Thursday, June 7, 2007

Who was Grace Darling?

Grace Horsley Darling who died in 1842 was born in Bamburgh, England and spent her early life in a couple of lighthouses run by her father.

In 1838 at the Longstone Light, off the coast of Scotland, she spotted the ship Forfarshire in distinct trouble! The sea was far too rough for Grace and her father to reach the foundering ship but they did pluck nine survivors from a nearby island. Her heroism was recognized financially by The Crown and her exploits fictionalized and rendered into poetry by Wordsworth. Afterwards,
life saving craft were often named Grace Darling.

I am not sure that this was the original name given the Nova Scotian schooner which belonged to my ancestor. Probably, not! Tales tend to become legend, and this story was transferred to a local Grand Manan lighthouse, and there it may still be seen on the world wide web!

No comments: