Shipwrecks & Rescues
This module looks at various aspects of shipwrecks and rescues in Northumberland – from documents celebrating national heroes such as Grace Darling to unsung heroes such as Margaret Armstrong and Northumbrian lifeboat crew members; and the work of Dr. John Sharp and Lord Crewe’s Charity creating a charity to support shipwreck victims near Bamburgh Castle and commissioning Lionel Lukin to create the world’s first patented lifeboat.
For more information on Dr John Sharp’s Bamburgh Charities see our module Bamburgh Castle Welfare State.
The module provides cross-curricular activities including English, Humanities and STEM.
Documents
Letter from William Darling, Father of Grace Darling, to Mr. Herbert, 6th October 1838
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Letter with a first-hand account of the Forfarshire rescue.
Subject areas: Grace Darling, Shipwrecks, Rescue, Women’s History
Documents Celebrating and Promoting Grace Darling and the Forfarshire Rescue, 1838-39
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Printed handbill, printed image and printed supplement celebrating and promoting Grace Darling.
Subject areas: Grace Darling, Shipwrecks, Rescue, Women’s History, Celebrity Culture
Newspaper Cutting on Margaret Armstrong – The Second Grace Darling, 1922
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Margaret Armstrong was known as Northumberland’s second Grace Darling following her rescue of The Gustav.
Subject areas: Lifeboats, Shipwrecks, Grace Darling, Rescue, Women’s History
Invitation to an Award Presentation to Mrs Margaret Armstrong by the RNLI, 1922
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Margaret Armstrong was known as Northumberland’s second Grace Darling following her rescue of The Gustav.
Subject areas: Lifeboats, Shipwrecks, Grace Darling, Rescue, Women’s History
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Sound recordings and photographs relating to Cambois Lifeboat Crew.
Subject areas: Lifeboats, Shipwrecks, Rescue, Mining, Oral History
Plan of Blyth New RNLI Lifeboat Station and Slipway, 1920
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Plan showing the Lifeboat Station and Slipway in Blyth.
Subject areas: Lifeboats
Photographs of Newbiggin Lifeboat Day, about 1950s-60s
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Photographs from Newbiggin Lifeboat Day.
Subject areas: Lifeboats
Letter from Sir Henry Oxden to Dr. John Sharp, 8th September 1788
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Letter relating to commissioning building the Lukin Lifeboat, the world’s first patented lifeboat.
Subject areas: Lifeboats, Shipwrecks, Bamburgh Castle, Inventors & Inventions
Rules for the Treatment of Drowned Persons, 1775
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Rules and advice issued by Lord Crewe’s Charity.
Subject areas: Shipwrecks, Rescue, Medicine Through Time
Suggested age groups: KS1, KS2
Notes on wreckages and salvage at Bamburgh and burials of mariners.
Subject areas: Shipwrecks, Bamburgh Castle
