William Pillar
In the early hours of New Year's Day 1915 the sailing
trawler 'Provident', which had been fishing in the Channel south of Berry Head, was running for home in a full gale when a small open boat loaded with 71 survivors from the
torpedoed battleship 'Formidable' was sighted. It was overloaded and in danger of being swamped.
At considerable risk, and after several attempts, Skipper Pillar managed to
come alongside the boat and transfer the survivors to 'Provident'. All were
returned safely to land. Of the occupants of another similar boatload of survivors, 23 died before the remainder reached shore.
Pillar and his crew of two men and a boy were each awarded the Albert
Medal by King George V at Buckingham Palace. Pillar received a cash award of £500, and the others lesser amounts.
Later in the war 'Provident' was herself sunk by gunfire from a U-boat, and
when the war was over the Government awarded Pillar money with which to build a replacement. Arthur Briscoe
Born in 1843
and educated at Shrewsbury
School,
studied
Briscoe
at
the
Slade School of
Fine Art in London and in Paris. A noted marine artist whose work still
“Brixham Trawlers” by Arthur Briscoe
commands five-figure sums today, he was also a keen sailor.
He commissioned the building of 'Golden Vanity'. For a number of years he
lived aboard with his wife and young son, but he also sailed in square riggers and documented the last days of sail in oils, watercolours and etchings .
One of his friends was Erskine Childers, author of the classic sailing yarn
“Riddle of the Sands” and the two sailed together on a number of occasions.
SAILING TRAWLERS
31