Loss of wildfowler 1956

Liverpool Echo - Friday 28 December 1956

BODY IS RECOVERED FROM MARSHES
Man Went Wildfowling
WIFE'S ORDEAL

An inquest will be opened tonight at Flint for evidence of identification only on Thomas Young, aged 33, of 19 New Street, Little Neston, who died on the Flintshire Marshes after setting out wildfowling with friends on Boxing Day.

Flint police set out this morning in a boat manned by local fishermen and recovered Mr. Young's body from the Dee Estuary. [location described in another report as near Lamp Rock above Flint]

As dusk fell yesterday, Mr. Young's body was seen by three Neston men who throughout the day had joined police and local residents from both the Flintshire and Neston sides of the River Dee estuary in a search.

Mr. Young went wildfowling with his wife's cousin, Mr. Gerald Johnson, aged 18, of Marshlands Road, Little Neston, at about 3 p.m on Boxing Day. The party split up and Mr. Young did not return. In the evening, cries for help were heard coming from the marshes near the Crosville Garage, Flint. The police were told and a search started from the Flintshire side.

WENT TO HELP

Yesterday morning people from the Wirral side joined in and Mr. Young's wife, Doreen, left her two children, Ann, aged ten, and Kay, aged seven, and her 17-months-old baby, and went out on the marshes herself.

She was found nearly one and a half miles from the shore by members of the search party and was taken home, where she collapsed yesterday morning. Last night her brother told her that her husband was dead.

Because it was dark and because of the treacherous channels and sinking sands it was not possible to recover the body last night.

Liverpool Echo - Friday 02 August 1957

DEE RESCUE BOAT
Fibreglass Vessel On Exhibition

The River Dee rescue boat to which the peoples of Neston and Flint are subscribing in a joint fund - will be on view at Neston on Saturday, August 17, and at Parkgate the following day.

Constructed in fibre glass, the 16-foot shallow draft boat is fitted with an outboard motor and is light enough to be carried by two men. It is designed, and intended, for use in the southerly reaches of the Dee Estuary; where the river becomes marsh, its light weight will be particularly appreciated because it may be necessary to carry the boat out of one channel and walk with it over marshland to places in another.

Councillor W. H. Howe (chairman of Neston Urban Council) told the Echo: "We are anxious that the people of this district should have an opportunity to see the boat for which I have opened a local fund in conjunction with a fund in Flint. We have arranged for it to be on view by Neston Town Hall on the Saturday and the Parkgate Donkey Stand on the Sunday."

Cheshire Observer - Saturday 24 August 1957

NEW RIVER DEE RESCUE BOAT On View At Neston And Parkgate

The centre of attraction outside Neston Town Hall on Saturday, and on Parkgate Parade on Sunday, was the new River Dee rescue boat, which brought a vivid splash of colour to the weather-worn surroundings.

Unlike the traditional lifeboat, this bright red, flat-bottomed, boat has been specially constructed for rescue work in the shallows and marshes of the southerly reaches of the Dee Estuary, and it was brought to Neston last weekend in order to encourage Wirral residents to contribute towards the cost of its maintenance and equipment.

Neston councillors acted as street collectors over the week-end, even the Chairman (Mr. W. H. Howe) turning out in his chain of office at Parkgate on Sunday, and some £75 was collected at the weekend. Further donations are expected.

The boat, which has an out-board motor, oars, and various life-saving devices, is manned by a crew of three, including a coxswain. Two of the crew. Mr. Peter Bithell, the coxswain, and Mr. Len Robinson, were with the boat at Neston to answer questions about it.

Trials have already taken pace in all weathers up and down the Dee as far as Hilbre. One trial took place in a fierce gale, which necessitated continual bailing, but she never lost her buoyancy. In addition, she already has one rescue to her credit.

It is hoped to obtain 21 volunteers to man the boat in seven shifts of three men, each shift including a coxswain. Although small, the boat can accommodate 16 people in an emergency.

Another boat stood by at Flint while the rescue boat was on view last weekend.