On June 6, 1944, the largest naval, land and air operation in history when 160000 Allied forces landed in Nazi-occupied France at Normandy, signaling the beginning of the end of World War II. Orfordness Lighthouse in camouflage, UK, 1944 To commemorate the 80th anniversary of this historic day, Trinity House, the General [...]
Bishop Rock, photo by Richard Knights, Creative Commons Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a lighthouse keeper at Christmas at one of the isolated lighthouses in the middle of the water? Here’s a story about how some lighthouse keepers in the United Kingdom spent Christmas. It was [...]
Portland Bill Lighthouse Sunday, November 11, 2018, marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war. To commemorate the occasion, an event called “Battle’s Over” has been planned. The event was inspired by a comment made on August 3, 1914, by Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey who said as [...]
Needles Lighthouse off the Isle of Wight, UK Over the past five years, I've gained somewhat of a reputation as the "lighthouse lady," the one who blogs about lighthouses and puts them in her novels. I'm by no means an expert, but I do love lighthouses and love to research them. What I [...]
Skerryvore Lighthouse, photo by Ian Cowe The Stevenson family of Scotland is renown around the world as a dynasty of lighthouse builders. For five generations, the Stevenson’ engineering skills were employed to build structures that are still impressive, having withstood the onslaught of nature and time. Names like “Skerryvore” and “Bell Rock,” [...]
Start Point Lighthouse, Devon, UK Start Point is one of the most exposed peninsulas on the English Coast, running sharply almost a mile into the sea. The rugged, windswept headland was not a popular assignment for the families of lighthouse keepers sent to the 150-year-old lighthouse situated at the end. Winters seemed especially [...]
St. John's Point Lighthouse, Ireland, photo by Storefix, wikimedia commons Just down the road from the first church built by St. Patrick stands St. John’s Point Lighthouse. Set near ancient ruins, the lighthouse is located on the most easterly point of Ireland and marks the entrance to Dundrum Bay, an area notorious [...]
Casquets Lighthouse, UK, photo courtesy Trinity House Lighthouse keepers had a 24/7 job, but even they had free time, especially on stations where their families weren't allowed. When the sea was peaceful and the duties were done, what did a light keeper do with his time? Of course many lightkeepers liked to fish, [...]
Start Point Lighthouse, Devon, UK, source Wikipedia Commons, photo by Nilfanion Gordon knew it was only a matter of time before his occupation and his way of life would be gone. Trinity House, the governing body of lighthouses in the United Kingdom, had detailed to its lighthouse keepers the plans to automate [...]
Longships Lighthouse, UK Needles, Eddystone, Longships, Bishop Rock – these well-known lighthouses in the UK are a few of the country’s “rock” lighthouses. The name “rock” denotes that the lighthouse is offshore and not on land. In fact, many of these were built on rocks barely large enough for the lighthouses, yet [...]
Bishop Rock Lighthouse, UK, photo by Ian Cowe Gordon Partridge checked the lighthouse duty schedule and blew out a breath. It was his turn to do his least favorite job at the lighthouse. With three keepers at Bishop’s Rock Lighthouse, each keeper was assigned duties on a rotating basis. As a result, everyone [...]