As with the events caused by the Great Storm off Margate in 1897, it was again so close to Christmas that on this occasion catastrophe was to befall the boatmen of the tiny village of Mousehole.

For it was that on the 18th December 1981, offshore winds of hurricane force began hitting the south coast of Cornwall so that the Penlee boatmen were called out to the assistance of a Dublin registered cargo ship, the ‘Union Star’, which on its maiden voyage had developed an engine fault, and had been blown five miles off course.

Against 80 mph winds and dragging its anchor she was being driven onto the rocks of Penlee Point. The Lifeboat ‘Solomon Brown’ was duly launched into very difficult waters with excellent seamanship. So rough were conditions that the crew of the RN Sea King helicopter sent from RNAS Culdrose were unable, despite the greatest of efforts, to lift anyone of the eight people aboard the ‘Union Star’.

With the ship having been driven perilously close to the rugged cliffs of that shore Cox’n. William Richards had no choice but to take the Lifeboat head on into the storm. Witnessed from the shore, the Lifeboat was seen to have made a number of passes before getting alongside, each time the little Lifeboat was smashed against the side of the ship, her cables failing to hold them. With the mountainous seas compelling them to make another turn away from the ship, but not before retrieving all but one of the five people whom jumped out from the ‘Union Stars’ wheel house onto the Lifeboat.

Only then did it begin to dawn on those ashore that something had gone very wrong, for from this time no more was seen of the Lifeboat, or heard on her radio. Her last message being: ‘We’ve got four off at the moment’.

It would appear that perhaps due to the sudden lurch in direction of the ship as her cable parted, and on a tremendous wave, the Lifeboat was thrown up and over the Union Star, crashing against her stern on the downward fall, when she had resurfaced only four of the Lifeboatmen were aboard. Conditions prevalent at sea being so fierce, despite an attempt by the Lifeboat from Sennan Cove, just around the coast on the northern shore, to search and rescue, it proved impossible for her crew to round the corner of Gwennap Head, to the west of the wreck and south of Lands End.

Of the 16 lives lost, eight bodies were eventually recovered. No sign of the Penlee Lifeboat was ever found. The ‘Union Star’ having by then parted from its anchor cable also disappeared, lost with all hands, the search for survivors was extensive, from ashore and from the Lifeboats of St. Mary’s, Isle of Scilly and Cadgwith, on the Lizard peninsular, and with the helicopters from RNAS Culdrose. The men of Penlee lost on this tragic occasion, at such a time of festivities and goodwill were as follow:

Wlliam Trevelyan Richards (Coxswain), James Madron (2nd Cox’n.), Nigel Brockman, John Blewett, Kevin Smith, Barrie Torrie, Charles Greenhaugh and Gary Wallis.

The shadow of Penlee was a long one. While it may have faded a little over the years on a National basis it is, one fears, still evident in that little Cornish community, just as the same sad feelings of grief survive in other small fishing ports where Lifeboat crews have been lost while attempting to save others.’