Princess Alice disaster.
On the 3rd of September the SS Princess Alice was making what was billed as a “Moonlight Trip” from Swan Pier, near London Bridge, downstream to Sheerness, Kent, and back. Approaching Gallions Reach the collier SS Bywell Castle collided with the Princess Alice who was returning to from Sheerness. The Princess Alice sank within four minutes. Unfortunately the incident occurred just as the Crossness and Beckton were discharging the ra sewage into the Thames close by. Over 650 lives lost. The problem of dumping sewage into the river was subsequently addressed.
