A Victorian Celebrity
The People's Friend|September 23,2017

Steve Newman pays tribute to the life of Grace Darling, the famous Northumberland heroine.

A Victorian Celebrity

LONGSTONE LIGHTHOUSE is situated on the outermost of the Farne Islands, a small group of some 30 rocky outcrops lying two miles off the Northumberland coast. On the morning of September 7, 1838, it was manned by the lighthouse keeper William Darling and his family.

The night before had seen a violent storm sweep along the coast and batter the islands. In the morning, William’s daughter, Grace, looked out from an upstairs window of the lighthouse and saw the wreck of the steamship Forfarshire.

She had broken in half as she was thrown on to the rocks and the survivors were clinging to them.

This story is from the September 23,2017 edition of The People's Friend.

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This story is from the September 23,2017 edition of The People's Friend.

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