborough Lifeboat in 1802
• Thomas Crimlisk - First of the Crimlisks
• The Borough of Scarborough formed in the 12th Century
• Watching for ships by the harbour walls in Scarborough
• Tunny fishing in Scarborough in the 1930's
• A sea shanty about a storm on the Scarborough coast
• Havens on the North Yorkshire coast. An article on scarboroughs maritime history by John Rushton
• Life in the Old Town of Scarborough and harbour - the fishing families
• Children of the fishing families in Scarborough
• Discovery of the Silver pit in 1835

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