View source for Explosion of the RFA Bedenham

{{Short description|British cargo ship; 1951 event}}
{{Distinguish|text= the 1950 [[Bedenham Pier explosion]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |display title=Explosion of the RFA ''Bedenham''}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:RFA Bedenham.jpg|300px|NAV Bedenham]]
|Ship caption= The former RFA ''Bedenham'', c. 1950
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship name= ''Bedenham''
|Ship owner= Admiralty
|Ship operator= Naval Armament Department
|Ship registry=
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= Ailsa Shipbuilding, [[Troon]]
|Ship original cost=
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|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= 26 September 1938
|Ship completed= 1938
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|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service= 1951
|Ship identification=
|Ship fate=Exploded at [[Gun Wharf]], [[Gibraltar]] {{Coord|36.135183|-5.355096|region:GI_type:event|display=title,inline}}
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class= Naval armament carrier
|Ship tonnage= 1191 GRT
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= {{convert|230|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|37.5|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
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|Ship draft=
|Ship depth= 16.5 feet
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|Ship propulsion= Steam triple expansion
|Ship speed= {{convert|10|kn}} loaded
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|}

'''RFA ''Bedenham''''' was a [[naval armament]] carrier of the British [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary]] that exploded while docked in [[Gibraltar]] on 27 April 1951, killing 13 people and causing a great deal of damage to the town.<ref name=puddefoot>{{cite book|last1=Puddefoot|first1=Geoff|title=The fourth force : the untold story of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary since 1945|date=2009|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley|isbn=978-1848320468|page=5|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1848320469}}</ref>{{efn|This event should not be confused with the explosion at the Bedenham Pier in [[Portsmouth Harbour]], which occurred on 14 July 1950.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1950/jul/19/explosion-portsmouth-harbour|date=19 July 1950|title=EXPLOSION, PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR (Hansard, 19 July 1950)|website=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]}}</ref>}}

==Cause of the explosion==
The ''Bedenham'' arrived in [[Gibraltar]] on 24 April 1951, tying up at Gun Wharf. On the morning of 27 April, [[depth charge]]s were being unloaded into a [[Lighter (barge)|lighter]] when one of them ignited. Several men were organised to fight the fire from the quayside, but to no avail. Eventually all the other firefighters withdrew except George Campbell Henderson, a sub-officer with the dockyard fire service, who doggedly held a firehose into the fire.<ref name=turner>{{cite book|last1=Turner|first1=John Frayn|title=Awards of the George Cross 1940–2009|date=2010|publisher=Pen & Sword|location=Barnsley|isbn=978-1848842007|page=see gib|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1848842007}}</ref> An explosion in the lighter caused a fire which spread to the ''Bedenham'', triggering a violent explosion in which the [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]] was blown out of the water and onto Gun Wharf, while the rest of the ship sank.<ref name=rfa />

==Casualties==
Thirteen people were killed in the explosion, including Henderson, who was posthumously awarded the [[George Cross]]<ref name=puddefoot/> for his bravery in attempting to extinguish the fire. The [[King's Police and Fire Services Medal]] (for Gallantry) was posthumously awarded to Albert Alexander Indoe, Chief Fire Officer HM Dockyard, Gibraltar. Two dock workers, among them Jose Moss, and two traders on nearby Ragged Staff Road were killed by flying debris. One firefighter was injured. Dock overseer Salvador Bula was injured by the explosion but managed to get others who were injured to safety. Hundreds were injured and had to be taken to the [[Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar]], then known as the British Military Hospital Gibraltar.

The crew of the ''Bedenham'' had already abandoned the ship by the time of the explosion, with the exception of the Captain and the Naval Armament Supply Officer, both of whom were blown into the water but subsequently rescued.<ref name=puddefoot/>

==Effect of the explosion==
In addition to the human casualties, many of Gibraltar's buildings suffered substantial damage in the explosion, including the [[Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned]], the [[Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar|Cathedral of the Holy Trinity]], and [[The Convent (Gibraltar)|the Convent]] (the official residence of the [[governor of Gibraltar]]). It was locally recognized that the damage to the town would have been much worse but for the City of Gibraltar's fortress defensive walls, built between the 16th and 19th centuries, which deflected part of the explosion's blast. Another effect of the explosion was to delay the programme of housing necessary for the [[Gibraltarian people|Gibraltarians]] who had been repatriated following their [[Evacuation of the Gibraltarian civilian population during World War II|evacuation during World War II]].

The [[British Admiralty]] accepted full responsibility for the damage, and approximately £250,000 in [[Gibraltar pound]]s was paid out in [[indemnity]].<ref name=puddefoot/> The remains of the ''Bedenham'' were towed from Gibraltar to the Tyne by the tug ''Saucy'' on 31 May 1952, whereupon they were scrapped.<ref name=rfa>[http://www.historicalrfa.org/rfa-bedenham-ship-information RFA Bedenham] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418125749/http://www.historicalrfa.org/rfa-bedenham-ship-information |date=18 April 2015 }}, at the RFA Historical site, retrieved 5 April 2015</ref>

== In popular culture ==
In the 1953 movie ''[[The Clue of the Missing Ape]]''—which was filmed in Gibraltar and produced by the [[Gaumont-British Picture Corporation | Gaumont Specialised Film Unit]]—one of the characters, Pilar Ellis (played by Nati Banda), makes an unreferenced remark that "her mother was killed in an explosion at the docks".<ref>1953 film ''[[The Clue of the Missing Ape]]'' produced by the [[Gaumont Specialised Film Unit]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=December 2024}}

==See also==
*[[List of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunition]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* [[Tito Benady|Benady, Tito]] (1992). ''The Royal Navy at Gibraltar''. pp.&nbsp;221–222. {{ISBN|0-907771-49-1}}.
* Hebblethwaite, Marion (2006). ''One Step Further: Those Whose Gallantry Was Rewarded with the George Cross''. {{ISBN|0-9546917-6-8}}.
* Jackson, William (1987.) ''Rock of the Gibraltarians: A History of Gibraltar''. p.&nbsp;297. {{ISBN|0-8386-3237-8}}.
* {{Cite book |last1=Sigwart |first1=E. E. |date=1969 |title=Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service: Its Ancestry and Affiliations, 1600-1968 |location=London |publisher=Adlard Coles |pages=143–144 |isbn=0-229-98581-5}}

== Further reading ==
* Hissey, Terry (2011). ''G.C. on The Rock: The Story of George Henderson''. Matlock, Derbyshire, UK: [[Civil Defence Association]]. {{ISBN|978-0-9550153-3-5}}. {{OCLC|722706832}}.

{{Gibraltar topics}}
{{1951 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Explosion of the RFA Bedenham}}
[[Category:Explosions in 1951]]
[[Category:Explosions in Gibraltar|RFA Bedenham Explosion]]
[[Category:Military history of Gibraltar]]
[[Category:1951 in Gibraltar]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1951]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Gibraltar]]
[[Category:Royal Fleet Auxiliary]]
[[Category:1938 ships|Bedenham]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by non-combat internal explosions]]
[[Category:April 1951 in Europe]]