Woolwich Old Cemetery
The Princess Alice was a pleasure steamer that sank on the evening of Tuesday 3rd September 1878 in the greatest tragedy ever seen on the Thames.
It had been sliced in two by Bywell Castle, a coal ship. Only 69 out of the 700 passengers survived.
Thousands of people attended the mass funeral held at Woolwich Old Cemetery, Kings Highway, Plumstead on Monday 9th September. The Celtic cross monument still stands today and was paid for by the sixpenny (2½p) donations of 23,000 people.
At the time, untreated sewage and industrial waste from the whole of London poured into the Thames so the people who died were poisoned, rather than drowned. Horror at the deaths led to the establishment of sewage treatment plants. Additionally, the rules of navigation on the river were changed.
Other monuments in and near Woolwich
Mallet's Mortar
Boer War Memorial
Tom Cribb Memorial
Ha-ha
Related link
Nearby attraction – Firepower museum