No 227  December 2019

ERW T AY A S W

M Y U S T E IE U M S O C THE WATERWAYS MUSEUM SOCIETY

President: Di Skilbeck MBE

Vice Presidents: Tony Hales CBE, Alan Jones, Tony Lewery

DIRECTORS Chairman Barbara Kay Vice Chairmen Jeff Fairweather, Will Manning Interim Treasurer Chris Kay Secretary Chris Kay

Other directors Di Skilbeck MBE, Nigel Carpenter, Dave Ditchfield, Barry Green, Lynn Potts, Bob Thomas, Cath Turpin, Mike Turpin MEMBERSHIP SECRETARIES Dave Ditchfield & Ailsa Rutherford CONTACTS TO WHOM CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE SENT RE:PORT Editor Ailsa Rutherford 01352 756164 14 Tai Maes, Mold [email protected] Website Steve Sunley EMAIL CONTACTS Pending changes to email addresses, please send all communication via the Chairman: [email protected]

Those not on email can contact: Waterways Museum Society, c/o National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port CH65 4FW Telephone 0151 355 5017

The Waterways Museum Society is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 1028599. Registered Charity Number 501593 Visit our website www.waterwaysmuseumsociety.org.uk

Contributions for RE:PORT which is published four times a year are always welcome. Copy date for RE:PORT 228 – Sunday 9th February All views expressed in RE:PORT are those of the contributors concerned and should not be taken as being the policy of The Waterways Museum Society, The National Waterways Museum or The Canal and River Trust. front cover: Small traditional craft moored at the Festival de Loire, Orléans. back cover: A traditional river Loire boat train RE:PORT Number 227

Dates for your Diary

     December     

Saturday 7th, 14th, 21st; Sunday 8th, 15th, 22nd and Tuesday 24th NWM Meet Father Christmas – spend quality time with Father Christmas, enjoy stories in his grotto with presents and refreshments. Bookings can be made through the Museum.

Tuesday 10th IWA Restoration and operating schedule of the Daniel Adamson – Dan Cross will be telling us about the restoration of this famous Mersey boat and its current sailing programme on the Mersey, River Weaver and Manchester Ship Canal. As it’s our Christmas social there will also be sherry, mince pies and our bumper Christmas raffle.

Saturday 14th WMS Christmas Concert – the Wirral Singers and Ringers return to the Museum for an evening of musical enjoyment. Starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £8. Tickets can be booked through the Museum.

Tuesday 17th EPL&FHS Members’ Evening and Christmas get together – this is a chance for our members to tell their own stories – 5 or 10 minutes only allowed for each speaker. It could be on local or family history or a combination of both!

Friday 20th WMS Christmas Social – our ever-popular evening of short talks by Society members. Bring along a small contribution to the refreshments and Christmas cards for the card swap – save the postage.

     January     

Tuesday 14th IWA The Restoration of the Sankey Canal – The Sankey was England’s first canal of the industrial era and runs from the Mersey to St Helens. Colin Greenall has been a prime mover in the continued campaign to progress its restoration and he will be outlining its history, restoration progress and future plans.

Tuesday 15th EPL&FHS Topic to be advised.

Friday 18th WMS Film Evening – “The Bargee” starring Harry H Corbett, Eric Sykes and others.

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     February     

Tuesday 11th IWA A Canal & River Trust Update – Liam Cooper is Boating and Customer Service Manager for the Canal & River Trust, Midlands Region, based at the Red Bull office. He will be talking about the new Trust organisation, maintenance challenges and future priorities in the area.

Friday 15th WMS AGM – followed by update from the Canal & River Trust and the Museum.

Tuesday 18th EPL&FHS Topic to be advised.

     March     

Tuesday 10th IWA The Royal Iris and the Royal Daffodil plus Branch AGM – Derek Arnold is a very entertaining Wirral based expert on our local naval and maritime history. He is going to tell us about their heroic history and how these two much loved ferry boats got their names.

Tuesday 17th EPL&FHS Topic to be advised.

Friday 20th WMS Braunston: canal age transport hub – A look at the history of canals in and around Braunston, Northamptonshire, in the wider context of the history of transport. A talk by John Pomfret.

     Meeting information     

WMS meetings are held in the Rolt Centre at the NWM More information about Museum events can National Waterways Museum, starting at 7.30pm. be found at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/nwm There is a bar and we have a raffle. Everyone is welcome. IWA – Inland Waterways Association meetings are held in the Rolt Centre at the National Waterways EPL&FHS – Ellesmere Port Local & Family History Museum, starting at 7.45pm. Society meetings are also held in the Rolt Centre, starting at 7.30pm. Annual membership is £12 and visitors are welcome at £4 a meeting

4 Number 227 December 2019

Chairman's Report The team representing the society at the five-day Festival de Loire d’Orléans have ar- rived home safely and our presence at the event has been recognised in the December edition of Waterways World and will also be in the December edition of Towpath Talk. All agreed that the event was well worth attending and whilst we can’t claim that we talked to all 750,000 plus visitors, we certainly, along with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society team, interacted with a lot of people. The two teams got on really well and we are currently exploring ways that our society and the L&L Canal Society can work together in the future, albeit perhaps a little bit nearer home. With the generosity of the team members funding their own travel and accommodation expenses (valued at £2,700) and the organisers providing the food, the total cost to the society was £691. This related to leaflets, the canvases used to replicate the interior ofGifford's cabin along with fixtures and fittings. Within this figure, we still have £237 worth of reusable materials. So, a huge thank you to the team for their efforts and for their financial contribution – the society could not have done it without you. We have certainly put canals and in particular the museum on the map in a lot of French people’s minds. You can read more about the festival later in this edition. As well as exploring opportunities to work with the L&L Canal Society, we are also looking at a joint outreach programme with the museum so if you are interested in vis- iting some of the different festivals and gatherings, please join us as we promote the society and the museum. The more people we have, the greater the opportunity to get out and about and enjoy the events. This autumn has seen the arrival of a new member of staff to the museum, Becky Peacock who is the Collections Manager and we offer her a warm welcome and look for- ward to working with her. John Benson, one of the museum’s archivists is due to leave in December and we wish him well for the future. Now that the winter months are approaching and we start to hibernate in our own homes to avoid the cold, please give some consideration as to how you might further support the society. We are currently looking at our 2020/21 programme of monthly evening talks and we love to have new topics so if you have something you would like to share with colleagues, please let us know – it doesn’t have to be a long presentation, it can be short – we are flexible about how our evenings are run. Similarly, if you have heard an excellent speaker then please share their details with us too. We are always looking for quirky facts and stories that we can put either on our website or in this newsletter. So, during the course of your reading, just make a note of 5 Number 227 RE:PORT anything interesting and drop us a line. It’s these sorts of facts that contribute to all our knowledge that we can then share with others. Wishing you all the very best for Christmas and for the New Year. Barbara Kay

The Waterways Museum Society

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Waterways Museum Society will be held in the Rolt Centre at its registered office, the National Water- ways Museum, South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 4FW on Friday 21st February 2020 at 7.30pm. It is the wish of the Directors that in keeping with tradition, this meeting will be chaired by the Society’s President. AGENDA 1. Apologies for absence. 2. Minutes of the AGM held on 15th February 2019. 3. Chairman’s Report. 4. Annual Report of the Board of Directors for 2018–2019. 5. Treasurer’s Report with the balance sheet and profit and loss account for the year ended 30th September 2019. 6. Membership Secretaries' Report. 7. Election of the Board of Directors. 8. Election of the Treasurer. Any full member of the Waterways Museum Society may be formally nominated and seconded to be elected as a Director. In the event of there being more than 12 candidates, a ballot will be held in accordance with the Constitution. All nomina- tions must be received by the Secretary in writing by Friday 14th February 2020. All the current 12 Directors have expressed a willingness to stand again for 2020/21. However, the post of Treasurer is still currently vacant and nominations for this post from any full member would be very welcome. By order of the Management Committee Christopher Kay 12th November 2019 Secretary

6 RE:PORT Number 227

Christmas by the canal at the National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port Our Christmas events are fast approaching, and we are very much looking forward to hosting the Christmas Concert with the Wirral Singers and Ringers on Saturday 14 De- cember at 7.30pm, and seeing the Porters Row cottages dressed in the style appropriate to the age of each cottage. We are now taking bookings to meet Father Christmas and with the changes to the trip boat, the format will be slightly different this year. Father Christmas will greet every- one at Reception and he will then lead everyone to his Grotto where there will be story-telling. The chil- dren will receive an early Christmas gift, followed by refreshments and craft activities in the Boatyard Café. It is here where chil- dren will get their one-to-one time with Father Christmas to share their Christmas list. Our Christmas events and activities would not be possible without the help and support of many members and volunteers. I would like to thank all those involved for their continuous in the (very) varied roles from making cushions to puppetry, serving teas and coffees to dressing as the main man (can I say that?!?). Thank you so much as all of this contributes to the magical experience enjoyed by our visitors. Key dates for your diary Ѽ Meet Father Christmas 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22 and 24 December at 11.00am, 12.45pm and 2.30pm. Tickets are £9.50 per person. Tickets can be bought from the Museum Recep- tion or by telephone – 0151 355 5017. Ѽ Christmas Concert with the Wirral Singers and Ringers on Saturday 14 December at 7.30pm. Tickets £8. Available from Museum Reception or by telephone – 0151 355 5017. Ѽ Porters Row Cottages will be decorated in the style appropriate to the age of each cottage throughout December. Admission to see these is free with your annual pass – Adult (16 & over) £9.75. Child (6-15) £6.00. Child (5 and under) Free. Family £25.00. Concession £8.50. Your ticket allows you to return as often as you like for one year. Opening times Open 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Sunday until the end of March. Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.

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Festival de Loire d’Orléans 2019 The afternoon of Monday, 16 September, saw Barbara and Chris Kay, Di Skilbeck and me gathered at Manchester airport for our flight to Paris, then onward to Orléans by road. Apart from trying to get on the wrong plane, all went well until we reached the hotel where we were to stay, only to find that Chris and Barbara’s room reservation had mys- teriously been cancelled, and there wasn’t a vacant room left in the hotel! The reception staff started telephoning around and, after several attempts, were able to get them the last available room in a local hotel. Not a good start! Tuesday dawned, which was the day before the opening of the Festival, and Di and I set off to walk to the Festival site to join Barbara and Chris to collect our passes for the event and, to our pleasant surprise, a red branded duffle bag each filled with goodies. We probably all had our own mental picture of what the site and the Festival would be like but I think that what we found exceeded all of our expectations. The Festival site stretched along the length of promenade on the bank of the Loire, from the the main bridge over the river to the city centre to the Canal d’Orléans lock.

View of the Festival from the river

Exhibitors’ tents were already starting to appear along the length of the tree-lined promenade, and pop-up cafes/bars and merchandising stalls on the road running paral- lel to it. The site was a hive of activity: most of the visiting boats were already on the river, local craftsmen and artisans setting up their stands on the slipway that led down from the promenade to the river, and exhibitors all preparing their stands on the promenade. The local radio and TV station both had stands and, as we were to find out over the next five days, were doing live broadcasts from the event. We had been told in advance that the tent we were sharing with the Leeds & Liver- pool Canal Society (L&LCS) would be in the English ‘village’ and these tents would be the last to be erected, and not until that evening, as we were to be located in the area being 8 RE:PORT Number 227

One of the traditional craft exhibitors Ailsa, Di and Chris with our local guide used by a large mobile crane lifting boats into the water. We killed some time by taking a walk towards the city where we were befriended by a local resident who gave us a mi- ni-conducted tour of the area, and showed us the former vinegar factory and warehouses, now refurbished and used by the university, and told us the history of a local church. As the River Thames was the ‘guest’ river for the Festival, and WMS and the L&LCS were an addition to the English contingency, a special reception hosted by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Orléans was held for us that lunchtime. We were given a wonderful welcome by the Mayor, entertained by shanty singers, wined and dined with an excellent buffet, (given another duffle bag but this time in blue, again filled with goodies), then given a tour of the city centre on ‘the little train’, followed by a vinegar and mustard tasting at a local specialist shop. The latter was a new experience and probably not one we would be seeking out again in the future but, as Orléans has been known for its wine vinegars since the 14th century, it is to be expected that they would want to showcase them. The Festival itself was extremely well organised, even to the extent that break- fast, lunch and dinner were all available free of charge for exhibitors such as ourselves. Breakfast and lunch were available on site from The Tavern, a large tent acting as an information point and headquarters for the event organisers, and dinner at the university refectory nearby. To reinforce the English theme, the organisers had even gone to the extent of building two replica red telephone boxes which were placed on the boundaries of the English ‘village’ – one containing a life-size photograph of Mr. Bean (aka) Row- an Atkinson, and the other HM The Queen! Having availed ourselves of dinner at the refectory, we returned to the site where boats were still being craned into the water. We all noted the rather relaxed approach to Personal Protection Equipment while this was going on – not a hard hat, high vis, or life-jacket to be seen. The crane moved off site around 9.00 p.m. and, with no sign of The replica telephone box with the photo of HM The Queen 9 Number 227 RE:PORT our tent being erected, we decided to call it a night and make an early start the following morning, the day the Festival opened. We were all on site at 8.30am on the Wednesday morning to start setting up our exhibition. Working with Mike Clarke from the L&LCS, we had planned our joint display on paper beforehand back in the UK, but the reality of a 3m x 3m shared space turned out to be a little different. We adapted and improvised the layout to our mutual satisfaction and our two teams were soon welcoming our first visitors of the day. Mike was the only member of the L&LCS team that we knew prior to arriving in Orléans but, we all gelled together immediately and worked as one team. We had taken both French and English versions of our Gifford leaflet, and CRT had kindly provided some Museum publicity material translated into French, all of which proved invaluable especially when trying to communicate in our limited French to non-English speakers. The maps of the canal network displayed by the L&LCS were also very helpful in showing people where Ellesmere Port is, and many were very surprised at the extent of the canal network in the UK The Festival was crowded with visitors from the moment it opened, and there were lots of school parties on the Wednesday and Thursday who were much taken with the L&LCS’s mannequin “Dicky Billy”, who became something of a celebrity and the ‘must have’ photo opportunity. Di wore her boatwoman’s costume, which attracted much attention, and was inter- viewed by the local TV station and, as we learnt from a visitor the following day, appeared on the Wednesday evening news.

Di being interviewed by French TV Di meeting the British Ambassador to France, Baron Llewellyn of Steep

The British Ambassador also toured the site in the afternoon and was interviewed on camera in front of our tent. Barbara was determined to ensure that he should not miss the chance to visit us and, after waiting very patiently for the right opportunity, buttonholed him with a handful of gifts and steered him to our tent. He was also quick to congratulate Di on her MBE who, in the tradition of all proud boatwomen, had pinned it to the front of her outfit. 10 RE:PORT Number 227

Horseboating takes on a whole new meaning The Festival’s official opening took place early on Wednesday evening and the cer- emony was performed by the Mayor of Orléans and the British Ambassador, followed by a performance by local shanty singers. The 2017 Festival had attracted some 750,000 visitors, and I can well believe that a similar number attended this year. In addition to all the boats and exhibitors, entertain- ments are provided at regular intervals during the day and into the evening. A large open stage had been built on the slipway, and various other traditional boats were used as sound stages for performers, including one with acrobats performing from trapezes suspended from the boat’s rigging. We were all fascinated by the demon- strations of horse-boating but not as we know it – two heavy horses were actually walked on to a traditional craft which then sailed up and down the river! There were several evening firework displays and it was estimated that the Saturday evening display would be attracting some 30,000 people: as I was there, I can certainly vouch for the crowds. The Loire region had not had rain for three months which must have caused some sleepless nights for the organisers as the river level was extremely low. From Tuesday to Saturday, the sky was blue, and the sun shone, but we English obviously brought some of our weather with us as on the Sunday the sky was grey and overcast, and around 11.00am the heavens opened and it poured with rain for a good four hours. It goes without saying that the visitors disappeared during this downpour, but they were all back again within a matter of minutes of the rain stopping. At 7.00pm on the Sunday evening the event closed to the chimes of Big Ben. We all agreed that our attendance had been worthwhile and an experience we were glad not to have missed. Using the leaflets we had left as a guideline, we estimate that we must have 11 Number 227 RE:PORT

Visitors to the Festival on the Promenade met and spoken to some 1,500 people, of many nationalities, over the course of the five days and, without fail, they were warm and friendly, and genuinely interested to learn about the English canals and their boats. Probably for us, one of the most amazing things about the entire event is that there is no admission charge and, other than a security bag search at the entrance barriers, visitors are free to come and go as they please. On behalf of the WMS team, I must say a big thank you to Mike, Ann, Chris, Colin and Patrick of the L&LCS who helped make this such an enjoyable and successful event for us. We must also thank Michelle Kozomara and CRT for providing the translated Museum publicity material. The next Festival will take place in 2021 – so put it in your diaries now as it’s certain- ly something that we would recommend visiting. Ailsa Rutherford

Living Waterways Awards 2019 One of our members, Nigel Carpenter, was part of the team that were commended for their contribution to Skills for Young Curators project undertaken at the National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port. Other society members have been involved in the Recording Gwendoline project at the museum which also received a commendation. To hear more about these two projects, you can watch the videos as follows: Recording Gwendoline: youtu.be/ADhRRHFtkho Young Curators: youtu.be/IE9jDDPFkMc These sponsored awards recognise the most exciting and inspiring waterway-based improvement projects across the UK, more details of which can be seen at: canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/living-waterways-awards-2019.

12 RE:PORT Number 227

Morton's Slipway: construction of the replica slipway carriage After the slipway was cleared  of all the decaying craft a few years ago, some of us in the Site Maintenance team felt the slipway needed something to clearly demonstrate what it was for. We could not easily get a ship on to the slip but what about a replica of a carriage that ships were brought out of the water on. How long was it someone asks? 120ft, with timbers about a foot square! Not a chance. But what about just a small part and to full scale? Without knowing what we had let ourselves in for there was an enthusiastic approval of such an idea from Mar- garet Harrison our Head of Collections. The slipway is in fact a patented slipway, designed by a man named Morton, and there were many of them around the country in the 1800s. In fact there is still one under daily use in Bristol. What was needed was some detailed research and an engineering drawing of what we wanted to build. Our Archive colleagues, especially Derek Speakman and Cath Turpin took on the task. We also benefited greatly from Hannah Holmes’s previous research on the slipway. I visited the Balloch slipway at Loch Lomond that still has a steam winch to haul the carriage out. Derek produced an outline design drawing based on a 1928 record drawing we had found in our archive. We were encour- aged by CRT management to include local educa- tional establishments in the project. It was hoped that they and our own volunteers would provide most of the labour. To cut a long story short this strategy, while looking promising in early dis- 1928 record drawing cussions with prospective 13 Number 227 RE:PORT organisations, failed to get any firm commitment from them. One company we had high hopes for let us down just prior to the manufacturing stage for the metalwork. So who could help us? The sizes of some of the timbers in the design are not dissimilar to those in lock gates. So who better to approach for support than CRT’s own lock gate workshops at Wakefield? Steve Brunt and Janet Tynon from the workshops visited our site and soon became enthusiastic about our project. Much very useful advice was given about the problems associated with large timber beams, where you could get them, what type of timber and also suggestions on about tailoring our design to fit with modern practices. After a few weeks of further design changes, we asked Wakefield for a quotation to supply a completed frame, in Douglas Fir, fully planed to size and jointed, and with all necessary holes drilled for the proposed metal work. We decided that we could make most of the metal items ourselves if we could get the museums machine shop recommissioned. The machines had been properly fixed in place, rewired and partly commissioned beforehand in the metal workshop. With a great deal of effort from Margaret Harrison we were able to get formal authorisation for Bill Darch and myself to manage the workshop and use the machinery. We worked up a budget cost estimate for materials, together with a project plan, and Margaret Harrison gave us the go ahead and promised to find the necessary funds. All the way through the project, we never knew exactly how much we could spend but Margaret always found the money from somewhere Essential preparation work on the project started before the final design drawings were produced. An early decision was made that the carriage would, if possible, sit on sec- tions of the original wrought iron rails we had found in the Lime Shed. We also discovered we had some good sections of the original cast iron central breaking rack. Our first task was to examine the rails and determine how much of them we could use. Fortunately, the sections of rack and rail had not been accessioned and so we were free to renovate them to our needs. Although broken, four pieces of rack were found to be matching giving us two 10ft lengths. They were covered in silt de- posits from the river and a good thickness of rust. After many hours of chipping, needle gunning and wire brushing we emerged with enough rail and racking to support a carriage length of 6 me- tres. We had to drill out the original rack fixing spikes which we attempt- ed to do with a magnetic based drill. After strug- The rails in the Lime Shed gling with this method, 14 RE:PORT Number 227 we eventually took the rack across the site to the machine shop to drill them out on the Radial arm drill. The bent sections of rail were passed to Alex our blacksmith to straighten and all the salvaged items were sent for shot-blasting and priming at a local firm. We were also fortunate to retrieve the original rail fixings from the slipway and therefore were able to eventually refit the rails by the original method of steel spikes into oak dowels. On surveying the slipway, we found the original holes still in the stone blocks and after removing old river mud we found that they were still usable. At this stage we obtained permission to proceed with our fixing proposal if we did not in anyway interfere or damage the stone bedding. Manufacturing We now put the final details to the design, but this turned out less straight forward than we thought. We found we could not just manufacture the metal work to the 1830 design be- cause standard sizes of steel plate are now much different than then. This is to some extent because steel strength quality is now much better, and it could be thinner and therefore lighter and easier to machine. So, the main load bearing plates were made from 15mm thick plate, instead of the original 19mm (¾"). Derek now produced a final set of manufacturing drawing with the bonus of some isometric views which helped all the team members to understand what we were proposing. Every part was detailed and dimensioned. Wakefield workshops not only cut the timber to size but assembled it so we could ensure our design would work. Wakefield regularly had castings produced by a local forge and they agreed to procure the castings we needed for mounting the rollers. The design of the casting was as close as possible to the original, with simple cotter type pins se- curing the rollers, but sized to accept a more modern roller design. These castings were delivered with the frame. They also agreed to supply the long tie bars that held the frame together. They were some 4m long and 38mm diameter and needed threading at each end, not something we could have done on our lathe.

Carriage at Wakefield workshops 15 Number 227 RE:PORT

The timber framework was delivered to the slipway disassembled and was laid out on purpose made trestles within a working area secured with Heras fencing. Our first task was to treat the timber with modern creosote (Creocote) to protect it from the weather. The rollers for the carriage, 18 of them, were made from cast iron blanks, machined to our specification, by Brauer Ltd, producers of overhead crane wheels. To these we pressed in 2" diameter axles which we produced ourselves from stock bar. We also pro- duced 36 cotter pins, that hold the rollers into their mounting casting. The bolts for at- taching the roller castings to the longitudinal beams needed to be 24mm dia and 300mm long. Prices quoted per bolt were in the region of £120, I did not bother Margaret for approval as we needed 40 of them and no one was going to sanction £4,800 for a set of bolts. We were building a replica; the bolts would never be seen except for the fastening nut so we chose to use studding which we cut to length and bought nuts and washers to suit. When the castings arrived on site we discovered that the holes for the fixing bolts had not been cast in. So, as well as drilling 36, 16mm holes for the cotter pins we had to drill 36, 28mm diameter holes. This was all done on the radial arm drill. We were very fortunate that much of the machine shop’s original tooling, such as drill bits, lathe tools and taps and dies, had been retained by the museum.

Roller casting being drilled Roller assembly

The load bearing plates, while not to the original 1830s geometry, were substantial pieces of plate, 15mm thick 150mm wide and up to 1.5m long. The casting when finally assembled weighed up to 50kg. So, for much of the machining process we hired in a Genie lift, a small manual forklift. Some of the load bearing plates required forging work to produce turned over sections to provide connection to the load bearing tie rods. These were produced by Rowan Taylor a blacksmith working at CRT’s Ellesmere depot. While the blacksmith was able to form the plate-work into the desired shape we had to drill all the fixing holes ourselves and manufacture the principle fixing bolts some of which were 38mm diameter. The picture shows Bill Darch screw-cutting a 1½" Whitworth thread for the main load bearing bolt. Screw cutting large threads like this is highly skilled work and we are very fortunate having volunteers with skills to do this. One essential item of the carriage was a mechanism to prevent the carriage rolling down the slipway uncontrolled. It was basically a ratchet type Braking Pawl which en- 16 RE:PORT Number 227

gages with the rack between the rails. We produced this with three separate pieces of left over 15mm steel plate which was welded together, then drilled for the pivot axle, the axle being turned on our lathe. Before assembly on the slipway all the metal parts were laid out to ensure it all fitted. They were then primed and painted with two coats coated in a two-part epoxy paint. In all we produced in the order of 90 steel items from rectangular and round bar stock we bought in. Assembly on site The first stage of assembly was to install the rails and rack to the slipway. We had chosen to use the 1800s method of steel pins into oak plugs. When we came to fix the rails and rack in place we discovered that in the 1800s the precision of the Screw cutting loading bolt pitching of the holes in the slip way and rails were not as today. Very rarely could we match two sets of fixing holes and we had to revert to drilling new holes in the rails. As they were not an accessioned item this was not a problem. We had to produce a drilling jig that en- abled us to mark the correct centres for drilling even though the slipway hole was hidden when the rail was on top of it. Jigs were also produced to ensure correct align- ment of rails and rack to the length of the slipway. The original fixing spikes appeared The braking pawl to be a coach bolt type round head with a square section spike. These proved impos- sible to obtain so we ended up using a parallel round spike. Once drilled the steel spikes were hammered into the oak plugs. The next phase was to position the longitudinal beams of the frame above the rails and assemble the cross beams on top of them. The central main longitudinal beam is in fact made up of two 250mm square beams glued and bolted together. A crane to assist with the assembly would have been very expensive but, with careful use of some long 4" square posts as levers, a couple of hydraulic jacks and a bit of man-pulling power, the framework was safely assembled. At this stage we also had to install the tie rods that hold 17 Number 227 RE:PORT

Enlarging holes in the timbers Trolley with casting on it the frame together laterally and further ingenious methods were devised to facilitate this, again with the help of simple timber levers. We now discovered that the bolt holes, in the beams, for the roller mounts had been drilled too small. We went in to toolmaking mode again and manufactured a drilling jig which allowed us to align the drill bit and enlarge all 36 mounting holes from 22mm diameter to 28m diameter. Attaching the roller assembly to the underside of the framework was never going to be easy especially as their size and weight was a major safety consideration. To this end we produced a trolley to position the roller assembly beneath the frame which allowed the assembly to be raised up to the underside of the relevant beam by the fixing studs. The final stage was to mount all the load bearing plates that are screwed to the beams with 20mm square headed screws. The critical load transfer bracket, or pulling loop, that connects the frame to the winch cable, was now attached and fixed to the central beam with the large Whitworth bolt mentioned earlier. To attach the loop to the cable we had intended to buy a shackle, however a suitable sized shackle would have weighed about 150kg, with a 100mm cross section, and cost about £600. So we went for a DIY clevis type arrangement that we produced from off-cuts of 15mm plate, suitably forged into shape by a blacksmith, and a piece of 38mm rod turned down for the clevis pins. The pulling loop is quite a complex shape, with forged ends curled over to ac- cept large pins which secure the ‘U’ shaped yokes which we had had welded to the ends of the 4m long tie rods. These tie rods transfer the load from the central beam to the two outer beams, so that when the winch cable starts to pull all the beams are pulled together. Each cross beam is fastened to the longitudinal beams with saddle type brack- The pulling loop with clevis assembly ets made at the Ellesmere forge and fixed 18 RE:PORT Number 227

The team with the completed carriage with 20mm square headed screws. There are several short wood beams placed on top of the central beam that were positioned to accommodate the varying keel shapes of ships. They were fastened to the central beam with what are essentially large staples which Alex, our onsite blacksmith, produced from some tapered rods we had made on the lathe. Finally, with a total weight in the region of 2.6 tons, we thought we had better make sure the carriage never broke loose to career down the slipway at speed: it is now secured with a chain and a stop bracket, and two chocks on the outer rollers, again all made in the Museum’s workshop. Whilst every detail is not an exact copy of what was there originally, we believe that it is sufficiently accurate, and to full scale, to give the public an idea of the size of operations at the slipway in the 1800s. It required a lot of detailed research, engineering calculations, practical and bureaucratic problem solving, and a great deal of mechanical engineering and machining. Its completion was a result of people being allowed to use their skills, learn new skills, and work as a flexible team. The project took approximately two and a half years to complete and was finished within agreed budgets. While it was very much a team effort from across the Museum, (and with WMS who, during 2017-18 contributed £3,076 towards the project), special mention should be made of the efforts of Bill Darch and family, Derek Speakman, Steve Sunley, Margaret Harrison, Steve Brunt of Wakefield workshops, and all the ever-helpful site maintenance team. Brian Spencer

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Hanging up their dusters Members may not be aware that there is a small team of people who take care of the day to day maintenance of Gifford on a rota basis. Looking after Gifford involves a variety of duties, all of which are vital to the good maintenance of the boat. Many areas need regular washing, such as the exterior and interior paintwork. There are several brasses to be cleaned and plates to be wiped. In winter months it is essential to light a fire in the back cabin to keep the damp at bay. The deck needs fairly frequent scrubbing or mopping. The tank needs checking in case water has got in when the wet and dry hoover comes into play to suck it out. The hoover pipe can be used to pump out the stanks. In the well deck, the drainage hole needs clearing if necessary. When people are on board, the cabin can be opened for display, the chimney and water can and mop should be on display and the tiller should be in position. The hatch covers on the deck should be moved aside so that the trap doors can be opened to allow airflow into the tank. The stank covers should also be removed to allow passage of air. Two members of the team have been Barbara and Ken Catford but, sadly, they feel they are no longer able to carry out some of the tasks. They have been splendid workers, totally reliable and thorough. They have always come with their own buckets and cloths and worked hard to clean the external paintwork as well as doing brasses and lighting fires. They have promised to come and help with scrubbing the deck as this does not involve too much climbing on the boat! They will be sorely missed and our grateful thanks go to them for all the work and support they have given throughout the years. Di Skilbeck

Wanted: carers for Gifford Can you give a day a month to help care for the WMS boat, Gifford? The jobs are not onerous, light a fire in the back cabin during winter, check for water in the hold and the stanks – this is easily removed using the wet and dry hoover. In the cabin, brasses need cleaning and hanging up plates need a wipe over. Clean chimney brass and chimney chain using Glanol. There are other jobs which are done less frequently and I will help you with these e.g. deck scrubbing. I will pair you with an experienced carer or I will work with you. If you are interested please contact Di Skilbeck. Tel 0151 334 4432 or [email protected].

20 RE:PORT Number 227

Membership Matters

Committee minutes With effect from October 2019, the minutes of the committee meetings will be posted onto the Members Area of the society’s web site waterwaysmuseumsociety.org.uk. The pass- word for the member’s area is on your membership card and for life members, this should have been sent to you by email or by post. If you do not have access to a computer and wish to receive a copy of the minutes, please send an A5 self-addressed envelope to the society and we will print a copy off for you and send it to you. If you have any queries or want the committee to consider any particular items, please do not hesitate to contact the Chairman – contact details on the front inside cover of this magazine. Friday night Society meetings The Committee have noted that, over the past 12/18 months there has been a decline in attendance at the Friday night meetings. We appreciate that our membership extends across the UK, and beyond, making attendance impossible: however, for those who live more locally and have attended meet- ings in the past, and those who are regular attenders, we would welcome your feedback on why numbers may be falling. Is it perhaps that the talk topics don’t interest you, or you would prefer meetings to be held at a different time, say, Saturday afternoon, or your personal circumstances have changed? This is your Society and we really need you to tell us what we could do to make them more appealing. Please send your views to the editor of RE:PORT whose contact details are on the inside front page. We look forward to hearing from you. RE:PORT As many of you will already be aware, the quarterly newsletter is available electronically as well as a paper copy. We have a number of people who have already opted to receive the newsletter electronically, but we would be grateful if those who aren’t could give some consideration to receiving it this way. We recognise that not everyone has access to a computer, and some people prefer to have reading material in hard copy but, with the rising cost of postage it does mean that there is less of your subscription left to contribute to the work of the Society. Please be reassured that there is no intention of ceasing to produce printed copies of RE:PORT. If you aren’t already receiving an electronic copy, please do give it some thought and let the editor of RE:PORT know if you would like to receive your copies this way.

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WMS Meeting Report 18 October 2019 I know it is not now the practice of RE:PORT to include reviews of talks at meetings but the presentation on the Uttoxeter Canal by Steve Wood of the Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust deserves to be an exception. I have sat through many a NWMIN/BMS/WMS talk over the last 30 years, but I must say that the story of how a small canal society has transformed the line of the Uttoxeter Canal from a partly obliterated ditch to a credible canal restoration project has been one of the most awesome I have listened to. The fact that part of the line is now in the grounds of Alton Towers, and another portion has been built on by the huge JCB digger factory has not daunted them one bit. The Uttoxeter Canal is, as we all know, accessed by boat via the Caldon Canal from Etruria to Froghall, where the first lock down onto the Uttoxeter has already been re- stored. Even when the whole of the Uttoxeter Canal is restored to the north of the A50 at Uttoxeter, the "bête noire" will still be the low headroom in the Froghall Tunnel on the Caldon Canal. There was a proposal in BW days to increase the headroom in the Tunnel by lower- ing the water level in the pound, but this was thwarted by a shallow concrete slab on the bottom of the channel that means the canal is already at minimum depth. Hire boats and private craft with high or ‘square’ cabins are already prohibited or unable to enter the tunnel, and until the situation is resolved, such boats will not have access to a fully restored Uttoxeter Canal. (Perhaps one day concrete ring technology will come to the rescue, as it did in the Blisworth Tunnel repair – NGS). I cannot attempt a full précis of Steve Wood’s presentation as I made no notes, but I would commend the project to you all, and wish the Caldon & Uttoxeter Canal Trust well for the future. Norman Stainthorp

Easter celebrations at the Museum 10 to 13 April 2020 The annual Easter Boat Gathering at the museum is a very special time of the year and we’re already looking forward to it again next year. The 2019 event was memorable with beautiful weather which we can thank BBC’s Matt Taylor for bringing whilst he broadcasted the breakfast weather bulletins from site. This brought record visitor numbers to the event and now we’re scratching our heads as to how we can build on the success of 2019 and bring something different?!? Working with interested parties, we’d like to create a floating garden to lead the flo- tilla on Good Friday and similarly we will present a wellbeing garden within the grounds of the museum. This idea is one of those that needs preparation and immediate action 22 RE:PORT Number 227 and if there’s anyone who would like to get involved in this exciting activity, please do email me [email protected]. As usual at this time of year, we are busy confirming details of artists and activities to present a richly varied and lively line up of music, workshops and family activity for all ages. We will publish details in the next edition of the newsletter but do keep an eye on our website canalrivertrust.org.uk/nwm in the meantime where you will also find the online boaters booking form. So many of you are an integral part of the event during the planning stages and the weekend itself and thank you for your continuous support as we look forward to a memorable weekend. Michelle Kozomara

Chester at Work The launch of this book in October took place in the appropriate setting of Telford’s Warehouse. The book details and portrays (in 158 pictures) how today in Chester service industries such as tourism, retail, public administration and financial services predominate. This was not always the case, given the city’s location on the River Dee and its strategic military position. Chester was a port with ancillary industries from Roman times. In the mid eighteenth century the port declined due to silting of the Dee and the rise of Liverpool. However, some port-related industries remained and a reduced amount of shipping continued into the twentieth century. The 1770s saw the opening of the Chester Canal and, in 1799, the lead works was developed. The coming of the railways in the nineteenth century lead to resurgence of industry in its proximity. In the twentieth century two major manufacturer’s were based in the north of the city: Brookhirst and Williams & Williams. Manweb and Crosville were also major employers. Stewart Shuttleworth, a WMS member, traces the changes in the city’s working life from its pre-industrial be- ginnings, through the Industrial Revolution and right up to the present day. This book will be of interest to those who know the city and want to discover more about its rich heritage from an industrial and social perspective. Chester at Work (ISBN 978-1-44-569143-5) is available, price £14.99, from Amazon and local booksellers. 23 Number 227 RE:PORT

Introducing Wild Thyme This year saw the museum wave goodbye (not quite) to our trip boat Centaur after many years of service to the winding hole and back. Centaur has been put out to pasture, with recent changes to MCA regulations meaning she had gotten to the point of being beyond economical repair. Running a 64 seater narrowboat had presented the museum with some challenges, not least in acquiring the skills of a qualified boat master seven days per week, season in, season out. A decision was made to revise our trip boat offering in a way that would provide a consistent experience for visitors. The museum was successful in obtaining capital to procure a new trip boat at the start of the year. Chris Ray and Cathy Jones set to work on finding a suitable vessel. After much deliberation (including the consideration of a Chinese Junk boat), a boat by the name of Wild Thyme, a former day hire vessel based in Uxbridge was identified. It needed a bit of work before it would be able to take paying passengers up the cut at Ellesmere Port but had all of the raw ingredients to do the job. The boat was craned onto a truck and taken to Aqueduct Marina where John Solo- mon and Alex De Leie set to work to turn the former ‘booze’ cruiser into the trust branded marvel that we see today, work that included grit blasting of the hull, sides and base plate and a full rewire. Once work was completed, the boat was sailed from Aqueduct Marina to Ellesmere Port, capably crewed by Jeff and Liz Fairweather, and Cathy Jones. Cathy said of the jour- ney: “The best part of the experience was the trip through Chester to the museum with Liz and Jeff. I had never sailed on a narrowboat before and the weather was beautiful. Jeff showed me how to work the locks and steer the vessel. Liz had made egg sandwiches which kept us fuelled up through the day with endless cups of tea. The day was one of the best experiences I have had whilst working for the Trust and has given me a new appreciation for the canals and boats.”

“The volunteer support throughout the project has been an essential part in achiev- ing our goals. Jeff Fairweather’s involvement in developing the volunteer training programme in partnership with the Trust, has created a new volunteer opportunity for the museum. Working with the Museum's resident trip boat skipper, Peter Jones, further plans are underway not only to engage with existing volunteers but also a wider audience who perhaps have little to no experience on the waterways. Through the lock demonstrations and the support and knowledge of the volunteer team, the new boat experience is a great way to give our visitors, new and old, a real experience of being on the waterways and hopefully encourages them to discover the many beautiful canal routes across our country. The project has not been without its challenges, and I would like to thank the team for pulling together to make the project a success. Although we have a way to go, it is encouraging to see

24 RE:PORT Number 227

Jeff and Peter with Wild Thyme

the difference the new boat experience is making, as demonstrated by Helen Evans, Education Co-ordinator.” Cathy Jones “Our first school boat trips on Wild Thyme have gone down really well with teachers, children and volunteers. We are taking the boat through the locks and running lock demonstrations at the same time. This is really exciting for the children and helps to cement their learning about how locks work. Here is some feedback from Di Skilbeck; thought the boat trips went well on Monday and Tuesday. I was able to talk to the children on the boat and, the fact that the boat went through the locks meant the exercise was more focussed for the children on the bank. It also provided lock movements for visitors. I know it is heavy on manpower but well worth it. So far, the two teachers I’ve managed to speak to found the boat trip to be much more engaging for children than the previous one along the canal. Overall we’re really pleased with the educational opportunities the new boat is providing.” Helen Evans

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From Planet Archive… Hello everyone. By now news may have reached you that my time here is now reach- ing its conclusion. I’m sad about it as I think this has been one of the most interesting and inspiring places that I’ve ever worked but all good things, as they say, must come to an end. I’ve enjoyed working with the largest single gathering of historic records in the world relating to England and Wales’s inland waterways. It’s a collection of international signif- icance and the product of many years of enthusiasm and commitment. It’s a fabulous resource and I shall look forward to following its progress. I’ve worked with many lovely people in my five plus years working here and have been deeply affected by the affection shown to me, the support meted out to me, the vast specialist knowledge shared and the enormous commitment demonstrated. To all of you I’m very grateful for your friendship and to those too who are now sadly no longer with us. So what might be my highlights of my time here? Well, one thing would be the loca- tion and the natural environment. I’ve never worked before in such an historically significant site in British industrial history and I’ve never, and never will again, work in a site in such an amazing space: the Ship Canal, the River Mersey and all that space and light. Not something said much of Ellesmere Port, I imagine, but it’s a beautiful place. Colours of a landscape that change every hour and every day. I enjoyed seeing the museum site changing here as the interpretation improved and the preservation and presentation of the collections became radically enhanced. That all the catalogue data is now gathered together in a profession- ally standard collections management system is a great step forward. I loved our Artist in Residence scheme working with Francesca Millican Slater on ‘Along the Shroppie’ and I’m glad that we’ve managed to support so many of the recent television films relating to the canals. I’m please too that we now have improved facilities for researchers and visitors and I will take away many happy memories of the music, talks, workshops, film shows and myriad other events that have occurred over the last few years here. To all of you at the Waterways Museum Society: all the very best for the future and may the sterling work you’ve done down so many years long continue. John Benson Archivist

Archive Discovery

Tales from the Museum 1 - British Waterways’ first museum The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne is a close descendant of the first British Water- ways museum. This was based on the informal collections of Jack James (1896-1974), lock-keeper at Stoke Bruerne between 1947 to 1962; boatpeople who were leaving the waterways seem to have entrusted him with various items. The Museum seems to have been established after a visit by Sir Reginald Kerr, BTW General Manager, opening in May 1963 with Jack James as caretaker. This was not long after the establishment of a British 26 RE:PORT Number 227

Transport Museum at Clapham, but this was both dominated by railway exhibits, and subject, in a complete set of moves, to closure and transfer to a National Railway Museum funded as part of the Science Museum. I am not aware whether files relating to the Waterways Museum’s founding and operations were systematically retained, but I have, so far, found one thick file, BW53/95, which records many details. This begins with the 1968 budget and runs to May 1971. The security provided by the Transport Act (which now made it unlikely that the Grand Union Canal, by which the Museum was located, would be closed) enabled some thoughts of expansion, but it was still running on something like a shoestring operation. Museums rarely prove commercially profitable, and the 1968 budget makes this clear. Against an income of £1,200 [£20,000 at 2019 values], expenses of £3,250 [£50,000] were anticipated, and these covered working expenses, not depreciation or any alter- native uses to which the museum building - a former corn mill - could have been put. Reduced staff expenses in that year seems to have limited the deficit. A memorandum of 21 October 1968 showed that visitor numbers were increasing, from 14,000 in 1963 (after it opened in May), to 21,107 in 1966 (after a new third floor opened in March) and on to 24,186 and 42,000 for the first nine months of 1968. (The final total for 1968 would be 44,000). Intriguingly, the memorandum suggested that proximity of the birthplace of George Washington had brought many US visitors, while one-third of all visitors were school-children. There had also been a recent increase in “continental visitors”. The curator in 1968 was Charles N Hadlow (1907-1977), a former Grand Union Canal engineer who lived at Stoke Bruerne. He had his own collections (q.v.) and also those of a predecessor engineer, the late Thomas W Milner (1859-1943) of the Grand Junction com- pany, who had lived in Gayton. A note shows that Hadlow was actively seeking to collect the seals of canal companies – a process that Charles Hadfield, who knew him, had begun in British Canals (1950). Mr Hadlow was proposing a £2 2s copyright fee for any re-use on such places as hire firm brochures, which would be “all grist to the Museum Mill!”. Allan Blenkharn, Deputy Chief Engineer, responded by putting out an appeal to various offices. One reply referred to old documents stored in the old pumphouse at Gloucester. A seal was found at Wigan, but in a locked box behind padlocks with no keys! Interestingly, the Museum was then open every day bar Christmas, although there was a move to close on Mondays. Mr Hadlow envisaged the provision of a shop, a work- shop and an extended car park. Admission charges had been 1/- (adults) [5p - perhaps £1 in 2019 values] and 6d (children), and it was proposed to raise the former to 2/- (10p - £2 in 2019 values] from 1969. David Kinnersley, Deputy General Manager, agreed with the latter, stating that 1963, when prices were fixed, was “before all such places got into their present boom”. He sug- gested this would increase annual income by £1,250, although the Museum would still run at a loss. In a letter of 20 April 1969 to Hugh Irwin, the relevant Ministry of Transport officer (who might need to deal with complaints), he pointed out that a cafe and shop were to be provided, and that these should prove profitable. A memorandum of 18 December 1969 from Sir Frank Price, now BWB chairman, pointed out that the Transport Museum at Clapham was “Breaking up and here are a 27 Number 227 RE:PORT lot of pieces which really should belong to Waterways”. He proposed to “make a deal with British Rail”. Hadlow replied that he had kept in touch with John Scholes, Curator of Historical Relics, and “waterways items in his stores” had been transferred, but not yet those used as exhibits. Mr Scholes’ response was that the move from Clapham to York, and release of the permanent exhibits, was not to start before June 1971, and these should be left undisturbed. This raises the question of which exhibits were on permanent display, and what happened to them. In 1970 Hadlow had partly retired, to become “Museum Adviser” and Richard J Hutchings, then moving from Northwich, became “Manager/Curator”. On 17 June Hadlow wrote to ask about his “papers, plans, equipment and file records both personal and on duties which I have carried out in the past with no museum connection”. He sought to store these in a vacant office “in the dungeon”, stressing that there was now more space since the conversion of buildings at the rear (which were later used for the archive collec- tion) for storage. He listed these items, which related to his past work, for instance with the Grand Union company up to 1948. Somewhat surprisingly, this was agreed to by Allan Blenkharn, but on the basis that Mr Hadlow would have to take personal responsibility for them. This shows the informality which characterised the Museum, and indeed would be shown in later developments. Joseph Boughey

The Hooke Detachable Motor As a Friday volunteer in the Archive, my routine task is to access comments left on the Waterways Archive web site. The comments can range from people correcting the identi- fication of a location, family history enquiries, document requests or sometimes, as in the case of the image of the Hooke Detachable Motor a slightly unusual enquiry. The image in question is titled: “Stern of Coggins & Arthur boat as it enters the lock on a canal in the Black Country”. The question the enquirer asked was “What was the pipe running from the stern of the boat for?” Knowledge of things mechanical is not my forte so my first line of enquiry was to check to see if we had anything of help amongst our catalogue of engine manuals: I drew a blank. I then asked my fellow Archive volunteers if they had any idea: again nothing. A Google enquiry only produced a short piece of Pathé news footage, which was interesting to see, but not helpful in answering the question. So off to the Power Hall to ask our volunteer engine experts if they had any ideas. They studied the photograph and the short piece of film and made an educated guess that the pipe was in some way related to the cooling system for the motor. I emailed the enquirer to let him know about our ‘best guess’, that his enquiry had aroused our curiosity and, should we find out anything more, I would contact him again. Later that evening, I had an email from Dave Ditchfield who had mentioned the motor to his brother: his brother has an interest in all things mechanical and knows of 28 RE:PORT Number 227

various specialist web sites, and he had found reference to Hooke’s mo- tor on a US Patents web site together with the patent. From the patent we now know that Arthur Edward Hooke was from Birmingham and filed his application on the 14 August 1917, and his invention was patented on 19 July 1921. The Hooke Detachable Motor [above] The motor in operation is described as a “power [left] As patented driving mechanism for canal and other barges”. The patent application clarifies that Hooke’s invention was a means of harnessing the power from a separate engine, of any type, mounted on the stern of a boat to drive a telescopic propeller, ie his Detachable Motor. Hooke had invented what was, to all intents and purposes, what we know today as an outboard motor. In the hope that Hooke was mentioned in the history of outboard motors, I did some more research and discov- ered that, not only was there no reference to him, but he wasn’t the first person to come up with the idea of a detachable motor. Credit is given to a Norwegian-Ameri- can, Ole Evinrude, for the invention of the first outboard motor in 1909. A search of Grace’s Guide also failed to come up with any mention of Arthur Edward Hooke. Finding Hooke’s patent didn’t actually help in confirming the use of the pipe, which had been the original query, but reading about outboard motors did as it would appear that the Power Hall volunteers’ guess was correct, in that some types do pump up water to cool the engine. I did contact the enquirer again and provided him with the patent information for which he was most appreciative, and for us pursuing our further research. If any of our readers have information concerning Arthur Edward Hooke, or his detachable motor, we would be delighted to hear from you. Ailsa Rutherford

29 Number 227 RE:PORT

Have you joined the Waterways Museum Society 200 Club yet? Members of the club ensure a significant and steady income for boat restoration projects. Each month 50% of total money subscribed is paid out in prize money and 50% goes into boat restoration. By joining the 200 Club, members who live too far away from the Museum to be able to come and help, or those who have other commitments, have the opportunity to make a regular contribution to the Society. You can buy as many numbers as you like at £1 each, the only proviso being that you are a member of the Society. The more numbers that go into the draw each month, the bigger the prizes. The 200 Club draw is usually made at the monthly Society meetings. You can join at a meeting, or by completing the form below and sending it with your membership fee to Lynn Potts, whose address is below. Winners August Will Manning (52), Jan Burnip (68), Mike Turpin (26) September Nick Dilley (69), Janine De Leie (15), Nick Dilley (79) October Bob Derricott (39), Di Ascott (81), Nick Dilley (69)

Many thanks to those who have so generously donated their winnings back to the Society, this is much appreciated.

Application form - Waterways Museum Society 200 Club

Name: ......

Address: ......

Post Code: …………………………….. Telephone: ...... I apply for membership of the Waterways Museum Society 200 Club and agree to pay the sum of £1.00 per month per number. Subscriptions are payable in advance for the months up to and including June or December. I am over 18 years of age and a paid-up member of the Waterways Museum Society. Signed:.….…….………….…….….…….………………. Date: .…….….…….……………. Please send the completed form with your payment to: Lynn Potts, 58 Frankby Road, West Kirby, Wirral. CH48 6EF Cheques should be made payable to the ‘Waterways Museum Society’.

30 The L&LCS mannequin "Dicky Billy" enjoying the sunshine.