It began probably around fifteen years ago when I was writing about the saltings around Saltpan Reach, Stangate Creek and Sharfleet: Burntwick Island was my target.
The book was: Rochester to Richmond, A Thames Estuary sailor’s View.
Burntwick Island has long been of interest: my father always used to say the buildings left upon it by the military after WW2 … he was a war and a bit out: they date from around 1894.
Whilst looking into these, up popped a man of great ‘importance’ and interest. He was Doctor Sidney Bernard R.N.
He became Surgeon on HMS Eclair, a steam assisted paddle wheel ‘gun boat’. The ship was engaged in the bight of Africa off Sierra Leone and Nigeria on anti slavery duty.
The ship was infected with Yellow Fever. On way back to Portsmouth the ship’s surgeon died in Madeira (a common ship stop=over place) and Sidney was promoted … on return to portsmouth he ship was dispatched to Sheerness and thence to the Stangate Creek Quarantine Station,
A round 50% of the crew eventually died … Sidney who remained with his patients also.
Sidney, for some unknown reason, was buried on Burntwick Island, then a sheep farm. The farm house was in the bight of the island west of the the jetty remains in Sharfleet Creek. There is little left of farm, except for a fragment of its ‘inland’ protective wall.
I had a call from the BBC Southeast office dealing with ‘Inside Out’ back n May/June asking if I was interested in doing something about Sidney Bernard. The presenter has been a ‘fan’ of my books for many years apparently.
So, following the phase 3 opening up of Covid-19 restrictions, we were able to arrange.
I picked the team up in Queenborough and we sailed to Stangate, where the camera man was put ashore. We sailed away and came back … won’t bore anyone with the anchoring/rowing bits! Suffice to say the camera man got wet socks!
After some on board filming and lunch, I took the two into the saltings. Why Sidney was buried in this place is unknown. His family home was in Dublin and there was absolutely no way he could have been taken back: Yellow Fever putrefies the body.
I believe, he asked to be laid to rest here…
BBC Southeast will be broadcasting the piece in the Southeast Magazine Programme following the National News on Wednesday 9th September in the 1830-1900 slot. It is usually a little before ‘half time’…
See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000mjqy
There will be a shortened version on the ‘lunch time’ news on Tuesday 8th September.
Please note: I will not disclose where the grave is. A very few, if a mere couple of people know: it should be left alone and allow brave Sidney to continue to rest in peace.
The site has silted by another approximate 100 mm since my previous visit ten years ago.
The camera angles were such as to not give much away…
Please respect Sidney Bernard’s wishes to be buried in this lonely, yet beautiful place.