Coastguard Disaster at Wells
24 February 1898

On Febrary 24 1898, the gunboat Alarm anchored off Wells to bring a few trivial stores for the coastguard. The coastguard's cutter set off with five men but was capsized and all five were drowned. Next morning the commander of the gunboat, not knowing what had happened, sent one of his boats with six men to bring the stores ashore. This too was capsized and all the crew drowned.

The lifeboat Baltic then went out to the gunboat and was able to prevent another and larger one of their boats being sent. The lifeboat was out all night.

A monument to those who lost their lives was erected on Wells Quay, besides the Harbour Office, in 1998, 100 years after the tragedy.