The Blizzard in the West: Being as Record and Story of the Disastrous Storm which Raged Throughout Devon and Cornwall, and West Somerset, On the Night of March 9th, 1891Unknown
History
The Blizzard in the West: Being as Record and Story of the Disastrous Storm which Raged Throughout Devon and Cornwall, and West Somerset, On the Night of March 9th, 1891
Unknown
Blizzards -- England -- Cornwall (County) -- History; Cornwall (England : County) -- History; Devon (England) -- History
On Friday morning, a special train left Millbay with 200 general
labourers. There were also 100 Marines under Lieutenants Sousbie and
Garrett; 150 men of the Dorset Regiment, under Captain Lushington and
Lieutenants Mangles and Household; and 50 men of the Welsh Regiment,
under Lieutenant Woodville. The civilians were under the direction
of Mr. S. Roberts, and the Mayor of Plymouth, Mr. G. R. Barrett
(deputy-chairman of the Water Committee), Mr. W. H. Mayne, Mr. R. Monk,
and Mr. G. Bellamy, junior, accompanied the party. The train had a
rough time, on account of the heavy gale that was blowing, and just
before Bickleigh Station was reached it was brought to a standstill by
a snow-drift. About fifty of the labourers had to cut a way through the
snow, enabling the party, after nearly an hour's delay, to proceed on
their journey.
On arriving at Yelverton the weather was found to be so bad that, after
some consultation, it was considered advisable to send the military
back to Plymouth, and, after clearing the rails for the return of their
own train, they, with about fifty civilian labourers, started on the
return journey. Mr. Roberts, however, with his men proceeded along the
leat to a point near Clearbrook, but so fierce was the storm that work
could not be commenced, and an adjacent barn was used as a temporary
refuge. In less than two hours work was begun, and by four o'clock in
the afternoon a clear way of four feet in width was made from Yelverton
Bridge to Roborough Reservoir, a distance of six miles. A contingent
under the direction of Messrs. T. and W. Shaddock, and another directed
by Mr. Duke had been progressing most satisfactorily, and, when night
approached and success was within view, all the men expressed their
readiness to work all night if needful, so that the leat might be all
clear before the morning. This, however, was not necessary, and before
seven o'clock a clear passage for the water had been made along the
whole ten miles of leat. The water had still to be brought on, and a
hundred men volunteered to remain, under Mr. Bellamy, and work on until
a good stream was running. Their services were accepted, and the other
two hundred men, with the Mayor and Messrs. Roberts and Duke returned
to Plymouth by a special train at nine o'clock. The great piece of
work thus happily accomplished had been ably assisted by the Mayor
of Plymouth, Councillors G. R. Barrett, and R. A. Monk, and Messrs.
A. R. Debnam, S. Roberts, Duke and Shaddock, contractors under the
Corporation. Mr. Bellamy, with his staff, Messrs. Prigg, A. G. Davey,
S. Chapman, and G. A. Picken, worked without intermission, and had an
arduous and an anxious time. Messrs. Barrett, Monk, and Mayne, managed
the commissariat department, which was no light task, with admirable
efficiency. Before the party of workers broke up the Mayor thanked, in
the name of the town of Plymouth, all those who had assisted in the
labour of averting a great calamity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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