Disasters in Paris

It was the Easter period of 2018 that I ventured to the French capital for a hunt around the city looking for memorials to some of the major disasters that have struck Paris since the mid 1800s and incredibly they are more common than expected. I am going to start with a visit to a street near the River Seine called Rue Jean-Goujon. It is here that a church is around halfway up on the right hand side, the Notre-Dame-de-Consolation and this church itself is a memorial to what happened here. On 4^th May 1897 a large warehouse containing a mock up medieval street known as the Bazar de la Charite was constructed with hundreds of people attending the event lasting several days. But a huge fire left 126 dead and over 200 injured, the entire site becoming a raging inferno that sent France into mourning. The outside of the church today (above) has very little evidence of something this big happening, but knowing the history of this place makes this place of worship as haunting as it gets.

Just around the corner is the Pont de l’Alma, a bridge going across the river Seine within sight of the Eiffel Tower. But it is not the bridge itself that has the attention of the world, it is the road underpass that runs directly below this that made this site infamous. On 31^st August 1997 three people were killed when a Mercedes crashed into a pillar while being followed by paparazzi photographers, there was one survivor. The reason this crash became world headlines was the identity of its victims – Diana Princess of Wales, Dodi Fayed (son of Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed) and their driver Henri Paul. The sole survivor was bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones. Above this underpass is an unofficial memorial to Diana which was a replica of the flames coming out of the torch up the Statue of Liberty in New York. Now it is adorned with images of the Princess and has been since that day the worlds press descended on here. With conspiracies rife and talk of assassination, cover ups and murder there was one thing that was clear above all else – Diana and Dodi did not wear seat belts, their bodyguard did. The cause of the crash was later blamed on the driver being drunk and losing control in the car chase.

Moving on to the train station at Gare de Lyon, you have to go deep underground for this next memorial. It is between Platforms 1 and 2 that a yellow monument stretches the length of the platform almost, right in the centre surrounded by a chain barrier. On here are the 56 names of the people who were killed at this spot when an out of control inbound train slammed into another one that was waiting to depart. 60 others were injured, the blame being laid on the train crew for their operating of the brakes after an emergency cord was pulled earlier in the journey.

Back on a journey across Paris I head to another railway disaster site. This time it was at Couronnes station, where a fire here led to 84 deaths on a line that was not even a year old. On 10^th August 1903 smoke was seen coming out of the engine of the front car of a train but it was decided to evacuate, clear the smoke and carry on the service. The fire soon returned and the train soon became an inferno, consuming the station with smoke and killing dozens. All that remains now is a small information board near the entrance to the station.

But it is not just fires and crashes that have struck Paris railways, two terrorist bombs at Saint Michel station in 1995 and Port Royal in 1996 left a combined total of 12 dead, memorial plaques honouring those who died. Another terrorist attack at a small restaurant, the Chez Jo Goldenberg, by the Abu Nidal Organisation left six dead and 22 injured when the attackers threw grenades into the dining area and opened fire with guns. The restaurant was no longer there when I visited but the building was still the same. Again it is hard to imagine things like this happening in such quiet streets. Although these days France has become renown for suffering terrorist attacks in more recent years and for the next incident I had to visit several locations.

On the night of 13^th November 2015 a cell from the Islamic State terrorist group launched a wave of major attacks across the city in six different locations – The Stade de France, Bataclan theatre and four small café’s packed with people. Suicide bombings, gunfire and hostage taking left 130 dead and over 400 injured. Of the 9 terrorists involved, only two got away alive. It was a long trek across the city to visit all of the memorials, the only one I missed was the stadium as it was too far away to do in one day. The largest of the monuments is in a park opposite the Bataclan where 90 died, all the names appearing on a block of stone surrounded by tributes. A further memorial in the Place de la Republique pays tribute to all six sites. It really was a terrible night for Paris, and one that continued with further attacks later on in Nice, Lyon and Marseille.

Finishing my tour of Paris, I had to board a train at the very busy Montparnasse, a major station that is probably the city’s version of Kings Cross or Waterloo. The structure has changed a lot but I knew that there was a famous photograph of this station, taken in 1895 when a train over-ran the platform and smashed through the walls. Continuing through the wall the engine and several carriages (still connected up) ended up in the street below, killing a pedestrian. Despite the amount of comedy posters that this photograph has been seen in, it is still a railway disaster and perhaps the sellers of such trivia need to remember that. To this date there is no memorial to this. 

Capsizing of the European Gateway

On 19th December 1982 the Townsend Thoresen car ferry European Gateway was departing the port of Felixstowe outbound with 34 passengers and 36 crew on board and a cargo of vehicles. She had been built in 1975 as the European Express in Germany but renamed before the year was out. At 386 feet long she was over 4000 gross tons and could carry over 300 passengers and 400 cars on a typical journey (Photo right shows her in August 1979 - image by Wolfgang Fricke).

In the meantime the Speedlink Vanguard was inbound to the nearby port of Harwich. Launched in 1973, she was operated by Stena Cargo Line and was at this moment in time carrying 28 crew and a full cargo. Built in Sweden, she was 466 feet long and just over 3,500 gross tons and had the ability to carry around three dozen passengers. 

The two ships sailed closer towards each other in the dark until at 2250 hours the two vessels collided and the Speedlink Vanguard’s bow slammed into the side of the European Gateway, tearing a huge gash down her starboard side. Water immediately flowed in and entered the car deck creating a phenomenon known as the Free Surface Effect, where liquid as the free space to move around thereby creating instability on the platform – in this case the ferry itself. 

The European Gateway came to rest on its side on a nearby sandbank, only good fortune preventing her from completely going over. A  huge rescue operation was launched and helicopters began winching survivors out of the upturned ship, search lights trying to find those that were now missing, the operation would continue into the night. 

By the following morning it was clear that the ship was in a bad way, six people were confirmed dead, the rest taken off by a nearby ferry, lifeboats and the helicopters. The Speedlink Vanguard was alongside Harwich with the front of her bow smashed in but very little other damage compared to what the other ship had suffered. 

An investigation blamed both vessels for the tragedy, an inquest recording an open verdict. The Speedlink Vanguard was repaired and back at sea pretty much straight away. For the European Gateway, she was successfully salvaged the following year and incredibly she too was repaired and put back into service. 

Speedlink Vanguard would go on to have seven further name changes and be chartered by other companies all over the world before she was scrapped in 2013 as the Boa Vista. 

European Gateway would change names a further six times and spend most of her career in the Mediterranean, few people knowing her tragic past as they took this ferry around the Greek islands. With her final name as Penelope, she was scrapped in Piraeus in 2013. 

On the 31st anniversary of the disaster a memorial plaque was unveiled overlooking the place where this disaster happened, attended by many people who were there and who can never shake the memories of that terrible night from their minds. 

NOTE – At some point I would very much like to write a book about this disaster and tell the story of what happened. Everybody remembers the sinking of the other ferry owned by the same company five years later, the Herald of Free Enterprise, but few remember the European Gateway. If you have anything you think may be useful or were there at the time then please get in touch at shipwreckdata@yahoo.co.uk or via my Facebook page.  

Famous people who have had a lucky escape from air disasters

My last blog looked at the tragic deaths of many major stars that were well loved and talented. But there are several people who have escaped death in such disasters too. Here are some headline-hitting cases of near disasters by some of the world’s most famous people.

Leeds United Football Club (left) – On 30th March 1998 the team were returning home following a 3-0 defeat at West Ham when an engine exploded on their British Aerospace 748 Turboprop owned by Emerald Airlines. Their pilot, Captain John Hackett, guided the aircraft down to Stansted Airport where the aircraft scraped across the runway nose-down, the engine by now ablaze. All 40 passengers and four crew got off safely with just two injuries. The pilot was hailed a hero and saved Leeds United from certain death not long after the 40th anniversary of the Munich commemorations.

Ozzy Osborne – Rock star Ozzy and his family have become household names in the last 50 years or so, but on 19th March 1982 the Osborne’s were to escape death in a very public way. The ex-Black Sabbath singer was touring with his friend and guitarist Randy Rhodes but while Ozzy was taking the bus, Randy was flying with a hairdresser and pilot when it narrowly missed the bus and crashed in flames killing all three on board. Just a few feet lower and the occupants of the bus would have been wiped out.

Yassir Arafat (left) – The Palestinian leader was in a private plane over the Libyan desert on 9th April 1992 when a sandstorm brought down the aircraft. Of 13 people on board, three were killed and the plane was not found for 12 hours. By then he was located battered and bruised but otherwise OK. The treacherous Sahara Desert and the impact of the crash making this survival story a quite remarkable one giving the odds.

Harrison Ford (below right) – The actor famous for portraying adventurer Indiana Jones has had his fair share of dramas himself, not least him being accident prone. On 6th March 2015 he was piloting his single engine light aircraft when it got into difficultly over Los Angeles. He remained calm and carefully brought it down low over a golf course before crash landing, the aircraft being a complete mess but incredibly the 72 year old survived with just cuts and bruises. He had previously been in two other aircraft emergencies.

Travis Barker/ DJ AM – On 19th September 2008 a Learjet carrying six people was taking off from Colombia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina when it overshot the runway and crashed killing four people. The two survivors were musician Travis Barker from the band Blink 182 and DJ Adam Goldsteain, also known as DJ AM. Although their injuries were serious burns both survived the crash, although DJ AM was found dead less than a year later due to drugs.

John Lyndon (left) – On 21st December 1988 the lead singer of the punk band The Sex Pistols, “Johnny Rotten” was booked onto Pan Am flight 103 for the transatlantic flight but his wife was taking too long to pack. They ended up missing their flight and had to arrange a later one instead, but at 1902 hours the flight was ripped apart by a terrorist bomb and killed all 259 on board the plane and 11 on the ground when it hit the town of Lockerbie in Scotland.

Seth Macfarlane – Famous for his animated series’ such as Family Guy and American Dad, Seth was booked onto American Airlines flight 11 bound for Los Angeles on the morning of 11th September 2001. A mix up with the itinerary had him miss the flight and get the times for takeoff wrong. The plane was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of New York’s World Trade Center in what became known as the 9/11 attacks. Others who should have been either on the planes or in the buildings at the time of the attacks were names such as singer Michael Jackson, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and actor Mark Wahlberg.

Famous people who have died in air disasters

Celebrities are constantly in our newspapers and magazines for doing the most random of things, the press need to get hold of every bit of gossip to keep them on their front pages. They are, after all, what sells the media in the first place. But when tragedy happens the world is suddenly shocked that someone so famous could be cut down in the prime of their life. Questions like “how could this happen?” and “whey them” are often thrown around. But the truth is they are just human beings who are exactly the same as the rest of them.

When a famous death occurs the media once again go into a hype over them, but this time they have a new scope to work on, completely forgetting that in 90% of cases they haven’t died alone. So here is the start of a few blog entries where celebrities have died in tragic circumstances, today is those who were lost in air crashes throughout the years. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

Kobe Bryant – (right) An American basketball player that became world renown for his skills during his 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers. On 26^th January 2020 a helicopter with Kobe and 8 others on board crashed in Southern California killing all on board. The cause of the crash was put down to pilots decision to fly in thick cloud which caused him to lose control of the aircraft. Kobe was travelling with his 13 year old daughter Gianna.

Manchester United – (Top photo) After going from strength to strength with the football team and finally heading into Europe, manager Matt Busby had high hopes for the star players of this world-renowned club, that is until their aircraft attempted to take off from Munich Airport on 6^th February 1958 and crashed. 23 people died with 21 others injured. Among those dead were 8 footballers, three of their staff and two journalists as well as several passengers and the co-pilot. Memorials at Old Trafford, the Manchester United stadium honours their memory.

Jim Reeves – A singer-songwriter, Jim was popular from the 1940s until the 1960s with various country and popular hits throughout his career. On 31^st July 1964 he boarded a light aircraft with his business partner Dean Manuel with the singer at the controls ready to secure a business deal with some real estate. The aircraft took off from Arkansas and never reached its destination, the wreckage of the aircraft and the bodies of Jim and Dean not being found for two days.

Patsy Cline – (Left) Country and Western singer most famous for her hit “Crazy” in 1961. On 5^th March 1963 she boarded a small aircraft for a journey home across the states after performing at a concert, stopping to refuel in Tennessee. Soon after takeoff the aircraft crashed in bad weather in the town of Camden, killing all four on board (three singers and the pilot).

Steve Fossett – Record breaking daredevil Steve was an American businessman who challenged himself to do things that nobody else had done, setting over 100 records in his lifetime including sailing, ballooning and flying. On 3^rd September 2007 he took off in his light aircraft for a solo flight over the Great Basin Desert between Nevada and California and never arrived at his destination. It would be a year before his crashed aircraft and his body was found by a hiker.

JFK Jr – American businessman and son of the late John F Kennedy, he was mostly remembered for his photographs of him as a child saluting the coffin of his father after his very public assassination. Photographers loved JFK Jr and so did the public, but on 16^th July 1999 he took off from New Jersey with his wife and sister-in-law on board to attend a wedding. The aircraft failed to arrive and a huge search was launched out into the Atlantic near where the plane was last tracked. Several days later the bodies were found along with wreckage of the aircraft.

Aaliyah – (Left) Full name Aaliyah Dana Haughton, this singer and actress had appeared in films such as Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned. At just 22 years old she was returning to the USA from the Caribbean with friends on 25th August 2001 when the aircraft that she was travelling in crashed in the Bahamas killing all 9 people on board.

Others that have died in air crashes that you may be familiar with include Glen Miller (1944), The Chapecoense football team (2016), John Denver (1997), Payne Stewart (1999), Buddy Holly (1959). The list goes on……

Remembering the Chapecoense football team

HMS Pathfinder – The second victim of submarines

Everybody who knows about the wars at sea will be aware that the very first ship to sink due to the actions of a submarine was the USS Housatonic which was sunk by the Confederate 8-man submarine HL Hunley in 1864, but what many do not know is that there would not be another ship sunk in this way for another fifty years. 

Submarine technology had come a long way in such a short time and in August 1914 the First World War showed the world that this deadly undersea weapon was the most formidable of them all. It was just one month after Britain declared war on Germany, and the U-21 was patrolling off the Scottish coast looking for a target. So far the sub had been unsuccessful, but on the morning of 5th September, commander Otto Hersing found that his luck may have turned when he spotted a ship through his periscope. 

The ship he saw was the cruiser HMS Pathfinder, launched only ten years previously and 370 feet long, her three funnels and extremely tall fore mast providing a positive identification of a target that the U-boat was looking for. The ship was just under 3000 tons, had a crew of 289 and was armed with ten 3-inch guns and ten smaller calibre guns all along the upper deck. Built in Birkenhead, she was completed just one year and two days after her launch. 

What was astounding as the submarine lined her up for attack was that Pathfinder was short of coal and could only make 5 knots, an easy hit for a modern submarine to chase. At 1543 hours a single torpedo was fired and just two minutes later it struck the ship just under the bridge. What happened next shocked everyone as the magazine was penetrated and the bags of cordite detonated sending a huge explosion skyward, ripping the Pathfinder in two. 

The ship immediately sank, so quickly that no lifeboats were launched; all that was left within minutes was a drifting of wreckage, oil and bodies. Ships sped to the area to search for survivors but in the end there were just 54 left alive after several who were initially found alive died later. These figures are disputed by some sources that claim that there were just 20 survivors out of 270 on board. However many were lost/saved, the sinking of the Pathfinder was a huge disaster for the Royal Navy and a great victory for the German U-boats. 

Pathfinder became the second ever ship to be sunk by a submarine and the first to be sunk by a sub using a torpedo. The wreck of the scout cruiser now lies at a depth of 48m in the North Sea off St Abbs Head, she is officially classed as a war grave. 

In the East Yorkshire town of Bridlington a grave of one of those who died on board Pathfinder stands proud in the town cemetery. John Raywood Charlton was a Telegraphist on board when he died in the sinking aged just 19; his body was recovered from the sea and returned to his home town. The Bridlington Sea Cadets have named their base TS Pathfinder in tribute to the ship and her town connection, one that lives on through the name and will now never be forgotten. 

Eric Woodhouse – The Story of a Second World War Veteran

Matthew Eric Woodhouse, or Eric to his family and friends was born on 5^th of July 1924. After attending school in York, where he met some Hitler Youth on exchange, which we now know were spying for the Nazis, he started an apprenticeship at Leadhams Garage near Lendal Bridge in York. The garage he worked at was taken over by the Ministry of Supply to prepare military vehicles for the British army at the outbreak of war as most of the army’s vehicles had been left at Dunkirk. Eric’s main role was an engine mechanic on Churchill tanks, cars and trucks. Eric also worked on Monty’s car before it went to Egypt with the 8^th Army. All work was over seen by officers from the army and eventually the  newly formed Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Regiment.

Eric was on fire watch duty on one of the nights of the Baedeker Blitz in York, a bombardment of five major cities by the Luftwaffe. These raids were over several nights between 25 April and 3^rd May 1942 which in total left over 1600 dead and destroyed 50,000 homes.

On the night of 28th/29th April the bombers struck the city of York. Watching the aircraft overhead releasing their deadly cargo, he was armed only with a stirrup pump to douse the flames of any bombs that landed on the garage. On this night the bombs were falling relentlessly, huge explosions lit up entire streets and several major buildings were hit. Perched on top of the roof of his garage he must have felt both helpless and nervous at the thought of what he was witnessing around him.

Eric decided to have a break and whilst downstairs in the garage, the place where he had been sat took a direct hit, the entire garage a mass of rubble, flames, smoke and dust. Scrambling to safety it was obvious that his decision to take a break saved his life. Eric’s father, also called Matthew, was the duty station manager at York train station on the night of the raids and thankfully he also survived. Others weren’t so lucky, the death toll in this city was 79.

It is incredible at just how many of his friends did not survive the war. Kenneth Fox went to school with Eric and died when his plane crashed upon landing on the way back from an air raid. A Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve for 514 Squadron, he was just 20 years old; at Kenneth's funeral in York Eric was a pall bearer for his lost friend.

Another school friend also in the RAFVR was James Crawford. He was also killed at a young age with 61 Squadron on 7^th December 1941. At just 17 years old his body was never recovered and has no known grave.

Eric moved to Bridlington in 1957 and ran a chain of very successful garages for many years, retiring in the mid-1980s and then being head hunted to work for Thompsons in Hull as their service manager. Eric was married to Olga, who he met when she was working at Leadhams garage for the Ministry of Supply during the war. They had one son, Matthew who sadly passed away in 2015, Olga passed in 2017.

The photograph of him (left) shows him with a stirrup pump from the Second World War at his home in Bridlington.

My aim was to interview Eric when the restrictions were lifted and ask him more about his wartime service so that none of his stories were forgotten, but unfortunately it was too late. Eric passed away just a few weeks ago, on 22nd November 2020 at the age of 96.

I would like to thank his good friend and neighbour Martin Barmby who spent time with him in his final years and spent many hours chatting about his life and war stories and who has given me the opportunity to highlight his career and experiences today. Eric served his country in the Second World War as a vehicle mechanic and without the efforts of people like him in their reserved occupations, the Allies would not have been able to win the war against the Nazis.

Disaster at Ladbroke Grove

Rail disasters are not uncommon, since the days of the first steam powered railway engine there have been incidents that have cost lives and left thousands injured. But as the years go by the safety of the rail networks of the UK became more strict and the disasters became fewer, but that doesn't mean that they were completely eradicated. Over 20 years ago a crash hit the headlines that would shock the capital and leave the rest of the country questioning the integrity of our transport industry and the honesty of the people watching over our safety and comfort during the countless rail journeys.  

In the early morning of Tuesday 5th October 1999, at 0806, a Thames Train commuter journey set off from Paddington station bound for Bedwyn in Wiltshire. Coming in the opposite direction was a faster train, a First Great Western service from Cheltenham due to terminate at Paddington. The two trains had no reason to believe that anything was wrong, but just two minutes out of Paddington, as the Thames Train was approaching Ladbroke Grove, the driver passed a red signal that was obscured for some reason, possibly due to the sun shining directly on the light. 

Either way, the two trains collided head on and devastation commenced. As twisted wreckage flew into the air and in every direction, a fireball ignited and flames shot across the carriages. People trapped within the crumpled cars had to fight for survival as the sudden impact combined with the searing heat of the fire left them with no choice but to scramble to safety as quickly as possible. 

Just a few minutes after the collision, the first fire teams had been called and were on scene immediately. Rescue teams had a huge job of both fighting the flames and dragging survivors to safety. Smoke rising into the air could be seen for miles around as the railway lines were closed. Although the fire was ferocious, it was extinguished fairly quickly, leading to fire teams being able to safely extract what they now found were burns victims as well as other major injuries. 

By now it was obvious that this was a huge incident, the head on collision killed both drivers instantly and it was clear that passengers were also amongst the dead. It would be several days before they would get a final death toll as they combed the charred wreckage for passengers. Eventually they would get a final list of 31 dead, with over 400 injured. 

The questions that were now being asked as the wreckage was lifted off the tracks led to several high profile inquiries and some damning reports into the laxity of the companies involved in ensuring that passengers safety was adhered to. Thames Trains were fined £2 million for violations of health and safety, Network Rail (who looked after the tracks) were fined £4 million and the official inquiry led by Lord Cullen led to the founding of the Rail Accidents Investigation Branch. 

Today a memorial garden is situated overlooking the scene of the disaster next to a branch of Sainsbury's. In the small wooded area there is a monument to remember the 31 who died and provides a place to go away from the outsiders temporarily and to reflect on a rail disaster that despite the tragedy, actually changed the British rail network for the better. For those who were there that day, no amount of regulations and reflection can dampen the horrors that were seen and felt on that day in October when hell came to Ladbroke Grove.