The Leysdown Tragedy - 4 August 1912

The new Scout Movement, founded in 1907 promoted

fresh air and outdoor activities. Just the thing for

lads from the overcrowded streets of Walworth in

Southwark, on their second summer camp in Kent. On

Friday 3 August 1912, the 2nd Walworth Scout Troop

of 5 adults and 24 young Scouts sailed from

Southwark, down the River Thames to Leysdown on

the Isle of Sheppey. Some would never return alive.

They set off from Southwark down the River

Thames for Sheppey at 5pm, rowing the first two-

and-a-half miles to Tower Bridge, then hoisted the

sail and set off downstream in a strong breeze

between cargo ships, tugs and sailing barges. They

would have been excited as they arrived at Erith at

9pm and settled down for the night under a blanket on the bottom boards of the boat.

Saturday 4 August 1912 at 4am they set off on the final leg of the journey and a week‟s camp at Leysdown. As

the wind picked up, Marsh put his best boy, William Beckham, at the mainsheet (the rope that controls the

mainsail). They passed Canvey Island, and then began to cross the mouth of the Medway. At 1.30pm the

coastguard recorded seeing the cutter rounding Warden Point near Leysdown.

The adventurously challenging route taken from London to Erith to Leysdown

This is where a terrible tragedy occurred off Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey. The ex-naval 32-foot cutter was two

miles out, turning for the shore, when there was a sudden squall (a violent gust of wind), which hit the boat

mainsail and capsized the boat, causing the occupants to be flung into the sea. The boat righted, but then

capsized again. All but one of the boys were swimmers, otherwise loss of life might have been much higher.

Nine Scouts died, all but one from the 2nd Walworth Troop.

The 9 who died were:

Noel Filmer Aged 14 Edward Smith Aged 11

Thompson (Tommy) Filmer Aged 12 William Beckham (Patrol Leader) Aged 12

Albert Dack Aged 11 James Skipsey Aged 12

Harry Gwynn (Patrol Leader) Aged 13 Percy Baden Powell Huxford Aged 12

Frank Masters (a Nunhead local from the Training Ship Arethusa where he lived) Aged 14

The group were neither unprepared nor novices. They had been chosen to give a demonstration at the Sea

Scout Rally at Earl's Court only one month previously. The Scoutmaster Mr. Sidney John Marsh was a young city

businessman, an ex-Dulwich College boy (Later these college students would play a major role in Dulwich Scouting and the South London Scout Centre), who believed he was fulfilling a Christian mission in working with

less privileged boys in Walworth. He had also, since 1904, been an Assistant Paymaster in the Royal Naval

Reserve.

Scouts of the 2nd

Walworth Scout Group training by the old Waterloo Bridge, London, before the tragedy in their ill-fated

cutter. Scoutmaster Marsh is at the helm.

The same journey to camp had been made the previous year by Dulwich Mission Scouts who made good friends

with Leysdown's senior Coastguard, Chief Petty Officer Streeter. Marsh and Streeter had planned the

Walworth Scouts' (approx 57 mile / 92 km) voyage together. Streeter had been waiting for the arrival of the

cutter at Leysdown. He had word of her at 1.30pm and ran to his Lookout Station. He was unable to see the

boat because of the weather, but then it cleared, and he could see the cutter about 2 miles out. The wind

veered round as the cutter put about to make a run for the shore. Streeter was horrified to see her keel over,

throwing boys into the water.

He immediately launched a lifeboat crewed by four of his men with himself at the tiller and lost no time in

reaching the shocking scene. Boys were in the icy cold water crying out for help and Scoutmaster Marsh was on

the point of drowning. Marsh was rescued, but immediately plunged back in again to save a drowning boy, then

another. The lifeboat rescued 20, including Marsh, but they were not able to recover any others or bodies not

visible at this time, for there was a strong tide. Due to several acts of selfless heroism, especially by their

Scoutmaster Sydney Marsh, many lives were saved. But 8 scouts and Frank Masters from the training ship

Arethusa had drowned.

Mr. John Filmer, father of two of the boys, an ex-naval man, was present on the boat when she capsized, but

like the Scoutmaster, could not prevent the tragedy. He told reporters that the boat keeled over without any

warning flinging him into the water.

"Of course, the first thing I did was to look round for my boys." he was later reported as saying. "I saw Tommy

being held up by Mr. Marsh. Some distance away, was Noel the elder boy, clinging to the dinghy we had been

towing."

By the time the Coastguards arrived, both lads were drowned. Like the other causalities they were not able to

withstand the cold or fury of the waves. Mr. Filmer's watch stopped at five minutes to two, setting the time of

the incident. Five Coastguards were assisted by two civilians, R.H. Bawden and W.J. Twinning, their role has

been sometimes overlooked in what was beyond all doubt a terrible catastrophe, it should be remembered that

thanks to their heroic efforts, 20 members of the party were saved.

A postcard image of the five Coastguards and two civilians who helped save the Leysdown survivors, pictured above the stricken vessel later recovered.

One of the rescued lads, Scout Schofield, was only brought round after half an hour's resuscitation by the

Schafer method. The coastguards were hailed as heroes for setting out in such a stormy sea in their little

rowing boat. A few days later the Daily Mirror interviewed little Schofield, his arms bandaged where he had

been rescued with a boathook.

Scoutmaster Pottock of the 2nd Cobham Troop tried to assist by swimming out with a lifeline, and very nearly

made the scene. Scoutmaster Picket of the Sheppey Troop helped to render first aid once the party returned

to land. Immediately after the incident Chief Petty Officer Streeter said that Scoutmaster Marsh was "...so

distracted I fear he might lose his reason." (one can only but imagine what this 29 year old man was going

through at this time, having lost 8 of his Troop and blaming himself – even though no one, not even parents, ever

blamed him for the freak accident). The survivors were taken in by the coastguards‟ wives on Sheppey, given

beds and beef tea, the excitement of the camp (that never followed) totally forgotten by the event.

One of the drowned, Patrol Leader William Beckham, had

two brothers who were in the boat and saved. His mother

told a reporter that she owed their lives to Scoutmaster

Marsh to whom she would be eternally grateful. (David

Beckham, England Football Captain 2000, is directly related

to this family).

Even 100 years later, details of this tragedy and the

subsequent funeral are found harrowing and sad to say the

least. The personal circumstances of some of the boys adds

more pathos, especially that of Harry Gwynn. Harry's father

had died when he was only seven, and his mother before the

tragedy. Her last request was that Scoutmaster Marsh

adopt her son as she believed he 'was just the father for

him'. Marsh had legally adopted the boy, but was unable to

save him from the water on that fateful day.

The First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill, MP

ordered the destroyer HMS Fervent to bring the coffins up

the Thames for burial. On 9 August all the drowned boys

except Percy Baden Powell Huxford – whose body was still missing – were placed in elm coffins painted white

and carried in two‟s down to HMS Fervent. “The bodies of the boys were brought back to London by river in a

manner befitting royalty,” Rex Batten said.

David Beckham and wife Victoria

Without the heroism of scoutmaster Sydney Marsh and the Kent coastguard, there would have been no David Beckham. It was a stirring highlight of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony as David Beckham proudly ferried the Olympic torch by speedboat to the stadium. Passing under Tower Bridge, along an iconic stretch of the Thames, his journey was watched by billions. Exactly 100 years ago his great-grandfather Edward Beckham made almost the same journey in a 32-foot naval cutter.

As she passed by, all shipping on

the river lowered their flags in

salute. There were thousands of

sympathisers on hand when the

ship docked at Rotherhithe. The

coffins were carried off and

brought to St John‟s Church,

Larcom Street, to which the

Troop were attached and close

to where the boys had lived. The

Union Flag covered the white

coffins on their journey to St.

John's Church, where 10 000

people filed passed them. Scouts

from the Walworth Group stood

at attention; heads bowed in

front of each coffin and by

rotation remained in place

throughout the night.

Boy Scouts from many different countries attended the mass funeral held on 10 August, and, despite

continuous rain, the route of the funeral was lined many deep. Boy Scouts, linked together by their staves, kept

back the crowd as the cortège passed by. Immediately behind the clergy and in front of the horse-drawn

hearses, marched Scoutmaster Marsh who had the total sympathy of the silent crowd, lining the streets to

watch the Scouts being brought to their final resting place in Nunhead Cemetery. The Daily Express estimated

that there were over a million people present that day.

The horse-drawn hearses at the Leysdown funeral, eight on the day.

Nunhead Cemetery entrance today (picture

taken in 2008) and compared to the scene

reported in The Daily Mirror on Sunday 19

August 1912. What a moving experience for

me to re-live this event in 2008 with the

graveside visit. Andre Foot

Baden Powell, who was in

Cape Town South Africa at

the time, sent wreaths in

the shape of lifebuoys for

each of the victims. There

were many photographs of

every aspect of the

funeral in a special 16-page

issue of The Daily Mirror

on Monday 19 August 1912;

some pictures are shown in

this article.

Only eight of the victims were buried that day. Percy

Baden Powell Huxford, named in honour of Baden Powell because he was born during the Relief of Mafeking, was

not amongst them. His body had been swept out to sea and was not recovered until 13 August, nine days after

the tragedy. His funeral was on the 15 August, when he was interred with his friends. The pain of his parents in

waiting for his body to be recovered, yet having to endure the funeral of the others, can hardly ever be

imagined.

Headquarters Gazette, in August 1914, just before the approaching carnage

of the 1st World War, showed this memorial bronze life-size Scout. The

event was perceived as a national tragedy, with one million people attending

the funeral. Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott the architect noted for

Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, as well as designing

the original red phone box, it was executed by Miss Read, funded by 100

000 penny public donations and placed in Nunhead Cemetery in the summer

of 1914 in honour the nine Scouts. One of the donors wrote the following:

"Dear Sir, I enclose 12 pennies towards the memorial to my brother Scouts.

I feel I ought to send more than one penny as if I had not had a sore throat

I might have been one of them. Yours Truly, James Cook. 2nd Walworth

Scout Troop."

A cast of the memorial was exhibited in the Royal Academy. There would of course have been an official

inquest into the tragedy and no doubt investigations at Scout Headquarters, but to date no official findings

were found, as the incident had after all been simply an act of nature.

During research for this article in the Scout Archive at Gilwell Park in September 2001, the archivist, Paul

Moynihan, had an amazing story to tell. He had been contacted by a scrap dealer in 1997 who wanted to know if

the name Percy Baden Powell Huxford meant anything to him. The archivist recognised the name Percy Huxford

The Sea Scouts Memorial at Leysdown Cemetery (two pictures left). This stone has similar wording to the one in Nunhead. On the same date, Saturday 4

th August… 2012

the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery, accompanied by local Scouts and relatives of the drowned boys, commemorated this tragic anniversary at Leysdown and Nunhead. A plaque was also unveiled at Nunhead to Bert Barnes, who did much to help uncover and preserve the memory of these boys, who had died so tragically.

as being one of the victims of the Leysdown Tragedy. The scrap dealer said he had a bronze plate with this

boy's name on it amongst others. Mr. Moynihan went to visit the dealer and found that he had the bronze name

plaque from the monument.

It transpires that on 4 June 1969, the Evening Standard carried an article about the theft of the actual

statue, which was cast in bronze. The statue had been hacked off at the feet and stolen by thieves. The police

felt that it would not be recovered, but already melted down. Its scrap value

then was only a mere £40. It is not known if the separate metal nameplate

was stolen at the same time, but Paul Moynihan confirmed it was the stolen

plate, which was then donated to the UK Scout Archive.

The story does not quite end there. The „Friends of Nunhead Cemetery'

group (dedicated people who have undertaken to oversee the Nunhead

Cemetery with its rich history), were responsible for a campaign, which

resulted in a new memorial in 1992, thanks to the generosity of Kellaways and

Francis Chappell, a replacement memorial of a fine Carrara marble stone

carved in the shape of an open book was put in its place. There is also a

memorial at Leysdown. The Scouts have never been forgotten and Scouts

everywhere should be grateful for the work of this group, as, without them,

there would have been no memorial at this time to commemorate both the

Sea Scouts who lost their lives, and to remind us of the bravery of those

that tried to save them. We are indebted to Rex Batten of the group who

has written a most instructive book on the subject, The Walworth Scouts.

Nunhead Cemetery (opened 1840) on entering the main gates, with the ‘gothic like’ roofless chapel clearly visible. Below, the marble stone open book listing the names, next to 1

st World War graves. Behind this memorial is the remains of the

original memorial, bearing a silver plaque with the words ‘This base is all that remains of the original memorial’.

The old amazing monument now gone, and the new memorial now to be seen in Nunhead Cemetery Plot 10

On Saturday 3 August 2002 Ms Cheryl Stonehouse, a Daily

Express reporter, wrote an article entitled A River of Tears for the Lost Boys, which concluded with an appeal to

raise funds to mount a new plaque in the chapel, an old

church, now roofless, in the cemetery. A resin cast (shown

here) was made of the original bronze plaque that was

rescued from a scrapyard by the Association's Archivist.

In June 2003 the new

plaque was dedicated in

a special service of

remembrance attended

by family members of

some of the lost boys,

Chiswick Scouts and representatives of the Scout Association. Today it can

be found on the inside back wall of the old chapel in Nunhead Cemetery,

together with plaques in memory of leaders of local Scout Groups that cared for the Scout Memorial SKIPPER

GANDOLFI, KIM MAYO who inspired research that gave FONC the Leysdown Tragedy and memorial that now

marks the boys grave and BERT BARNES who did so much to uncover and preserve the memory of these boys. _____________________________________________________________________________

Article compiled by Andre Foot 2012 with acknowledgement and thanks to:

Boy Scouts of America Milestones Site by Colin Walker David Beckham Article on the Opening of the London 2012 Olympics in Mirror News Friends of Nunhead Cemetery (FONC) Site, especially Carol Stevenson The London Daily Mirror old sites of photographs The Leysdown Centenary Article and Kent Guardian News Rex Batten (author of ‘The Walworth Scouts’)

This map shows the position of the grave more or less in the centre, with the Nunhead Station

left shown at base of map.