A 100 mile an hour gale struck Portobello. Huge gaps were torn in the sea wall and altogether about 100 yards of the promenade collapsed. Waves beat against the front of the villas along the front and in many cases washed right over the roofs, carrying seaweed, driftwood and stones over into the back gardens. A number of heavy stone garden walls were demolished and the debris scattered around, while paths were torn up and even the tarmacadamed surfaces of roads were damaged. The waves not only washed over the Promenade but reached a distance of about 40 yards up some of the side streets and the spray was carried as far as the High Street. The gale continued with great fury for about three hours and householders described it as the worst for many years, It was certainly the most destructive experienced for a long time.
Firemen had to pump out Portobello Baths which had been flooded with sea water during the storm.
Mr. Pethick Lawrence MP addressed his constituents at a meeting In St. John’s School. He urged them to consider how they would vote in the General Election which would have to take place once hostilities ceased. Society which in the past had been rent by class divisions must be based in the post war era upon the broadest foundations of communal well being if it was to survive. If all the bad old system was to be replaced in the future by a new conception of human brotherhood to be worked out in detail in the affairs of nations and societies, it must be done by new men who had never accepted the past regime.
Reginald Hawtin, a 58 year old switchboard supervisor was electrocuted in the transmission house at Portobello Power Station. The power of the shock threw him down the stairs. Artificial respiration was applied without success.Statistics: Posted by rathbone — 01 Apr 2012, 07:28
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