|
A record of the trail of destruction wreaked by 80mph gales on Easter Monday 1913, during which a major part of Worthing Pier collapsed and was washed away into the sea, leaving the pavilion at the other end. Originally opened in 1862, the pier had doubled as a tourist attraction and a landing stage for paddle steamers and similar pleasure craft, and in the first fifty years of its life it had gradually expanded to include kiosks and a bandstand. At the time of the hurricane, the McWhirter Quintet was playing to a small audience, though the performance was quickly abandoned and the pier evacuated when it became clear that the structure had become unsafe. Although the wrecked pier became a popular postcard image, and the stranded pavilion was given the jocular nickname 'Easter Island', repairs commenced almost immediately, and the restored pier was formally reopened just over a year later, on 29 May 1914. Michael Brooke
| 
Complete film (0:55)
