IT WAS one of the worst storms of the 20th century, with giant waves crashing over the bows of luckless vessels caught in the maelstrom of the Irish Sea.

But it also caused one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in British coastal waters with the loss of 136 lives.

The MV Princess Victoria, a pioneer rol-on, roll-off ferry, foundered off Belfast Lough after its car deck became flooded on its way from Stranraer to Larne.

All women and children on board were lost and by the evening of Saturday, January 31, 1953, only 44 people were left alive of the 180 who had set out.

The Herald:

A lifeboat was rescued by merchant ship The Drumochter Pass

On the fatal morning, Scots captain James Ferguson, from Stranraer, heard the weather forecast was for north-westerly gales that were expected to moderate to strong winds later.

He gave the go-ahead for the vessel to sail at 7.45am but soon after leaving Loch Ryan to cross the North Channel it became clear the forecast was wrong.

The Princess Victoria’s stern load doors were burst open by heavy seas and, unable to turn back because of the weather, she limped on towards Belfast Lough on one engine.

The first emergency call was sent out two hours after the ferry set off, to say it was in difficulty, but not in distress.

As the rolling sea crashed around his ferry, Scots radio operator David Broadfoot, who lived near the skipper in Stranraer, tapped out SOS messages in perfect Morse code.

Every few minutes, he would try again as the Princess Victoria listed dangerously in the waters.

The radio officer’s final Morse code to coastguards, just two minutes before the ship went under, revealed he had never left his post.

His bravery earned him a posthumous George Cross from the Queen, which was later gifted to the people of Stranraer and is on permanent display in the town’s museum.

Now the death of the last surviving witness to the tragedy marks an important milestone in maritime history, according to the directors of a charity that seeks to provide a museum and memorial to the sinking in Donaghadee.

Princess Victoria pantry boy Billy McAllister died at the age of 84 in his home town of Larne in County Antrim last Friday.

He was one of only 30 survivors who were hauled to safety by the Donaghadee lifeboat, the Sir Samuel Kelly, The last member of the Sir Samuel Kelly’s crew, Hugh Nelson, died in April at the age of 84.

Ken Walsh, chairman of Donaghadee Heritage Preservation Company, said: “We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends. The last link to this historic maritime tragedy has now been broken and the task of putting in place a fitting memorial to the 134 people who lost their lives and the RNLI crew of Donaghadee’s Sir Samuel Kelly Lifeboat, who risked their lives to rescue them, has never been more important.”

Built in Dumbarton in 1947 by William Denny and Brothers, the British Railways vessel was one of the earliest roll-on, roll-off ferries in Britain.

No women or children were saved as they had all been in one lifeboat that turned over as the ship sank. Just 44 men survived the sinking. Captain Ferguson was still on the bridge, giving instructions, as the waves closed over him when he gave the final order to abandon ship.

The Herald:

The MV Princess Victoria

Extract from the Herald in 1953

“The last minutes of the ship and the struggles of the survivors in mountainous seas were described by Mr James Carlin, manager of the Ayr Employment Exchange, whose wife, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law are among the missing.

“Mr Carlin, who lives at St Ninian’s House, 29 Ayr Road, Prestwick, spoke from a hospital in Newtonards and told how he and his wife and relatives had decided to stay in their cabins on ‘A’ desk until the vessel was nearing Larne.

“I have no right to be alive,” he said. “After the ship left Loch Ryan we felt there was something wrong but because we had no sea experience we did not know what it was.

“About 11 o’clock we heard over the loudspeaker system that everyone was to go to the upper deck and have their lifejackets handy. We went out on to the boat deck. My wife’s mother was sick by this time and went back into her cabin. My wife, her sister and I waited on the boat deck. The ship’s list seemed to get worse and we were told tugs and a destroyer were on their way.

“About one o’clock the list was about 45 degrees to starboard and everybody was told to get as high up on the boat deck as possible. I got my wife and her sister up and went back to the cabin to get my mother-in-law. I assisted her up the sloping deck to the group of women who was sheltering beside the cabins. The men were holding onto the rails, About 1.15pm it was announced that we were to abandon ship, but that a destroyer would be alongside in 15 minutes.

I was still hanging on to the rail and could see my wife and her sister about 20 yards away. I could not get near them. I was trying to get towards them when the ship went over on its side,. The siren was sounded for abandoning ship and the release of rafts and lifeboats. People were falling off the ship into the sea.

“With the ship lying on her side I started to climb along in an effort to get to my women folk. I saw all the woken slip off into the sea bit could not identify my own kin. I slipped down the side of the ship and landed almost right into a lifeboat. There were about 20 people in it . The ship shortly afterwards turned turtle. The seas were tremendous.

“After drifting for about two and a quarter hours we were picked up by the Donaghadee lifeboat and landed in Donaghadee.”