Newsletter Number 8 - February 2021 AN OCCASIONAL NEWSLETTER TO KEEP IN TOUCH DURING THIS STRANGE TIME IN OUR HISTORY

Best wishes to all of you and hope you are coping with the latest lockdown conditions. Please take care, keep healthy and safe so that we can look forward to seeing you all once more on the “first Monday” of the month. Our best wishes are also sent to those that are not in the best of health at the moment and that they continue to improve. I’m sure that those members are in our thoughts at this time.

INFORMATION REQUEST

Mid-Essex member George (Jerzy) Swieszkowski is seeking information on the photograph below posed and taken in a studio in Manor Park ( E12). It has been sent to George but sadly it is not a good copy although it has been improved with a bit of PhotoShop. Is anyone able to identify the uniform with the implicit question, “is it Great Eastern Railway”? It is not possible to positively identify the detail of the buttons or cap badge except to make similarities between the cap that was worn by Captain Fryatt.

FROM THE IAN WELLS COLLECTION

Two ships that are featured in Ian Wells’ PowerPoint slide show Number 20.

GLADSTONE STAR

GLADSTONE STAR © Ian Wells, taken on 1st June 1972

Seen here off the Royal Albert Dock arriving from Antwerp to load for New Zealand. Built for Salient Shipping Co (Bermuda) Ltd (Blue Star Line) in 1957, by Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack, she was of 10,635 g.rt. Her sister TOWNSVILLE STAR and GLADSTONE STAR were both built for the Australian service carrying cartooned frozen beef and general cargo. She appeared to have an incident free life except for a collision in June 1962 when she collided with, and sank the unmanned Breaksea Spit Lightship off Queensland. She sustained minor damage above the and proceeded to Port Alma. Towards the end of her life she was on the South American service. In 1982 she was sold to Kate Shipping () for a single voyage from Immingham to India and then on to Gadani Beach (Pakistan) where she was beached and scrapped.

CARNATIC

CARNATIC © Ian Wells, taken on 10th May 1972 entering the KGV lock CARNATIC was one of 5 similar vessels, CEDRIC, CYMRIC, CANOPIC, and CRETIC, built for Shaw Savill and Albion. CARNATIC of 11,144 g.r.t was built at Cammell Laird & Co., Birkenhead in 1956. Her last voyage for Shaw Savill was from Mount Mannganui, New Zealand. She is seen here entering King George V docks to load for the Royal Mail Line’s South America service to Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Buenos Aires. She was subsequently renamed DARRO and given a yellow Royal Mail funnel. She was sold to D. Kosmas and C Karafotias (Universal River Inc., Piraeus) in 1977 and renamed LITSA K. In

1979 she became DIMITRA and was delivered to Kaohsiung, Taiwan for breaking.

Ian Wells

JOHN HARRISON PRESENTS PART 4 of his “SING A SONG OF SHIPPING ” series

When I wrote about “The Manchester Canal” in the last part, I commented that I was somewhat surprised that, having been brought up in a home on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, I was unaware of this song, but then I learnt it did not relate to the Ship Canal. I have now learnt there are in fact a number of Ship Canal songs. There is an article from a folk club newsletter on the web about Ship Canal verses and songs which somewhat unfortunately does not does not tell us which are the songs and which are the verses, www.waterwaysongs.info/documents/The%20Manchester%20Ship%20Canal%20in%20Verse%20and%20Song.pdf. If you google “Manchester Ship Canal song” a YouTube recording of Gary and Vera Aspey singing a song entitled “Manchester Ship Canal” comes up. The song starts, “I sing a theme of deserving praise, a theme of great renown, sir; The Ship Canal in Manchester, that rich and trading town sir.” A website, Waterway Songs”, which gives the words of the song in full says, “The proposal for a Manchester Ship Canal caused many songs and poems to be written, both ridiculing and praising the idea. This song was performed by Mr. Hammond at the Theatre Royal, Manchester in 1827.” Waterway Songs has another Ship Canal song which rather confusingly tells the tale of somebody setting sail down the canal in a schooner named “Mary Anne” to Walton Jail which is in Liverpool and not exactly accessible by ship! Another website has this image of sheet music for a song

published in Manchester in 1883, so presumably had the aim or promoting the project. 1883 was when Parliament

considered two Bills for the construction of the canal. It was not until 1885 that the Manchester Ship Canal Act

was passed. The canal was opened to Manchester in 1894. Unfortunately I cannot find any more information

about this song. am a great fan of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann. I cannot think of any other performers who did anything like them with their brilliantly clever satirical songs. In researching this article I was very surprised to discover a Flanders and Swann song I had not previously encountered, “The Gay Gondolier”. This is a tale of a gondolier who found Venice too overcrowded for him to pursue his profession, so he crossed the ocean and became the only gondolier operating on the Manchester

Ship Canal. For the benefit of younger readers I should perhaps explain that “gay” is not a reference to the gondolier’s sexuality, but originally the word was broadly equivalent to “happy”. Flanders and Swann singing the song can be found on YouTube. Finally, an addition to the previous articles. During lockdown I was watching a documentary about the “Queen Mary” and they played a song in the background at one point which seemed to have the sort of sound one would expect from the era when she was completed. A bit of googling revealed it to be “Queen of the Sea” written by Horatio Nicholls. There are a couple of YouTube videos featuring it online and if you want to listen to one I would recommend the Lawrence Wright version which has the rather cheesy monologue in the middle. The Songfacts website has the following information about this song, “’Queen of the Sea’ was written by Horatio

Nicholls, a prolific composer who made a habit of this sort of song; his compositions included ‘Here’s Health unto Our New

King’ and a sugary tribute to the pioneer aviatrix Amy Johnson.

His eulogy to the ‘Queen Mary’ includes a monologue ‘to be recited during playing of the chorus.’ The lyrics are rather basic: ‘British labour gave its skill and it’s giving me a thrill. The ship is all British, it’s wonderful, too. The ship is manned by a British crew. So when I go over the sea, the ‘Queen Mary’ takes me.’ The sheet music was an overpriced one shilling from Lawrence Wright Music Co Ltd. At best this is a third rate advertising jingle, and was undoubtedly recorded at the insistence of its publisher Mr. Wright was so enthusiastic about the song: He wasn’t just a publisher, but a songwriter and he wrote under the name Horatio Nicholls.” Need I say more!

John Harrison

FROM WARRIOR to THUNDERER

Three recent articles in our news letters have made reference to a parcel of land straddling the mouth of the River Lea in East London. The first was an enquiry we had on the temporary “Vauxhall bridge” (Newsletter No 3) which was built at the Thames Iron Works. The company had main offices in Orchard Place (Middlesex side) and moved to the opposite bank of the mouth of the Lea in 1903 (Essex side).

Temporary Vauxhall Bridge

Our newsletter No 5 outlined the demise of aggregates shipper “J.J. Prior” which had its head office at nearby Orchard Wharf from 1888 till 1990.

Prior’s PETER P with Blackwall Power Station in the background

In last month’s “London Ferry” article (Newsletter No 7) mention was again made of the 10 ferries built for the London County Council by Thames Iron Works.

LCC Ferry in the Pool of London

In 1837 the original company, Ditchburn and Mare commenced building small iron paddle steamers. Ditchburn retired in 1847 and the company re-named C. J. Mare and Company. The company undertook various projects from warships to liners and ironworks for bridges. In 1857 the company became insolvent and was taken over by Mare's father-in-law, Peter Rolt, and renamed the Thames Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd. The yard occupied sites on both banks of the River Lea at the point where it joined the Thames, with 30 acres in West Ham and 5 acres in Blackwall. (On the opposite side of the Thames to the Greenwich O2 arena). This area was said to be one of the most industrialised regions of the country and Thames Iron Works one of the country’s largest ship builders at the time. However this was soon overtaken by other yards in the country with lower labour rates and close proximity to raw materials. 1860 saw the launch of HMS WARRIOR the world’s first all iron warship which was eventually rescued from Pembroke Dock in 1979 where she had been used as a floating oil pontoon. She was refurbished and is now on display at Dockyard. With its reputation of warship building the company gained orders for warships worldwide along with further orders from the . The company were awarded orders for the three pre- HMS DUNCAN, HMS CORNWALLIS and HMS ALBION at around the turn of the 20th century. This was followed by the HMS THUNDERER laid down in 1910. In 1911 at the time of her fitting out the Blackwall slipways were required for new orders; a fitting out berth for THUNDERER was established at Dagenham Dock mainly in an effort to enable its prompt delivery and ensuring future naval orders. Messrs. S. Williams was contracted to build a new jetty 22 feet wide and 145 feet long. It was constructed of 100 iron reinforced concrete piles equipped with a having a double line of rails for cranes, railway trucks and trolleys. A 150 ton capacity floating crane was also built and moored on the Thames side of the vessel. Shore side the company built shops, stores, offices, and a workers canteen. Following Thunderer’ launch she was towed down river to the new “Thunderer Jetty” to be completed. Thunderer was of 22,500 tons, of 545 feet long with a of 88 feet. She had a main armament of ten 13.5 inch guns. In 1913 she became flagship of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and was present at the . After the was dissolved in early 1919, Thunderer was transferred back to the Home Fleet for a few months before she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. The ship was converted into a for naval cadets in 1921 and served in that role until she was sold to Hughes Bolckow at Blyth for scrap in late 1926. Being too deep in draught to enter their scrapyard in Blyth she was partially stripped down at Rosyth. Even so, she grounded at the Blyth harbour entrance on 24 December. After re-floating on 30 December she returned to Rosyth for further lightening. She was towed from Rosyth and reached Blyth on 14 April 1927 to complete her demolition.

Launch of HMS THUNDERER at Blackwall

Fitting out of HMS THUNDERER at Dagenham

Completed HMS THUNDERER

A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF THE THAMES IRON WORKS

1837 Ditchburn & Mare commenced building small iron paddle steamers (50 - 100 Tons)

1840 Progressed to building cross channel ships of over 300 tons

1845 HMS TRIDENT, Royal Navy, (Ditchburn & Mare)

1846 The tubular sections for the Britannia Railway bridge over the Menai Straits

1846 HMS RECRUIT, Royal Navy, iron brig.

1847 Ditchburn retired and the company is renamed C.J. Mare & Company

1849 HMS RECRUIT, Royal Navy, iron brig.

1847 DS RIGI, In continuous service on Lake Lucerne (Switzerland) until 1952.

Since being decommissioned, she has been on display at the

Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus).

1848 PS VLADIMIR, "Russian War Steamer"

1850 Iron work for I.K. Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge over the Tamar at Saltash.

1853 ARGO, first steamship to circumnavigate the world.

1853 SS HIMALAYA for P&O 1853 to 1854. Then became the troopship HMS HIMALAYA, Royal Navy, until 1895.

1855 Brought to the brink of bankruptcy, possibly due to the underestimate of the costs of building naval vessels.

1857 New company formed as the

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd

1860 HMS WARRIOR, the world's first all-iron warship. When completed in October 1861,

Warrior was the largest, fastest, most heavily armed warship

in the world. Now restored at Portsmouth Dockyard

1862 Iron work for Westminster Bridge

1862 YAVARI and YAPURA, Peruvian Navy, exported in sections for assembly on Lake Titicaca.

1863 MAHMUDIYE, Ottoman Navy,

1863 HMS MINOTAUR, Royal Navy,

1863 RUS PERVENETZ, Imperial Russian Navy,

1863 HMS VALIANT, Royal Navy,

1865 VICTORIA, frigate,

1865 SNS VITORIA, Spanish Navy,

1866 HMS SERAPIS, Royal Navy troopship,

1866 ANGLIA, iron paddle tug.

1869 SMS KONIG WILHELM, Prussian Navy

1869 AVNILLAH, Ottoman Navy,

1870 FETH I BULEND, Ottoman Navy,

1870 HMS MAGDALA, Royal Navy,

1872 HAMIDIYE, Ottoman Navy, purchased by the Royal Navy as HMS SUPERB

1872 MESUDIYE, Ottoman Navy,

1874 PS CASTALIA, Steamship Company,

1875 MINDELLO, Portuguese Navy,

1875 RAINHA de PORTUGAL, Portuguese Navy,

1876 VASCO da GAMA, Portuguese Navy,

1877 FOX, Iron tug

1880 CANADA, Screw Tug

1880 HMS LINNET, Royal Navy

1884 NRP AFONSO de ALBUQUERQUE, Portuguese Navy,

1885 HMS BENBOW, Royal Navy

1887 HMS SANS PAREIL, Royal Navy

1890 HMS BLENHEIM Royal Navy

1890 SS ROBIN, Arthur Ponsonby. Now preserved as a museum ship in the Royal Victoria Dock

1892 HMS GRAFTON, Royal Navy

1892 HMS THESEUS, Royal Navy

1895 Thames Ironworks Football club established

1896 IJN FUJI Japanese Battleship

formed the main Japanese battle line in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905

1898 IJN SHIKISHIMA Japanese Battleship

formed the main Japanese battle line in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905

1898 IJN SHIKISHIMA Japanese Battleship

formed the main Japanese battle line in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905

1898 HMS ALBION, Royal Navy

The launch of HMS Albion in 1898 was marred by an accident when 34 observers,

mostly women and children, drowned following the collapse of an observation platform.

1898 West Ham United Football Club established

1901 HMS CORNWALLIS, Royal Navy

1901 HMS DUNCAN, Royal Navy

1902 Cromer Lifeboat LOUISA HEARTWELL ON 495, RNLI

1904 HMS BLACK PRINCE, Royal Navy

1904 J C MADGE, RNLI, Sheringham lifeboat,

1910 HMS NAUTILUS, Royal Navy, later named HMS GRAMPUS

1911 HMS THUNDERER, Royal Navy The last major warship built by the yard.

THAMES IRONWORKS - LINKS TO THE AREA OF EAST LONDON Employees at the Thames Ironworks formed a works football team, called Thames Ironworks Football Club. This club was later renamed West Ham United, whose emblem of the crossed hammers represents the large riveting hammers used in the shipbuilding trade. West Ham is also known as "The Hammers" for this reason. Club supporters have always referred to their team as 'The Irons', which comes from the link with Thames Ironworks. The chant 'Come on you Irons' is heard on every match day at West Ham. The fitting out jetty at Dagenham is also still known as Thunderer Jetty as are several roads in the area.

David Brown

SHIP PHOTOS

A selection of ships from the past, taken mainly in Australian waters. Forwarded by Ken Bottoms for inclusion.

CITY of WINCHESTER (Melbourne) KUALA LUMPUR (Wellington N.Z.)

MAASDAM (Gravesend UK) MALAYSIA (San Francisco)

MAORI (Wellington) Union Steam Ship Co. MAORI (Wellington) Messageries Maritimes

RANGITANE (Wellington N.Z.) RHEXENOR (Melbourne)

RISDON (Adelaide) RIVER BURNETT (Melbourne)

Ken Bottoms

RECENT YOUTUBE SHIPPING CLIPS

David Berg has passed on the following YouTube Clip of the cargo ship ARVIN built in 1975 and flagged in Palu where she is seen snapping in heavy weather in the Black Sea. Sadly the ship sank with a loss of 6 of the 12 crew on board. https://youtu.be/gaZhnNlutuQ?t=8

Clips of Cruise liners recently scrapped: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvaHvzZLyso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shzLCGDXlfY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWNfh0l-mlQ

Click on link or copy and paste the link into your browser if you prefer.

I hope you have enjoyed this varied miscellany of news, articles and images etc. to help us through this difficult time. Please contact us to add or correct any of the articles found here. Apologies if any copyright is breached please contact us so that we can include any credits.

Any articles or photos of interest will be gratefully received for the next publication. Please take care of yourselves until we can meet on a Monday evening once more.

Newsletter compiled by David Brown

My thanks go to those that have contributed to this edition: Ian Wells, John Harrison, Ken Bottoms, David Berg, David Brown

Newsletter Number 9 will be published as and when there is any further news and/or articles to impart.

If you have any contributions for the next edition please contact me on [email protected]

or through our website contact form:

http://www.midessexships.org.uk/contact.html David Brown,

Secretary, WSS MID-ESSEX BRANCH