h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You're dead right when you say everyone who lived in Scunthorpe can tell you exactly where they were at the time of the blast. I was a child, sitting at a table in the front garden, colouring in a picture. The loud noise and blast shook me but I wasn't really old enough to understand the implications. My parents quickly started chasing up what was going on and my father went back to work. He was a casualty surgeon at the hospital and once there, got in the back of an ambulance expecting to be part of an emergency team sent to the site. It quickly became apparent there was no need. Those unfortunate enough to be close to the blast site were beyond help. Instead he dealt with the casualties arriving at the hospital with serious cuts caused by flying shards of shattered glass windows and the like. It's likely he stitched the cuts of the boy you mentioned in the article. Certainly we received letters of thanks months later from people he'd treated on the day, one woman saying she thanked his skills every time she looked in a mirror.
The memories of the event are highly personal for those living nearby. Pretty much everybody knew someone with a connection to the blast. The remains of the little row of houses opposite the plant stayed there for years, gardens still clearly marked out by the plants running wild.
I thought the memorial was quite an elegant looking structure, wasn't it cast at one of the local steelworks? It disappeared for a while if I remember correctly, stolen or whatever. I forget if it was returned or ended up as anonymous scrap metal.

Thanks for this.
If it's OK, I'd like to add your memories as another 'voice'.
You could be right about the memorial. I did minimal research, for better or for worse. I just went with what I and people I know could remember.
Pin

You're welcome to use my memories here, feel free.

I'll try and remember to ask a Scunthorpe contact or two about the memorial.

I WAS ELEVEN AT THE TIME AND CAN STILL REMEMBER THE MUSHROOM RISING IN THE AIR VERY CLEARLY,BUT SOME FOURTEEN YEARS LATER I HAD THE PRIVILAGE TO SERVE WITH SUB/OFF MAURICE PARKIN AT CROWLE FIRE STATION.CROWLES ENGINE WAS FIRST ON THE SCENE THAT DAY,ON ARRIVAL SOMBODY SAID WHAT WE GONNER DO MAURICE? HIS REPLY WAS WHAT CAN WE DO! MAURICE GOT ON THE RADIO TO CONTROL AND SAID "MAKE PUMPS THIRTY FIVE".CONFIRM MAKE PUMPS THIRTY FIVE CAME BACK FROM CONTROL.YES MAKE PUMPS THIRTY FIVE,A VOICE WAS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE LINCOLNSHIRE CONTROL CENTER "WHERE DOES HE THINK IM GOING TO GET THIRTY FIVE PUMPS FROM".I THINK HE DID GET THEM AND MORE.....

Wow.
I'm going to add this, if that's OK
Pin

We were 13 miles away, and our first thought was that the Humber Bridge had collapsed. Or maybe it was a plane crash - Humberside Airport had an airshow on the same day. But then we saw the direction of the smoke.

My father was a fireman. He was off-duty when it happened but, like most of his colleagues, went through as soon as he heard. Our local fire brigade was called out within a few minutes.

My mother and I spent the night in front of the radio, tuned in to a police channel that only gave one side of each conversation. We followed the path of the cloud, wondering if Scunthorpe would have to evacuated, whether the wind would change and send the cloud towards Barton, whether there would be another explosion.

I remember hearing a policeman's voice breaking with emotion when he first saw the scene.

I remember a newspaper photo. The aftermath. A spaghetti-mound of water hoses.

I remember that day. I was still a child and we lived on the other side of the River Humber in North Ferriby and the blast blew the front door open. It was very, very loud. Then we saw the smoke over the water. My mother was worried about the people on the other bank but no-one knew what was going on, even though everyone could see something terrible had happened, the river cut us off from it all. It was very eerie and unsettling.

I was only two when Flixborough went up but I remember my dad telling me this story.

At the time we lived in Albion House, one of the multi-storey tower blocks on the East Marsh in Grimsby. At around 5pm on the afternoon of the explosion my dad was watching the TV when all the windows violently shook for a few seconds. He thought nothing more of it until the newsflash appeared on the TV an hour later.

To think that we lived thirty miles from the blast and still felt it.

1974, I was 14 and playing a game of tennis with my sister in our back yard at the garage, Roxby Road, Winterton.
There was a tremendous rumbling and banging, I thought we were being bombed! I screamed and screamed, it was so frightening.
My sister and I were both ok but my Grandma, Winnie Westfield, was in the showroom and was showered with glass from a nearby window imploding. A shard of glass shot into her leg and blood spurted everywhere. She kept telling people not to fuss! A neighbour bandaged her leg tightly and a call was made for the ambulance.
I can't remember the exact damage that occured apart from the fact that the whole garage roof 'shifted' some 4 inches, it must have sheared its bolts! This was a roof that covered a garage capable of housing 8 or 10 (or so) cars!
My Grandma soon came home and after some rest she was back at work selling cars!
It has been very interesting to read the other messages relating to this terrifying disaster.

Thanks for the comments, Mildred.
It's getting to the point where this Entry needs an update, adding in the newest experiences, yours included naturally.

And welcome to h2g2. Take a good look around and get a feel of this huge and varied place. Whatever you're looking for, it's here somewhere.

Pin

Im pretty sure l have a photograph of the memorial, l'll have a dig around and see if l can locate it.

That would be good if you can. Thanks.

I have posted a code which should bring up the picture, but if it doesn't work on this website, copy and paste this link into the address bar




http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o413/Roadiephil/Album%20One/Memorial.jpg






<a href="http://s342.photobucket.com/albums/o413/Roadiephil/Album%20One/?action=view&current=Memorial.jpg" target="_blank">

Thanks. There were more ducks than I remember, and they were smaller. About life size?

I visit this retail park sometimes:
http://public-art.shu.ac.uk/sheffield/pyt193im.html
I suspected that the sculpture shown has distorted my recollection of the Flixborough one.

I think there were 8 ducks in total in the memorial, I had recently bought a camera and was out practicing with it when l came across the memorial. I think the ducks were about life size but may have been slightly smaller. I remember being disgusted when l read in the local rag of their theft, l was brought up that you never take things from Churchyards. I could've easily thrown the picture away but for some reason didn't; lm glad l didn't now.
The one thing l remember about the disaster was that l was out of town on holiday with my parents that week - had gone to Great Yarmouth.

Good that you didn't. What you've posted might be the only record on the web of what the sculpture looked like.
Do you know when it was stolen?

No, lm afraid l've no idea when it was stolen. I now just wish the picture was a better one, maybe someone with more savvy may be able to tweak it up. It's just a shame that some idiot saw it as only valuable as scrap - that is assuming that is what happened to it.