Collected by Francis Collinson, Aldington, 24th June 1942
Francis Collinson Manuscript Collection COL/1/31
The only entries for this song in the Roud Index are for this version – in other words the song was never collected from anyone other than John and Ted Lancefield and, to date, no printed copy – for example on a broadside ballad sheet – has surfaced. The song tells of the events of 21st and 22nd December 1894, when a large number of ships were lost in the North Sea, and many more were battered, as a severe storm hit the North of England, Scotland, Ireland, and continental Europe. Provincial newspapers for Saturday 22nd December report on the damage caused in their locality, and further abroad:
THE STORM.
At Bradford the storm was the most destructive on record, enormous damage being done to property in all parts of the district, dozens of buildings having been unroofed and shop fronts blown in. Three trams were overturned in the streets, and one steam tram had the top compartment blown off. One fatality only is recorded.
The terrible westerly gale has been severely felt at Liverpool and the Mersey is in a more turbulent state than has been known for some years. Owing to the wholesale interruptions of telegraphic and telephonic communications reports are much delayed, but it has been ascertained that a schooner was sunk at the mouth of the river, and it Is feared that all hands have been lost.
(Exeter Flying Post)
THE STORM.
HOUSE AND SHOP BLOWN DOWN.
A large house and shop belonging to Mr Wm. T. Atkinson, builder, of Reed-street, in Lister-street, in course of erection, was blown down about nine o’clock this morning.
NORTHALLERTON DISTRICT.
A terrific gale is blowing at Northallerton, with drenching rain. Great damage has been done to shop and house windows having been blown in. Two very narrow personal escapes occurred when the gale was at its height by chimney posts crashing through the house roofs. The railway station roof was much damaged, and the waiting-room window was blown in. The telegraph wires are snapped and several country roads are blocked by fallen trees. The high wall of the National School at Northallerton was blown down. The rivers Swale and Ure are flooded.
(Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail)
The Shields Daily News wrote that the storm had stopped telegraphic communication between Tyneside and other parts of the country; roofs, slates and chimney pots had suffered at Shields; many chimney stacks had been swept at Carlisle; while “much havoc has been done in the Clyde ship-building yards”. The article in the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch was headed
THE STORM.
FACTORIES BLOWN DOWN.
LOSS OF LIFE.
DESTRUCTION OF TELEGRAPH WIRES.
The Kentish newspapers do not appear to have paid the storm much heed at this point (although The Echo, published in London, noted that a goods train on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway had been derailed during the storm). However in the new year worries were being expressed over the fate of the Woodside, a collier brig that operated out of Folkestone. The Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald for 5th January 1895 reported that
Grave fears are entertained for safety of the brig Woodside, of this port. The vessel is considerably overdue. She sailed about two days before Christmas, and would, in the natural course of events, have encountered the full force of the great gale, which played such havoc on both sea and land. But there are hopes. The stout vessel has a splendid master in Captain Milton—a man of unflinching bravery and much resource. It may that the vessel is disabled, and drifting in the wide expanse of the North Sea. However, we will all earnestly hope for the best. Down at the Fishermen’s Bethel on Sunday evening last prayers were offered for the safety of the crew.
The following week brought no further news of the ship’s fate. This article appeared in the Kentish Express, 12th January 1895:
SUPPOSED FOUNDERING OF A FOLKESTONE BRIG.
A gloom has been cast over the eastern quarter of Folkestone by the disappearance of the Woodside, brig, belonging to the port. The Woodside left Sunderland on Thursday, December 20th, with a cargo of coal, and she must have encountered the dreadful gales which raged a few days after in the North Sea, and in which 22 smacks were lost. The Woodside was spoken by a Whitstable vessel on the day after she sailed, and the captain reported all well, that he expected a sharp passage up and to be home in time for his Christmas dinner. The captain’s name was Milton, he resided with his wife in Fenchurch-street, Folkestone, and was 58 years of age. He had followed the sea from his 11th year, and was mate of the Tricky Wee, a Folkestone vessel which was shipwrecked on the Yorkshire coast on Boxing Day 1885. Captain Milton bore the reputation of an excellent seaman, and had a share in the Woodside. The other owners were Mr. Francis, coal merchant; Mr. Franks, sail maker; and Miss Pearson, landlady of the True Briton Hotel. The vessel was not insured. There were eight men on board, three of whom were married. The mate’s name was Wooderson, and his wife is left in peculiarly distressing circumstances. She has two young children, and is in a delicate state of health, and has moreover been seized with paralysis in both legs. The owners, having given up all hope of seeing the vessel again, have this week paid the wages of the crew to their relatives. An appeal will be made to the public on their behalf. Among the men who were on board the Woodside was a Dover man, well known in Folkestone as well as in the sister port as “Dover Jim”. This man has been singularly unfortunate. He sailed to Sunderland in a Dover vessel in October, and there met with an accident and broke his leg. He was taken to a hospital and remained there until December, when he was discharged. Being unable to get a berth he became destitute, and Captain Milton kindly gave him a passage to Folkestone so that he could get to Dover. Another passenger of the same class was a Swede, whom Captain Milton was also assisting back to Dover.
The same week, the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald provided further details:
LOSS OF THE BRIG WOODSIDE.
HELP NEEDED FOR TRE RELATIVES OF THE CREW.
The anxiety expressed last week for the safety of the crew of the brig Woodside, of this port, have been deepened by the non-arrival of the vessel during the past few days. From careful and
EXHAUSTIVE ENQUIRIES
that I have instituted, I learn that the Woodside (179 tons register), Ieft Sunderland for Folkestone with a cargo of coal on Decembe5 20th. She carried a crew of seven, including a captain, mate, two able seamen, and lads. I am sorry to state that, after allowing for possibilities, I am compelled to come to the conclusion that the Woodside is numbered amongst the lost. In this opinion I am supported by the most experienced of our sailors, and other authorities. Yet there is still left
A SPARK OF HOPE
The vessel may be blown away or dismasted in the wide expanse of the North Sea. This is the only glimmer of hope. True it is faint, but still it is—hope. In the ordinary course of events the Woodside must have encountered the full force of the hurricane which blew with such terrific force on the night of Friday and Saturday morning previous to Christmas Day. Twenty-eight vessels in all left the port of Sunderland on the same day as the Woodside, and a comparatively small number of these have reached their destinations. The Woodside on the Friday night “spoke” a schooner named the Stephen and Sarah, belonging to Whitstable, and signalled in answer to enquiries that they
EXPECTED A RAPID RUN.
It was now that the gale struck the vessels, and they parted, the schooner hugging he land, and the brig making for the open sea. On the following morning the wind and sea were, to one who weathered the storm, simply awful – past the conception of those who live on land. Since that date nothing has been heard of the Folkestone vessel. Three of the men are married, viz., Capt. Milton (who is in his 58th year), the mate Wooderson, and Cotterell, a seaman. Naturally, the relatives are in a state of great anxiety. I called on Mrs. Milton,
THE CAPTAIN’S WIFE.
The good woman lives in a humble abode at 13, Fenchurch-street, and her home is a picture of cleanliness and order. Although others give up all hope, yet Mrs. Milton clings to the belief that the vessel will yet return to port. The good lady is bearing up well, although her face betokens the mental strain through which she is passing. Her family of sons and daughters are for the most part grown up. “Yes,” said Mrs. Milton, “my husband is one of the best that ever drew this world’s breath,. and after all these years I cannot but think he will arrive home safe and sound. He nearly lost his life once, and that was when the Trixie Wee foundered at sea, on December 26th, 1886. With the exception of this, he has had no misfortune befall him in his long career.” “I am much obliged to you for calling,” said Mrs. Milton, as I bade her good morning, “but I shall keep on hoping to the last.” The case of the mate’s wife is
SAD AND DISTRESSING.
Mrs. Wooderson lives now at Foord. She is very poor, has two children, and the family at any moment may be added to. Moreover, the woman is paralysed in both her legs. Add to all this the mental agony that is now cast upon her by the supposed loss of her breadwinner, and her sad lot will create a feeling of pity in the stoniest heart. The owners of the vessel, which is not insured, have attended to the poor woman’s immediate wants, but
HELP—AND THAT SOON—
I feel sure will be forthcoming to meet the needs of this very sad case. Enough! The cry of the little ones and the anguish of the mother appeal to you with greater force than any words of mine. The remaining married man is the seaman Cotterell. His parents have abandoned hope for their eldest son, now 24 years of age. His father is the proprietor of the ham and beef establishment at the bottom of High-street. Strange to say Mr. Cotterell has another son that follows the sea, and he sailed from London in the sailing vessel Via, which left the Thames on the day previous to the Woodside leaving Sunderland, so that the two vessels must have passed each other. Mr. Cotterell allowed me to peruse a letter which he had received from his son on reaching the northern port. Therein he gives a description of the gale, which their vessel rode through. “It was terrific,” he says, “and we were compelled to hove to for 40 hours under close reeftopsail. Our sails were blown to ribbons.”
The other members were of the crew were lads, and some of these helped to support their parents. On the vessel were two passengers, who worked their way homewards. One of them is known as “Dover Jim,” and the other is a Swede. The former, three months ago on a voyage to the north, broke his leg, and had just been discharged from the hospital. Being penniless, Capt. Milton gave him a passage home. Further particulars will be placed before the public shortly, and in the meantime I trust my readers will render assistance where it is urgently required. We, who sit around the fireside in comfort and ease, can at least let our hearts go out towards those who “go down to the sea in ships” and bring for us through the “great waters,” that which supplies us with warmth and comfort. The sailors in the colliers that trade from this part—as with others-have experienced terrible times of late, and out of the gratitude that we owe them, let us think of those who are now bowed down with grief and anguish, and at least express the hope that whatever their fate they ultimately
“May reach that port when life is o’er
Where billows break and surges swell no more.”The following is a full list of the crew:-Henry Milton (master), Jessie Wooderson (mate), John McKay and William Baker (able seamen), Benjamin Cotterell and Alexander Smith (ordinary seamen), Charles Woollett (boy), and James Bachelor (passenger).
Elsewhere in the same newspaper, further details were provided of the charitable appeal:
a subscription list has been opened at the National Provincial Bank, and that contributions may be paid there, or to Mr. Councillor Peden, Sandgate-road. The case is a sad one, and calls for a generous exercise of the virtue of charity. We heard yesterday one of the Woodside boats was picked ap at Salthouse, near Cromer, by a coastguardman who is a Folkestone man.
A few days later, hope was fading, the Folkestone Express, Sandgate, Shorncliffe & Hythe Advertiser for 16th January advising that “There is now unhappily no doubt that this vessel foundered in the recent disastrous gale in the North Sea on Saturday, December the 22nd, and that the crew were drowned. No particulars of the disaster will ever be known.” The article also quoted at greater length from the letter sent by the surviving Cotterell brother to his father:
The young man, Benjamin Cotterell, was a son of Mr. Cotterell, of the Ham and Beef Warehouse, High Street. He has another son who during the heavy gale was in great peril in another ship, not far away from the spot where the Woodside is supposed to have foundered. Writing on board the schooner Via, from Gateshead-on-Tyne, on Boxing Day, to his father, he says: “We arrived here safely on Monday evening, after having a fearful time of it. We left London on Wednesday, blowing a gale, and got out clear of the river, when the forepeak halyards came down, and we had to put back to Sheerness with the head of the sail split. Left again on Thursday morning, and went into Harwich in the evening. Left Friday morning, and got down off Flamborough Head on Saturday morning at four o’clock, when that terrible gale struck us. It had been blowing a moderate gale all night. We were blown right off the land—blew all our head sails to ribbons and two of the head stays with them. At last we got her hove to, with only a mainsail on her, and oil bags over the side. I very nearly lost the run of my mess, owing to the lower topsail. We lay hove to for about 40 hours, seas breaking aboard all the time. I think it was a lot worse than last year. I was over to Sunderland yesterday, was told the Woodside left on Thursday. I hope she came all right out of it.”
Then on 19th January, this appeared in the same newspaper:
THE WOODSIDE–This vessel has been posted In the Gazette as lost. Information has reached Folkestone that one of her boats was washed ashore near Cromer, on the coast of Norfolk, leaving no doubt as to the fate of the vessel and her crew.1
A memorial service was held for the crew on Wednesday 23rd January, at which “the Folkestone band of ringers rang a muffled peal, consisting of touches of grandsire triples”. The offertory at this service raised £12 2s 6d for the Woodside fund.
Stephen Penfold, the Mayor of Folkestone, used the pages of the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald, 19th January 1895, to endorse the fundraising appeal on behalf of the crew’s widows and children. His letter mentioned that “The mate leaves a widow and two young children, another being daily expected; this is the most distressing case, as the poor woman is very ill”. And the newspaper was able to provide an update on this:
Since the letter was put in type we have been informed that the mate’s widow has given birth to an infant, and although the mother is very ill, hopes are entertained of her recovery. This adds another pathetic element to the cause, and supplies a “touch of nature” which must immensely strengthen the appeal which the worthy Mayor has now taken up as the head of the municipality.
Sadly, Jesse Wooderson’s wife Mary died. Their daughter, Jessie, was baptised at All Souls, Cheriton on 10th March 1895. Touchingly her full name was recorded as Jessie Mary Woodside Wooderson.
Contributions to the appeal came from many sources, and were duly reported in the local newspapers: The Conservative politician William Pleydell-Bouverie, Lord Radnor (his title had been Viscount Folkestone from 1869 to 1889, before succeeding to the earldom) donated £5 5s; the Shipwrecked Mariner’s Society donated £10; the Salvation Army gave £4; landlords of local hostelries donated money – probably raised from a collection in the pubs; numerous private citizens contributed small amounts; and £16 1s was raised by a concert. Folkestone Football Club organised a benefit match with the Royal Scots Fusiliers, and readers of the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald were urged to buy a sixpenny ticket, whether or not they planned to attend the match.
On 20th March George Peden reported via the Folkestone Express, Sandgate, Shorncliffe & Hythe Advertiser that the fund was now closed.
The net amount remaining, after deducting cash advances made to Mrs. Wooderson during her illness, funeral expenses, arrears of rent, etc. was £265.
There were three little Wooderson orphans left. Mrs. Amos, mother of the late Mrs. Wooderson, has taken two of the children, and Mrs. Wooderson, mother of the late Mr. Wooderson, has taken one child.
[Although in the 1901 census, the now 6 year old Jessie was living with her uncle Walter Wooderson (a pilot) and his wife Josephine, at 16 Rosendale Road, Folkestone]
The money subscribed has been placed in the Folkestone Savings Bank, and will be paid out in small weekly sums, so that it will thereby last several years.
It now only remains to me, on behalf of these hapless women and children, to tender my most sincere thanks to the Folkestone public who so generously responded to the appeal.
The sums apportioned were as follows:
- Mrs Milton and Mrs Amos – £80 each
- Mrs Cotterell and Mrs Wooderson – £50 each
- Mrs Baker – £5
It seems likely that the Lancefield brothers’ song was written as part of the fund-raising activities – hastily composed verses printed and sold locally, as the last verse puts it, to “try and help the children and wives”. We can’t know how the brothers came by the song though – John would have been 13 at the time, and Ted just 9, but one of their parents might have bought the song sheet. If they read the local newspapers they would surely have been aware of the tragedy.
It’s also unclear why the name Wooderson (mistranscribed as “Woodison” by Francis Collinson) should have become attached to the title of the song. Perhaps it was simply that the fate of Jesse Wooderson’s family seemed to be the most desperate, and attracted the most public attention.
- Folkestone Express, Sandgate, Shorncliffe & Hythe Advertiser, 26th January 1895 ↩︎