Survivor of The Wells Lifeboat Disaster
12th October 1880
Captain Thomas Kew - he wrote a letter
"Dear Friend, Eliza Adams was upset
Of thirteen men - just two of us were rescued
Will Bell died - but Tom Kew has not gone yet
Twenty-eight young orphans and ten widows
Were left to mourn the loss of those brave men
So now I tell you - Nothing marks their passing
And Wells will never see their like again
The bodies found still lie there in the churchyard
No monument commemorates their life
The townsfolk and their children need a solace
Each widow must be proud she was a wife
And I'm the one who's left alive to tell you
The one who left the sea - and still has breath
We need a monument to all these brave men
Whose bravery resulted in their death"
The photograph beside the old memorial
Shows Tom - a big old man who had his way
He raised the money for a new memorial
To honour them It still stands there today
Captain Thomas Kew - he wrote a letter
"Dear Friend, Eliza Adams was upset
Of thirteen men - just two of us were rescued
Will Bell died - but Tom Kew has not gone yet"
2002 Charlotte Peters Rock
