The last keepers at The Needles were evacuated from the lighthouse on 8th December 1994, bringing an end to 136 years of manned operation.
On that day, the weather almost succeeded to keep the lighthouse keepers in situ as furious storms and mountainous seas put paid to plans to ferry them out, and they had to be airlifted by helicopter instead.
The Needles had been 1 of the last 3 remaining manned rock lighthouses in England and Wales.
For the last 30 years, the lighthouse has been controlled by a computer following a £350,000 automation programme, which required the laying of a submarine cable to the lighthouse from the Island.
The lighthouse was completed in 1859 at a cost of £20,000 (over £2million in today’s values) and first lit on 1st January of that year.
It was badly damaged by a German aerial attack during World War II. In 1948, the light damaged in the attack was replaced by a new one. In 1987, a helipad was added to the top of the lighthouse.
Before automation, the lighthouse had been staffed by a 3-man crew, operating a 24-hour watch, serving 1 month on/1 month off, living in rudimentary conditions in living quarters below the light. However, in prolonged periods of bad weather, keepers could be stuck on the lighthouse for as long as 6 weeks.
Being on the lighthouse during a storm was something of a hair-raising experience for the uninitiated…
A former keeper claimed:
“The tower does actually move a little when you get an extreme wave hit it – you feel a little vibration going right up through the tower.”
In 2010, a £500,000 underpinning project was announced to prevent the lighthouse from falling into the sea due to the crumbling condition of the chalk strata on which it was based.
There is a very sad story related to the end of manned operations at the Needles lighthouse.
On December 2nd 1994, 40-year-old amateur photographer John Trezise from East Cowes overbalanced while taking pictures of the Needles lighthouse before it was converted to automatic operation, falling down the 150ft cliffs onto the beach below.
Police initially thought he had committed suicide, but examination of the camera beside his body led them to believe foolhardily attempting to capture the ‘perfect picture’ was the cause of his untimely death.
Seems like only yesterday, time flies when
you are having fun.