FILEY PARISH(NRY):
Filey Healthy Air
database file source="h:/!Genuki/RecordTranscriptions/ERY/ERYPamSmith.txt"
THE HEALTHY AIR OF FILEY
by Pam Smith
In the early years of the 20th Century when Filey had only
just emerged from its status as a small fishing village, before
holidays abroad were within reach of ordinary folk or popular
with the upper classes, a summer holiday at a Yorkshire coastal
watering place could only be afforded by the wealthy upper and
middle classes, although some mill workers saved up all year to
pay for their annual week at seaside towns in Lancashire. Many
aristocrats preferred Filey to the more fashionable or sometimes
slightly garish resorts of the Yorkshire coast and they would
take a villa on the front for the summer.
Maybe there was something special in Filey's healthy air, for
the death rate was extremely low and many of the well-to-do came
to Filey to retire. One such was Mr. Claudius Galen Wheelhouse,
the famous Leeds surgeon, founder of the Leeds School of Medicine
(which became Leeds University), who died at his home, Cliff Point,
on 9th April, 1909, at the age of 82, after almost 20 years as
churchwarden of St. Oswald's Church of England. He was the first
to receive the honours degree of Doctor of Science from Leeds
University and in 1897 was awarded the gold medal of the British
Medical Association. His father had also been a surgeon, Mr. James
Wheelhouse of Snaith. He had written books on surgical subjects,
and despite his advanced age he was still a consultant at Leeds
General Infirmary. A few years before his death he had resigned
from the Presidency of the local Conservative Association and
Club, but still presided, as a Magistrate, at the weekly Petty
Sessions. His interest in lifeboat work began long before his
retirement, stemming from his own rescue from shipwreck in the
yacht of the then Duke of Newcastle, to whom he was acting as
medical adviser, and he was chairman of the Filey Lifeboat Committee.
Until George Forrest Frank, the Filey freelance journalist,
mentioned the fact in a valedictory article, published on 12th
April, 1909, by the Leeds Mercury, it was not generally known
that about 60 years earlier Mr. Wheelhouse had walked to Jerusalem,
taking excellent photographs, which he printed on half sheets
of ordinary notepaper, and these were later bound into his personal
copy of his published journal. He was as proud of the photographs
as of the walk itself, for this was in the very early days of
photography.
By strange co-incidence, another fine old Filey character,
Mr. Edward Ward, chief boatman at the Filey Coastguard
Station, and an ex Chief Petty Officer of the Royal Navy, entitled
to wear the ribbons of the Baltic, China and New Zealand wars,
as well as those for good conduct and long service, was involved,
when he was in his first ship, the Rosamond, under Capt. Foote,
cruising off the Syrian coast in 1849, in the rescue of the passengers
and crew of the Duke of Newcastle's yacht. Neither old gentleman
realised this until the day when Mr. Ward, then in his eightieth
year, called upon Mr. Wheelhouse seeking his signature, as a magistrate,
to some naval papers, and noticed a photograph of the Duke's yacht.
Mr. Ward's naval career, going back to the days of sailing
frigates, began with him, as a boy, chasing slave traders in the
African tropics, often up yellow-fever ridden creeks in open boats
away from his ship. Since returning to home waters and joining
the Coastguard Service, he saved many lives from shipwreck on
the Yorkshire coast.
Another fine old salt who found safe anchorage as caretaker
of the Filey lifeboat, was John Wheeler, whose grandfather
was boatswain of Nelson's Victory, killed at the Battle of Trafalgar.
His father served for over 50 years in the Royal Navy, finally
becoming Chief Officer of Coastguards at Filey when the Service
was first established. Over a dozen close relatives of John Wheeler
were killed or drowned at sea.
He himself began his sea-going career in the Scarborough brig,
Little London, carrying coal to Dieppe and Le Havre, and general
goods to the north from London. He then served on three more Scarborough
brigs, William and Matthew, May and Tamworth Castle, before joining
the crew of the Hull barque China, which was wrecked on Anticosti
Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. All the crew got ashore safely
but they had no food and it was five days before they were rescued
by a Canadian government ship which took them to Quebec. There
they found two transports awaiting crews to take the 66th Regt.
to London. Wheeler signed on with one of them, the Flora, and
had two months pay to draw when he arrived in London. He went
to the Shipwrecked Mariners Society Office, where he was given
a rail pass to Hull. There, by presenting his papers signed by
the RN Lieutenant of the government steamer, he was able to draw
the pay that was owing to him from the owners of the China.
After this he went into steam, in the Baltic and North Sea
trade, eventually becoming second mate of the Raithwaith Hall,
owned by the northern firm of Pyman. At the age of 55 (1888) he
settled down to become a herring fisher, but his vessel was run
down about 30 miles off Flamborough Head, and sank, being cut
in half. All lives, but nothing else, were saved. Then he did
a bit of shore fishing but otherwise sat in the sun, smoking his
pipe and taking care of the lifeboat.
These are just some of the long living men, whether old mariners
or retired professionals, who benefited from Filey's healthy air
at the beginning of the century.
Sources:
articles by my grandfather, George Forrest Frank,
published by the Evening News, the Evening Post, Lloyd's Weekly
News and the Leeds Mercury, 1908-1909.
Written by Pam Smith
from articles by her Grandfather
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