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REVIEWS 349 Dr. Murray held a unique place in the University life of Glasgow, and during the past 30 years occupied various offices in the University Court. A year ago Principal Sir Donald MacAlister recalled that it Mas 70 years ago since Dr. Murray had matriculated as a student of the University, and characterised him as ‘I the Nestor of the Council, the controlIer of finance, the historiographer of their chronicles, the benefactor of their library, and the guardian of their inherited traditions and principles. Dr. Murray became a Member of the Scottish Meteorological Society in 1887. The HON. A. J. PECKOVER. The death occurred on July 26, at the age of 66, of the Hon. Anna Jane Peckover, the youngest daughter of the late Lord Peckover. Miss Peckover had always been in delicate health. She spent most of her life at Bank House, Wisbech, and was well known for her philanthropic work in that town, being a generous subscriber to many of its institutions. She was perhaps best known for her work in connection with the Salvation Army and the local corps owes much to her influence as well as to her many gifts. She was a Life Fellow of the Society and was elected in 1927. hfr. J. R. TWENTYMAN. The death occurred on July zIst of Alderman J. R. Twentyman, of Rirkbymisperton Hall, Pirkering, Yorkshire, at the age of Sj. Mr. Twentyman was born on Tyneside, where he was educated and served his apprenticeship with a firm of marine engineers. After some years he went to Hongkong as representative of his firm and operated their vessels on the China coast. Later he went to Shanghai as manager of Messrs. S. C. Farnham 8; Co., which owned three docl<s. Under his management the firm flourished and eventually in 1g00 absorbed two rival firms. He remained as head of the concern until 1~)s. On retiring to England he bought a large estate in Yorkshire and he took an active part in the affairs of the North Riding. He was a magistrate for a division of Pickering and was on the North Riding County Council. In 1922 he became an Alderman. Mr. Twentyman was a very active and hard-working man, he was a clever engineer and an able financier. He was a Life Fellow of the Society and was elected in 191. REYIEVS Great Storms. By CARR LAUCHTON and V. HEDDON. Illustrated by Pp. viii. +2j1. In this interesting volume we are reminded of same of the most notable storms on record and the authors have mllected a great deal of authentic information regarding them. Most of the events referred to are connected with the sea and the book is therefore of particular interest to sailors as well as to metmrologists. It n-as not until 1888 that the important discovery of the I‘ Law of Storms made it possible CECIL KING. 10s. 6d. net. London (Philip Allan 8. Co.), ‘927.

Great storms. By Carr Laughton and V. Heddon. IIlustrated by Cecil, King. London (Philip Allan & Co ).,1927. Pp. viii. +251. Ios. 6d. net

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Page 1: Great storms. By Carr Laughton and V. Heddon. IIlustrated by Cecil, King. London (Philip Allan & Co ).,1927. Pp. viii. +251. Ios. 6d. net

REVIEWS 349

Dr. Murray held a unique place in the University life of Glasgow, and during the past 30 years occupied various offices in the University Court. A year a g o Principal Sir Donald MacAlister recalled that it Mas 70 years ago since Dr. Murray had matriculated as a student of the University, and characterised him as ‘ I the Nestor of the Council, the controlIer of finance, the historiographer of their chronicles, the benefactor of their library, and the guardian of their inherited traditions and principles. ”

Dr. Murray became a Member of the Scottish Meteorological Society in 1887.

The HON. A. J. PECKOVER.

The death occurred on July 26, a t the a g e of 66, of the Hon. Anna Jane Peckover, the youngest daughter of the late Lord Peckover. Miss Peckover had always been in delicate health. She spent most of her life a t Bank House, Wisbech, and was well known for her philanthropic work in that town, being a generous subscriber to many of its institutions. She was perhaps best known for her work in connection with the Salvation Army and the local corps owes much to her influence as well as to her many gifts.

She was a Life Fellow of the Society and was elected i n 1927.

hfr. J. R. T W E N T Y M A N .

The death occurred on July z I s t of Alderman J. R. Twentyman, of Rirkbymisperton Hall, Pirkering, Yorkshire, a t the a g e of Sj.

Mr. Twentyman was born on Tyneside, where he was educated and served his apprenticeship with a firm o f marine engineers. After some years he went to Hongkong as representative of his firm and operated their vessels on the China coast. Later he went to Shanghai as manager of Messrs. S. C. Farnham 8; Co., which owned three docl<s. Under his management the firm flourished and eventually in 1g00 absorbed two rival firms. He remained as head of the concern until 1 ~ ) s . On retiring to England he bought a large estate in Yorkshire and he took an active part in the affairs of the North Riding. He was a magistrate for a division of Pickering and was on the North Riding County Council. In 1922 he became an Alderman.

Mr. Twentyman was a very active and hard-working man, he was a clever engineer and an able financier.

H e was a Life Fellow of the Society and was elected in 1 9 1 .

REYIEVS Great Storms. By CARR LAUCHTON and V. HEDDON. Illustrated by

Pp. viii. +2j1.

In this interesting volume we are reminded of same of the most notable storms on record and the authors have mllected a great deal of authentic information regarding them. Most of the events referred to are connected with the sea and the book is therefore of particular interest to sailors as well as to metmrologists. I t n-as not until 1888 that the important discovery of the I ‘ Law of Storms ” made it possible

CECIL KING. 10s. 6d. net.

London (Philip Allan 8. Co.), ‘927.

Page 2: Great storms. By Carr Laughton and V. Heddon. IIlustrated by Cecil, King. London (Philip Allan & Co ).,1927. Pp. viii. +251. Ios. 6d. net

350 REVIEWS

for a n observer to deduce the approximate position of the storm centre and its track. Previous to this seamen had nothing of the sort to guide them, and it is probable that if such information had been available many of the stories told of the tragic results of these storms might have been very different.

I t is difficult to compare the force of the wind in the storms which occurred before the nineteenth century with that of the storms of more modern days, f o r as the authors s a y : “ Naturally we could not exbpect to find a nineteenth century Beaufort Scale of winds with its ascending scale of breezes and gales reaching a t its upper limits to a storm and finally to a hurricane in use in the sixteenth century.” I t is of interest to note, however, that before the. nineteenth century a scale giving designations for winds of different strengths was in use, but n o numbers were given. The writer of an historical account of the great storm of 1703 p i n t s ou t the mntrast of what a ship could stand in 1733 and in his time (I;@), he says:-

” CVhat our sailors call a ?’ofisail Gale would have drove the the Navigators of those days into harbour. . . . When our Hard Gale blows they would have cried a Tempest and about the Fret of IC’ind they would have been all a t their prayers.” With the advance of W J T it has now been made possible for weather

information to be received and distributed over large areas, and the sea- nian today has a great advantage over his less fortunate brother of earlier days. Under normal conditions the modern seaman need never find hirnwlf in the vicinity of a storm centre as did the brig, Chas Heidel, a n account of which is given in the first chapter. This unfortunate ship succeed& in running n o less than five times round the centre of a storm.

T h e account of the tragic end of such ships of the Armada as escaped capture is, as far as I am aware, a hitherto unpublished story. The authors follow the fortunes of these ships as they grope their way struggling with head kvinds round the North of Scotland, until each succumbs to her ultimate fate. One ship alone, the flagship, eventually reaches a Spanish port.

In Chapter IV. a n account of the great storm of 1703 is given. This storm is reported to have equalled any storm in this country which has occurred since that date and did all the damage that a storm can reasonably be expected to do. I t is said to have destroyed more property and caused the death of more people both on land and sea than any other known English storm.

In the chapters dealing with West Indian hurrieanes and China typhoons, w m e interesting accounts a re given of the great storms which have occurred in that area. The loss of the S . S . Antinoe and H.M. Sloop Vateriarz in 1926 in the North Atlantic is mentioned as a reminder that the \vind and sea can still be dangerous to n-ell found ships lvittt powerful engines. The terrific force of the wind in these storms is emphasised by a description of havoc and devastation wrought by them. In one case a 12-pounder gun i s recwrded as having been hurled from one battery to another, a distance of 140 yards.

I t is indeed rare, as the authors say, to meet with a detailed description of what it feels like to be in a typhoon. but such interesting details a re given in an account of a storm quoted from a letter written by a naval officer who in a destroyer explored by force of circumstance the centre of one of these storms.

The tragic facts related in the acmunt of the “ Last voyage of the Elizabeth ” in 1764, fill one with admiration for the crew of this old ship. In the last stages of senile decay she made the voyage from Bombay to Spithead. Battered by storms in the Indian Ocean and well nigh falling to pieces, with steering gear gone, she eventually arrived

Thrilling episodes a re remunted in each chapter of this book.

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REVIEWS 35 1

a t Cape of Good Hope after a voyage of 8j days. In spite of her terribly bad condition hogged and frapped together by means of ropes she con- tinued her voyage and eventually arrived a t Spithead where the ship- wrights and caulkers, we are told, were surprised beyond expression to see the ship frapped together fore and aft, and refused to work on the vessel for fear she would sink a t her anchorage. All honour to the brave crew.

Chapter IS. recalls the Tay Bridge disaster which occurred in December, 1S79, only seven months after the bridge had been opened. A train was passing over a t the time, and out of the 7 j passengers not one survived the accident. The authors give a n illuminating accvunt of the disaster and the subsequent inquiry.

The story of the complete destruction-of St. Pierre by a volcano cloud is graphically told. Tales of heroism always stir the hearts of the British people and what more gallant story could be told than that of the escape from St. Pierre Harbour of the S.S. Roddam on the morn- i n g of 1May 8th, 1902. Eighteen ships were destroyed by fire in the harbour, the Roddam alone escaping.

“ Captain Freeman saw a tremendous cloud of ’smoke, glowing with live cinders, ruyhing with terrific rapidity over town and port. H e saw the town disappear under the fiery cloud, he saw the ships north of him break into Banies, and then the cloud was upon the Roddam. . . . So she alone went free with her burnt captain a t the wheel steering with his elbows because his hands were too badly burnt to hold the spokes, with her deck hands lying about the deck dead or unwnscious and with n hail of hot ashes continuing to fall.” The authors justly say: “To stand alone a t the helm through long hours, the only man on whom the salvation of the ship depended implied an endurance and devotion amounting to heroism.”

The drawings are excellent, and those who go down to the sea in ships and have cxprrienced such storms as those recounted in the pages of this volume will not say that the sea is exaggerated. The boolc is an ably executed and most attractive and interesting work and is well worth reading.

L. G. GARRETT.

Nolcvelles kticdes saw la me‘tkorologic de l’dfriyue Occidentale Franpise. By HENRY HUHERT. Paris (Librairie Emile Larose), 1926. 4to. Pp. 200, illus.

Dr. Hubert’s name is well known in connection with the meteorology of West Africa. The present work may be regarded as, to a certain extent, a continuation of a n earlier work, reviewed in this Journal for 1919, p. 261. Since 1922, when Dr. Hubert took control of the meteoro- logical service of French West Africa, the number of the observing stations has increased from 12 to ISS, there being now, in addition to the headquarters station at Dakar, aItogether in the various provinces nearly 40 “ first order ” and over 140 “ second order ” stations. T h e area covered extends from Ft. Etienne to Bilma, in the north, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and southwards to the border of Nigeria and to the Gulf of Guinea, nearly 20 times the area of the British Isles. Apart from the collection of data Dr. Hubert has carried on a number of researches, and the object of the present memoir is “ to show how far, up to now, meteorological research has been carried in French West Africa.”

For this reason, and in order to economise space, the general method adopted is to refer the reader to previous discussions by means of a bibliography of 2 j items, and to continue with discussion of new matter, DT further developments. The observational results are mainly for 1923. The da ta for certain of the “ first order ” stations are presented by means