Servicemen go up in flames at Torquay peace carnival

Torquay Library discovered this 100-year-old story and postcard image while searching through their archives and kindly shared it with us as part of our new partnership.

The image shows a group of Royal Navy sailors dressed in costume for a prehistoric-themed, horse-drawn float during the Peace Day Celebration Carnival in Torquay, 1920.

While charming at first glance, a “deplorable and lamentable accident” led to the deaths of two of the men pictured within the week.

The Torquay Times reported on Friday, July 30, 1920, that the carnival had been a “successful effort marred by a terrible accident”.

Above: Torquay Library discovered this 100-year-old story and postcard image while searching through their archives

The parade, held the previous Saturday to mark Peace Day and raise funds for the new Torbay Hospital, featured displays from ships of the Atlantic Fleet, which were lined up in the bay awaiting judging.

The prehistoric float, designed by crew members of HMS Royal Arthur, was a tribute to Torquay’s Kents Cavern. The sailors were dressed as Stone Age men, holding stone axes and large clubs, some of which were “threateningly raised”, while others lay on blocks of granite or at the entrance of a prehistoric hut on the float.

Judges were moments away from awarding it a “blue card” for creativity when “a shout went up from someone in the surrounding crowd that the car was on fire”.

Witnesses quickly realised it was not the float but one of the sailors who had caught fire. After lighting a cigarette, he had accidentally ignited the “picked rope” he wore as part of his costume.

The Torquay Times said: “For a moment the poor fellow looked like a human torch on the car. Then with heart-rending cries, he jumped from the car, with two or three of his comrades following. 

“They too caught their inflammable garb alight in the endeavour to smother the flames with coats handed to them, and for a few seconds, the scene was almost indescribable. 

“Made up with grease paint, which seemed to feed the flames as it ran into the tow, the sailors rolled on the ground and, in this way, eventually succeeded in putting out the burning tow that had caused them agonies of pain.”

Three sailors were seriously injured, while a fourth suffered minor burns.

Petty Officer Collins, the most severely injured, was rushed to Torbay Hospital, where he died early on Sunday morning. His comrades, Cook’s Mate Florence and Able Seaman Stonel, were also taken to Torbay Hospital. Florence died of his injuries on Monday morning.

Those who witnessed the scene were reportedly horrified and unable to enjoy the rest of the celebration, which featured around 40 entries in various classes.

Among them was Miss Christie with her well-known Shetland pony, harnessed to a tiny carriage decorated with sweet peas; children from Ellacombe School dressed in the costumes of the Allied nations; a fairytale scene called Fairy Land, divided into four sections with painted backgrounds representing Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Little Miss Muffet, and The Babes in the Wood; and a hospital ward display by Torbay Hospital staff, complete with patients in white-covered beds and nurses attending them.

Tragically, the day saw another accident. In a separate article, the Torquay Times reported a “sad accident” in connection with the carnival.

Several spectators had been allowed onto the balcony over the entrance of the Carnegie Library in Castle Circus to watch the procession.

The public library had been built by Andrew Carnegie, the son of a poor Scottish weaver. Carnegie found great wealth in America and believed that free public libraries would provide opportunities for self-education, helping the poor to break free from poverty.

Above: Image: Steve F

According to the Devon Heritage website: “He donated the money for Torquay’s library on the condition that the Corporation provided the land and added a further £1,400 to his original gift for the purchase of books. The library opened to the public in October 1907 with a stock of almost 7,000 books.”

The main part of the building, the Town Hall, was not constructed until 1911 and was completed in 1913.

The current library on Lymington Road was finished in 1938, at which point the original Carnegie Library moved and became fully integrated into what is still Torquay’s Town Hall today.

Miss Emma Grant, 63, of St Margaret’s Road, St Marychurch, was among those watching from this historic balcony.

The Torquay Times reported: “In the centre of the floor of the balcony is a glass dome that lights the entrance hall below. By some means or other, Miss Grant slipped and fell onto this. 

“The glass shattered, and she plunged through to the floor of the vestibule, a distance of twenty feet. She was rendered unconscious by the severe shaking she received and was also badly cut about the face. The unfortunate lady was conveyed to Torbay Hospital.”

We welcome any insight from our readers as to whether Miss Grant recovered from her injuries.