So I thought that I would make the bulk of this blog a gallery of photographs to, hopefully, bring you some sunshine.
Eagle eyed Belinda did find something of interest in Weybourne Churchyard apart from the obvious ruin of a monastery attached to the main church.
There was a memorial stone which read: "Sacred to the memory of six sailors washed ashore from the wreck of SS George Royle Jan 17 1915 - John L. Cowdy Chief Engineer, W. Loft, M. Cuissipe, A. Laparllo, Name Unknown, Name Unknown.
So my inquisitive historical mind took over. And of course it is so easy to find details of virtually anything nowadays thanks to the internet which came up with a report from The Times Newspaper:
TWO WRECKS OFF SHERINGHAM, MANY LIVES LOST. SURVIVORS TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE
Two steamers were wrecked off Sheringham Norfolk, during the heavy gale at the weekend, with a loss of about 30 lives. One was the Penarth of Cardiff and the other vessel being that of the George Royle of Sunderland.
THE LOSS OF THE GEORGE ROYLE
The George Royle, a vessel of 2,525 tons, which left the Tyne last Friday bound for St Nazaire, foundered during the early hours of yesterday morning a mile east of the Sheringham Shoal and three to four miles north of the coastguard station at Weybourne. Of her crew of 12 to 18 hands it is feared that all were lost save five, who were taken off by a Lowestoft craft that had arrived at that port. Between 8 and 10 yesterday morning five bodies were recovered from the sea at Weybourne. Other bodies were soon floating past too far out to be recovered by the people on the shore, who included coastguards and territorials. One body was that of a little boy not more than 10 years of age. Later in the morning some other bodies were washed ashore at Mundesley, 16 miles to the eastward, for the wind and the set of the current would take them well out past Cromer, which is midway between there and Weybourne.
At 3 o'clock in the morning the Cromer lifeboat was launched in response to flares seen from the north west of the town, which would be in the direction of Sheringham Shoal. The tide was about dead low and it was in the teeth of a perfect blizzard that her crew put off. No sooner had she taken to the water than a huge wave swept her broadside towards the eastern breakwater. To the onlookers, among whom was Mr Noel Buxton MP, only a dark speck was visible perilously near in, and only very smart seamanship on the part of her coxswain and crew saved them from being dashed against the breakwater. Once more they got her head onto the seas and at last they got safely off.
By 8 o'clock the wreckage on the shore at Cromer told of disaster along the coast, and 2 empty boats came in at Weybourne, one being dashed to pieces as soon as it touched the shingle. The other boat contained provisions.
Another of interest in the churchyard was a Commonwealth War Graves headstone to the memory of 2nd Lieutenant R. H. Beeton of the Royal Flying Corps who died on 1st February, 1918, aged just 18.
Robert Henry Beeton was born on 27th March, 1899, and was the son of Robert Samuel and Julia Beeton, of Hill Crest, Weybourne. Robert Senior was a carpenter. Robert Junior attended Gresham's School as a dayboy from 1911 to 1915 and went on to study business for a year at St. George's College, London. After that he went to the Royal Flying Corps cadet school in Farnborough in 1917, and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in December. Robert died of severe burns received in a flying accident near Huntingdon on 1 February 1918.
Hope you enjoy some of the photographs and apologies for the gremlin that seems to have been responsible for a misting on the right hand side of the photographs.