Coordinates: 53°24′04″N 3°01′48″W / 53.401°N 3.030°W / 53.401; -3.030 The Birkenhead Dock Disaster was a tragedy that happened when a temporary dam collapsed during construction of the Vittoria Dock in Birkenhead, Wirral Peninsula, England, on March 6, 1909. It left 14 workers (or "navvies") dead and three injured. The disaster led to a huge public outpouring of sympathy and grief in the local area. However, the Government refused to hold a public inquiry and the cause of the disaster was never definitively established. Very little evidence or documentation surrounding the event now exists.
Read more about Birkenhead Dock Disaster: Building The Vittoria Dock, Disaster Strikes, Aftermath, Further Reading
Famous quotes containing the words dock and/or disaster:
“You turn
To speak to someone beside the dock and the lighthouse
Shines like garnets. It has become a stricture.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“Therefore it was surprising that, as we kept the newspapers from
Mother,
She died feeling responsible for a disaster unverified,
Murmuring, in her sleep as it seemed, the ancient slogan
Noblesse oblige.”
—Josephine Miles (1911–1985)