Twenty-five years ago today 16 lives were lost in the Penlee lifeboat disaster off the West Cornwall coast - one of the sea's most shocking tragedies, which touched the hearts of millions worldwide. Graeme Demianyk recounts the story of the fateful night of December 19, 1981.

Intimidating as the monstrous swell was on the night of December 19, 1981, the "shout" was answered promptly and with typical gusto.

Twelve men good and true convened at Penlee lifeboat station. As their number included experienced seafarers, not one of the volunteer crew would have underestimated the task ahead as they awaited instructions. Winds topped 100mph. Breakers rose to 60ft. Unforgiving doesn't begin to describe the chaos at sea - the soaring peaks and deep troughs.

Blown off course by hurricane force winds, the Union Star, a cargo ship on its maiden voyage between Ireland and Holland, was in trouble. Reporting engine failure after water entered her fuel supply, the coaster's captain alerted Falmouth Coastguard of its looming peril as she started to drift uncontrollably towards the shore.

Rescue helicopters were nearly bludgeoned by the ship's rising mast. It was left to Solomon Browne, a humble Watson-class lifeboat stationed in West Cornwall, to enter the bruising waters and answer the distress signal.

Lesser men may have thought twice about the mission. It was pitch dark and raining hard. Conditions were worsening by the second. If any of the men had misgivings, it was not part of their creed to show it in their actions. Indeed, the 12 locals who gathered on that fateful night were four too many.

As an indication of the merciless conditions, volunteer Neil Brockman was sent home by coxswain William Trevelyan Richards. Neil's father Nigel, the ship's mechanic, was also a member of the company, and Trevelyan Richards insisted he would not risk two members of the same family. Neil Brockman is today the coxswain at Penlee.

In the event, an eight-strong crew drawn from the fishing village of Mousehole manned Solomon Browne. Tragically, none of the men would be seen alive on firm ground after rolling off out the station's slipway.

The story of the courage displayed by a group of ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances echoed round the world. The night became the stuff of legend in Mousehole, in the RNLI, and in the history of Cornwall. Today, on the 25th anniversary of the disaster, the unfolding heartbreaking events still bring a lump to the throat.

The crew of Solomon Browne - William Trevelyan Richards, James Stephen Madron, Nigel Brockman, John Robert Blewett, Charles Thomas Greenhaugh, Kevin Smith, Barrie Robertson Torrie and Gary Lee Wallis - all lost their lives. All left behind family and friends, chiefly in the close-knit West Cornwall community.

Aboard the Union Star - a Dublin-registered mini-bulk cargo ship - was captain Henry "Mick" Moreton, his wife and two teenage daughters. Solomon Browne plucked out four of the eight people on board before being forced to turn away. They mounted another push. This final time they would be less fortunate.

Broadcast from the lifeboat to Falmouth Coastguard, the last words heard from Solomon Browne underline the refusal to give up despite the constant risk of capsizing and waves tossing the vessel around like a toy.

"We got four men off - look, er, hang on - we got four off at the moment, er, - male and female. There's two left on board ..." With no eyewitnesses, what followed the airwaves going dead remains a matter of speculation.

A massive search and rescue attempt - including lifeboats from several stations and helicopters from RNAS Culdrose - was to no avail. Sixteen people died. Eight bodies were eventually recovered, four from the lifeboat and four from the Union Star.

Nobody would have blamed Trevelyan Richards had he aborted the rescue. The selflessness of the crew has never been in doubt. A formal inquiry in 1982 found that no person was to blame for the disaster, which was attributed to the severe weather.

Trevelyan Richards was posthumously awarded the RNLI's gold medal, with bronze medals to the rest of the crew. The name of Solomon Browne and those of its eight heroes will never be forgotten.

Article copyright  WESTERN MORNING NEWS 

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