I feel at home living next door to Eastbourne’s parish church, particularly as many of my ancestors were baptised and married there.
Unlike me though, they seemed to be models of bravery and goodness – take for instance one of my cousins* Thomas Boniface. Boniface is an old Eastbourne name and over the years has been spelt in many different ways including Bonnyface and even Boneface.
Tom was born in the now lost village of Holywell, where his father was a lime burner.
Tom married Elizabeth Chandler at St Marys Church on Christmas Day 1873. You would have thought that the Reverend Thomas Pitman would have been busy on Christmas Day, but Tom and Elizabeth were one of four weddings he conducted at the Parish Church that day!
Tom was a fisherman and the proprietor of a pleasure-boat, however, in June 1884 he joined the RNLI and soon became the 2nd Coxswain of the Eastbourne Lifeboat.
Brave Tom went on many rescues but the most notable was probably his last. By now he had been a lifeboatman for nearly twenty years and was known as ‘Old Tom’. On Saturday 8th November 1902, the Eastbourne Lifeboat (The James Stevens 6) was launched to go to the aid of the SS Southport which was in trouble off Hastings. Because of the stormy wind behind them, they got to the scene quickly but the ship by then had made its way to safety, unlike the Eastbourne lifeboat; unable to fight the prevailing wind, the lifeboat turned into the shore. The Cox’n, Benjamin Erridge and the crew struggled to control the boat through rough, foaming seas. On one occasion a member of the crew, Andrew Hurd, was washed into the sea but amazingly, the following waves threw him back onto the boat again.
Tom was not so lucky, a wave threw him overboard and he struggled to keep his head above the water in the mountainous waves. The Cox’n threw a rope out to him but immediately had to turn his attention on his lifeboat and the safety of the rest of the crew. Eventually the lifeboat was thrown up onto the shore assisted by a large crowd who had gathered to watch the spectacle. Tom had let go of the rope and people on the shore heard him cry out his ‘last words’ , ‘Father-Father!’ however several brave Hastings residents plunged into the maelstrom to haul the half-drowned lifeboatman out of the sea. The Cox’n, Ben Erridge said it was the most miraculous thing he had ever seen in his life. He was handed £13 which was collected from many of the thousands who had gathered on the beach.
Having been thrown against the side of the lifeboat and tumbled onto the beach poor old Tom was in a bad way and was taken to a local pub to recover. He had a remarkable story to tell. He said “I did not expect to get to the shore alive, but then I saw God as plain as he could want to. I held out my hand and Christ took hold of it and lead me to safety”.
The crew of the lifeboat were each awarded with a special dinner hosted by the Eastbourne Mayor and a prize of £1. 5 shillings was given to each of them for their bravery (about £100 today). Sadly Tom was too ill to attend. The incident received national press coverage, although there was also criticism of the crew of the Hastings Lifeboat which had not been launched.
Old Tom was ill for some time but slowly recovered. The RNLI granted him a pension and he retired afterwards. A local poet wrote about the incident in a poem.
God’s Care of Tom by W. Thorne
The sea was rough and stormy,
The waves were white with foam,
A lifeboat went forward,
Amongst them was one called Tom.
He saw the raging tempest,
But he himself kept calm,
When alas, the waters took him,
But God took care of Tom.
He swam and struggled for safety,
To reach the boat again,
His strength he felt was going,
But God took care of Tom.
He knew that Christ was near him,
And did not feel alarmed,
He thought he saw his Saviour,
Whose love was shown to Tom.
He raised his hands to heaven,
Said “Father, here I am,”
When Christ’s own hand was stretched forth,
And proved his care for Tom.
The God he has served so faithful,
Brought him through the dreadful storm,
And he lives to tell the story,
How Jesus cared for Tom.
People all around well know him,
His fame abroad has gone,
And if you wish to know him,
It’s Tom Boniface – Our Old Tom.
Tom did take to sea again, he had a pleasure-boat, moored close to the bandstand which he ran with his brother Henry. Henry had the nickname ‘Effit’ ( I wonder if this was due to his bad language!) However Tom’s nickname changed and he was henceforth known as ‘Salvation’ Boniface as he had become an active member of the Salvation Army.
Tom and Elizabeth had six sons and five daughters and it is not surprising that his sons all found a living by the sea and his daughters all married maritime men. In 1916, during the Great War, Tom and Elizabeth were able to boast that their six sons, five sons-in-law and a grandson were all serving in the Royal Navy.
Tom and Elizabeth spent all of their married lives at 42, Sidley Road. Tom died in 1928 and Elizabeth in 1939. Both are buried at Ocklynge Cemetery.
* Tom was my Second Cousin 4th removed.
Sources: National Newspaper Archives. Ancestry.com and The Pleasure Boatmen of Eastbourne by Ted Hide 2007
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 