How Fire, Flight, & Fate Struck Southampton Water 1931

In 1931, Britain was in the grip of the Great Depression. The Wall Street Crash two years earlier had triggered a chain of events that were felt globally, including in Britain, where exports fell by half and unemployment soared to unprecedented levels. Life in the New Forest and Waterside area would have undoubtedly been tough (depending on one’s social class, of course). But unlike many others across the country affected by the Great Depression, people in the local area had something very special on their doorstep: the water.

Southampton Water, along with stretches of the Solent’s beaches at Calshot, Lepe, and the shoreline in the Hythe area, became popular spots for days out, fun, picnics, and leisure.

Not much has changed in that respect.

And if you had been alive in 1931, you would have had the privilege of witnessing something extraordinary: breathtaking scenes of innovation and technology being tested and developed in and over the local waters.

The Vickers-Supermarine Aviation Company was assembling flying boats at their Shore Road premises in Hythe. Watching those magnificent machines take off from Southampton Water must have been an incredible sight. Also on Shore Road, the British Power Boat Company was manufacturing high-end speedboats. The company had recently won a tender to develop rescue boats for the RAF after T.E. Shaw (better known as Lawrence of Arabia) had successfully tested a prototype vessel earlier in the year.

An example of a RAF 200 class Seaplane Tender, as manufactured by the British Power Boat Company.

Just five miles down the shoreline, Supermarine S6 seaplanes, powered by Rolls-Royce engines, were launching from the Calshot slipways, reaching speeds of over three hundred miles per hour in preparation for the 1931 Schneider Trophy race.

One can only imagine the excitement and awe inspired by all this activity.

However, in August of 1931, these scenes of innovation quickly took a tragic turn when bad luck struck three times in the span of fifteen days.

The sequence of events began at 7 a.m. on Monday, August 3rd, when flames were seen rising from the roof of a building at the British Power Boat Company. Firemen rushed to Shore Road, but within minutes, the fire had engulfed large parts of the site, including fifty racing boats belonging to the company owner, Hubert Scott-Paine. The damage was estimated at £100,000 to £160,000 – equivalent to £5.7 to £9.1 million today.

Thankfully, there was no loss of life in the fire, and the business would eventually recover and resume manufacturing. However, two hundred men lost their jobs overnight – a devastating blow at any time, and especially during a recession.

But the misfortune didn’t end there. Just fifteen days later, on Tuesday, August 18th, tragedy struck local waters again.

Lieutenant Gerald Lewis “Jerry” Brinton, a pilot practicing at Calshot in preparation for the Schneider Trophy, was conducting high-speed trials in a Supermarine S6 seaplane when witnesses saw the machine take off and then dive into the water at high speed. It bounced three times on the surface, reaching a height of fifty feet on the final bounce. Brinton is believed to have been killed instantly.

SUPERMARINE S6 N247 — The Supermarine S6 N247 that Jerry Brinton died whilst testing.

As a mark of respect for the fallen pilot, practice was cancelled for a day. The RAF Calshot flag was flown at half-mast, and as ships passed through Southampton Water, they dipped their ensigns in tribute to the young officer. A journalist reporting on the accident provided a poignant reminder of the catastrophe, noting how he found Lieutenant Brinton’s car standing empty and neglected in the pouring rain, still parked where the pilot had left it outside the officers’ mess before his tragic flight.

news cutting — Brinton’s death was the front page of the Daily Mirror the next day.

Tragically, another incident occurred that same day.

Later that evening, the Graf Zeppelin, a massive German airship 236 meters in length, took off from Hanworth Air Park in West London with excited passengers on board, its planned route taking it over Southampton.

Hearing the low humming sound, people of all ages on both sides of Southampton Water stopped in their tracks to look skyward. Seeing an airship of that size, traveling at nearly 80 miles per hour, would have been a fantastic sight. The huge airship stood out clearly against the dense black sky, and although rain was falling, many rushed out of their homes to witness this latest triumph in aviation engineering. Despite the darkness, the Graf Zeppelin was flying at low altitude and was helpfully illuminated by a searchlight operated at RAF Calshot. A fireworks display in Southampton added to the dramatic scene.

One of the thousands of people rushing to get a glimpse of the airship was Ethel Irene Moore, a nineteen-year-old grocer’s assistant living in Netley. While running excitedly with friends to watch the spectacle, she collapsed and died from heart failure outside the Prince Consort Hotel. Her family had a history of heart problems; her sister had died of a heart defect seven years earlier.

On the opposite side of the water, those in Calshot, Fawley, and Hythe had likely heard of Lieutenant Brinton’s death earlier in the day and may have seen the magnificent sight of the Graf Zeppelin, lit up by fireworks, as a fitting tribute to the aviator and a positive note to end the day.

But little did the Waterside spectators realise that a very different scene was unfolding just two miles away across the water. Even in Netley, the panicked cries of Ethel’s friends and family were barely audible against the background of exploding fireworks and the hum of the German airship’s engines.