15th December 1953
Lifeboat rescues crew after mine strike
When the 662-ton Brockley Combe ran aground on Minquiers in the middle of December 1953, the captain thought he’d struck a mine left over from the Second World War. The hull was holed and started taking in water, and a tug with a pump had to be brought across from Cherbourg as the Jersey lifeboat raced to its aid.
There was some hope that the ship might be towed to St Helier if she remained seaworthy, but it quickly became clear she was a wreck, with the lifeboat crew reporting that, having more or less broken in half, the Brockley Combe was a total loss.
The lifeboat took ten of the eleven crew members to shore, leaving only the captain on the stricken ship to supervise the attempt to pump out the water that was flooding its engine room. When it became clear that the attempt was fruitless he, too, left his broken ship.
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Other events that occured in December
Seneca sinks off the Jersey coast
- A cargo ship called Seneca was wrecked as she approached Jersey in December 1836, leading to the loss of one crew member's life.
- Read more…
Father Clifford Cohu is born
- Fr Clifford Cohu was a retired priest in Jersey during the Occupation. He was deported in 1943 for sharing BBC news.
- Read more…
Channel Island cargo ships collide
- Two British Transport Commission cargo ships serving the channel islands collided in December 1955 resulting in significant damage.
- Read more…
Passenger plane springs a leak on flight to Jersey
- A passenger flight between Manchester and Jersey had to decrease altitude when a leak was detected in the fuselage.
- Read more…
