The Pier Master's Tale: HMS Birnbeck (1941-45)

When Edgar James Wide applied for the job of Deputy Pier Master at Birnbeck in 1937, he could hardly have imagined that, just a few years later, he would play an important role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. What he did know, however, was that he was expected to assume the more senior role of Pier Master as soon as he was able to relieve the incumbent, Mr H.A.Cole - a transition which took place just a few months later.

Edgar was a Bristol lad, born in 1903 and, during his formative years attended the Colston School. He left at the age of 16 having had his first taste of military-style discipline as a member of the Colstons School Cadets. The photograph below shows Edgar with fellow cadets in 1917. These fifteen year olds would be spared the trenches of the First World War, although most, if not all, would belong to the generation that fought the war that followed. Edgar was no exception. As we will see, his Second World War service was both unique and of considerable importance. 

Colstons School Cadets - Cathy Keep Collection

P.S. Glen Avon - Phil Curme Collection

Prior to receiving his appointment letter from the Weston-super-Mare Pier Company, Captain Edgar Wide had worked on the White Funnel Fleet, operated in the Bristol Channel by P & A Campbell Limited. After leaving school, he was employed by the Anglo-American Oil Company before joining P & A Campbell in May 1929. He worked his way up through the ranks, eventially becoming Captain of the paddle steamer Glen Avon. 

His association with the P&A Campbell steamers would resume after his time on Birnbeck Pier - but that's a different story! Much of what follows comes from the recollections of Edgar's daughter Cathy. 

The Birnbeck Pier records show the late 1930s to have been a busy period. However upon the outbreak of war, steamer traffic ceased, apart from the Cardiff ferry - and even that stopped after a couple of weeks.

 Income continued to come in from the turnstiles, but on 18 October 1941 that too came to an end, when the Admiralty requisitioned the pier for use by the newly formed Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (the DMWD), better known as the Wheezers and Dodgers. 

Prior to the full requisitioning, John or Jack (as Edgar was known, depending on whether he was on or off shore!), must have found it difficult juggling the needs of pier promenaders with those of the DMWD boffins, who would arrive at short notice to take advantage of the Bristol Channel's tidal reach. The strong tides made Birnbeck an ideal location for testing experimental weapons, while allowing easy retrieval at low tide, of projectiles fired into the sea.

Admiral John Casement - Cathy Keep Collection

The chain of command at Birnbeck was initially somewhat unclear and Edgar's daughter remembers her father saying that the early months were chaotic.

As a civilian - albeit an RNVR officer - Edgar had responsibility for the pier, which had been designated as HMS Birnbeck). The DMWD was  commanded by London based 'Jock' Coulson (until 1943), but many of the trials carried out at Birnbeck were organised and overseen by Charles Goodeve's team of experts and scientists. Goodeve, of course, was the founder of the DMWD. 

Adding to the complexity, HMS Vernon were using the pier to trial weapons scheduled for operational deployment. Both the DMWD and HMS Vernon were heavily reliant on the local engineering contractor, Crowe and Green. 

It is little wonder then, that Edgar appealed to Commander Coulson to help in bringing some order to the situation. The situation was eased somewhat when Edgar was given the Royal Navy rank of Lieutenant - which enabled him to issue orders to more junior service personnel.

It was the arrival of Admiral John Casement, as Captain, HMS Birnbeck, that really made a difference however. The retired Admiral was the Resident Naval Office, Watchet, within the jurisdiction of the Naval Office-in-Charge, Appledore. Journalist Gerald Pawle described him as an 'Irishman of great charm, who took a great interest in the pier from the start'. Pawle also observed that Casement was 'a tall, wiry man, and a strong disciplinarian'. 

Edgar's daughter recalls her father saying that the Admiral quickly brought order to what was a highly unorthodox organisation. Within a few months, Casement had established himself in Weston-super-Mare's Royal Pier Hotel and set up his office in what is now known as the Pier View building.

The Pier View building (2026) - Peter Lander Collection

Lieutenant Wide & daughter Cathy - Cathy Keep Collection

For the remaining years of the Admiralty's tenure on Birnbeck Pier, Edgar played a leading role in ensuring that trials were conducted safely. He was not afraid to exercise his authority when necessary. On one occasion, for example, he insisting that the rocket-propelled 'Baseball' bouncing bomb should not be fired off the the pier as originally intended. The subsequent test at Brean Down proved the wisdom of this decision (details here). 

When Edgar took on the Pier Master role in 1937, he and his wife, Lizzie, moved into the Pier Master's house on the shore, adjacent to the pier entrance. it was here that two of their three children were born - Catherine on 20 May 1943, and younger brother Stephen a year or so later. Older brother Tony, was born in Bristol prior to Edgar's appointment, though sadly his life was blighted by illness and he died at Birnbeck in 1947. 

One of Cathy's most treasured possessions is a beautifully bound portfolio of photographs of her aged 10 months, taken by the official DMWD photographer, Louis Klemantaski.

Lieutenant Wide with German GC Mine (1944) - Cathy Keep Collection 

Some of Cathy's earliest childhood memories are of life on Birnbeck Pier. She remembers the naval officers who visited the Pier Master's house to see her father and her mother frequently driving the family car up to the station to collect DMWD personnel travelling to Birnbeck for particular trials. Lizzie been given a special petrol allowance to enable her to make these journeys.

The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) played a vital role on Birnbeck Pier. Much of the administration was done by the WRENS whose centre of operations was on the ground floor of the building that Admiral Casement used has his office. Cathy remembers spending time with the WRNS and on one occasion in 1946, witnessing a visit to Birnbeck Pier by the Duchess of Kent, shortly before the pier was reopened to the public. Cathy was allowed to watch the proceeding from Admiral Casement's desk. The WRENS were not amused when she started scribbling on the Admiral's blotter! You can hear Cathy's recollection here.

Mrs Wide & the Duchess of Kent - Cathy Keep Collection

Edgar was released from Naval service on 23 January 1946 and, as the reinstated civilian Pier Master, oversaw the work required to reopen the pier to the public. Although the pier returned to public use on 6 June 1946, the DMWD weapons testing facility at St St Thomas's Head continued to operate under the auspices of HMS Vernon for another three years. The fascinating story of that site can be accessed here. 

On the 31st of December 1946, Edgar's wartime service was formally recognised by the Mayor, Alderman and Burgesses of Weston-super-Mare and in 1977 he was awarded an MBE for services to his country. 

On Friday, 12 October 1979, the Weston Mercury reported the end of an era at Birnbeck Pier. Indeed, Captain Wide's retirement at the age of 76 had made headline news. Just four days earlier, Edgar had brought the SS Balmoral back to Birnbeck after a three day cruise to the Scilly Islands. 

The distinguished seafarer passed away on the 24th February 1986 - but one only has to speak to his daughter to discover what a remarkable man he was!

With thanks to Peter Lander of the Birnbeck Pier Regeneration Trust for his help in researching this topic, and for introducing me to others who were able to assist.

North Somerset Council's Birnbeck Pier Restoration Project has been made possible thanks to over £44m in external funding secured from the UK Government, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Heritage Memorial Fund and Historic England.

 

The research that I’m carrying out for the project, which is covering Birnbeck Pier's Second World War history, has been made possible thanks to funding from the council’s social value agreement with its contractor, Mackley.

The flyers of Birnbeck & Locking (1942-49)

Following the requisitioning of Birnbeck Pier by the newly formed Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD), a number of sites along the North Somerset coast were developed by the Royal Navy for weapons testing. Many of these tests were undertaken directly by the DMWD - or Wheezers and Dodgers, as its personnel became known. Others were conducted by the Sea Trials Department of Portsmouth based HMS Vernon. 

Indeed, when the DMWD released Birnbeck Pier in 1945, HMS Vernon's activities along the coastline continued until late 1949. The story of collaboration between the DMWD and HMS Vernon is covered in a previous post as are the trials involving the Squid anti-submarine weapon - linked here. 

This post, however, concentrates on another important aspect of the story: the significant involvement of the Royal Air Force in trials of parachute mines and other stores designed to be dropped from aircraft.

A parachute mine at RAF Locking (Jean Sugar collection)

As the use of aircraft-laid mines increased, the specialist team at HMS Vernon sought a suitable testing area where mines could be dropped and, crucially, recovered easily. The tidal range of up to 40 feet in the Bristol Channel made the area around Weston-super-Mare particularly suitable. At low water, extensive areas of sand and mud are exposed; a few hours later they are covered by the incoming tide.

A proposal to build a large scale West Country base for the HMS Vernon team was eventually abandoned and instead a corner of Weston-super-Mare airport (under the authority of RAF Locking) was made available for the trials. Although the aircraft became a civilian facility, it was under the authority of RAF Locking during the war years. 

A couple of linked huts were allocated to HMS Vernon's Gosport based Air Torpedo Development Unit (ATDU) - suitably close to a large hanger where aircraft could be stored and adapted for use in the trials. 

During a recent visit to the Weston Aviation Heritage Exhibition at the Helicopter Museum situated on the old airfield, I came across a map showing the location of the ATDU (see below).

Naval Torpedo and Mining Establishment - Locking

At the National Archives in London, I found a detailed description of the modus operandi for the trials. They could only be undertaken on the Springs, which usually meant two seven day periods per month. 

At this time the base came alive. A dozen men composing the trials party would arrive by train from London, the mines arrived by road, the airmen flew in from Gosport. The designers - a mix of HMS Vernon and, in the early days, DMWD personnel - arrived by 'devious means'. 

The recovery boat was an adapted landing craft which was moored at the mouth of the River Banwell. It would discharge its cargo on a wooden pier, built for the DMWD, at St Thomas's Head. The boat crews would reach the recovery craft by skiff. 

For each trial an RAF communication van would drive up to the shore at St Thomas's Head. From there, an R/T set would be used to establish communication with the recovery vessel and the aircraft which would be dropping the mine. 

Sources show that the type of aircraft used in the trials included Avro Lincolns, Mosquitoes and Bristol Brigands.

The recovery boat - Banwell Creek (National Archives)

Avro Lincoln at Weston Airfield (National Archives)

The target area was Langford Grounds (the area better known for the Woodspring Wrecks). The target consisted of a catamaran surmounted by a large round marker. 

One eye-witness left a particularly vivid description of what it was like to watch the trials:

At the back of St Thomas's Head the ground rises to a mound and then falls away so that a low flying aircraft approaching on the dropping course is out of sight until it appears from behind the mound at what seems to be less height than one's own. As it then passes over one's head, one realises that its height is in fact a trifle greater. A moment later the mine is dropped, the aircraft circles and the procedure is repeated until all stores have been laid. 

 The observer then goes on to describe the less dramatic part of the operation. Once the aircraft had returned to base there was little more to be done except to return to Locking for dinner and wait for the tide to ebb to allow recovery.

He recalls that in the summer, going out on the mud to look for black cylindrical objects was second only to make and mend, but in Winter there was not much to be said for it!

Target marker, Langford Grounds (National Archives)

Dropped mine (Jean Sugar collection)

The trial parties were well practised in the business of recovery. Once unloaded on the St Thomas's Head pier, the mine was hauled up the foreshore on a trolley along a set of rails. A small power winch provided the muscle. 

Once at the top of the incline, the mines were loaded onto a lorry and returned to RAF Locking. 

The record of the trials shows that a variety of devices were tested in this way - including bombs, smoke markers and sonar buoys - in fact as one contemporary record rather neatly put it, anything designed to be dropped from an aircraft from time to time. 

The official record of the HMS Vernon trials, now held at the National Archives at Kew, ends on an unexpectedly poetic note. The anonymous author quotes Rupert Brooke, suggesting that his words might be re-echoed by sailors making their way across Langford grounds: 

One might not doubt that, somehow, good

Shall come of water and mud;

And, sure, the reverent eye must see a purpose in liquidity.

One of the few remaining original buildings on Weston Airfield

North Somerset Council's Birnbeck Pier Restoration Project has been made possible thanks to over £44m in external funding secured from the UK Government, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Heritage Memorial Fund and Historic England.

 

The research that I’m carrying out for the project, which is covering Birnbeck Pier's Second World War history, has been made possible thanks to funding from the council’s social value agreement with its contractor, Mackley.