Henry George Blogg"Henry Blogg, the Greatest of the Lifeboatmen", Jolly, C., Pub: Poppyland Publishing, new edition 2002, GC BEM (6 February 1876 – 13 June 1954) was a

lifeboatman A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crew and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine. Lifeboats may be rigid, inflatable or rigid-inf ...

from

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

on the north coast of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England, and the most decorated in

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI) history. Blogg of the

Cromer Lifeboat Station Cromer Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. The station operates two lifeboats - one for inshore work and the other for offshore work. The current lifeboat station on the end of C ...

is referred to as "the greatest of the lifeboatmen". From the rescue of the crew of the ''Pyrin'' and then of half of the crew of the '' Fernebo'' in 1917, through to his near drowning in the course of the rescue of survivors of the wreck of the in 1941, he was awarded the gold medal of the RNLI three times and the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

four times, the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

, the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

, and a series of other awards.

Life

Born the son of Ellen Blogg, he was brought up in the family of James Davies (whose son John became Henry's stepfather after John Davies married Ellen Blogg in 1881), himself coxswain of the Cromer lifeboat. He first went to sea as a lifeboatman in 1894 in the rowing lifeboat ''Benjamin Bond Cabbell'' and then served in the ''Louisa Heartwell'' as second coxswain under Jimmy 'Buttons' Harrison. When coxswain Harrison retired in 1909 due to ill health, Blogg won the vote to take on the leadership role. Away from lifeboat duties, Blogg was foremost a crab fisherman but

being a popular holiday resort, he also ran a

deckchair A deckchair (or deck chair) is a folding chair, usually with a frame of treated wood or other material. The term now usually denotes a portable folding chair, with a single strip of Textile, fabric or Polyvinyl chloride, vinyl forming the back ...

and

beach hut A beach hut (also known as a beach cabin, beach box or bathing box) is a small, usually wooden and often brightly coloured, box above the high tide mark on popular bathing beaches. They are generally used as a shelter from the sun or wind, chan ...

hire business. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century lifeboats around the coast of Britain relied on the strength of the oarsmen and the power of the wind. The Cromer boat was launched from an open beach, and judgement and determination were the prime requirements of the coxswain. In the early hours of a fierce January morning in 1917 the Cromer lifeboat was launched to aid a vessel just in sight off Cromer, the ''Pyrin''. The Cromer men rowed their boat through the breakers, succeeding in coming alongside the stricken vessel, and taking off her crew. They rowed back to Cromer. As they reached the beach the Swedish vessel the '' Fernebo'' struck a

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

and was blown in half. The two-halves drifted towards the beach. From one half, about 16 men set out in a ship's boat. As they reached the edge of the breakers onto the beach, their boat capsized. Teams of men, grasping each other's arms, had walked into the water, and they were able to help the men from the boat, and aid them ashore. Meanwhile, the lifeboat was rehoused on its trailer and was pushed again into the breakers, to launch to the other half of the ''Fernebo''. The ferocity of the sea threw the boat back onto the beach. The crew needed to recarriage the boat and try again at least three times. It was not until midnight, under the light of searchlights from the clifftop, that the lifeboat finally reached the stricken half-vessel and took off its crew. Blogg had led his men for nearly 24 hours of heroic effort. In 1924 Blogg was awarded the

Empire Gallantry Medal The Medal of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, known as the Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM), was a British medal awarded for acts of gallantry. Unlike the then existing Sea Gallantry Medal (SGM) (1854), the Albert Meda ...

by the King. In 1927, Blogg was awarded a gold watch and his crew a silver watch each after a rescue on the

Haisborough Sands Haisborough Sands (or Haisboro Sands or Haisbro Sands) is a sandbank off the coast of Norfolk, England at Happisburgh.SC1408 Harwich and Rotterdam to Cromer & Terschelling Admiralty Small Craft Chart Coastal planning chart of the Harwich and Rot ...

. He received a Silver Medal from the RNLI in 1932 for rescuing 30 men and a dog from the steamer aground on the Haisborough Sands. The Canine Defence League awarded him its own Silver Medal. In October 1939 the lifeboat went to the aid of . During the long night-time rescue the lifeboat was damaged and the no. 2 boat was required to help. In 1941 he was awarded the BEM. At around the same time it was announced that the Empire Gallantry Medal he was awarded in 1924 was to be substituted with the

which he was awarded in October that year.

''English Trader''

The call out to the in 1941, aground on Hammond's Knoll off

Happisburgh Happisburgh () is a village civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is on the coast, to the east of a north–south road, the B1159 from Bacton on the coast to Stalham. It is a nucleated village. The nearest substantial to ...

, nearly led to disaster when the motor lifeboat '' H. F. Bailey'' rolled onto her side, throwing five of her crew in the water. Blogg was one of them. Still on board, crewman William H. Davies grasped the wheel and steered the lifeboat towards the men in the water. One by one they were picked up. Signalman Walter Allen would not survive long; his heart was failing. Blogg turned the lifeboat from the ''English Trader'' and headed for the nearest harbour at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

. At 3 a.m. the next morning, Blogg awoke his crew, ready to try again. They slipped from the wartime harbour and were soon back at the sands. The sea had abated, and forty-four men on the ''English Trader'', who had not expected to live through the night, were saved. Henry was given the RNLI Silver medal for that rescue, the rest of the crew receiving Bronzes, Walter Allen posthumously. ;Cromer Lifeboat Crew, ''English Trader'' rescue

Legacy

When Henry Blogg retired in 1947, after 53 years service and at age 71, 11 years past the usual retiring date, the new lifeboat at Cromer was named after him. He had been coxswain for 38 years of his service during which he had launched 387 times and rescued 873 people. Henry Blogg's nephew Henry "Shrimp" Davies took over as coxswain of the Cromer Lifeboat. A museum dedicated to the memory of Henry Blogg – "the greatest of the lifeboatmen" – opened in 2006. Unveiled by

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

who started his stage career in Cromer, the museum is the first purpose-built RNLI museum to be opened since the

Grace Darling Grace Horsley Darling (24 November 1815 – 20 October 1842) was an English lighthouse keeper's daughter. Her participation in the rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked ''Forfarshire'' in 1838 brought her national fame. The paddlesteamer ...

museum opened in 1938. On 15 April 2008, the museum was successful in bidding for two watches that had been awarded to Blogg.

Gallery

References

Sources

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External links

Cromer lifeboat station historyCromer RNLIRNLI Henry Blogg MuseumSong about Henry Blogg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blogg, Henry 1876 births 1954 deaths People from Cromer British recipients of the George Cross Recipients of the British Empire Medal Recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal Royal National Lifeboat Institution people