School closed this afternoon on account of the funeral of Mr William Brown, Coxswain of the Swanage Lifeboat who was drowned on Saturday last (12th) during a gale, by being washed out of the lifeboat off Old Harry Ledge while proceeding to the rescue of the crew of a Norwegian barque wrecked off Hook Sands to the north of Poole Bar.
A barque is a saling ship with three or more masts. The ship that the lifeboat was on its way to rescue was called the Brilliant - you can read more about the history of Swanage's lifeboats here: http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/southwest/stations/SwanageDorset/history
