Battle of Flamborough Head Remembered in a Weekend of Events

Friday, 23 September 2022 06:00

By Matthew Pells

The event is remembered each September by the Filey Bay 1779 local history group.

This year the Filey Bay festival has expanded from their already popular Dinner and Sea Cadet Parade & Service

This weekend the event will also include a Mobile Heritage Centre and a specially designed, commemorative railway poster both of which have been designed to help inform and educate locals and visitors about the Battle of Flamborough Head which took place in Filey Bay in 1779 – an important and historic naval battle between the British and American Colonists on the Yorkshire Coast.

James Hodgson from the Filey Bay 1779 group says a US navy officer will be attending this years event, with the US Navy reported to be considering another search to find the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard which was lost off the coast of Filey during the battle.

The Filey Bay 1779 group think the Battle of Flamborough Head could become a big deal for Filey Bay tourism over the coming years.

The battle saw father of the US navy - John Paul Jones - fight it out with ships from the Royal Navy.

In America it's seen as one of the most significant naval battles in US history, and with the 250th anniversary on the way James Hodgson thinks it could get a lot of global attention.

James say the outcome of the battle is hotly contested, the Americans feel they won the naval encounter, but James isn't convinced.

The Filey Bay 1779 group are lookign to build awareness of the battle of Flamborough Head in the run up to the 250th anniversary of the battle in 2029. James Hodgson thinks more can be made of the historic event to bring tourists to the local area.

The group are marking this years 243rd anniversary with a series of events this weekend.

On Friday 23rd September a single rocket will be launched at 7:15pm to mark the approximate time the Battle commenced, this will be followed by a dinner with Guest Speaker Dr David Pendleton discussing the British tactics in the Battle, Andrew Clay from Scarborough Museums Trust and musical entertainment by The SALTS singing sea shanties “with attitude” and special guest, poet Ian Duhig.

The dinner will be at the Filey Sea Cadet Pavilion, on Southdene. Tickets are £20 per person and can be ordered by email – Fileybay1779@gmail.com

On Saturday September 24th the Filey Bay 1779 Mobile Heritage Centre will be at Crescent Gardens from 1pm to 4pm to provide more information about the Battle and what life was like in 1779 and on board a warship.

On Sunday September 25th the mobile heritage unit will be on Filey Seafront from 1pm to 4pm, there will also be a Parade of Sea Cadets from Filey, Scarborough and Bridlington accompanied by a Marching Band departing St Oswald’s Church at 13.00.

This will be followed at 14.00 by a short Service of Remembrance on Filey Promenade near Bridge Hole. Revd. Nigel Chapman, Vicar of Filey and Padre of Filey Sea Cadets, will officiate the Service with an Inspection of the Sea Cadets by Lt Cdr Royal Navy (Retd) Clive Hayward and US Rear Admiral (Retd) Samuel Cox.

With the assistance of Yorkshire Coast BID, local artist Adrian Riley was commissioned to create a collectible poster, harking back to the great Railway Poster era, to promote the annual festival. It is planned to create a new poster each year which may become a collector’s item of the future. Posters and postcards can be purchased from Filey Post Office at the Evron Centre.

More information is available at https://fileybay1779.com/filey-bay-1779-festival-23-25-september-2022/