The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-16
FAMOUS RELIC IS
GIVEN VILLAGE
Grace Darling's Boat Pre-
sented to Newcastle
SAVED MANY LIVES
Lightkeeper's Daughter and Father
Rowed Out TO Sinking Vessel.
Sweetheart of the Heroine
Tells of C0urtship

Newcastle. February 15-(speoial)-
Comparatively few American travellers
find their way TO Newcastle, compared
with the thousands that find visit other
parts of England bur those who do SO
hereafter should spare time for a visit
to Armstrong college, which has just
been presented with a relic of interna-
tionai interest. This is Grace Darling a.
boat: In other words, the craft in which
the lighthouse keeper of Longstone and
his fearless daughter rowed out to the
wrecked steamer "Forfarshire" "A years
ago and rescued such of the crew as
survived: deed which made this girl
of Northumberland world famous and
her name a household word.
Grace Darling's boat. which has been
presented to Armstrong college by Lady
John Joicey Cecil. Is of the type known
on the Northumbrian coast as a ''coble."
1t was on the 9TH of September. 1888,
that the deed In which 1t figured was per
formed. Grace Darling was 2S at the
time, having been born at Marlborough
in 1915 Longstone. of whose lighthouse
William Darling was keeper, Is one OF
the Farne Islands, and when the For
farshire." which was bound from Hull 90
Dundee with So persons on board, struck
the adjacent Harker's Rock disaster was
swift 43 of her passengers being drowned
within 15 minutes.
The vessel was seen by Grace Darling
at quarter to fve In the morning living
broken on the rocks. The girl was a
superb oarsmen and at once proposed to
her father that they go to the rescue,
but the lighthouse keeper declared that
1t would be madness, the sea running
mountains high. The girl however, ar
gued that IL they could get to the For
farshire some of the crew would be able
to help them back, and finally Darling
consented to make the attempt. With
wonderful strength and skill they
brought their ''coble" to where the sur
vivors nine in number, crouched The soll-
tary woman and four men were safely
taken to the Longstone, and two of the
men returned with Darling and succeeded
in bringing the remainder off by a. IN.
This deed, so daring in ITSELF and so
successfully carried out thrilled the
world. The lighthouse at Longstone. sol
itary and unknown no more. was visited
by many of the wealthy and the great.
Presents, testimonials and money were
heaped at the feet of Grace Darling and
she was made the subject of hundreds
of poems, but she aid not live long after
her change of circumstances, dying of
consumption after years illness, on
October 20, 1S42.
But the man who was Grace Darling's
lover is stu alive. SO 1t proved recently.
This Is "Jim" Giles, a veteran seadog
who for nearly co years was a dock-
gateman and assistant engineer at Ips-
wich, and who retired only few weeks
ago. The story of his courtship of the
Northumbrian heroine as told by him
self Is as follows:
When a young man I took cargo of
salt from Ipswich to Sunderland While
there | left my brig and was made a
coxswain of a eoble that supplied Long
stone lighthouse with provisions This
was in 1889, and as Grace's great deed
took place the previous year ! was anx-
ous to meet the famous girl. On my
first trip in the coble | saw her standing
at the lighthouse door. but although
tried to attract her attention she got be-
hind the door The next time I visited
the lighthouse took silk handkerchief
full of grapes and gave the lot TO Grace
when I saw her She thanked me, and
we got on well. We walked and sa
about on the rocks, and one day we
paid visit to Marlborough to sec the
castle. As she had to return eaSly to
see to the lighthouse l rowed her
back.
Grace was not handsome but she was
passable, with dark eyes and hair and
face bronzed by the sea air, and con-
veying sense OF purity and innocence
that / have never beheld in any other.
She wore very short skirts and dark
blue Scotch cap. which suited her well.
She was as good as any sailor, and could
set sail or pull an oar with the best
of them.
"Her father, an old man nigh 10. was n
very old fashioned man, and always wore
drab knee breeches and buckled shoes,
with sparrow tailed coat. big waist
coat, and a round skull cap trimmed
with fur. He didn't think much of my
carvings on with her. Grace often re-
ferred to the loss of the 'Forfarshire,'
but made little of her own exploit. She
showed me her presents, including
gold slipper In a scarlet morocco case
which the czar of Russia sent her. She
was often asked TO go to London, but
she wouldn't leave daddy And. although
I became her sweetheart, that was the
reason she gave for not marrying, and
so we drifted apart"