Who was Grace Darling? - 91�ȱ� Bitesize

This is Grace Darling.

She lived on the Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast.
Grace and her father rowed across stormy seas to rescue sailors from a shipwreck on 7th September 1838.
The ship, a paddle steamer called SS Forfarshire, had broken on Big Harcar Rock.
In the early 19th century most ships were powered by sail. They were harder to control in storms and high winds. Many were shipwrecked off the British coastline.

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All about Grace Darling.

Grace and her family lived in Longstone Lighthouse from 1826.
Her father was a lighthouse keeper. He was in charge of the beacon light which shone to warn ships of rocks nearby.
One day Grace spotted a ship near the lighthouse. It was wrecked on Big Harcar Rock.
She and her father rowed a boat on the stormy sea to rescue the survivors.
They rowed back to Longstone Lighthouse where Grace and her mother looked after the survivors.
Her father returned to the shipwreck to collect the last of the nine survivors.
Grace and her father were awarded a gold medal for bravery.
Many people sent them letters and gifts for their heroic actions.
Queen Victoria sent them a thank you letter and £50. That was a lot of money back then!

In 1843, the poet William Wordsworth wrote a poem called ‘Grace Darling’ about her rescue.
Grace Darling died 4 years later, aged only 27, of tuberculosis.
Today there is a museum about Grace Darling in Bamburgh. There is also a memorial to Grace in the town’s churchyard.