THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

FINDON SEES THE PIER FIRE OF 1933

Copyright Valerie Martin 2005

There were two notable occurrences in 1933.... one was when inhabitants saw an exceptionally bright meteor on 14th September.     Four days earlier, there was billowing black smoke to be seen by anyone on a high vantage point in Findon. 

This was the pier burning, four miles to the south of the village.     Pam Stepney who lives in Findon has told me that she remembers hearing that Geoffrey Godden (who also lives in Findon), was on a picnic on the 14th September on the  downland when he spotted the smoke.   When he mentioned this to the adults present, he was told not to be "a silly boy". 

The Southern Pavilion was destroyed by the blaze (thought to have been started by a discarded cigarette which was dropped between planks of wood).

The result of dropping the cigarette was at first wisps of smoke, followed by an inferno whipped up by the summer breeze fanning the flames.   The burning spread rapidly along the flooring to the Pavilion.

The alarm was raised at 3.40 p.m. and it took just an hour for the Southern Pavilion to be razed.    The Worthing Fire Brigade (not called firefighters in those days, because there were no women)....answered the call promptly and had to run their hose about 500 yards along the pier before they could begin fighting the fire.    The length of the pier obviously handicapped their rescue attempts, plus the high wind.   Three brave firemen solved the problem of tackling the outbreak by stretching a ladder from the jetty to the ironwork near the sea.   They hung precariously to the stanchions while they played water on the fire.

Not until the flames were actually licking the very walls of the Pavilion did the people inside realise the danger they were in.   There were fifty dining in the Pavilion at the time (plus a number of waitresses) and they all had to flee.     In a frantic bid to escape, the waitresses lost some of their garments, handbags and other personal possessions. 

Hundreds of holiday-makers were out on the pier at the time.... also many anglers on the end of the staging.... and they had a narrow escape.

Volunteers, some 300 men and women (some still in bathing gear) helped the firemen by tearing up the planks of the pier with picks and crowbars, in a valiant attempt to save the pier. 

One man actually drove a car along the burning pier with a load of pickaxes for the volunteers..... and on his return journey loaded up with items of furniture from the pavilion.   Other holiday-makers impounded carts and barrows to convey furniture to safety.    In those days, everyone pulled together in an emergency, not like today.     Girls organised themselves into a human chain to pass deck chairs clear from the fire danger zone.

Musical instruments such as saxophones, violins, clarinets and drums belonging to the Walter Sumner and his band were also lost in the fire.  

The passengers and crew of the SS WAVERLEY paddle steamer en route to Littlehampton had an absolutely marvellous view of the pier blazing at its height and the vessel came close inshore with the spectators hanging over the rails to see the sight.   As they frantically rushed to the starboard side for a better view, some said  they felt the boat begin to frightenly heel over.

The volumes of flames licked 60 ft. into the sky and the plume of black smoke was visible all the way along the coastline.

In 1935, Worthing's new £17,000 Southern Pavilion was opened with sun decks to create the illusion that visitors were on the deck of a liner.

Now for a little bit more of the history of the pier.  In 1937 the windscreens were installed.

Early in the hostilities of the Second World War (after Dunkirk), demolition experts arrived to blow a hole in the decking of the Worthing Pier to prevent the enemy utilising it as a landing stage during the anticipated invasion.

During the war years, the Pier Pavilion was used by the troops as a canteen.   Staged shows were watched there later in the war by Russian soldiers who were billeted at the Warnes Hotel.   The Russians had been caught by the Allies wearing German uniforms after D-Day (having changed sides in the war to escape the German Prisoner of War camps).  

In 1949, the pier was once again re-opened (needless to say, following some major repairs).

Continue if you would like to read about Yet Another View of FINDON.

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.