Story behind the shipwreck revealed at low tide

5 hours ago

Grace McGroryEast Yorkshire & Lincolnshire

News image — The SS Rosa sank off North Landing, Flamborough, in 1930

Col Hunt The photo shows a large rusty object sticking out of the sea. It is surrounded by brown seaweed and rocks. Chalk cliffs can be seen in the background. — The SS Rosa sank off North Landing, Flamborough, in 1930

At first glance, it resembles a rocky outcrop beneath chalk cliffs, but a closer look reveals a shipwreck.

The SS Rosa sank off Flamborough, East Yorkshire, in 1930 and the remains, including a large boiler rising above the seabed, were captured on camera at low tide last week.

So how did ship meet its fate? Dr Robb Robinson, a maritime historian, has been tracing its story.

He said the Rosa was built in South Shields in 1915. Originally given the practical name C64, it was used by the Royal Navy to carry messages and stores between warships and the shore.

BBC/Oli Constable A wide shot of a sandy beach which is enclosed by two steep white chalk cliffs that have grass along the top. The sea fills the cove. There are people walking along the shoreline, along with some red fishing boats. — The wreck of the SS Rosa can be seen at low tide at North Landing, Flamborough

In 1929, the ship was rechristened the SS Rosa and used to carry coke from Tyneside to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

Robinson said the vessel sank after getting into difficulty in "wild seas".

A rescue effort was launched to save the crew and although no casualties were recorded, the Rosa became "a complete wreck".

The remains at North Landing are a familiar sight to locals and Robinson recalls seeing them as a child, wedged between the rocks.

Heritage Images/Getty Images A dramatic painting of a chalk stack and cliffs surrounded by rough seas, with seabirds flying overhead and a lighthouse towering above. A small sailing boat attempts to enter a harbour. — A dramatic painting of Flamborough Head in 1822, by the artist William Daniell

Robinson, an honorary research fellow at the University of Hull researched the story alongside Peter Chapman, from the East Yorkshire Family History Society.

Shipwrecks were not uncommon at the time, he said.

"The East Coast was really like the maritime equivalent of the M1 in many respects. It was a very busy highway of ships in the pre-motor age.

"In the 19th and early 20th centuries, shipwrecks along the Yorkshire coast were reported with much the same frequency as car accidents would be reported today.

"By the 1920s, and when the Rosa was lost in 1930, this was less common, but it was still an all too regular occurrence."

Commercial diver Bill Woolford has spent his career exploring the shipwrecks off Bridlington and Flamborough.

He said there were three wrecks in the North Landing area alone.

"The Rosa, I believe, is the one that was stuck tight up to the cliffs," he added.

"She founded and broke up, and like you can see, you've just got the boiler."

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