The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-09-07 00:00:00

Mr. Childs also makes the following statement :

"I five at 14, Sovereign-mews, Edgware-road. We were
coming back from Gravesend—my wife, three children, my
brother, and his young lady. When we had just passed the
powder magazine there was a fearful exclamation throughout
the boat of 'Look, look that ship is down upon us.' I bad
my boy in my arms at the time, and rushed forward to see
what was the matter, and suddenly the crash came, and our
boat was nearly cut in halves near the paddle-box. It
rapidly filled with water, and went down stern foremost.
She went down in about two minutes after she was struck.
There were so many climbing up the side of the barque that
some were thrown off into the sea. I had climbei up on the
bridge of the sailing vessel with my boy in my arms all the
time, but somebody fell off the ropes, and dashed him into
the sea and he was drowned—at least I suppose so for I
cannot find him. I then threw off my two coats and jumped
Into the water. I swam towards the shore, when I was picked
up by a boat (God knows there were few enough of them),
I was taken to the gasworks and was well looked after. 'the
shouting and screaming at the moment when the vessel was
struck was something fearful. I was in .he water only a few
seconds after the disaster. I did not see any boats lowered
from the barque, although there might have been. We were
on the upper deck of the saloon. My wife and child, seven
weeks old, were saved, and are now lying in the Plumsteml
and Woolwich Infirmary."

Inspector King, of the Thames police, states that he had a
week's holiday, and went down to Gravesend on Tuesday for
the day's excursion, and returned in the ill-fated vessel. He
had with him his wife, two children, father, mother, and
brother, the latter being an old Waterloo pensioner, with a
wooden leg. At the moment of the collision, 7.50 p.m., they
were all on the upper deck, when he was thrown down by
the Princess Alice being struck a fearful blow, and upon
regaining his feet saw the collier towering high above
them, and their vessel immediately commenced to sink,
and went down in about six or eight minutes. He could not
attempt to describe the frightful scene which ensued, or the
shrieks of those drowning or injured by the shock; and used
as he is to dreadful sights, was so thoroughly overcome that
It was useless to try to think more of it. He was a good
swimmer, and on finding himself in the water, caught hold of
a woman whom he thought was his wife, swam ashore with
her, and then discovered for the first time that she was a
stranger. All the members of his family were drowned.

James Hudson, a bargeman of Ayleeford, Kent, stated that
at the time of the collision he was asleep in his barge, the
Charity, of Rochester, when he heard the crash of the
collision, and upon getting on deck saw the Bywell Castle
and the Princess Alice in collision. The cutwater of the
Bywell Castle had struck the Princess Alice right on the
port paddle-box, and literally cut her in halves. With the
help of his mate, Alfred Lames, he pushed off his barge, and
managed to save three men and one woman, who were in a
very exhausted condition, and the female was in such a
fainting condition that the police took her away in an im-
provised stretcher made of a couple of sou'-westers. All
attempts to save others were rendered impossible, the very
multiplicity of boats coming to the rescue preventing any
successful attempt in that direction, each boat impeding the
other.

The Princess Alice was a paddle steamer belonging to the
London Steamboat Company (Limited), of Bennet's-hill,
Doctors'-commons, London. Her official number Was 52,614,
She was built of iron, and was of 158 tons net tonnage anEl
251 gross tonnage. Her length was 219(t. 41n.; her breadth,
20ft. 2in. ; her depth, 81t. 4in.

The Bywell Castle is an iron screw steamer, having the
official number 63546. She is known by the signal letters
J. K. P. W. Her registered tonnage is 892 tons net, 1,376
tons gross, and, 1,168 tons under the deck. Her length is
254 ft. Sin., her breadth, 32ft. lin., her depth, 191 t. 61n.

On the dreadful occurrence becoming known the Steam-
boat Company sent down a large staff of their officials to the
scene to give assistance. At Woolwich during the night
the inquiries by relatives for missing friends were not
so numerous as might have been expected. The majority
had probably gone first to North Woolwich, on the opposite
aide of the river. Still there were but too many distressing
scenes, as the living relations walked among the rows of the
dead and uttered cries of anguish or swooned away on re-
cognising some familiar and beloved face.

The approaches to the Old Swan Pier, London-Bridge, were
the scene of the wildest confusion long after midnight, when
the report of the awful calamity had gained currency in the
metropolis. A few of the survivors arrived in London late
In the evening, at Fenchurch - street and London. bridge
stations. One young lady states that they were run into by
another boat, and her mother and three children were lost.
She thought that ZOO bodies were picked up and taken to
Plumstead.

Another young lady, a governess, from Queen's College,
took seven young ladies for the trip. They are all drowned
and she was only saved after going under water three times
The cook of the vessel (Merriman) was saved by holding on
to a rope. He was in the water for twenty minutes, with
two men and two women holding him by the clothes, but was
ultimately saved. He was not able to give any connected
account cf the accident, as he was in the forecastle talking
when the collier struck her. When he got on deck the other
vessel was apparently completely over them. The Princess
Alio:: was cut almost in half, and sank directly.

At the Pier at London Bridge, from which the boat
usually starts, no information as to the accident could be ob-
tained, there being only a pier watchman in charge. Large
numbers of persons had assembled there by midnight, but
none of the survivors was among them. Everybody, how-
ever, knew that the vessel had gone down and the time and
place were readily specified. Information was however given
that the offices of the company, which are at Bennett's-
hill, would most probably be open, and that any information
which might be required would most likely be communicated
there. On going to these offices they were found to be sur-
rounded by several persons, among whom were several sur-
vivors. From these there was but little to be obtained, as
they were in almost a frantic state in consequence of having
lost some relatives.

One poor man, who could hardly be persuaded that it was
no use ringing at the bell, as no one was in the house, gave
his history of the accident, as he acknowledged, from a
purely personal view, and stated that he only knew that the
Princess Alice was struck by an iron steamer, which to him
appeared as much higher than the Princess Alice as the
houses in Doctors'-commons were higher than the road, and
that the Princess Alice almost immediately settled down aft,
but before completing that movement toppled right over, and,
throwing all her passengers into the river, remained keel
upwards. He, poor fellow, was the last on board, and he
supported his wife when in the water by holding her under
both arms, but from some unaccountable cause, he could
not tell what, he let her slip, and she was drowned. Other
survivors had lost children, others sisters, and almost all
had lost someone.

Mrs. Edwards, of Thames-street, Woolwich, has charge of
a little girl about four years old, who says that she was re-
turning home with Aunt Lizzie, from Sheerness; her name,
as she pronounces it, sounds like Mabel Lizzie Hopburn.

Perhaps one of the saddest scenes at the London office of
the Steamboat Company was a poor young girl named
Palmer, who had lost father, mother, two sisters, and a
brother, and who had been left at home to mind the house.
She had not even money to pay her fare te Woolwich to
identify her lost relatives, and Mr. Towse, the secretary,
gave her passes to and fro.

To my mind (says the Special Correspondent of the
Evening Standard) the most terrible part is to see bodies of
poor little children, bronzed in face, with hair evidently curled
with loving hands, now lying dank and dishevelled upon
their brows, and their little hands elapsed or their
bosoms. None of these babes have yet been recognised, and
It is to be feared that their parents have been lost.