Charles Bonney George

Charles Bonney George (14th January 1848 - 14th November 1901) was a victim of the 1901 Caister Lifeboat Disaster.

Born in Caister, Norfolk, England as the son of Aaron Leech George and Susannah Bonney he served in the Mediterranean with the Royal Navy aboard HMS Royal Oak in 1871.

Charles Bonney George served for many years as a volunteer lifeboatman with the Caister Lifeboat crew.

On the 14th of November 1901 the lifeboat "Beauchamp" was launched following a distress signal. Many attempts were made to launch the boat before it eventually put to sea. Sadly the boat was driven back to the shore where it capsized, trapping the crew inside the hull. Despite the attempts of his Father-in-law James Haylett, he did not survive the capsizing of the "Beauchamp". His was the only body not to be recovered immediately from the capsized lifeboat and was not to be recovered until the following April on the beach by the house of the author Rider Haggard. Although his body was headless he was identified by his wife, Sarah, from his sweater (Each fisherman having their own distinct pattern usually knitted by their wives) and his initials "CB" on the collar of his shirt.

He was buried alongside his fallen comrades from the "Beauchamp" in the cemetery of Caister Holy Trinity Church where a monument was erected to them by public donation.

References

*Tooke C (August 1986) "Caister - Beach Boats and Beachmen", Poppyland Publishing ISBN-10: 0946148198 ISBN-13: 978-0946148196
*Pestell R (October 1973) "Norfolk Fair Magazine: The saga of the Caister lifeboats", R.F. Eastern Limited

External links

* [http://www.caister-lifeboat.org.uk/ The Caister lifeboat]
* BBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/your/extra/caisterboat.shtml The heroic crew who "never turn back"]