Catching Up

During the 10 days back in London I worked on the sound files that Id brought back with me from Spurn Point and visited the Imperial War Museum.



(www.iwm.org.uk)

I also did quite a lot of research on Zeppelins & Sound Mirrors. I found that the first Zeppelin bomb (WWI) fell on the street adjacent to my street in London, I also found out that a close friends grandfather was blown up by such an attack on Southend. He was a small boy and was knocked unconscious by the explosion, when he came too he was lying in the pile of dead bodies which had been piled up by rescuers having thought he was one of the dead.

The research also drew my attention to an historical incident that I had only heard tell of from Spurn Point locals. "The King Stephen Incident".

Spurn Point Light House was built, primarily, to safeguard the fishing vessels that reside at Hull and Grimsby, now that the fishing industry is all but dead and satellite navigation is in the ascendancy the light house has been decommissioned (1986) and the main traffic past the point, is containers.

You can see into the Harbour at Grimsby on the opposite banks of the Humber from the Point. The King Stephen was a fishing vessel from Grimsby and during WWI it came across a downed Zeppelin after spotting their flares. The captain of the trawler refused to take the airman onto his boat and so abandoned them to their doom. The captain had reasoned that the twenty armed Germans would overpower his much smaller unarmed crew and make them sail for Germany. This whole story is complicated further by illegal fishing waters and the Zeppelin having just bombed civilian targets.



The nation was mostly in support of the captains decision even though it ran contrary to maritime codes of rescue, even the Bishop of London came out with a statement of support for the Captains decision, he however died a little over a year later from heart failure.

With the Mirror in place to spot such Zeppelin attacks and the Point/ military base/ Artillery Batteries having been attacked and flown over by other sister ships of the L.19 (LZ54), as well as the Light House being the guiding light home for the King Stephen I was quite taken with the idea of exploring this further.

Some further research disclosed that the captain of the Zeppelin had written his last log entry and placed it into a bottle which had later been found by a Swedish fishing boat six months later.

The entry reads:

"With fifteen men on the top platform and backbone girder of the L 19, floating without gondolas in approximately 3 degrees East longitude, I am attempting to send a last report. Engine trouble three times repeated, a light wind on the return journey delayed our return and, in the mist, carried us over Holland where I was received with heavy rifle fire; the ship became heavy and simultaneously three engines broke down. February 2, 1916, towards one o'clock, will apparently be our last hour."

The Morse looks like:

.-- .. - .... / ..-. .. ..-. - . . -. / -- . -. / --- -. / - .... . / - --- .--. / .--. .-.. .- - ..-. --- .-. -- / .- -. -.. / -... .- -.-. -.- -... --- -. . / --. .. .-. -.. . .-. / --- ..-. / - .... . / .-.. / .---- ----. --..-- / ..-. .-.. --- .- - .. -. --. / .-- .. - .... --- ..- - / --. --- -. -.. --- .-.. .- ... / .. -. / .- .--. .--. .-. --- -..- .. -- .- - . .-.. -.-- / ...-- / -.. . --. .-. . . ... / . .- ... - / .-.. --- -. --. .. - ..- -.. . --..-- / .. / .- -- / .- - - . -- .--. - .. -. --. / - --- / ... . -. -.. / .- / .-.. .- ... - / .-. . .--. --- .-. - .-.-.- / . -. --. .. -. . / - .-. --- ..- -... .-.. . / - .... .-. . . / - .. -- . ... / .-. . .--. . .- - . -.. --..-- / .- / .-.. .. --. .... - / .-- .. -. -.. / --- -. / - .... . / .-. . - ..- .-. -. / .--- --- ..- .-. -. . -.-- / -.. . .-.. .- -.-- . -.. / --- ..- .-. / .-. . - ..- .-. -. / .- -. -.. --..-- / .. -. / - .... . / -- .. ... - --..-- / -.-. .- .-. .-. .. . -.. / ..- ... / --- ...- . .-. / .... --- .-.. .-.. .- -. -.. / .-- .... . .-. . / .. / .-- .- ... / .-. . -.-. . .. ...- . -.. / .-- .. - .... / .... . .- ...- -.-- / .-. .. ..-. .-.. . / ..-. .. .-. . / - .... . / ... .... .. .--. / -... . -.-. .- -- . / .... . .- ...- -.-- / .- -. -.. / ... .. -- ..- .-.. - .- -. . --- ..- ... .-.. -.-- / - .... .-. . . / . -. --. .. -. . ... / -... .-. --- -.- . / -.. --- .-- -. .-.-.- / ..-. . -... .-. ..- .- .-. -.-- / ..--- --..-- / .---- ----. .---- -.... --..-- / - --- .-- .- .-. -.. ... / --- -. . / --- .----. -.-. .-.. --- -.-. -.- --..-- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / .- .--. .--. .- .-. . -. - .-.. -.-- / -... . / --- ..- .-. / .-.. .- ... - / .... --- ..- .-. .-.-.-

The Point catches many bottles on the tide and having done sculptural work here using washed up bottles previously. While beach combing I too had found several containing messages. The Zeppelin captain had used the bottle because they had no wireless communication aboard the airship, even though this was over 25 years since Marconi's ship to shore experiment at Folkestone. What a difference a radio would have made.

I translated and recorded the log entry into Morse and also made a recording of it spoken in German for further sounds to experiment with. I have a German friend of a friend to thank for this.

I used an old film of a passing ferry at the end of the point and began playing. The remainder of the week was spent working on other projects, seeing family and spending time with my son.