17/04/2025
When I lived in Busselton in the eighties, I visited Cape Naturalist Lighthouse, and noted a story of a burning ship, {Loss of the SV. Carnarvon Castle}; sea rescue over 1100miles; death; , decades later I researched young Harry Blamire, died 25 Feb 1907, age 16; of the same Blamire family name, and found out more. and others have helped over 3 decades. Now Ian has collated it and please read his summary, cheers, Les Westerlund.
The Blamire Memorial in Ulverston Cemetery
by the Reverend Ian Pearson – Member 1739:
[email protected]
Introduction
My interest in Family History began when I was a schoolboy in 1960s north Lancashire. I did the usual things, asking various “old people” about the family and what they remembered. I still have some of my notes, and usually (but not always) they are reliable. However, I hit a snag when asking about my Pearson great grandfather – William Frederick Pearson (born Ulverston 1856, died Lancaster Royal Infirmary 1947). No one could tell me much about him - except that “he thought he had been born in 1855 in Ulverston”, but when he came to enquire about a copy of his birth certificate (for some reason or other) it emerged that yes, it was Ulverston, but actually 1856.
For many years I worked from my notes and ignored my Pearson great grandfather, until I lived in London and had easy access to both the census returns and Births, Marriages and Deaths (I'm talking about the old days of the 1980s!). I discovered that W.F.P. was one of eight children. Sadly, three of them died in childhood, but that still left one brother and three sisters about whom we knew nothing whatsoever. Further research revealed that W.F.P.'s father died in 1862 (at the age of 32), his mother remarried in 1864 and then died in 1866, and from that point onwards the Pearson children were split up. I'm still wondering whether these five siblings actually kept in touch, and I doubt whether anyone can answer that now.
It was a fascinating task to follow the other four siblings; the other brother went to farm in Rampside, near Barrow in Furness, two of the sisters got married and emigrated to Canada, and the third, Agnes Eleanor Pearson, married William Blamire, whose family ran the Sun Inn in the Market Square at Ulverston. This is the family which is the main subject of this article.
William and Agnes Blamire and their chidren
It looks very much as though Agnes Eleanor Pearson was a posthumous baby. Her birth was registered in the first quarter of 1862 and her father died on 2 January 1862. What is certain is that she can have had no memory of him and not much of her mother either. The 1881 census finds her as a living-in barmaid at the Sun Inn, so it is no real surprise to find her marrying the son of the house in 1883 (strangely at Dalton in Furness and not at Ulverston, as one would expect).
By 1887 William and Agnes were running the Sun Inn (Court Case re an unpaid bill reported in the Lancaster Guardian of 23 July 1887).
Between 1883 and 1895 they had eight children:
1 Betsy (known as Bessie) Blamire
b. 5 Sept 1883, Ulverston: d. 15 Feb 1899 Ulverston, age 15
2 Frank Pearson Blamire
b. 1 Dec 1884, Ulverston : studied Medicine at Edinburgh University (1902 – 1909) and practised as a doctor. Died of natural causes in Salford, Manchester, on 30 Jan 1915, age 29.
3 Agnes Blamire (known as Adgie)
b. 31 Dec 1885, Ulverston: trained as a nurse in Scotland, emigrated to the USA in 1923 and died there in 1980.
4 William Blamire jr.
b. 21 Aug 1889, Ulverston : emigrated to the USA in 1913 and died there in 1979.
5 Harry Blamire
b. 27 Jan 1891, Ulverston : died at Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia on 25 Feb 1907, age 16 (and much more about him later).
6 Ethel Blamire
b. 14 May 1892, Ulverston: went to Scotland with her mother, married twice and died in Edinburgh in 1969.
7 Harold Blamire
b. 27 Jan 1894, Ulverston : died the same day.
8 Doris Blamire
b. 12 Dec 1895, Ulverston : died 27 Jan 1896, Ulverston.
William Blamire sr. sadly died 19 December 1899, age 44, and was buried in the new cemetery at Ulverston [i.e. the present cemetery]. The death appears to have been quite sudden and unexpected. The local newspaper (Soulby's Ulverston Advertiser, 21 December 1899) tells us that he had “recently made arrangements to leave the district, and go down South”. In the event, Agnes found herself appointed the Administrator of his considerable estate valued at £6000. This gave her a financial security which she began to use for the benefit of the family.
In 1901 almost all of the family were with the widowed Agnes at Ulverston, the only exception being Frank who was a boarder at Lancaster Grammar School. In 1902 Frank began his training at Edinburgh University Medical School, and this may well have been the time when Agnes decided to move to Scotland (accompanied by at least some of the others).
We have no record of Harry Blamire's whereabouts between the census of 1901 and 1907 when he appears as an apprentice on the SV. Carnarvon Castle. It could be that he had moved to Scotland with his mother and other members of the family (a fact which led people afterwards to state that Harry was Scottish and that his body had been returned to Scotland, neither of which is true.) Against the move to Scotland is the statement in the Report of Enquiry that all the members of the ship's crew were residents of Liverpool. It is something else that we probably will never know.
The Loss of the SV. Carnarvon Castle, Harry's death and the funeral in Australia : January - February 1907
There are several accounts of the loss of the Carnarvon Castle, but I am starting with the official report (as recorded in the Preliminary Enquiry reproduced in The West Australian of Saturday 23 March 1907).
The ship is described as fully rigged, 1,719 tons gross [other descriptions tell us it had three masts and that it was built in 1894 in Glasgow; photographs show it had no funnel, so it had no steam power].
The ship, with Captain Evan Jones as master, left Liverpool with a total crew of 27 on 3 November 1906, bound for Melbourne. The cargo is described as “a general cargo, including crates of crockeryware packed with straw and flannelette goods”. On 31 January 1907 a fire was discovered on board, and for several hours the crew tried desperately to save the ship, but eventually realised the fire had taken too great a hold. They were forced to abandon ship, with the first mate in charge of one lifeboat (11 in that one altogether) and the master in charge of the other lifeboat (16 persons in that, including 7 apprentices aged between 15 and 18). At this point they were in the Indian Ocean, about 1100 miles south west of Australia; the ship had presumably been following a course south of that continent in order to reach Melbourne. They waited by the burning wreck for a couple of days, hoping that a passing ship would see the smoke and come to rescue them. No one did. So both lifeboats set a course north-east, aiming for Fremantle, the nearest port in Western Australia.
Unfortunately in the heavy seas they lost sight of each other. The first mate's lifeboat reached Fremantle on 24 February, with everyone safe but in a severely malnourished condition. The other lifeboat ran into very severe conditions; the provisions on boat were ruined by salt water, drinking water ran low, the temperatures grew hotter and the men began to experience the awful terrors of starvation and unquenchable thirst. Although they knew it was a mistake, some began to drink salt water, and then – very distressingly for everyone on board – the crew began to die. The first was the oldest man on board, Alexander Naylor, the sailmaker, on 18 February, followed two days later by John Owen, the youngest apprentice. They were both buried at sea, and the journey continued. They had now been in an open boat for three weeks and began to suffer sores, fainting fits and delusions. It is a great tribute to Captain Jones that he managed, in spite of his own sufferings, to encourage the crew and bring them safe to land.
Finally, on the evening of 23 February, they saw the flashes of light from the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste, and early next morning they came ashore. Today Cape Naturaliste is a beauty spot, much visited by tourists who are invited to visit the lighthouse and then eat at the cafe in the restored cottage once belonging to lighthouse keeper. In 1907 things were somewhat different. The crew found themselves on a deserted beach, and a cliff to climb, so they sent one of the sailors who appeared to be in the least worse condition to find a house and bring help. This man is described as a “Russian Finn”, so probably speaking what English he had with a strong accent. His sudden appearance at the lighthouse keeper's cottage threw the family there into some confusion.
We are very fortunate to have an eye-witness account of what happened next (written some years later in 1973), by Ethel Baird, the daughter of Peter Baird, the lighthouse keeper. Although writing some 67 years after the events, she gives us those extra little details which are not in the official report, so I am now also working from her memories. The sailor at the door appeared to be convinced that he had landed amongst fierce aborigines, and had to be reassured that he was indeed safe before he could tell them that there were others on the beach in dire need of assistance.
Mr. Baird and the assistant keeper went out and began the rescue. Harry was by now unconscious and had to be carried up the cliff strapped to Mr. Baird's back. He was taken to the cottage, and placed in bed. Mrs. Baird telephoned the local doctor, Dr. Farmer, in Busselton, the nearest town about 25 miles away; he came, followed by cartloads of food and clothing sent by the townspeople for the survivors. He stayed overnight with the family, and although he was able to help the seamen to recover, there was nothing he could do for Harry. Ethel describes the sad vigil kept at Harry's bedside by Captain Jones; other sailors tried to talk to him, assuring him that they were all safe now. But Harry never regained consciousness and died at about 2 a.m. the following day, Monday 25 February.
Later that day his body was moved to Busselton, and at dusk he was buried in the Anglican portion of the town cemetery. The local newspaper apologised for the fact that so few people were present at the funeral – there was a misunderstanding about the time of the service “which resulted in the majority of the leading residents of the town being absent, a fact greatly regretted”. Even so, it lists floral tributes from 14 named families, “and others”. A rather fine touch was given in the fact that Harry's body was “enclosed in a casket of polished jarrah [a local wood] with silver mountings”.
Ethel Baird tells us that later her mother sent Harry's pen, ring and watch to Agnes in Edinburgh, assuring her of the care which Harry had received in his last hours, and after about two months, Mrs. Baird received a reply.
So Harry was buried in some style, surrounded by people who did not know him, but who were so moved by his youth and by his tragic death so far from home, that they wanted desperately to do the right thing in the circumstances. When I first read this story I found my eyes filling with tears – and this was at a distance of many miles and many years. Now that I have read it many times, yes, I still feel moved, but what really strikes me is the extraordinary generosity and kindness shown to him, both in his last hours and afterwards in a genuine concern that he should be properly buried. That would certainly have been a good note on which to end this sad story. But that is not the end; there is more to come.
What happened next: April - May 1907
We have already seen that Mrs. Baird, the lighthouse keeper's wife, wrote to Agnes in Scotland, assuring her that Harry was surrounded by kind people as he died, and that they had taken good care that he had received a respectable funeral. She was not the only person to write to Edinburgh. We also know that the Reverend William Darling, the Anglican Priest in Busselton who had conducted Harry's funeral service, wrote and that he received a reply. He sent the reply with a covering letter to the local newspaper, and this is worth reproducing in full.
From the South-Western News, Friday 17 May 1907:
(To the Editor)
Sir, - Two months ago I wrote to the mother of the sailor lad who was buried in our cemetery. I knew it would cheer her to learn that her boy had not been without friends at his last hour. I told her of the tender care which he received at the lighthouse, and of the sympathy shown by so many in Busselton. I think your readers would like to know how their kindness was appreciated by the lad's sorrowing family, and also that it brought a light into a darkened home. I therefore enclose Mrs. Blamire's letter, trusting that you may be able to insert it in your next issue.
Yours etc.
W.A.DARLING
Dear Sir, - I must tell you of the great comfort your letter has given us; the remembrance of such great kindness is very sweet to us, and I write these few words of sincere thanks to you and to all. No one knows what a shock the news of our dear little Harry's death was to us; so far from home and all who loved him most. We had not thought it possible that such wonderful kindness should have been felt and shown towards a stranger. Such remarkable goodness and sympathy as was shown by you, your wife, and so many inhabitants of Busselton make our gratitude so great that we cannot possibly express the thankfulness that we feel. The knowledge of such great kindness has brought to us a ray of light, after so many dark, sad days, that nothing else could have been done. It is such a comfort to us to know of the great goodness and tenderness you have all shown to our dear little Harry, in that strange far off land. Our thanks may sound poor, but our hearts are truly thankful to you all, and we trust that our dear Heavenly Father will give you His blessing for such kindness to one of His children.
We are going to have our Harry brought back here to be laid to rest with my father and eldest sister, at Ulverstone, a small town in the English lake district. Our solicitor will send instructions to your undertaker at Busselton for the necessary preparations.
Believe me,
Yours etc,
A. BLAMIRE
Edinburgh, April 9 , 1907.
I would imagine that many grieving widows who lost a child in tragic circumstances would wish that they could bring their child's body home – but not be able to do it, and grieve all the more. Agnes, however, was financially secure and able to afford what must have been a very expensive operation. The process of exhumation would have passed unnoticed by history, except for one thing – the Busselton Board of Health were not informed of the time and date, and felt that they should have been notified.
Thus we learn, again from the South-Western News, that the exhumation took place on Friday 31 May. The solicitor appointed by Agnes had been in touch with Mr. D.J.Chipper, an undertaker in Perth, Western Australia, presumably considering him to be “local” to Busselton. Chipper then rang Robert Donald who was the local Busselton undertaker and set him to work exhuming the body. Donald had, in fact, buried Harry's body, so was the ideal person. Chipper assured Donald that all the necessary paperwork and permissions had been granted by the appropriate authorities in Perth, but no one had thought to consult the local Board of Health. The first they they knew of it was when Donald went to the cemetery and began work. That was their first complaint.
The second, and possibly more serious, was that regulations required the exhumed body to be transferred, still in its original coffin, into a leaden shell which would then be hermetically sealed - and all this at the graveside and in the presence of a Medical Officer. In Harry's case, this delicate process had not happened at the graveside, but in the undertaker's establishment.
Mutterings continued until August, by which time Harry's body was back in England, at which point the matter was dropped – but they had made their protest, and been heard.
The second funeral in Ulverston : August 1907
Meanwhile, what had been happening in Ulverston? The first public news that the people there had of Harry's death appears to be in the local newspaper of 14 March 1907.
DEATHS :
BLAMIRE : At Fremantle (W. Australia) February 25th 1907, age 16, Harry dearly beloved son of Agnes E and the late Wm. Blamire, of Ulverston. (By cable).
This obviously created an outpouring of letters and telegrams from family and friends in the town, since on 18 April 1907 appears the following notice:
MRS. BLAMIRE and FAMILY wish to thank all those who have sympathised with them in their sad loss.
28 Sutton Place, Edinburgh.
But there appears to be no report of Harry's death and funeral in Australia. Indeed there is no further mention until the report of his funeral in the edition of Thursday, 15 August 1907:
A BRAVE MAN'S FUNERAL. -
The Ulverston Cemetery, sad though its record, has rarely been the scene of so sorrowful and lamentable a ceremony as took place within its walls on Wednesday afternoon, when there were relegated to their last resting place the remains of Harry Blamire, son of the late Mr. W. Blamire, Ulverston. Most Ulverston people are acquainted with this sad story of suffering and death. Wrecked off the coast of Australia, Blamire and a few comrades succeeded in boarding a small boat and for many days they were tossed about on the merciless ocean awaiting that help which never came until all were practically reduced to skeletons, and the last sparks of life were beginning to flicker into darkness. At last assistance came, but for Blamire it was too late. His bones were almost protruding through the skin, and no sooner was he placed on land than his earthly life ebbed out. Such is the story of the last days of this young man, whose body was reverently lowered into the grave on Wednesday, a spectacle which was witnessed through eyes dimmed with tears. Death took place in February, and by the desire of his mother, the body, enclosed in a leaden shell, surrounded by a massive mahogany coffin mounted with a large silver anchor and chain, silver breast plate, a vase of flowers, and six large handles, all in silver, was laid beside his father's coffin.
Agnes had originally intended that Harry should be laid to rest with her father [i.e. my gt.gt. Grandfather, Thomas Pearson] and her eldest sister. However they are buried in an extremely sturdy tomb just to the north of the chancel of St. Mary's, a tomb so sturdy it has resisted all attempts to vandalise it (though I did notice in May 2019 that the top slab with the inscriptions on it had weathered so badly that the wording is now barely legible). Maybe she had wanted Harry buried with two people in her life who had died young – we just don't know. There were other people in her life who had died young – her daughter Bessie, young Doris, baby Harold, and also of course her husband, William. These had all been buried in what she would have called the “New Cemetery”. So rather than disturb the sturdy tomb, Harry went there, and was laid next to his father. It is reasonable to assume that the Blamire family memorial was erected soon afterwards.
The Blamire Memorial
The memorial is an extraordinary and unexpected sight in the cemetery. It stands quite a height above everything else around it, as was no doubt intended. I have included a photo so that the description makes more sense. There is a plinth about five feet in height and standing on this is an almost life-size figure of a woman carrying flowers. The symbolism of the figure is not clear – peace perhaps, or faith or hope?
There are two lists of names on the plinth; on the first, facing you as you stand on the path, are the names of four members of the family. They are recorded in what at first sight looks like a random order, but there is a certain logic to it, as the inscriptions make clear. Firstly there is William “beloved husband of Agnes E. Blamire”, then “dear Bessie their eldest daughter”, then Doris “their youngest daughter”, and finally Harold “their infant son”.
On the other side are three other members of the Blamire family listed in chronological order of death, Harry, Frank and finally Agnes herself (she died in Edinburgh in 1948).
We know that the first six of these were all buried at that spot (or nearby), but I have yet to find a record that Agnes was buried there too. However, bearing in mind the lengths to which she had gone in order to make sure all the deceased members of her immediate family were buried together in one place, I would find it hard to believe that Agnes herself was not buried there. That would be a fitting end to this story.
Acknowledgements
In writing this article I remembered my historian's training and stayed with the primary sources – census returns, probate records, the Official Report on the loss of the Carnarvon Castle, and above all the contemporary newspaper accounts, both in the UK and Australia.
I wish to say thank you to Dr. Les Westerlund in Australia who very kindly alerted me to the facts surrounding Harry's death and burial in Australia and pointed me to the right sources. For those who wish to read more, the account of the tragedy at sea and of Harry's burial is in the South-Western News of Friday 1 March 1907; the Report of the Preliminary Enquiry into the loss of the Carnarvon Castle is in The Western Australian of Saturday 23 March 1907; Ethel Baird's Memories are in the Australian Women's Weekly of 14 March 1973.
And thank you to Rod White who first told me about the Blamire Memorial at Ulverston, and very helpfully located and then sent me the newspaper account of Frank Blamire's funeral at Ulverston in 1915 (that particular Ulverston newspaper is not yet on the internet). See also Rod's excellent website “Furness : Stories Behind the Stones”, which includes Harry Blamire along with many others. He tells me that there is still more work to do – including adding Frank Blamire (who was also a man with a story behind the stone). He also tells me he is willing to talk about his research to local groups in the Furness area, and can be contacted via his website.
And thank you to my wife Elizabeth, who agreed that our holiday in Arnside could be extended so that we could go over to Ulverston cemetery and I could see the Blamire Memorial for myself (and also check that the Pearson tomb was still intact in St. Mary's churchyard). She is a better photographer than I am, so she took the photos. “Yet another graveyard”.....!
Send a message to learn more
