June 30th 1954: The Forgotten British Eclipse
An eclipse of the Sun is one of the most awesome sights in
nature. The Moon passes in front of the Sun, and where its shadow falls on the
Earth, day becomes night for a brief time. The most recent eclipse of the
Sun,on April 8th 2024, was visible from parts of Mexico, the United
States of America and Canada.
We are often told that that the last total eclipse of the
Sun visible from the UK was in 1999 and before that, 1927. Most reports forget
the British eclipse on June 30th 1954, when totality was visible
from Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands, and northern Yell. A
large partial eclipse was seen in other parts of Scotland, where weather
permitted.
The 70th anniversary seems a good time to tell
the story of this event, which was the first total eclipse seen in Scotland
since 1699.
The path of totality started in northern Canada, passing
over Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe islands and the Shetlands. It continued
through southern Scandinavia, and northern Europe before ending in north
eastern India. With the exception of the northern Shetlands, Scotland was to
experience a partial eclipse.
The eclipse was watched by professional and amateur
astronomers from land, sea and in the air. Many Europeans chose Scandinavia,
but over two hundred people made their way to Unst, travelling in the ferry
'Earl of Zetland', a small coaster which served the Shetlands until the 1970s.
The ferry set off at 7am from Lerwick, on the mainland. It
called at the islands of Whalsay and Fetlar, and the harbours of Mid Yell and Uyeasound on the island of Yell,
reaching the pier at Baltasound on the island of Unst at noon, in good time for
the eclipse which would begin at twenty-five past one. The passengers
included excited school children from
Lerwick Central School and Brough School, Whalsay.
Some passengers stayed on board to watch the eclipse while
others tried to reach Norwick, the most northerly hamlet in the UK. Most failed
due to a lack of available transport.
The weather on the morning of the eclipse was extremely
wild; 60 mph winds and showers of sleet and rain blowing in the faces of the
stoical eclipse chasers. Amazingly enough, breaks in the clouds opened up just
as the eclipse started.
Two Manchester Astronomical Society members, both Fellows of
the Royal Astronomical Society, Kenneth Brieley and Gerald Marlowe, saw the
eclipse from the very best vantage point. They had travelled to Unst overland.
Starting in Manchester they had to take four different coaches and two small
ferries, with the intention of meeting up with a larger group of British
Astronomical Association members at Baltasound. They never did meet the
group, but saw the eclipse while their
peers missed it.
Brierley and Marlowe were guests of Mr & Mrs Sinclair of
The Hau, Skaw, Unst, the most northerly
house in the UK. There they met up with a BAA member, Dr R H G Lyne-Pirkis, and
his wife. Dr Lyne-Pirkis had arranged to watch from the headland at Skaw, where
there were some disused war-era buildings for shelter. The intrepid Manchester
astronomers joined the doctor, his wife, and Mr & Mrs Sinclair, on the
morning of the eclipse.
Dr Lyne-Pirkis had a 3.5 inch telescope, together with a
camera on a tripod. The two Manchester astronomers were equipped with
binoculars.
Despite the wild weather the cloud thinned and the corona,
or outer part of the atmosphere of the Sun, became visible. It was much
brighter than expected, and a beautiful arc of bright prominences covered about
one sixth of the Sun’s southern edge.
A feature known as 'Bailey’s Beads' was seen. Named after
the English astronomer Francis Bailey, who saw them during the eclipses of 1836
and 1842, the bright 'beads' are caused by sunlight shining through the
mountain ranges around the edge of the
Moon.
For the small group of watchers on the windswept and remote
cliff top, the total eclipse could hardly have been more dramatic. They waited,
with nothing but the churning sea in front of them. The gale howled in their ears, but they could
still hear the shrieks of a large flock of gulls wheeling around above them. As
the eclipse began, nearby sheep lay down
or ran around, as if not knowing what to do, and the Sinclair’s hens headed for
their roost in confusion. During totality, which lasted two minutes, the land
and sea changed colour, and the group stood, cloaked in the eerie purple
darkness, experiencing one of nature's most awesome spectacles on the very edge
of Britain.
Local residents saw the eclipse through gaps in the clouds
at Norwick and Haroldswick between two and four miles south of Skaw. Mrs Mort
of Norwick reported seeing the whole eclipse, including the corona and 'flames'
around the edge of the Sun, looking into the windscreen of her husband’s lorry.
At Baltasound, where the Earl of Zetland was berthed, the eclipse was briefly
seen through cloud. The captain of the ferry noted that during totality there
was a temperature drop of nine degrees.
The 'Shetland News' noted that many of the scientists
ignored local advice about the best places to view the eclipse. The BAA group
arrived at Baltasound, where they were advised against going to Saxavord, the
highest hill on Unst. They headed for the heights anyway, where they were
engulfed in the habitual low cloud and didn’t see anything. Interestingly,
Saxavord is now home to a new UK space
port, and will be a future rocket launch site.
The best way of seeing the 1954 eclipse was from the air.
The Astronomer Royal Sir Harold Spencer Jones was the first holder of the post
to see an eclipse in this way. He flew from RAF Leuchars in Fife, on the east
coast of Scotland, in an RAF Hastings aircraft, and described it as a
fascinating experience.
Many distinguished astronomers and figures from industry saw
the eclipse from a BOAC Hermes airliner, which was on a special training flight
over the north of Scotland. The aircraft carried photographic and scientific equipment to
monitor the eclipse, and the pilot tipped the plane onto its side to allow all
on board to get a good view.
1954 saw the British eclipse that everyone forgot;
nevertheless it was a rare and dramatic event, worthy of attention. The
Shetlands won't see another total eclipse until the 3rd June 2133.
Let's hope they get better weather!
www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk
