Seven Sail to Disaster Seaford is a quiet, calm place, but sometimes nature casts a shadow over the town. Two of the blackest days in Seaford’s maritime history were 6th and 7th December 1809, the year after the Martello Tower was completed, when seven ships were wrecked with the loss of many lives. As Britain was at war with Napoleon, a convoy of 23 ships was being escorted eastwards up the Channel by the sloop Harlequin armed with 18 guns. In the fierce gale – ‘hard enough to blow off the devil’s head’ - the sloop mistook her position and led the six foremost vessels aground in Seaford Bay. Her firing of signal guns and rockets saved the rest of the convoy from a similar fate. The vessels lost with the Harlequin were: The Traveller (cargo of fruit) nine crew, The Albion (brandy, nuts and fruit) ten crew, The Weymouth (tobacco, barilla and cork) 12 crew, The Unice (cotton, potash and pearlash and staves) 11 crew, The Februar (a Prussian ship in ballast) 17 crew, The Midebach, also Prussian (wine, brandy, sugar and coffee)13 crew. A chaotic sight greeted the dawn on 7th December. The storm had hurled the vessels against each other with little remaining for the survivors to cling onto. The Sussex Weekly Advertiser reported that the spectacle ‘was truly dreadful, the seven ships being high together and complete wrecks, with the remaining crews clinging to differing parts of them, imploring for assistance which is natural in such cases’. Among those who risked their lives to help were officers and men from the Army barracks at Blatchington. Many heroic deeds were done, including the astonishing bravery of Lieutenant Bartholomew Derenzy who saw a sailor being rolled about in the surf – fighting for his life. ‘I’ll save that poor fellow or perish in the attempt!’ shouted Derenzy and dashed into the waves. He swam out and managed to get a good grip on the sailor but began to tire himself. His fellow officer,
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Lieutenant Pringle also leapt into the water with the intention of saving both men. All three were now overwhelmed by the sea and all in danger of drowning. Soldiers and townsfolk linked hands and arms to form a human chain and dragged them safely onto the beach. Derenzy was a valiant soldier who had already been wounded twice fighting Napoleon in Spain and Holland. After the dramatic rescue at Seaford he returned to Iberia the following year and served under Sir Arthur Wellesley. Although wounded several times more, Derenzy survived the Napoleonic wars and eventually retired to Cheltenham as Major-General. Regrettably, there were also those who took advantage of the confusion to steal what they could find. Mr Harrison, collector of customs at Newhaven, lost the greatcoat and boots he laid on the beach before dashing into the waves. It seems that fourteen men from The Februar, plus everyone from The Midebach were lost. Apparently they were buried in a grave in Seaford Parish Churchyard, but all traces disappeared after alterations were made to the Churchyard. Hopefully, Seaford Museum will be open each weekend in December as well as Boxing Day, and Monday 28th December, plus New Years Day from 11am to 4pm. Photo: A contemporary engraving depicting the Seven Ships Disaster. ‘As they appeared at 6 o’clock in the morning from the shore’.
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