The Bedenham had arrived in Gibraltar on 24 April 1951, tying up at Gun Wharf. On the morning of 27 April, depth charges were being unloaded into a lighter when one of them ignited. Several men were organised to fight the fire from the quayside, but to no avail. All the other fighters had withdrawn but George Campbell Henderson, a sub-officer with the dockyard fire service who doggedly held a firehose into the fire. There was an explosion in the lighter, and the fire spread to the Bedenham, causing a violent explosion in which the bow was blown out of the water and onto Gun Wharf, while the rest of the ship sank.
Casualties
13 people were killed in the explosion, including Henderson, who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his bravery in attempting to extinguish the fire. The King's Police and Fire Services Medal was posthumously awarded to Albert Alexander Indoe, Chief Fire OfficerHM Dockyard, Gibraltar. Two dock workers among them Jose Moss and two traders on nearby Ragged Staff Road were killed by flying debris. One fire fighter was injured. Dock overseer Salvador Bula was injured by the explosion but managed to get others who were injured by the blast 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.
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, and the Convent. It was locally recognized that the damage to the town would have been much worse but for the City of Gibraltar's 16th-19th century fortress defensive walls which deflected/took part of the explosion's blast. Another effect of the explosion was to delay the programme of housing necessary for the Gibraltarians who had been repatriated following their evacuation during World War II. The Admiralty accepted full responsibility for the damage, and approximately £250,000 in Gibraltar pounds was paid out in indemnity. The remains of the Bedenham were towed from Gibraltar by the tug Saucy on the 31st May 1952 to the Tyne where they were scrapped.
Note
This event should not be confused with the explosion at the Bedenham Pier on Portsmouth Harbour which occurred on 14 July 1950.
