The news this week has very much been dominated by the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship with the resulting tragic loss of life.

Looking back on old stories of Pembroke, there is the sad tale of the Bentlass ferry disaster which, although on a smaller scale, is none the less tragic for that.

The year was 1889. It was Friday, February 13, and market day in Pembroke Dock. Many women would have made their way to the market on that bitterly cold, windy day and, for some, the Bentlass ferry offered a much quicker route to Pembroke Dock than the journey by land.

The ferry was run by an experienced ferryman John Jones, who had done the job for many a long year, and his passengers were mainly from the local farms. John was assisted by a young lad of 15 from Banker's Row, Henry Gullon.

It was on the return trip that disaster struck. The ladies, laden with their parcels after the day's shopping in Pembroke Dock, made their way back to Pennar and down to the waiting ferry boat at the bottom of Ferry Lane. Light was failing on that blustery afternoon and the water was rough, the tide running down against the wind. They had made this journey across the river to Bentlass countless times, but this time they were never to return home.

As the ferry boat made its way across the choppy waters of the Pembroke River, it filled with water and sank: not one of the nine people aboard survived.

The following day the story was headline news in the Pembroke Dock and Pembroke Gazette, February 14, 1889 - Shocking ferry boat accident at Bentlass: Loss of nine lives: "Hitherto our neighbourhood has escaped such a fearful calamity as occurred last Friday afternoon, when so many of our fellow creatures were hurried into eternity almost without the least warning, and the country around has consequently been thrown into a state of gloom and sorrow that it will take a very long time to remove. The sad part of the affair is the fact that not one of those who embarked in the ill-fated boat from the Pennar side of the river is left to tell the tale how the accident really occurred, but it is undoubtedly due to the boat being overloaded."

You can imagine, even now, the terrible sense of grief in a close-knit farming community.

Those who died were named as Mrs. Melville Morris, of Brownslade Farm; Hannah Nicholas, of Newton, her servant; Mrs. E. Nicholas, of Newton Farm, mother of Hannah; Mrs. Maria Hird, of West Grove Farm; Mary Ann Griffiths, of Lawrenny; Mary Davies, of Bentlass; Mrs. Jane Harris, of Corside; Henry Gullon, of Banker's Row, Pembroke, and Mr. John Jones, ferryman, of Bentlass.

This story was written about at length by naval historian Lawrence Phillips in the 'Western Telegraph' (February 8, 1989) and can be found in the County Library archives. It was illustrated by Captain Christopher Gibbs Holtom.