Orkney Image Library

my dad has a wallet that was awarded to his grandfather for services rendered to the crew of the Leicester City on the 22-3-53.

The crew who survived the grounding owe their lives to so many o' the Hoy folk, especialy Mary Ritch and her sister Babie. Also her brother Charlie who carried men on his back up the fields to the farm.

Later more Hoy residents joined them on that tragic night, lives were saved but sadly others were lost.

Mary was was named "The Lady with the Lamp" for her being first on the scene with her Tilly lantern.
Mary put the young gally boy into her bed and warmed him and so saved his life.
The boy returned to Grimsbay, became a butchers lad and went on to own a chain of shops across the town, I bet he never forgot the " Lady with the Lamp".

My uncle lost his life on the Leicester City that night. There is a story in the family that he gave up his place in a lifeboat to a galley boy. Sadly, he drowned but the galley boy made it to safety. I don't know if this is the same galley boy in your comment!
This is a good photo,by the way. May I take a copy for my records?

I cannot seem to be able to separate these 2 pictures. Is it possible that you could send them to me separately? Many thanks.

John- I've separated the pictures and sent them to Yvette- hope that's OK.

The above comments on 14/04/08 were made by me.

If I may add some more to this story sadly had the crew of the trawler stayed with the ship possibly they would all have survived.

The skipper. a very experienced man, had only a short time before this rescued the entire crew from a trawler wrecked on the coast of Iceland. That ship had rolled off a ledge and sank very quickly, With this in mind he gave the order to his men to take to the rafts and the ship's boat.

The breaking water around the vessel was more than they could handle so the ships boat and the rafts turned over leaving the poor souls at the mercy of the sea.

A Hoy woman told me that the skipper survived due to a heavy flying jacket he was wearing. It protected his body from the pounding on the rocks although his legs and feet were so badly injured he was never fit to go to sea again.
I think this man has now passed away but he and his family never forgot what the Hoy folk did on that night in 1952 and still keep in touch with some of the families on Hoy to this day.

My grandad was on the ship that fateful night but managed to swim ashore although it took him seven and half hours, Dont know how he survived the cold.
His name was Alfred John Jones (Jack or Brookie) to his mates. Great picture.

I have heard that there were wallets and powder compacts awarded to those who helped rescue these men. My uncle was one of those lost. If anyone has a wallet or compact which is no longer wanted I would be interested in it.

Yvette I am sure there is no chance of anyone parting with the momentos from that sad event, the people of Hoy are so proud of their history and especialy the Ritch family from The Head who did so much to save the men on that sad sad event.

The late Mary never talked of her part in saving these men it hurt her so much that there was such a loss of life that night. She was a true heroine along with her sister Bella and brother Charlie, but for them all would have perished on the shore at Braebister that night.

See picture #24087 that is as near to getting sight of a part of Hoy's proud now "Folklore" as you will get, of that I am sure, and there is no offence ment in saying this My Dear.

Hi everybody my dad was one of the 7 crew who died. He left a family of 4 boys as my mother died a few years before. His name was Charlie Hunt. I have been in contact with Jimmy Moar and he had one of the lifebelts in his cottage. He gave it to a man who was visiting Hoy, that man's father was on the ship that night and was saved. The man with the lifebelt took it to Grimsby Heritage Centre and it laid in a cuboard for a few years until I went and asked why it wasn't on show. They have now put the lifebelt in a glass case with the full story about what happened that night ,so if anybody wants to see the lifebelt it is in the Heritage Centre with all the pictures and story. I hope that this has helped the people of Hoy and their families who helped in the rescue of the crew of the Leicester City know that you will never be forgotten...kind regards and best wishes to you all..Robert Hunt... Charlie Hunt's youngest son.