The Weaker Sex?

The Weaker Sex…..

I will let you make your own mind up at the end of this posting as to which of the sexes is the weaker. For my own part, I will just add that 'A woman is often the best man for the job’.

This young Victorian lady became a celebrated heroine of her time and is still revered in sailing circles. She took part in one of the most daring sea rescues of her time and became known as The Maid of the Isles or The Girl with the Windswept Hair.

Grace Darling was born on 24 November 1815 at Bamburgh in Northumberland, which is situated in the North East corner of England close to the Border with Scotland. It is on the North Sea coast. Her father was a lighthouse keeper and Grace spent her youth living in two lighthouses. One was at Longstone, (now known as Outer Farne) at Farne Island and the other at Coquet Island.

Early morning on 7 September 1838, Grace looked out the window of the Longstone lighthouse and saw a ship, the SS Forfarshire, which had run aground on rocks a few hundred yards away. A very rough sea was running and the weather made it impossible for the shore lifeboat to put to sea. Grace, then aged 23 and her father took to a 21-foot rowing boat and made their way through the rough seas to the ship. Several people were rescued and taken ashore. Grace did not take part in the subsequent rescue attempts. In all she helped in saving eight men and one woman. Nine others were rescued from a lifeboat by a passing ship. There had been 31 passengers and 29 crew- members on board.

When details of the daring rescue were published, Grace became an instant success and celebrity. She received a substantial reward for her actions. The story no doubt gained in the telling and in fact became a legend in it’s own time. Unfortunately, Grace died of Tuberculosis, unmarried in 1842. She is buried in her local cemetery at Bamburgh with her father and mother. An elaborate cenotaph nearby commemorates her life.

The Royal National Lifeboat at Seahouses bears the name 'Grace Darling'.

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A Poem by William Wordsworth commemorates the event:

Grace Darling.

Among the dwellers in the silent fields
The natural heart is touched, and public way
And crowded street resound with ballad strains,
Inspired by One whose very name bespeaks
Favour divine, exalting human love;
Whom, since her birth on bleak Northumbria's coast,
Known unto few but prized as far as known,
A single Act endears to high and low
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The remainder of this long poem can be found on the following link:
http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww966.html
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