Sinéad Williams
Who was she?
Sinéad Katerina Genevieve Williams was born in Bath in 1974 and
lived there before joining the Royal Navy in March
1992. She had qualified as a
Wren Air Engineering Mechanic (WAEM)
and was based at HMS Osprey in Portland, Dorset, U.K. Sinéad had
represented the Navy in a number of sports including canoeing. In Bath,
she was a member of Bath Canoe Club.
Why was she in Bath?
She had come back to Bath on two weeks' leave from the Navy and was due
to return the following Monday. On Saturday 17th April 1993 she was
canoeing in the River Avon near
Pulteney
Weir. According to the
Bath Chronicle
of Monday 19th April 1993 "police believe Sinéad was training on
her
own in the rain-swollen weir". She lost control of her canoe and was
sucked underwater by the powerful weir currents. She was quickly
rescued from the river but sadly could not be revived.
Bath Canoe Club Chairman Mike Conroy was quoted in the
Bath Chronicle as considering the weir to be
"too dangerous to take on in spring time". He continued "she was a very
adventurous person and an experienced canoeist. Sinéad knew the
river well enough to be on the water alone but she shouldn't have been
near the weir".
Three hundred mourners attended Sinéad's funeral in St. Mary's
Church, Julian Road, Bath on Friday 23rd April 1993. She was accorded a
full military funeral attended by a Royal Navy Band and sixty naval
personnel. A
memorial plaque is fixed to the parapet on Grand Parade overlooking the
weir and
Pulteney Bridge:
The text reads
"In loving memory of Sinéad
Katerina Genevieve
WAEM (AE) No W14209 1Q Royal Navy
who tragically lost her life while canoeing on the weir 17th April 1993
This plaque provided for
Sinéad's family by her friends & colleagues in Bath Canoe
Club"
Location map of Grand
Parade:
(c) 2011
Bath-Heritage.co.uk | Contact us|
