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occasion, it would appear that the lifeboat actually landed on the deck of the coaster and was then thrown off again.

We know that four people did manage to get aboard the Solomon Browne, as Coxswain Richards's final message was "we've got four off at the moment". Exactly what happened next must be conjecture, because no more was heard from the Coxswain, and the watchers on the cliffs saw no more lights from shortly afterwards. Nobody from either vessel survived.

A huge rescue mission was launched, but nothing could be done. Other lifeboats were called out, but the Sennen Cove boat could not get round Land's End, and the Lizard boat, from the other direction, only found wreckage when it arrived. Only eight bodies were ever recovered, four from the Union Star and four from the Solomon Browne. The Union Star lay capsized at the foot of the cliffs for several days before it broke up, but little was ever found of the Solomon Browne.

So what happened? It is highly unlikely that the lifeboat capsized, because all lifeboats of its class were self-rightable. However, if a huge wave had turned the boat over, would all of its crew have been washed over the side? Or was one more collision between the vessels too much for the Solomon Browne's wooden hull?

Whatever the cause, the result sent shock waves through the whole country, which had been looking forward to Christmas and was suddenly reminded of the perils faced by seafarers and the courage of those who volunteer to save their lives.

The shock was particularly profound among those people whose living is made from the sea, and the entire population of south-west England. The custom at Mousehole itself has been to extinguish its lights on the evening of 19th December every year, as a mark of respect.

A local appeal raised three million pounds to support the families of the crew and provide fitting memorials, although many contributions came from well beyond the local area.

There are always "might have beens" that are asked on such occasions. Should Henry Morton have been required to take a tow from the Noord Holland? One consequence of the disaster has been that, in similar circumstances, today's regulations demand exactly that. Had Morton's three family members not been on board, would the Solomon Browne have needed to make another attempt to get alongside? Perhaps so, given that only four people had been rescued and not five, but would it have been easier to rescue five seafarers rather than four people who included two

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