Henry Blogg
Henry lived all of his 78 years in Cromer. He was born on 6 February 1876 in a cottage in New Street on the cliff top opposite the pier. Young Henry spent several years in the care of his grandmother before moving to the home of his stepfather, John Davies, in Chapel Street, which was a fishing family (John was Second Coxswain after his father, James Davies, who was in charge of Cromer’s second RNLI lifeboat). At the age of 11, Henry didn't need to stay at school as he was always top of the class. His stepfather needed him to help in the family crab boat. So Henry swapped reading, writing and arithmetic for his stepfather’s lessons about baiting, hauling, rowing and seamanship. He learned how to use an oar, handle a sail, and learned about tides, currents, rocks and shoals. (This knowledge was later put to such good use in his rescue work that it was said of him: ‘He knew what his boat could do and, as nearly as a man may, what the sea could do.’) In 1894, when Henry was 18, he joined the lifeboat crew. Although he joined in January, it was not until 28 December that he journeyed on the lifeboat Benjamin Bond-Cabbell for his first service.In 1902, Henry was voted in by the crew as Second Coxswain, as his stepfather was forced to retire due to bad health. This was an impressive achievement at the age of 26 after only 8 years of service.
Silver medals
From 14–16 October 1932, Henry and his crew rescued 29 crew from the Italian vessel, Monte Nevoso, which was stranded on Haisborough Sands.Henry received his first RNLI Silver Medal, a Silver Medal and a diploma from the Italian Government and a Canine Defence League medal for saving the life of a Tyrolean sheepdog that had been on the ship.Henry liked dogs, and the captain gave him one, which he named Monte. .On 13 December 1933, Henry and his crew were called out to the 65-tonne barge Sepoy. Henry described this as the worst journey in his then 24 years as Coxswain.Henry had made several attempts to go alongside the barge but it was impossible to hold the lifeboat in position because of the wind and tide. He then ran the lifeboat’s bow onto the deck of the Sepoy. One of the casualties was seized by the crew and, when Henry repeated the manoeuvre, the other man was rescued. The two men and the lifeboat crew had all suffered terribly from exposure.He received a silver medal for this.On 13 December 1933, Henry and his crew were called out to the 65-tonne barge Sepoy. Henry described this as the worst journey in his then 24 years as Coxswain.Henry had made several attempts to go alongside the barge but it was impossible to hold the lifeboat in position because of the wind and tide. He then ran the lifeboat’s bow onto the deck of the Sepoy. One of the casualties was seized by the crew and, when Henry repeated the manoeuvre, the other man was rescued. The two men and the lifeboat crew had all suffered terribly from exposure.He received a silver medal for this. On 9 October 1939, Henry took part in the rescue of the 29 crew of the Greek-registered vessel SS Mount Ida, which was wrecked on the Ower Bank in a gale with very heavy seas.On 26 October of the same year, the SS English Trader of London ran aground on a sandbank on the other side of Haisborough Sands. A full gale was blowing with a very heavy sea. After brave efforts that afternoon, 44 of the crew were rescued by Henry and his crew the following morning.
Gold medals On 9 January 1917, one of the bravest and most spectacular services ever undertaken saw 11 crewmen rescued from the shattered ship the SS Fernebo. Despite having already carried out one launch that day, Henry and his crew, whose average age was over 50, battled through a gale to reach the wreck 350m offshore. The service was performed in an open boat, powered only by oars and the strength of the crew. By the time they pulled alongside Fernebo, the crew had been fighting the elements for nearly 14 hours. Henry was awarded a Gold Medal for this service.On 22 November 1927, Henry rescued 15 people from the Dutch tanker SS Georgia, which had halved on Haisborough Sands. The lifeboat had been on duty for 28 hours. This service got Henry his second Gold Medal. On the night of 5 August 1941, in gale force winds and heavy breaking seas, six vessels in a southbound convoy were wrecked on Haisborough Sands. The following morning the two Cromer lifeboats, along with the Sheringham and Gorleston lifeboats, were launched and 88 men were saved, he also received a gold medal for this.
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