Posted by Ed Kiser on October 22, 2007 at 15:59:29 from 205.188.116.198 user Kisered.
During the time of the Roman occupation of Britania, they had a
system for communication across great distances by the use of a
series of watch towers, each within sight of the next. A signal
from one could be seen by the next one, and then relayed on to
the more distant tower. The message could therefore be
transmitted much faster than a messenger on horseback.
This method of communicaton was also used in PIGEON POST by those
that kept a watch on Squashy Hat to report his movements. Peggy
was the nearest Atkinson's and could see when Squashy Hat came
out. She would signal to Roger, he to Titty, and she to
Dorothea, who with the whistle got the attention of the
prospectors and relay the report on to them.
This message relaying stations concept was also used by the
lightships, back in the days before radio made communications
more direct over greater distances. Back in 1875, the liner
"Deutschland" ran afoul of the Kentish Knock sands and lost her
propeller. Being over 20 miles away from Harwich or Margate, her
signals of distress were not seen on land. The Kentish Knock
lightship discovered the distress, and after dark sent up several
rockets which were seen by the "Sunk" lightship, who in turn sent
up rockets which were in turn observed by the "Cork" lightship.
The signals were seen by the observers in Harwich. A paddle tug was
dispatched on the return to daylight, and following the trail
from "Cork" to "Sunk" was directed on to the foundering ship
where they were able to save 173 persons. (Lost 57.)
In thinking about "Cork" and "Sunk" I was wondering as to what
happened to these lightships in World War II. They are not
moving, so the enemy certainly knows where to find them, and are
easy targets for U-boats. Were these lightships taken off
station to the relative safety of a harbour? Or did they just
sit there and wait for the U-boats to take them out. If they
were not on station, what about the normal functional purpose of
these floating beacons, or had radio/radar made these no longer
significant? Are those lightships still on duty today?
Just wondering...
Ed Kiser, Kentucky