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Tiles along the wall of the nave.
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All Saints Church, Brightlingsea, contains unique memorials to parishioners who have lost their lives at sea - 213 memorial tiles, to be exact. Each is a tile has a dedication and is placed in frieze which runs around the nave wall.
The tiles were started by the vicar, Reverend Pertwee, who was particularly concerned with the welfare of the sailors and fishermen.
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In March 1883, there was a tremendous storm in the North Sea and he was shocked to hear of the loss of over 200 mariners from the counties which bordered the North Sea - 19 of them were from his own parish of Brightingsea.
Pertwee decided that a tile should be made for each loss of life at sea of his parishioners. He went back to 1872 when he had began his incumbency at All Saints Church. The first tile is dedicated to William Day and his son, David. They were drowned off Hartlepool.
His idea was supported by the churchwardens, and the idea was continued by their successors.
George Burling and Charles Woolgar both drowned off Beach Head. Burling left a wife and two children, Woolgar was unmarried.
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The last tile is dated 1988 and is dedicated to David E. Clifford who lost his life while on duty M.V. Union Jupiter.
In between these two dates, one can see the progression of history. The date of notable storms and resulting loss of fisherman, one only 16 years of age; the loss of the Titanic, the World Wars, the improvement in safety and decline of fishing. Thankfully the number of tiles reduce in number each decade.
Sidney Conrad Siebert, who married Winifred Savage from Brightlingsea, joined her brother on the Titanic as a member of the crew.
© Copyright History House and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
© Copyright History House and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
Place links: Brightlingsea
Useful links: A full list of the names can be found on the Maritime Memorials website. In the memorial search for Place type: brightlingsea
The Essex Record Office 'ERO' are custodians of the parish registers of Essex. Ancestry.co.uk have now transcribed the entire collection of Essex parish registers. Search now on Ancestry for your Essex ancestors. Then on the results page click on ‘request image’ and you will be taken to the ERO website where you can purchase an image of the relevant page.
Visit our Parish Registers of Essex page for more information.
Newspaper archives are now a very important source of information for researching your family tree.
Try our example search to help you discover if your ancestors are in the British Newspaper Archive.
Ebay is a good source of old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these.
Link below already formatted for Essex and Postcards.