1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: a show that weathers the storms of history to deliver 4 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 1: old news in a new way. I'm Gay Bluesier and 5 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: in this episode we're talking about an unholy storm from 6 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century that ravaged shipping lanes and coastal towns 7 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: throughout southwest England and Wales. The day was October eighteen 8 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: fifty nine. One of the worst storms in history struck 9 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: the British Isles, sinking one hundred and thirty three ships 10 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: and badly damaging ninety others. The slow moving storm arose 11 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: in the English Channel the night before, when two separate 12 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: low pressure systems collided. From there, it moved north across 13 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: Devon and Cornwall until it reached the Irish Sea. By 14 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: early morning, the storm had grown larger and more powerful, 15 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: with wind speeds estimated and more than a hundred miles 16 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: per hour. When the storm surged inland through Wales, it 17 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: ripped off the roofs of houses and crushed the terrified 18 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: inhabitants with falling rocks and debris. Dozens of deaths and 19 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: countless injuries were sustained on shore, but the greatest loss 20 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: of life occurred at sea. There. The estimated death toll 21 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: was said to be eight hundred, double the amount of 22 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 1: people lost at sea around the British Isles in the 23 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: entire previous year. Notably, more than half of those eight 24 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: hundred casualties belonged to a single vessel, the Royal Charter, 25 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: the doomed ship from which the Terrible Storm got its name. 26 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: The Royal Charter was a steam clipper, a merchant sailing 27 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: ship designed especially for speed. It had set sail from Melbourne, Australia, 28 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: on route to Liverpool, Bland, less than sixty days before 29 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: the storm hit. It carried roughly four hundred and ninety 30 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: passengers and crew, many of whom were mining families who 31 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: had traveled to Australia to strike it rich during the 32 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: country's ongoing gold rush. Having successfully plundered the Victoria gold fields, 33 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: they returned to England with their newfound wealth in tow. 34 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: In total, the ship's cargo was worth well over three 35 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: hundred thousand pounds, the equivalent of tens of millions of 36 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: pounds in today's money. There was plenty more gold on 37 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: board than that, too, as many passengers also kept some 38 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: in their own possession, stowed in their luggage, and even 39 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: sewn into the lining of their clothes. On October twenty five, 40 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: the inbound Royal Charter was on the final leg of 41 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: its two month journey. After a brief stop in Queenstown, Ireland, 42 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: the ship was ready to make the final push across 43 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: the Irish Sea towards Liverpool. At first, it was smooth 44 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: sailing up St. George's Channel, but then the wind picked 45 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: up and began to slow their progress. The vessels Captain 46 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: Thomas Taylor ordered the sails to be lowered and pressed 47 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: forward using the ship's steam powered engines. That afternoon, they 48 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: reached the port town of Hollyhead, Wales, where the captain 49 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: faced a difficult decision. He was eager to prove the 50 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: Royal Charter's reputation as one of the fastest ships at sea, 51 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: and it hoped to reach Liverpool in less than twenty 52 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: four hours. However, conditions were worsening by the minute, and 53 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: the hazy sky seemed to threaten that the worst was 54 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: still to come. Captain Taylor could either play it safe 55 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: and seek shelter for the night at Hollyhead, or he 56 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: could bet on the speed of his ship and try 57 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: to make it to Liverpool before the storm hit with 58 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: full force. He chose the latter option, pressing on despite 59 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: the increasing wind. That may seem like a reckless move, 60 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: and to an extent it was, but it's worth remembering 61 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: that there were no satellite radios or weather reports in 62 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: those days, so while Captain Taylor knew they were in 63 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: for nasty weather, he had no way of knowing that 64 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: he was sailing straight into a hurricane. Late that evening, 65 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: the Royal Charter rounded the northwest corner of Anglesey Island 66 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,599 Speaker 1: and began traveling east along the coast toward Liverpool. Not 67 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,559 Speaker 1: long after, hundred mile an hour winds began gusting down 68 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: from the north, blowing the ship perilously close to the 69 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: nearby coast of Anglesey. The crew tried to maintain their 70 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 1: heading as best they could, but as the wind strengthened, 71 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: steering became impossible and the ship started to drift helplessly 72 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: toward the rocky shoreline. At around eleven o'clock that night, 73 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: Captain Taylor dropped anchors to try and slow their drift. 74 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: He also launched rockets and set off other distress signals, 75 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: but no other ship was near enough to see them. 76 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: The Royal Charter struggled to hold its ground against the wind, 77 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 1: and after about two hours one of the two anchor 78 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: cable snapped. An hour after that, the second cable gave 79 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,279 Speaker 1: way and the ship started hurtling toward the coast once again. 80 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: At that point, Captain Taylor ordered all the masts and 81 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: rigging to be cut down in order to reduce the 82 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: drag of the wind. He pushed the steam engines to 83 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: their limit, but still couldn't make headway against the fierce wind. Eventually, 84 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,039 Speaker 1: the ship was driven so far in shore that it 85 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: became lodged on a sandbar and port Halith, not far 86 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: from the village of Moyle Vray. In a rare twist 87 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: of luck, the ship's hull was undamaged and remained water tight, 88 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 1: but the passengers and crew were still trapped at sea, 89 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: and now their ship was resting at an angle and 90 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: still being pummeled by gale force winds and high waves. 91 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: As the sun rose in the early hours of October, 92 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: a group of locals spotted the grounded Royal Charter just 93 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: twenty five yards from shore. They immediately mounted a rescue effort, 94 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: but as the tide rose, the ship was lifted off 95 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 1: the sandbar and dashed against the jagged rocks nearby. It 96 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: split in two on impact, and the villagers on the 97 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,280 Speaker 1: shore could only watch is sixty foot waves battered the 98 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: ship to pieces right in front of them. Some of 99 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: the passengers reportedly leaped into the sea, only to be 100 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: dragged down by the weight of the gold they had 101 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: lined their clothes with. In the end, only forty of 102 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 1: the four hundred and ninety or so people on board survived. 103 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: The rest, including all of the women and children, were 104 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: lost in the wreck. It was and still is, the 105 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: highest death toll of any shipwreck on the Welsh coast. 106 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: The Royal Charter was far from the only ship affected 107 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,359 Speaker 1: by the storm. According to statistics from the Board of Trade, 108 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty two other ships were lost on 109 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: the morning of October and another ninety were severely damaged. However, 110 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: the enormity of the Royal Charter disaster captured the public's 111 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 1: interest in a way that few other natural disasters ever had. 112 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: This was largely due to the recent advent of the telegraph, 113 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: which allowed the news to be quickly spread across Britain 114 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: and beyond For the more mercenary members of the public, 115 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: the wreck was a chance to make some easy money. 116 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: People came from all over to hunt for the many 117 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: gold coins and ingots that washed up around the coast. 118 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: The vast majority of the ship's cargo was recovered from 119 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: the seafloor through legitimate salvage operations, but a good deal 120 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: of the wealth on board was pocketed by passers by, 121 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: and to this day scuba divers still occasionally find some. 122 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: To be clear, there were altruistic responses to the tragedy 123 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: as well. In the weeks following the storm, hundreds of 124 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: bodies washed ashore all along the east coast of Anglesey. 125 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: Once recovered, they were taken to the closest parish for 126 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: proper burial and, if possible, for identification. The rector of 127 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: Saint Galgo Church, Reverend Steve in Ruce Hughes, personally took 128 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: charge of most of the dead. He laid one hundred 129 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: and forty victims to rest in his own churchyard, coordinated 130 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: the burial of many others, and wrote hundreds of heartfelt 131 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: letters of sympathy and condolence to the bereaved. We know 132 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: this in part because author Charles Dickens went to report 133 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: on the shipwreck himself and recorded his impressions of the 134 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: gentle reverend in his book The Uncommercial Traveler. I had 135 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: heard of that clergyman, Dickens wrote, as having buried many 136 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: scores of the shipwrecked people of his, having opened his 137 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 1: house and heart to their agonized friends of his, having 138 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: used a most sweet and patient diligence for weeks and 139 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: weeks in the performance of the forlornist offices, that man 140 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: can render to his kind. Of his, having most tenderly 141 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: and thoroughly devoted himself to the dead and to those 142 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: who were sorrowing for the dead, I had said to myself, 143 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: in the Christmas season of the year, I should like 144 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,719 Speaker 1: to see that man. Charles Dickens wasn't the only one 145 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:07,199 Speaker 1: to report on the Royal Charter storm. The wreck attracted 146 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: attention from all around the world, and at home in England. 147 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: The coverage drew attention to the need for a storm 148 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:17,439 Speaker 1: warning service. A weather scientist named Robert fitz Roy took 149 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: up that substantial challenge. Fitz Roy was a meteorological statistician 150 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: for the Board of Trade and had recently founded a 151 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: new department there called the Meteorological Office or the Met Office. 152 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: His department had spent the last five years collecting observational 153 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 1: data along the British coastline, and when he reviewed the 154 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 1: reports from the Royal Charter Storm, he became convinced that 155 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 1: its path could have been predicted. Together with his team, 156 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: he produced a detailed report to show how it could 157 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: be done in the future, and the British government granted 158 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: them permission to test the new science in action. The 159 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: Met Office began collecting weather reports by electric telegraph in 160 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 1: the fall of eighteen sixty then on Fbruary five of 161 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: the following year, the service issued its first ever storm warning, 162 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: marking a crucial step in the development of modern weather forecasting. 163 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 1: Of course, no matter how good humans get at predicting 164 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: the weather, storms still catch us off guards sometimes and 165 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: ships still occasionally sink. The sea will always be dangerous. 166 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: But because the right lessons were learned and implemented, ships 167 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,479 Speaker 1: now know which routes to avoid and when there are exceptions. 168 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,200 Speaker 1: But for the most part, widespread maritime tragedies like those 169 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 1: of the Royal Charter Storm are a lot less likely 170 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: than they used to be. I'm gay, bluesier and hopefully 171 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 172 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. You can learn even more about history 173 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t 174 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: d i HC Show, and if you have any comments 175 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: or suggestions, you can always send them my way by 176 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,679 Speaker 1: writing to This Day at iHeart media dot com. Thanks 177 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to 178 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 179 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: for another Spooky Day in History class. For more podcasts 180 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 181 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.