Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree--William "Bill" John Prior Soloman
His father served in the Royal Naval Reserve during World War
I and was an engineer from his enrollment on July 26, 1915 until his
demobilization on November 4, 1919. In
1921, his father was an engine driver on a fishing boat owned by the Mitchell
brothers.
William Prior Soloman and Kate Alice Barber had five
children. They were:
1. Kathleen Ellen Soloman 1911–1996
2.
William "Bill" John Prior
Soloman 1912–1978
3. Barbara May Soloman 1914–1997
4. Kenneth Ernest Soloman 1921–1966
5. Leslie Noel Soloman 1923–2013
Bill Soloman
married Lily Eagle Youngson on February 2, 1937 at St. Michael’s in Oulton,
Suffolk, England. Bill and Lily had
three children. Their third child died
as an infant at seven months of age.
Their children were:
1. Brian W Soloman 1937–1972
2. Ann K Soloman 1940–2005
3. William Barry Soloman 1945–1945
At the beginning of World War II, Bill was quick to join the Royal Navy. He joined on June 30, 1939 and continued serving after the end of the war until his retirement from Naval service on July 19, 1950.
Bill Soloman
died on March 8, 1978 in Suffolk County, England. His wife Lily predeceased him on May 2, 1986.
Among his most
notable achievements were:
Mentioned in
Despatches in London Gazette January 1, 1941for his dedication to military
service during the war.
Youth
footballer.
Prizewinning
documentary filmmaker:
Article below
is from the local Cong, Ireland newspaper.
Where Have All The Herring Gone?
“The last Skipper to take a herring drifter round the coasts
of those islands, Mr. Bill Solomon, Lowestoft, Suffolk would naturally have an
interest in sailing ships and especially in fishing vessels.
Mr. Solomon is President of the Lowestoft and East Suffolk
Marine Society and on Tuesday evening at Ryan’s Hotel, Cong, he entertained an
interested audience with an illustrated talk on the Activities of the
Society. Mr. Solomon has spent the past
two weeks filming a documentary on Cong.
The film will feature some of the natural curiosities of Cong, in
particular the caves and risings of the underground river joining Mask and
Corrib and the 18th century Canal that never held water.
A prizewinning documentary Mr.
Solomon made for the Society last year was entitled ‘Northumberland Moor’.
The Lowestoft Society has a very
impressive Museum of objects of marine interest—10,000 photographs and films of
ships that sailed in the East Suffolk area together with paintings, models, tools
and utensils of obsolete ships.
Bill Solomon himself was well known
in pre-War days at Buncrans, Rathmullen, Kinsale, Ballycotton and other Irish
fishing ports. He took the ‘Lord
Wenloch’, the last of the steam drifters, to those ports just before the
War in 1939 and then became the youngest Royal Naval Skipper in the
service. In June, 1940, he was
responsible for the rescue of the war crippled banana ship ‘Eros’ 16
miles of Tory Island.
HERRING SHOALS
The year 1913 was a peak year for
herring fishing in the waters of those islands—some 1,760 sailing drifters from
East Suffolk area fished the coastal waters to be replaced in the twenties by
steam drifters. Now there are none apart
from those preserved in Museum and film.
Where have all the herring gone?
Mr. Solomon attributes their
increasing disappearance to two factors—the migration cycle of the shoals and
the exterminating effect of narrow mesh trawling nets. In the middle centuries, the shoals inhabited
the Baltic, deserting it in the 16 centuries for our warmer waters. Now our waters have become colder and herring
shoals move further on. Add to that the
effects of the fine tooth combing of the sea by ‘fish meal’ trawlers and very
soon, in Bill Solomon’s opinion, the palatable fresh herring will be as rare in
those parts as the obsolete ‘herring drifter’."
Notable perpetuator
of tall tales:
Posted on Monday 23rd
June, 2014 by broadlandmemories
If you are moored at Oulton Broad on the
24th of June and the night is still, you may hear the creaking of ropes and
taste the pungent aroma of acrid smoke in the atmosphere. If you look out of
your cabin window, you may notice a distant, phosphorescent glow through the
mist and you might, just might, think you hear an unearthly scream penetrating
the heavy night air. Close the curtains and get back into bed, for this
is the night on which the ghost of the wherry Mayfly is said to visit
Oulton Broad.
It’s a story which has been told many times
over the years, and was apparently perpetuated by harbour master Bill Solomon for holidaymakers in
the 1960s, but my reference for the tale dates back to the 1930s when author
Charles Sampson included it amongst his Ghosts of the Broads. The story is set
in 1851 and revolves around Captain “Blood” Stevenson, an experienced sea sailor,
renowned for having “a quick tongue, a quicker temper, and quickest of all,
fists like legs of mutton. He was a man of about forty-five with reddish hair,
a taste for ale, a gammy leg and an eye which could see further than most
men’s.“
One bloody fight too many saw Stevenson
returning to England where he stumbled into a job skippering a wherry called
the Mayfly which traded between Beccles and Great Yarmouth.
Four years into the job, he was called into the office one day and was
tasked with carrying £400,000 to the bank at Great Yarmouth for his employers
who felt it safer to transport such a large sum by water rather than by road.
The chest of cash was loaded on board at Beccles quay accompanied by the
owner’s daughter Milicent who, to all intents and purposes, was bringing a
chest full of clothes along with her for an extended stay with an imaginary
Aunt in Yarmouth. Also on board were two crew members and a young cabin boy
called Bert.
The
night time sail along the River Waveney was uneventful but, upon reaching Burgh
Castle and the edge of Breydon Water Stevenson turned to his first mate, Jack,
and revealed his plan to take the wherry, the cash and the young lady and make
his way to Holland. Any protests were swiftly curtailed as Stevenson launched
himself at Jack and, after a struggle, he threw Jack overboard into the
swirling torrent. As Great Yarmouth and Gorleston slept,
the Mayfly sailed unnoticed out of the harbour mouth and out to sea.
Pleased with himself, Stevenson decided to take his prize of the young lady and
disappeared below decks and into her cabin. Later that night the remaining crew
heard the ghastly screams of a terrified Millicent as she burst out of her
cabin, blood pouring from a gash in her neck and hotly pursued by the drunken
skipper. Second mate George tried to wrestle Stevenson to the deck. There was
an almighty struggle which ended when Stevenson aimed a jaw shattering punch
squarely at George which sent him flying overboard into the icy water.
Millicent grabbed a knife and lunged at Stevenson, stabbing him straight
through the heart whereupon he fell to the floor. Cabin boy Bert watched though
half closed eyes, cowering in his hiding place, as Millicent gasped and then
collapsed in a heap on top of the skipper. They were both stone cold dead.
Frightened, alone and unable to sail the
wherry by himself, Bert climbed into the ship’s dinghy and set himself adrift.
He didn’t know how long he’d been there …. maybe two days … when he finally saw
a ship approaching in the distance. He signaled frantically as it drew nearer,
but his relief soon turned to horror as he caught sight of two ghostly
apparitions struggling on the deck accompanied by the blood curdling screams of
a young woman. It was the Mayfly. Bert passed out and awoke days later to
find himself in a bed at a hospital in Plymouth. Word was sent to the owner of
the Mayfly who arrived soon afterwards to collect Bert to take him
home. A few years later, the two men were sitting fishing one night at Oulton
Broad when the mist suddenly descended and an eerie hush fell over the broad.
In the distance, they could see a faint white light approaching. Bert watched
to his horror as he saw the ghost of the Mayfly speeding across the
water leaving a trail of acrid smoke in her wake. As she passed, Bert heard the
blood curdling screams of a young woman and saw two figures struggling at the
helm before the Mayfly disappeared towards Oulton Dyke.
“And so it goes on. Every year on the 24th
of June, about 12.30am, the Mayfly comes to Oulton Broad, trying to make her
home port, but never succeeding.“
Genealogy
Paternal Family line: William "Bill" John Prior Soloman
1912-1978 was the son of William Prior Soloman 1883-1963 and his mother was Ellen
Maria Prior 1858-1901 and her mother was Maria Blowers 1832-1871 and her father
was John Blowers 1802-1883 and his mother was Susanna Barber 1771-1852 and her
father was John Barber 1743-1782 and his daughter was Elizabeth Barber
1773-1835 and her son was Isaac Forster 1801-1890 and his son was Thomas
Forster 1837-1888 and his daughter was Caroline Forster 1864-1906 and her
husband was George "Pikey" William Welch-Adams 1867-1940.
Genealogy
Maternal Family line: William "Bill" John Prior
Soloman 1912-1978 was the son of Kate Alice Barber 1886-1962 and her father was
William Barber 1858-1893 and his mother was Mary A Youngs 1834-1917 and her
father was Charles Youngs 1807-1886 and his mother was Mary Forster 1771-1851
and her father was Samuel Forster 1740-1815 and his son was William Forster
1778-1854 and his son was Isaac Forster 1801-1890 and his son was Thomas
Forster 1837-1888 and his daughter was Caroline Forster 1864-1906 and her
husband was George "Pikey" William Welch-Adams 1867-1940.
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