My grandfather had a tattoo. Although he died the year I was born, and I therefore never saw it (or him), a cousin recalls an anchor on his arm. My mother was baffled as to why he should have had one done – but as we learn from our guest contributor and novelist Philip K Allan on page 13, tattooing became very popular in Edwardian times and continues to be so.
In this issue, we have compiled your very own IMT Guide to Tattoos! IMT Trustee Jon Cobbold takes a closer look at their Naval (not navel) origins, and what the images mean.
Stuart Grimwade, IMT’s Image Archivist and this year’s recipient of the Richard Smith Memorial Trophy (page 10), shares with us his recollections of a famous tattooist based on the docks in Ipswich.
Was this where IMT member Chalky Cooper had his tattoo done of Suffolk circumnavigator Thomas Cavendish’s ship The Desire?
Come and join the party! I look forward to celebrating with you at this year’s Heritage Open Day (page 3).
Cathy Shelbourne
Contents
News pages 3-5, 10-11, 24-25
The IMT Guide to Tattoos pages 12-14
From the Archives selected by Stuart Grimwade page 15
From the Chairman pages 6-7
Heritage: ‘Bob in the Bedroom’ by Rosemary Harvey pages 10-11
Talkback reports by Ben Good pages 16-19
Heritage: Spotlight on LV18 pages 20-21
Book review by Cathy Shelbourne page 22
Obituary page 23
Maritime Quiz page 26
62nd Pin Mill Barge Match page 27
Diary dates page 28
IMT Committee members
Chairman: Ben Good info@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Treasurer: Adam Rae treasurer@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Membership Secretary: Richard Fayers membership@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Newsletter Editor and Events Co-ordinator: Cathy Shelbourne editor@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk; events@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Barge trips: John Warren barge@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Social media: Jon Cobbold info@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Minutes Secretary: Frances McGready
Help us cut down on postage
With increases in postage costs on the horizon, we are keen to keep down our mailing charges. If you have an email address and haven’t let us know, do please inform our Membership Secretary now. Members receive regular mailings by email, including this Newsletter, as well as news uploaded to our website. However, we appreciate that many members like to have a copy of the Newsletter in their hands, and to pass on to others. So if you are unable to pick up a copy at the monthly IMT meetings, we are happy to post it to you.
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Come and join the party!
During this year’s national Heritage Open Days IMT will be celebrating our maritime heritage from on board Sailing Barge Victor, and in the Old Custom House on the Ipswich Waterfront.
We’ll be in residence on Saturday 7th September from 10am-5pm, and we’ll be joined by the Shefarers and Orwellermen shanty singers at 12 noon, following author Barry Girling signing copies of his final edition of Band of Brothers, the definitive guide to bargemen associated with the port of Ipswich, at 11am. (If you were one of them, we’d love to hear from you!).
At 11.45am, the Deputy Mayor of Ipswich, Councillor Lynne Mortimer, will unveil the new maritime heritage information board at the Old Custom House and acknowledge Ipswich’s status as a heritage harbour.
Visitors are very welcome to have a look over Victor, join in the shanty singing, take a look around IMT’s exhibition of incredible images from Ipswich’s past – which will be displayed on the ground floor of the Old Custom House, by kind permission of ABP – and view the latest display, about the West Bank, in the Window Museum on Albion Quay.
Could you help for an hour or two by chatting to visitors and promoting membership of IMT, either on board Victor or in the Old Custom House?
We’re also looking for assistance beforehand in setting up the display boards, and decorating Victor, on Friday 6th September.
The themes of this year’s Heritage Open Days (HODs)are Routes - Networks - Connections.
The Heritage Harbours Group, to which Ipswich was elected in January 2024, is working with HODs and has produced a commemorative postcard showing then and now photos of the harbours and inland ports, which are still essential highways for maritime trade and tourism.
The postcard harks back to an age of writing missives to family and friends, with a picture of the place. It particularly references IMT’s amazing collection of picture postcards, some of which were presented to The Hold earlier this year (see page 11).
Pick up your commemorative postcard free from Victor!
ABP’s Wet Dock plans
ABP have now submitted their formal planning application for the works mainly to reorganise the pontoons in the Wet Dock, following their acquisition of the Neptune Marina business. This latest proposal is arguably an improvement on the original plan ABP produced for consultation last year, and in some ways is an improvement on the current arrangement. It creates more open water space for traditional vessels - SB Victor and any visiting ships - to swing and manoeuvre when they approach and cast off from berths on Common Quay, which was a key concern for IMT originally. It will also free up more space between Common Quay and Salthouse Hotel, potentially offering the possibility of additional traditional vessels to add to the atmosphere of the Waterfront.
In addition, the application includes an extra Museum Window for IMT with (modest) storage facilities. This will be on the end of a new building to be built on the former Neptune carpark (and, before that, RORO terminal), very close to, and facing, the pedestrian thoroughfare, and will include outside space for us to set up temporary displays to engage with passersby. Directly opposite CoffeeLink, at the top of Orwell Quay, this should be a rather more visible location than the current Window Museum.
The new proposal retains about 18 stern-to berths on the Waterfront (north) side of the Wet Dock, but all the other Neptune berths will be removed (with now no corresponding extension of pontoons on the other side - hence the increase in space referred to above). Obviously, this is a substantial reduction
SETTING THE SAILS FOR 2026
in boat numbers on the Waterfront side (which in fact has already started, looking at the number of already-vacant Neptune pontoons). For some people, this numeric reduction is the only important measure of the negative impact of ABP’s plans. However, IMT’s focus is on heritage matters, and therefore we should look at quality as well as quantity: if the modern boats can move 100m or so across the water to make way for some traditional boats, then arguably we have a chance to increase the maritime appeal of the Waterfront. That benefit, plus the extra passage and swing space offered for Victor and others, plus the new IMT display area, means that I believe we can support the new application.
Ben Good
Ipswich Maritime Festival
As mentioned at the recent AGM, we have concluded that we will not be ready in time to put on the festival in 2025. This is for a number of overlapping reasons. First, the tall ships which should be the centrepiece, need to be booked, with financial commitments, 18+ months in advance. Second, we need to have sufficient funds in place soon enough to know that we can pull it off. We hadn’t made enough progress on that, partly because of the
added complexity of the potential Victor purchase (see page 6), partly because of funding pressures in the council, and partly because we had not started the process of looking for local sponsors. This last point leads to the third reason: there is too much to do and too few of us trying to do it! So we will use the breathing space offered by the delay to entry to get more people on board to help make it happen. That means both collaborating with
local organisations - the Borough Council, ABP and Ipswich Central are already in a working group led by IMT, but we need to bring in more grassroots organisations - and more IMT volunteers.
So there is a way to use the delay as an opportunity to strengthen our network, build the volunteer base, synchronise better with our (to be funded!) Schools Programme - and maybe all this with an IMT-owned Victor as a centrepiece!
A brief history of the Wet Dock
Ipswich Maritime Trust’s Window Museum is the only site in the town solely dedicated to showing the maritime history of the port, which has been in existence since the seventh century. In those days, the port was little more than a few quays on the northern bank of the tidal River Orwell. And so it remained for some one thousand years but, as the country became industrialised, the demand for bigger and better ship and cargohandling arrangements led to the creation in 1842 of what was then the largest
wet dock in the country. This dock is still largely the same size as when it was built by deepening and widening a natural bend in the course of the Orwell river bed. This meant cutting the dock off from the tide but the river itself still had to ebb and flow and take the water of the River Gipping out to sea. The answer was to build a ‘river by-pass’ on the southwestern side of the new dock - this artificial ditch is the New Cut.
The land to the west of this cut and alongside the natural River Orwell is known colloquially to Ipswichians as ‘Over Stoke.’ This became heavily industrialised in the 19th century although shipbuilding and even whaling had been going on for decades earlier.
Engineering companies like Ransome and Rapier (makers of walking draglines and lock-gates, for example) and Cocksedge, as well as maltsters and fodder manufacturers, set
up shop and lasted until the latter part of the last century. But not only was the West Bank a place of industry, it provided a focus for leisure activities with a swimming club, sailing clubs and the means of getting afloat to enjoy trips on paddle steamers to Felixstowe and Harwich which ran from 1895 to 1930.
We have tried in the current window display to show and describe something of the breadth of uses to which the West Bank has been - and is still being - put. This includes the installation of the high-tech flood barrier now being used to protect the town from ever-rising sea levels.
And our new screen shows a continuous loop of wonderful photos from the IMT Image Archive, of the West Bank and New Cut.
The IMT Window Museum is on Albion Wharf IP4 1FT. what3words: cars. branded.game
Richard Watkinson
BOOK SIGNING BY AUTHOR BARRY GIRLING
Band of Brothers
The final version of this epic directory of bargemen associated with the Port of Ipswich is a fascinating read! Not only is it an admirable source of facts and figures up to 1960, but it’s also a social record of some of the families and villages and towns in Suffolk so closely associated with sailing barges and the water-borne traffic between Ipswich and London.
The author, Barry Girling, will be signing copies during Heritage Open Day, Saturday 7th September, at a special price to IMT members of £10. See him on board Victor at 11am. Otherwise available from local bookshops or direct, from redroundabout92@ gmail.com for £15 plus £3 p&p.
From the Chairman
How do you solve a problem like Victor?
Some years ago, Andrew Lloyd Webber had a problem. He was putting on a production of The Sound of Music, and needed to cast someone for the Maria von Trapp role, who wasn’t going to cost him a fortune. He also wanted to find a way to generate some good publicity for the upcoming show. So, he turned the problem into a huge opportunity by creating a reality TV talent show, ‘How to solve a problem like Maria.’
Well, now Ipswich has a problem - called Victor not Maria - which could be similarly turned into a huge opportunity. SB Victor is for sale. Wes, the skipper, is approaching a time of life when he wants to hang up his smock, so he and the barge’s owner have agreed to put it on the market. This raises the possibility that ‘our’ barge might soon sail away down the Orwell, never to return.
That would be a terrible shame: not only was Victor built here, but has in recent years become, on its berth outside the Old Custom House, the iconic image of Ipswich’s maritime heritage. And for IMT, her departure would be a particular loss: we already use her for various meetings and for our own trips down the river, and would like to start using her more for school trips and other events. So, we are actively considering the possibility of IMT making an offer for Victor. Obviously, that would mean, among other things, we need a plan for the money - both the initial purchase price and ongoing costs - and for a new skipper, plus crew and volunteers, to look after her. These are big issues for us, but the benefits are big as well. We would be
saving Victor for Ipswich, as well as giving IMT an new floating base on the Waterfront, plus a platform for schools trips and cultural events, as well as revenue from existing river trips business.
What do you think about this? If you have any comments or want to get involved, please get in touch! info@ ipswichmaritimetrust. org.uk
A new home for an old painting ... and other gifts
We were very pleased to be offered, by the late Anthea Durose, an original painting by Cor Visser. Since it's a life-size portrait of a bargeman, it's quite large, so finding the right home for it was not straightforward! However, after discussing the options with its owner, we have agreed that it will hang in Suffolk New College, where it will be seen by many people every day. The painting has a fascinating backstory - see feature on page 8.
We are grateful:
• To Maggie Green for the collection of over 200 photos of barges on the Orwell and elsewhere, taken by her late husband John Green of barges and the Wet Dock
• To Ruffy Ruffles, for a complete set of back editions from 1954 to 1984 of Sea Breezes, which we will add to our book collection
• To Wendy Caiels, widow of Ronnie, for a cine film of a 1960 championship barge match in the Thames estuary, which we have had digitised.
Ben Good
CAN YOU ASSIST?
Salve et Vale
Celia Waters has resigned as membership secretary - thanks for all your hard work, Celia! - to be taken up by Richard Fayerswelcome, Richard, and thank you!
At same time, Colin Waters and Stuart Harris have both retired as Window Wizards, after many years of good work. Thank you to both!
We are now looking for volunteers to help with the curation and set-up of future Window displays.
Other news
The indefatigable Stuart Grimwade has supplied the Chamber of Commerce with images from our Archive for their celebration of 140 years of Suffolk's (but mainly Ipswich's) industrial heritage. See page 24 for more information on the Chamber’s C140 initiative.
He has also produced a new sign/information board to replace the one outside the Old Custom House - which had definitely seen better days! This is being done by kind permission of ABP, and with financial support from Ipswich Central. The board will be unveiled on Saturday 7th September as part of our Heritage Harbours and Heritage Open Day celebrations (page 3).
We need help!
We have much to do, but not enough pairs of hands to do it with! As we move IMT in new directions, to expand our contribution to our community and to secure its long term future, we need volunteers for all kinds of roles:
• Helping to organise events
• Being ‘on the door’ or attending our stall
• Heritage - curating what we’ve got and doing research
• Heritage - helping with the Window displays
• Communicationsboosting our presence and content on social media
• Fund raising - helping to write grant applications
• Developing and managing our relationships with local sailing clubs, marinas and boatyards
• Helping with the Festival organisation
• Working with schools - administering and participating in our outreach activities
• Helping with SB Victor
• The Hidden Fleet project- finding and documenting the local, independently-owned and interesting old boats
There’s a lot here - not quite something for everyone, but certainly a good variety of tasks. If you’re interested, or know someone who might be, please let us know!
What’s next?
As you can see, we have a lot going on and a lot to work through in the coming months. It’s a lot of work but it is also a period of great opportunity for IMT. A campaign to ‘Save Victor for Ipswich’, and re-engagement with multiple local groups to lay the groundwork for a 2026 Festival, are great chances to raise our profile within the town, and to signal our big plans for the future, and for the next generation of IMT members.
We obviously need to attract more interest from people who maybe don’t know much about us right now, and hopefully that interest will take the form of donations, more members and more volunteers.
So, expect to see more publicity from the Trust in the coming weeks – and if you have a way of helping with that, by spreading the word, recommending us to people you know, making your own suggestions, whatever, then that would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!
Heritage
A picture paints a thousand words, so it is said.
ROSEMARY
HARVEY investigates the story behind an enigmatic painting by Cor Visser.
‘Bob
in the Bedroom’
Ipswich Maritime Trust has been donated a painting by the Ipswich artist Cor Visser. The donor, Anthea Durose, was a student and friend of Cor Visser, and inherited many of his works.
The painting (see section above) is of a sailor, in the hold of a wooden boat. “Anthea thought the picture was of Bob Roberts,” says IMT chairman Ben Good. “She called him ‘Bob.’ But Anne, Bob’s daughter, said it’s definitely not. She thinks it’s Bill Evans, Bob’s mate in the Cambria.”
Cornelis ‘Cor’ Visser was a wellloved member of the Ipswich art scene. He was born in the Netherlands in 1903, and studied art in Haarlem, where he became friends
with Mauritz Escher (perhaps bestknown for his seven stairways in the print Relativity.) Cor’s life was always connected with the sea. From 1927 he lived with his wife Emmy aboard a series of boats, and exhibited around the Netherlands and Belgium.
In Dutch, he became known as the ‘sailing painter.’ He sailed to Ipswich for the first time in 1937 and spent the next few years crossing het Kanaal between the Netherlands and England.
When WW2 broke out, Cor was marooned in England, unable to contact his family. He was appointed war artist to the Dutch Royal Family in exile, and sketched Queen Wilhelmina under such strict secrecy
Section of painting by COR VISSER
Anthea Durose, who died earlier this year, was a renowned portrait artist, and in 1993 was commissioned to paint a commemorative portrait of the Maharaja Duleep Singh for the 100th anniversary of his death. The Maharaja lived at the Elvedon Hall, Thetford, estate given to him by Queen Victoria.
that he was taken to her location blindfolded! Postcards based on that sketch were airdropped into occupied Holland by the RAF. By chance Cor’s family recognised his handiwork and realised that he was alive!
After the war, Cor gave up ever hearing his surname pronounced properly again and settled in Suffolk. He and Emmy lived for years in his boat in the Ipswich dock, and he worked out of a studio in Fore Street. Cor seems to have made friends everywhere, and was ‘good at people,’ which his sympathetic portraits bear out. He was known for his ever-present pipe and his naughty sense of humour. On being asked how someone as mischievous as him would ever pass the Pearly Gates, Cor laughed, and said he would distract St Peter by talking about fishing. He recorded the people and places of Suffolk, onshore and off, and liked to paint in situ (a concerning habit if the tide was coming in!)
He taught art at the Fore Street Gallery (next to Out of Time Records today) and exhibited with the Ipswich Art Society, of which he was a life member. During this time, he met his protégé Anthea Durose, to whom
he taught the magic of portraiture.
Cor painted ‘Bob’ in a sailing boat’s hold. The sailor has his back to the ladder, and one boot on the first rung. The light from the hatch casts down on his cap and face. He looks wary, as if he is waiting for someone to speak.
‘Bob’ never sold. Cor kept the painting in his studio, where it gained a patina from decades of pipe smoke. Cor passed away in 1982 in Ipswich, and the painting was left to Anthea. To her, it was ‘Bob in the Bedroom’ – the only room in her house big enough to keep such a large painting.
Ben and I met Anthea in person, a 91-year-old lady with a feisty flowerchild spirit. She introduced us to Cor through his scrapbooks, and we met ‘Bob.’ I showed Anthea the pictures I found of Bill Evans, and she cried with delight, “That’s him! That’s Bob in the Bedroom!”
Bill Evans was born in Greenhithe. John Hall, a family friend, remembers that the area was then greenery, down to the Thames. At that time, Cutty Sark and HMS Worcester were both moored there as training ships, and John remembers the Greenhithe children sneaking onto the grand old ladies to see how high they could climb before getting caught! Bill and his brother Peter both went to work for the shipping company FT Everard, and Bill found his way to sailing barges.
Bill Evans was mate of the Cambria with Bob Roberts. There is a photograph of him in one of Bob Roberts’s books, and he is mentioned as being “never a talkative chap.”
John too remembers Bill as being “a
quiet sort of bloke.” Bob Roberts was the very opposite of ‘quiet’ so it’s possible he introduced Bill and Cor during the 1950s when they were all in Ipswich at the same time.
Or maybe not: Cor would stop strangers in the street and ask to paint them. He painted dockers, sailors, cops, Dutch grannies, French fishermen – anyone with a storytelling face. Looking through Cor’s scrapbook with Anthea and a cup of tea is to meet a parade of interesting faces. There is even a clipping of ‘Bob in the Bedroom,’ from an English newspaper.
I got a good look at the clipping, and … it isn’t Bill Evans. It can’t be. The newspaper was printed in 1938. They look like twins, but Bill Evans would have been a boy in 1938. Unless he was a very wrinkled teenager, ‘Bob,’ can’t be Bill. He’s a ghost.
There were hundreds of sailing vessels tramping up and down the coasts, and thousands of bargemen. The real Bob may have been Dutch, or English, or even French. He may have sailed to Ipswich; he definitely crossed paths with Cor Visser. Or perhaps Bob is Bill, and the date in Cor’s scrapbook was wrong?
Whoever the real Bob was, he is the epitome of a sailor-man – here, then gone. He agreed to stand around in a barge’s hold long enough to have his portrait painted, and then he disappeared like a ship’s wake.
I did not have the heart to tell Anthea that Bob cannot be Bill. She passed away in Ipswich Hospital in April 2024.
FOOTNOTE: When Anthea first offered the painting to IMT, we said we would need to find somewhere to hang it as IMT does not have the space. We were delighted when Suffolk New College agreed to display ‘Bob’ in one of their public areas, and even more pleased that Anthea approved of this plan, happy for ‘Bob’ to be seen by many more young people.
News
Richard Smith Memorial Trophy
And the recipient of this year’s Richard Smith Memorial Award is … Stuart Grimwade, the IMT’s Image Archivist! The Richard Smith Memorial Award is given annually by the Trust to a member who has contributed in a significant way to the understanding of local maritime culture or heritage.
From an early age Stuart was messing about in boats (especially his brother Mark’s) in the docks. An interest in photography led him to record, in colour, many of the comings and goings on the busy waterfront in the 1960s. When he retired from a career in town planning in 2000, he joined the IMT at his brother’s suggestion and put his planning experience to use in negotiating a series of ‘windows’ which became the IMT’s permanently open museum on Albion Quay.
“The concurrent development of the Image Archive meant a ready supply of images for each Window display, of which there have been 25,” recalls Stuart. “During lockdown I had time to record the illustrated talks I had given over the years, using the contents of all the collections. With the help of other volunteers, it has been possible to begin annotating and uploading the whole archive.”
These can be accessed from the IMT website or by contacting image-archive@ ipswichmaritimetrust.org. uk
The Richard Smith trophy (bottom left) was presented to Stuart Grimwade, at the Trust’s AGM on Wednesday 19th June by awardwinning photographer Anthony Cullen, right. In the background, and enlarged, below, is a photo taken of Stuart at Pin Mill by Naomi Cassidy during one of Anthony’s Photographic Workshops.
Top: One of the earliest photos of the Old Custom House, recently sent to Stuart by a correspondent in Australia. Below: Stuart’s brother Mark, messing about in Vetiver in Ipswich Docks, circa 1964.
When postage cost just a halfpenny
IMT’s Leonard Woolf Collection of picture postcards, of the Port of Ipswich and the River Orwell in Victorian and Edwardian times, was deposited with Suffolk Archives at The Hold in Ipswich on Friday 22nd March 2024.
The Collection consists of over 1,500 postcards, many hand-coloured, of scenes and ships along Ipswich’s waterfront, in the 1890s, 1900s and 1910s. On the reverse are messages from Ipswich residents to friends and family around the country, capturing the anxieties and felicitations of the era.
“Happy birthday,” writes a boy to his sister in West Kensington, adding that he will be sending her some neadles (sic), and that “my birth-day is on Friday.”
Another writes that she is posting the card now so that it arrives before she
Leonard Woolf, a lifelong collector and enthusiastic member of IMT, left the postcards to the Trust in his will. Born in 1934, he died in 2018, and was involved in agriculture, horticulture and environmental issues all his life, being presented in 2015 with a Green Hero award for his environmental campaigning.
He was assisted in his later years by fellow IMT member Bob Pawsey (see photo, far right) in bidding for and purchasing suitable postcards to add to the collection. “They were kindred spirits,” recalls Bob’s daughter Emma Pawsey. “They shared a deep affection for their home town, and a fervent dedication to preserving its rich maritime heritage.
“Both enthusiastic collectors of postcards and assorted ephemera, they swiftly realised the significance of Leonard’s collection. My father, in particular, committed himself to its preservation, dedicating a substantial portion of his life to cataloguing and ensuring its legacy for future generations. My sister and I take immense pride in his contribution to the town’s historical archives, particularly his unwavering support for maritime endeavours.”
To enable the postcards of the past to be more widely accessible to future generations, the IMT decided to copy the images. Over the past twenty years all the postcards have been scanned by a team led by IMT’s Archivist, Stuart Grimwade, and are
available to view on the Trust’s website.
“The Collection is one of the largest of its kind of the same general location, focusing as it does on the river and dock area of Ipswich,” says Stuart. “And having been through the postal system –when stamps cost just a halfpenny! – they contain many messages of social interest as well as showing the huge variety of local maritime scenes around the turn of the nineteenth century.”
Five enormous albums containing the postcards were handed over to The Hold by IMT chair Ben Good. The albums were received on behalf of Suffolk Archives, a Suffolk County Council service, by Senior Archivist Bridget Hanley. (See photo above, with Angela Woolnough and Stuart Grimwade).
Scans of the postcard fronts can be viewed at www.ipswichmaritimetrust. org.uk. See the actual postcards at The Hold: applications should be made for a reader’s ticket: www.suffolkarchives.co.uk
Love them or loathe them?
We take a closer look at TATTOOS!
IMT trustee, British sailor – and proud bearer of many tattoos –JON COBBOLD explains the meanings behind the images
The IMT Guide to Sailors’ Tattoos and what they mean
In an era in which tattoos and body modification are now generally considered socially acceptable, there is one group of people who have always sported their tattoos proudly. Sailors have for centuries been displaying a raft of tattoos.
The reasons and meanings behind the tattoos are a reminder of places visited; loved ones left behind or lost; belonging to or identifying with a group; or a whole host of superstitions held at bay from having a particular tattoo.
A tattoo is an indelible design of coloured pigment punctured into the skin. It’s now a safe and hygienic process, yet, back in the early years of tattooing, sailors would create the pigment from a number of things, even gunpowder and urine!
What do these colourful works of art mean? Too numerous to list them all, here are a selection of the more popular works.
The Swallow measures how far a sailor travels. Each swallow denotes 5,000 nautical miles. The Anchor is the most secure object on the ship and serves as an icon of stability. With a banner and name added, it suggests that the named person keeps them grounded. Can also denote a successful Atlantic crossing.
A Nautical Star represents the ability to find your way home, even if lost at sea.
Hold Fast: to celebrate a career as a deck hand. It is said that having hold fast on each of the deckhand’s fingers gave them the grip required to work the lines and rigging.
The Pig and Rooster image is derived from times when livestock were transported in wooden crates. These crates floated when ships went down, and the livestock were often the only survivors. Sailors
believed that these tattoos would increase chances of survival. “A pig on the knee, safety at sea…”
A Mermaid depicts the danger and beauty of the sea: half women, half fish, mermaids were believed to seduce and lead sailors to their deaths.
Crossed Cannons represented service on board a military vessel.
The Pin Up girl was the only female a sailor would see for for long periods away at sea. Often they would conjure up a memory of a loved one back home.
Regardless of how people perceive tattoos, they are generally personal to the wearer. Certainly, as a British sailor I enjoyed the fact that I could carry on a tradition of British seafarers gone before.
The Royal Navy’s current tattoo policy has recently changed, and you can have tattoos on your hands and the back of your neck. The main stipulation is that they are not obvious when wearing Number 1 dress uniform.
PHILIP K ALLAN has an excellent knowledge of the 18th century navy. He studied it as part of his history degree at London University, which awoke a lifelong passion for the period.
A longstanding member of the Society for Nautical Research, he is also a keen sailor and writes for the US Naval Institute’s magazine Naval History.
This blog first appeared on his website www. philipkallan.com and is reproduced by kind permission.
See our review of his latest book in his Alexander Clay series, on page 22.
Tattooing needles and combs from across the Pacific, on display in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
Tattooing in the Navy
During the age of sail, seamen took great pride in maintaining a distinct appearance from mere landsmen. Most refused to cut their hair, wearing it instead in long, closely woven pigtails down their backs. Not for sailors the britches and stockings worn ashore. Instead, they sported a more practical garment for climbing aloft of their own invention, which they called ‘trousers.’ Towards the end of the 18th century, a new craze swept the lower decks of the Royal Navy that would further differentiate sailors from the rest of mankind. They began decorating their arms with designs and messages inked permanently into their skin, using a process called tattooing. Tattooing had existed in different times and places for millennia. The Romans encountered it when they fought barbarian tribes during their imperial expansion, as did European settlers when they populated the Americas, but it remained largely on the margins of western society. What changed this were the three great voyages of exploration that Captain Cook made to the Pacific between 1768 and his death in 1779.
The word ‘tattoo’ is Polynesian, and is the sound made by the little wooden hammers that the islanders use to puncture the skin, creating dense patterns of lines that adorned their bodies. This practice had been going on for centuries in the Pacific before Cook discovered it. While it was of only passing interest to the great explorer, it proved fascinating to his crew. His sailors were predominately young men, and just like their 21st century peers, they found the idea of tattooing irresistible. They asked local artists to decorate them, with anchors, sailing-related messages like “hold fast” or “dread nought” or the names of their wives and sweethearts far away. When they
returned home, they were paid off and dispersed into the maritime community, proudly sporting their tattoos. And much admired they were by all who encountered them.
Tattooing could have more practical benefits for sailors beyond simple decoration. Until the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy used impressment to maintain numbers. Sailors who were American citizens and some British seafarers were immune from the press, and were issued certificates to prove this. But these often had such vague descriptions and this coupled with many sailors’ propensity to sign onto ships’ books under false names, led to widescale abuse. The result was that Royal Navy officers often assumed the certificates to be false. However, unique and distinctive tattoos included in the description on a certificate was a more reliable way of proving identity.
At first tattooing remained largely confined to sailors, although not necessarily just to the lower deck. Lord Charles Beresford, a distinguished rear admiral in the Victorian navy and an enthusiast for country sport is known to have had a very large tattoo concealed beneath his uniform. It depicted the hounds of the Waterford Hunt in full cry, pouring over his shoulder and down his back in pursuit of a fox. Only the tail of the fox was visible, the rest of the animal having apparently disappeared up the admiral’s anus.
Lord Beresford was not the only member of the British upper classes to carry a concealed tattoo. By the start of the 20th century up to a fifth of the House of Lords are said to have had tattoos. Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston, had a snake tattooed around her wrist (where it could be concealed beneath a bracelet) and her son is said to
have shown his obsession for all things naval by having an anchor tattooed on his forearm. Even royalty was not immune from the lure of tattooing. British Kings George V and Edward VII both had one, as did Kaiser Wilhelm II and even Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.
Although by the end of the 19th century tattooing more generally had moved beyond the navy to other largely male and workingclass groups, such as soldiers and criminal gangs, it was still much more prevalent among seafarers. Samuel O’Reilly, the American inventor of the electric tattoo machine, reported that most of his customers were sailors in the 1880s. In 1908, an article in American Anthropologist reported that 75% of sailors in the US Navy were tattooed, findings that prompted the naval authorities to issue regulations about what tattoos were and were not permitted.
The electric tattoo machine led to a proliferation of tattoo parlours, and this allowed the practice to spread far beyond sailors. Today groups as diverse as Hollywood stars and Latin American drug gangs both sport them. They can be seen from the catwalks of Paris to the football stadiums of London. But I wonder how many of those getting a tattoo today think of the Royal Navy sailor who first held out a bare arm beneath the fronds of a palm tree on a beach far away and long ago.
Tattoos about Town
John Heath (left) joined us on board Victor for the Pin Mill Barge Match. His Swallows and Amazons tattoos attracted much attention! “I had a couple of tattoos done when I was a teenager. The guy who did them was called Fat Bob. He had been using his houseboat at Pin Mill as a tattoo studio but by the time I had mine done he had a proper studio in Ipswich in Woodbridge Road. It closed in 2015 after 30 years! Roll on 30 odd years, and I needed to get my old tattoos covered up. I had recently read the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome and had been inspired to learn how to sail - so it had to be a nautical theme combined with Arthur Ransome’s stories. My tattoos include Nancy Blackett, a cormorant from Cormorant Island, a compass as used by John while sailing up the lake at night, the Swallow and Amazon dinghies and various nautical bits and pieces including a barge as featured in Coot Club. (This was actually based on Arthur Ransome’s own experience of tying up to barge Pudge). On my other arm, a work in progress, is the Thermopylae, a tea clipper ship as sailed on by Peter Duck in the book of the same name!”
Right: IMT member
Chalky Cooper rolls up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of the Desire, one of Suffolk seafarer Thomas Cavendish’s ships in his first circumnavigation from 1586-88.
Left: Tattoo-talk at a recent IMT meeting
The Royal with the Dragon Tattoo
“Nearly everyone on board has been tattooed, “ an excited Prince George, later King George V, recorded in his diary when visiting Japan in 1881 as a midshipman on board HMS Bacchante. “I have got a dragon on one arm done at Tokio & a tiger on the other arm done at Kioto.” It took three hours for the artist to create the “large dragon in blue and red writhing all down the arm. We did not find the pricking hurt at all.”
From the Archives
With IMT’S Image Archivist STUART GRIMWADE
IMT Collection and Archive
The IMT’s amazing image archive is available online. Either browse the entire digital collection on www.ipswichmaritimetrust. org.uk/image-archive, or, if for specific advice or help, please contact image-archive@ ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk.
Our collection of maritime artefacts has been photographed by our volunteers, and catalogued on eHive, a web-based cataloguing system. This can be viewed at ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk/ collection-and-archive/ If you can help with looking after these collections, or would like to submit photos or objects relating to Ipswich’s maritime heritage, please contact us at info@ipswichmaritimetrust. org.uk
1950s Dock Life
At the editor’s suggestion, I have selected this photo over perhaps more photogenic images from the Archive, to complement other items in this Newsletter on the topic of tattoos.
I took the photo in the mid-1950s with my first camera (my father’s ancient Zeiss which would now be at least 100 years old!). It shows the very first non-commercial vessels permitted to use the dock on what was then Ransomes Quay. Among them was my brother’s boat which he, as a young RS&J apprentice, had been permitted to moor there for the princely sum of two shillings and sixpence a year. He has many stories to tell of those days, but those are probably best left to another time to talk about.
Quay, and this craft can be seen on the left in my photo above. He traded under the name of Professor Jack Zeek with his wife, whom he referred to in his Cockney rhyming slang as ‘Reet’ (aka Rita). The letters HARD LUCK were tattooed across his knuckles, and THANK YOU on the palm of his hand. He also had a long row of dots tattooed around his neck with the words CUT ALONG THE DOTTED LINE showing above a red pirate-style neckerchief which added to the general air of intrigue.
In those days tattoos were almost exclusively associated with those whose lives took them to sea, and so it was that any tattooist worth their salt would be found on the dockside. In the case of the Wet Dock, the Ipswich tattooist lived on his boat on Ransomes
To my schoolboy eyes, he was a wonderfully ‘dangerous’ character, but once I got to know him, I began to see the most kind, generous, honest and helpful man you could possibly wish to meet. He claimed to know well in advance that his wife’s baby, later to be born onboard the boat with him as mid-wife, would be a girl, and he was proved right.
In those days Ipswich Dock provided the sort of education that no school could teach!
Above: Mark Grimwade with his boat Vetiver; below: tattooist Professor Jack Zeek
We fought them in Gunboats
Talk back
Ben Good reports on the talks and events so far in 2024
Wednesday 7th February 2024
Talk by Julia Jones
We are in a time when talk of our relative unpreparedness for war has started to migrate from those bellicose but politically peripheral generals to the mainstream. It is sobering stuff, and not what I expected to see in my lifetime. In that sense, Julia Jones’ talk about, inter alia, the contribution of amateur sailors (and one in particular) to the British war effort, was timely, if not particularly reassuring. Everyone loves stirring tales of British pluck and derring-do, of course, but we would prefer them to stay in the 1940s; we don’t want to have think about whether we could do so well in the 2020s.
We Fought Them in Gunboats (HMS Beehive edition), edited by Julia Jones, is published by Golden Duck www.golden-duck.co.uk
Julia’s talk started peaceably enough, with calming pictures of her (previously Arthur Ransome’s) Bermudan ketch, Peter Duck, on the Deben. But that was just her establishing her link to the tale she had to tell. Peter Duck had been her father’s, and he had served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve (RNVSR) during the Second World War. The RNVSR was the Navy’s response to a shortage of offices as war loomed. In short order, 2,000 had volunteered: a brotherhood of sailing enthusiasts from all walks of life. They went on to serve with distinction in a variety of missions and roles where they could use their knowledge of navigating inshore waters. Julia’s book, Uncommon Courage, based partly on papers of her father’s that she found after his death, tells their story. It’s one of bravery, inventiveness and a healthy disregard for hierarchyall very appealing to the English sense of ourselves and “how we
won the war”. One of these plucky sailors, however, wrote his own account of his wartime exploits. Robert Hichens was probably amongst the best of them: certainly, he was a very fine exemplar of the idea that determined amateurs could do at least as good a job as the professional navy. His book, We fought them in gunboats, was published during the war (though after he was killed in action), and is an account of his time serving mainly out of Felixstowe’s HMS Beehive on Motor Gun Boats (MGBs). At that time, the proximity of our east coast waters to Europe meant that both sides in the conflict were continuously sending small boats into each other’s waters to lay and clear mines, attack shipping and raid harbours. It required fast boats and a new set of rules, and Hichens was at the forefront, as commander of the squadron at Beehive, of developing from hardwon battle experience, the tactical and equipment improvements required.
The role required the ability to lead men, and to challenge the chain of command, plus practical abilities, bravery and seamanship. Hichens evidently had all these qualities in spades. A solicitor before the war, a competitive sailor and racing car driver, inventor of the ‘Mark VIll cocktail’ (gin, rum and squash, or whatever was available in the Mess), he soon established a reputation as a daring commander, was highly decorated, and not afraid to take on his masters when he needed to get something done. He once declared “getting a new gun out of the Admiralty is like making love to an elephant”, (although I am
not entirely clear quite what he meant by that).
There were in fact two editions of his book published. The first, published during the war through the efforts of his wife, was heavily censored by the War Office, and came in at 55,000 words. The second edition, published last year by Julia’s publishing company, and after rather lighter editing by her, came in at 88,000 words. Clearly, the 33,000 redacted words made somewhat uncomfortable reading for the Whitehall desk-sailors.
The Felixstowe dock which was home to HMS Beehive was filled in and built over during the construction of the container port. As we left the talk, Wes, the skipper of SB Victor, told me he was on the last boat to leave the dock before it was officially closed. Thus, the progress that has swallowed up the old dock is the same progress that was enabled by the bravery and sacrifice of Hichens and many, many others who made it their base during those hectic, terrible years. And today, all that remains is the pink stonework set in the ground to delineate its original footprint.
Those tales of Hichens and all those other brave British amateurs make stirring reading and are wonderfully told, by both Julia and Hichens himself. Thinking about that pink stonework afterwards, though, my main feeling was: long may it continue that our skylines are dominated by the trappings of peaceful and thriving trade, and not by military installations.
The Wreck of the Gloucester
Wednesday 6th March 2024
A talk by Claire Jowitt and Julian Barnwell
The Gloucester was a 3rd rate warship which sank in controversial circumstances off the Norfolk coast in 1682, carrying a future king of England. Its wreck was only discovered in 2007 after a five-year search by two local men, brothers and keen amateur divers. So, there are at least two stories here: the story of the wreck itself and its political context, and that of the discovery and investigation of the wreck 325 years later. To tell both stories took two people, one an academic historian, at home in the archives, and the other a man of action, at home in a 7mm wetsuit on the bottom of the North Sea, each with the manner one might expect of their respective callings.
And so it was with Claire and Julian, both excellent communicators. We could see how the two stories complement each other so well, and we could see how good things happen when people with diverse skills and outlooks work together.
One of the pleasures of the IMT talks is the great variety of types of speaker we can attract. For this event, we were able to enjoy two very different types in the same evening. From Claire the historian, we learned about the Gloucester’s royal passenger and what he was doing on board. James, Duke of York, had been effectively banished from the country by
his elder brother, King Charles II, in response to one of the periodic upwellings in suspicion of the royal family’s papist inclinations. However, by 1682 he was back at court and in the process of being rehabilitated. So, he had set off up the east coast in a small flotilla, with Gloucester as its flagship, to collect his family from Scotland, where they had been living.
What happened next was a classic illustration of the perils of early navigation around a changing coastline - a toxic combination of knowing accurately neither the ship’s position nor that of the hazards they needed to avoid - combined with the dangers of unclear chains of command. The Captain wanted to avoid the sandbanks by going the long way round, the pilot by hugging the coast. It seems they took a middle course, which was always going to end badly, in this case with between 130 and 250 people drowned.
After the accident came the enquiries and courts martial, recriminations and scapegoating, all freighted and distorted by political rivalries, and arguably culminating in the head of the Navy siding with William of Orange and so getting the last laugh on the Duke (who by then had become James II).
But all that aftermath is worthy of a Hilary Mantel series all of its own, and we have to
From top: Professor Claire Jowitt, Julian Barnwell, and the catalogue from the exhibition at Norwich Castle Museum
move on to the story of finding the wreck 325 years later. Julian and Lincoln Barnwell are two brothers who have dedicated over 20 years to the Gloucester. These are two brothers whose relationship is rather different to that of those other two brothers in this story, Charles II and James, Duke of York. No banishing by one of the other in the 20ᵗʰ century: instead an extraordinary shared resolve, originating with Lincoln’s discovery in 2001 of an entry for the Gloucester in a directory of east coast wrecks, which mentioned both cannons and an heir to the throne on board.
Starting in their own RIB, and then upgrading to a 28m ex-Navy dive boat, they spent many days surveying with a magnetometer capable of detecting the cannons (and much other ferrous detritus
One of the 149 beautiful onionshaped wine bottles recovered from the wreck, encrusted with 300 years of barnacles. Some still have their stoppers in place, and the wine intact. Many have a ‘sun in splendour’glass seal, as above.
besides) on the seabed. Then, in 2007, after countless false leads, they found their cannons. Since then about 450 artefacts have
Researching your Maritime Family History Workshop 4th February 2024
Agroup of 12 of us were brilliantly hosted by Mandy Rawlins in The Hold at Suffolk Archives, for a workshop on how to find out more about one’s maritime ancestors. She used as a case study the story of my own family’s involvement in the wreck of the General Grant in 1866, but what was great was that people came with their own families’ historic connections with the sea that they were keen to explore. These stories ranged from the international – mothers, fathers and grandfathers voyaging the world in the Merchant Navy - to the very local, with connections to local barging families and their barges, including Thalatta and the Pride of Ipswich. Mandy shared multiple resources for anyone interested in having a go at maritime research, and gave us an online demonstration as well. She also put on display a selection of wonderful old documents from The Hold’s archives, and gave us a tour behind the scenes. In the aftermath of the workshop, we set up a Facebook group dedicated to maritime research, accessible through IMT’s Facebook page, although this needs to be managed more actively than it is at the moment. Please get in touch if you would like to know more about these resources.
been recovered, although it was only when they found the ship’s bell in 2012 that they could be 100% certain that the wreck was indeed the Gloucester.
Today, the ship remains on the bottom, its outline visible under the mud, and its location a secret that Julian was not prepared to share with us. The plan is to set up a trust to continue with the archaeological activities, including the preservation and analysis of the artefacts which is already well underway, and in time to establish a museum in Great Yarmouth. Despite the obvious parallels with the Mary Rose, we are unlikely to see her lifted off the bottom and floated back to port. Though if she is, I am sure the Ipswich Wet Dock would be delighted to welcome her.
Suffolk’s changing coastline
Wednesday 3rd April 2024
A talk by Professor
Mark Bailey
Professor Bailey came to talk to us about our local coastline. In a changing world, all things within it must change too, whether by choice or involuntarily. That’s as true for our speaker as it is for the subject of his talk, but, for our professor, one gets the impression that his changes in tack have been his choices. Once an international rugby player, after a career yo-yoing between the highest echelons of academia and headteaching, Mark has made a specialism of peering at the most abstruse and indecipherable medieval documents, to discern the economic stories they tell. And if, in a challenging academic funding environment, you can steer those stories towards a more lucrative topic for funding, well, isn’t that just another change in tack?
And so we learned about how all those obscure documents tell the story of changes in our coastline, and how they relate to modern day studies of the effects of climate change. That seawall which is now a mile inland may be hard to date by studying the wall itself, but that Royal Commission established in 1370, after 370 homes were washed away one winter, offers incontrovertible date-evidence. We can similarly date the early 18ᵗʰ century claims for rent relief by a tenant farmer who lost his fields to the sea. Or we might study Hollesley parish
records from 1250 describing other storm damage. Or details of residents’ occupations as given in the parish register, describing a community of fishermen and wharf workers in a village which is today nowhere near the sea. Another example: the declining income of Walberswick church tracked that village’s declining importance as a port, as its access to the ocean deteriorated.
The great gift of the sharpeyed professor has been to find these nuggets - which would be quite invisible to most of us, buried as they are in illegible writing, a strange language and faded documents - and then put them together to tell the story of changes in our coastline since medieval times.
It’s a story as much about land being created as about land being taken away. The shingle that today is Orford Ness was once Dunwich. And where land is created, that can be no less difficult to adjust to. We learned how there used to be a substantial haven near presentday Bawdsey which is now no more, to the detriment of the local community. (Its ‘.. sey’ suffix means ‘island’, thus Bawdsey used to be wholly surrounded by water). Another harbour used to lie between Covehithe and Easton Bavents. It’s now farmland, but it was a harbour which, records show, sent ships to catch cod near Iceland.
Also, of course, the process hasn’t stopped. Those of us who have passed by Felixstowe Ferry well know the Deben channel is particularly narrow this year, and will be different again next spring. However, it is not a continuous process that has occurred at a similar rate down the centuries. In fact, the coastline changed a great deal more in the first half of the second millennium CE than in the second half. These sudden periods of change are perhaps
a surprise: we all know that Butley Creek at one time flowed straight into the sea, but did we know that Orford Ness grew by 12km in 100 years, with a witness statement from proceedings in 1540 attesting to the consequent decline in boat traffic?
These periods of coastal change correlate with periods of relatively rapid climate change and associated increases in storm intensity, as identified by other observations by the scientific community. This shows how two very different academic disciplines - climate science and medieval history – can each help inform and illuminate the findings of the other. Thus, climate change’s imperative for interdisciplinary collaboration provides the impetus – and funding – for new avenues of historical research, and we get to enjoy the spectacle of a mediaeval historian explaining the North Atlantic Oscillation. Which is not to suggest in any way that Mark’s delivery was too academic or inaccessible. Far from it: piecing together the evidence from his fusty documents and tricky climatology, he presented a story with a clarity and brio that must have served him well in the classroom, and, quite possibly, on the rugby pitch as well.
Mark Bailey is Professor of Later Medieval History at the University of East Anglia
The last of Trinity House’s manned light vessels, LV18, is owned and managed by the Pharos Trust.
TONY O’NEIL, curator and chairman of the trustees, looks back over the ebb and flow of events since LV18 was last in Ipswich.
Spotlight on LV18
Many readers will remember when, in September 2018, LV18 was towed up river from Harwich to Ipswich Waterfront on a twomonth courtesy visit. This was whilst her berth on Harwich Ha’penny Pier was being dredged due to accumulated silt. The trip was sponsored by Harwich Haven Authority to promote their ‘Turn the Tide on Plastics’ campaign and the trip was professionally filmed by drones and static cameras for the HHA website. The Pharos Trust’s Chairman said, “We were so uplifted by the amazing reception we received as we sailed into the berth with a big crowd waiting in the Wet Docks.”
The vessel was opened to the public and was involved in the graduation ceremonies at the University of Suffolk, and the SPILL Festival Arts Project. On these occasions the powerful lantern was lit, illuminating the entire square mile of the Wet Docks. The ‘Clarion Call’ audio project also received the same treatment, to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War. This occasion coincided with a visit onboard by members of the Ipswich Maritime Trust, who were delighted to have the lantern lit in their honour. It was then that the Pharos Trust forged an alliance with IMT and several new friendships were struck up.
A great success
The visit to Ipswich was a great success. Stephen ‘Foz’ Foster recorded two separate shows, broadcast on BBC Suffolk from the radio studios on board the LV18. Ipswich Community Radio were also invited to broadcast live from the studios, including a notable jazz show much enjoyed by the crew of the LV18. One highlight of the residency was the visit from an old employee of Ipswich company, Reavells. He was
delighted to see the two massive Reavell compressors still installed on the Lightvessel, on which he had worked in the 1950s.
Many people were sad to see the LV18 towed back to Harwich in late November and negotiations have taken place since with a view to LV18 returning to the Wet Docks on a more permanent basis, as part of the Heritage Harbour status of the Waterfront. Several members of IMT have revisited the vessel in Harwich since 2018, including a trip with the barge Victor on one occasion, with members of the Ipswich Society and Ipswich Transport Museum.
Since her return to Harwich, the radio station ’Radio Mi Amigo’ has been launched permanently from the studios onboard along with, more recently, Haven Community Radio broadcasting good music and information to the ports and towns of the Stour and Orwell estuaries. Both these stations can be heard by visiting the LV18 website at www.lv18.org
Disaster
On 2nd February this year the LV18, along with Harwich Railway Station, Bus Station and two vans, suffered a devastating arson attack. The six cabins aft were almost totally incinerated. Essex Emergency Services managed to get the intense fire under control in five hours. Several fire personnel were injured in their brave efforts to save this unique historic vessel. The damage is estimated at around £250,000 and an online appeal has been set up to help raise funds to restore the vessel. Details can be found on the LV18 website should you wish to donate.
The four diligent volunteers of the Trust have managed to restore the rest of the vessel, which was extensively smoke-damaged, in just four short months with very limited funds. Some £40,000 worth of equipment was written
off in the onboard studios with thick soot getting into every electrical item. However, the volunteers managed to get the radio back on-air within three weeks.
LV18 reopened to the general public in time for Whitsun this year and is open from 11am until 4pm daily (volunteer dependant) until the end of October 2024. Members of IMT will be admitted free of charge for the duration of this year. The Pharos Trust is extremely grateful for your continued support.
www.lv18.org www.x.com/lv18miamigo
A brief history of Trinity House and lights
1514: Henry VIII granted a Royal Charter to the Corporation of Trinity House
1566: Elizabeth I granted to Trinity House the right to build lighthouses and other seamarks for the protection of seafarers
1609: The first lighthouse was built at Lowestoft to protect shipping along the East Anglian coast
1732: The first light vessel was moored near the Nore Sands at the mouth of the Thames
1899: Trinity House decided responsibility for all North Channel ports should be based at Harwich
1987: The Pilotage Act withdrew District Pilotage responsibilities from Trinity House
PHAROS TRUST
Book review
by Cathy Shelbourne
Clay and the Immortal Memory
If you love Patrick O’Brian’s novels you will be similarly enamoured of Philip K Allan’s works, and his hero. ”My name is Captain Alexander Clay of his majesty’s frigate Griffin,” says the eponymous hero of the Alexander Clay series (of which this is the twelfth) as he bows to his guests with old-world courtesy.
The well-mannered and superb leader Alexander Clay is our window into the events leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 (and fortunately for him and the readers, beyond) where he becomes Nelson’s right hand man, and the eyes of his fleet. The book opens with our man in India in 1804, and his French opponent, Captain Jean Lucas on the Redoubtable in Toulon; both en route for the ultimate showdown off Cadiz.
Philip Allan is clear that his novels are a blend of fact and fiction. He notes that “Clay and the Immortal Memory is more factual than most of my work, partly because it follows a historic campaign, but also because many of the events are so remarkable that they need little embellishment from me.”
Nonetheless, he allows himself the opportunity,
as a historian, to poke a little fun at the days of the Empire and the East India Company. An employee says: “When I went to pay my respects to [the governor] the other day, he had just ejected some jumped-up clerk who wanted us to found a colony on the Malay peninsula. Raffles, I think was the cove’s name.”
And Nelson comes in for some stick too. The French are discussing their chances. “We know that the Royal Navy will not be content to exchange fire at range, especially not if they are led by that madman Nelson.”
‘Are not all the English mad, sir?’
‘True, but few are as demented as he is.’”
Philip Allan has wisely learnt a few lessons from POB (Patrick O’Brian), chief among them to provide a cast of his main characters upfront. But while each chapter is clearly labelled (for
‘Diamond Rock, sir?’ queried Clay. ‘I haven’t heard of a ship of that name?’ Occupied by the British, Diamond Rock is actually an island off Martinique which the French attempted to capture, using a variety of techniques.
example, Chapter 1 The China Fleet, Chapter 12 Nelson, Chapter 20 Le Redoubtable) the action within and between chapters leaps around not only on the water, but across the two warring nations of England and France. In the space of a few pages, the reader is hurled from the thick of the English action into the next chapter, from the French viewpoint; and back again. Stay alert! What you don’t get from Philip Allan is the endless nautical narrative, the technical terms, and the exaggerated language of POB. While some may argue that this is all part of the charm of the Aubrey/Maturin series, their absence enables Philip Allan to concentrate on not just fleshing out his characters and keeping his plot streamlined, but to also bring a more generous perspective to historical events.
A row-locking read!
CLAY AND
THE IMMORTAL MEMORY by Philip K Allan
www.philipkallan.com
£14.99
Many of you will know that John Norman died last February, aged 76 after a well-publicised battle with cancer. John has been honoured for his contribution to heritage; I would contend that he contributed so widely to society in general that it’s really difficult to comprehend the width of what he did.
charities, particularly the Scouts and Charity Bike Active, providing cycling for disabled adults.
John Norman: A Personal Tribute Obituary
Born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, he was the son of a brewery architect and a housewife mother. He was brought up in Burtonon-Trent where his father worked for Marston’s so he became familiar with buildings (and breweries). He trained in construction industry technology in Preston and worked there for some time before he and his new wife, Christine, came to Ipswich in the early seventies as a Lecturer in Building Studies at the then Civic College.
It quickly became apparent that his incredible energy and ability to digest and retain factual knowledge would serve his family, the College and Ipswich so well over the next fifty years. He was a keen Rotarian and worked hard at the many charities; he was a force in the Ipswich Building Preservation Trust, founded the Suffolk Architectural Heritage Trust, and a Trustee of the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust. For the Suffolk branch of the RIBA, the Civic Trust and the Suffolk Institute of Builders he was a Judge of architectural excellence and craftsmanship for many years. He was a supporter of many
He will, of course, be remembered best for his Chairmanship of the Ipswich Society for some twelve years; during this time he succeeded in bringing the Society to the forefront of the Town government and media outlets. He was always available for a quick television or radio opinion as well as 450 Ipswich Icon pieces for the Ipswich Star. During this time he contributed his strongly voiced opinions to the Ipswich Conservation and Urban Design Panel as well as attending nearly every meeting of the Ipswich Borough Planning and Development Committee.
Whilst not a great waterman, his knowledge and keenness were at the forefront of his membership of various bodies that saw the transition of the Wet Dock from industrial to residential and leisure use. He was, behind the scenes, a huge adviser when the IMT and the Ipswich Society fought valiantly to establish rights-of-way across the lock gates in a court of law opposed by leading barristers and solicitors. And, of course, he attended most meetings of the IMT and trips on the SB Victor.
But probably his biggest and long lasting physical memorial is the Suffolk New College which replaced his beloved Birkin Haward designed 60’s Civic College; by this time he was Head of Building Development and thus responsible for the whole of the site and
the College’s new build but not for the University’s structures.
It was through his work at the college with his students where John inspired a whole generation of students to develop and excel, not only in the construction world, but also as people, with his knowledge, enthusiasm, energy and passion. In the many tributes to John ‘inspirational‘ and ‘passion’ are words that feature very regularly.
For me personally, he introduced a whole new scene of interest and expertise which had not been part of my previous professional life; he encouraged, drove and supported me in my role of assistant planning coordinator. He was a major contributor to my wellbeing in the second phase of my life.
In his final year he received many accolades: Honorary Freeman of Borough of Ipswich, the Suffolk Medal, and the Suffolk Preservation Society’s Heritage Champion of the Year Award 2023. The Ipswich Society has instigated the John Norman Award for excellence.
Finally, his great rock Christine and their three children, Lindsey, Caroline and Christopher, and his grandchildren, will miss their adventures, camping, climbing and of course, famously cycling (and a camper van, DIY of course). He cannot be replaced, only followed.
Mike Cook
News
WSuffolk Chamber celebrates 140 years
Suffolk Chamber of Commerce Industry and Shipping is celebrating its 140th anniversary with a yearlong initiative highlighting its members’ achievements.
A fascinating timeline on its website www.c140. suffolkchamber.co.uk also includes a section entitled Diversity and Inclusion, celebrating the achievements of women and the diverse communities of Suffolk over the last 140 years.
IMT has provided an array of photos of the Waterfront from its Image Archive, and historic information, and chairman Ben Good was interviewed by Rob Dunger from Suffolk Sound about the port’s industrial heritage, and the Heritage Harbour designation.
Project Officer Molly Williams said: “Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players,
Legacy giving
the Chamber 140 project began in spring 2023 and launched its physical exhibition at The Hold in April. The project website now hosts a digital version of the exhibition, with a timeline of 140 years of Suffolk business.
The project aims to showcase the Chamber’s legacy in fostering business growth in Suffolk and celebrate the fantastic achievements of the Suffolk business community over the last 140 years. Through our Celebrating Diversity initiative, we hope to shine a spotlight on the
ould you consider making provision for Ipswich Maritime Trust in your will?
When you look back over your life and your achievements, on or off the water, and the enjoyment you experienced, and what our maritime history has meant to you, how can you ensure that the next generation can benefit too?
Ipswich Maritime Trust is launching a series of initiatives for young people to get involved in maritime activities and careers. At the same time, we will continue to promote our maritime heritage, and run events for all ages. As discussed on page 6, we are also now considering making an offer to buy SB Victor.
Can you help us help them, by giving a legacy to Ipswich Maritime Trust?
For more information contact info@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk We can point you towards sources of advice in making your will if you need it. If you want to discuss a non-pecuniary gift, for example of old documents or artefacts potentially of interest to IMT, we would be pleased to talk to you as well. Many thanks.
county’s diverse economy, including the achievements of women in business and contributions from the migrant economy. By celebrating our legacy and the evolution of Suffolk business over the last 140 years, we aspire to guide future initiatives, fostering resilience, growth, and adaptability within the Suffolk business landscape.”
The interview can be heard via the Chamber website. www.c140.suffolkchamber. co.uk
Dragon boat racing at Ipswich Waterfront
Ben Good, IMT chairman, left, was interviewed by Rob Dunger from Suffolk Sound for a series on the Suffolk Chamber’s C140 project, honouring 140 years of Suffolk business, shaping tomorrow and celebrating diversity.
News
A look round the lock
The Ipswich Beacon Marina manager, Lucy Edmonds, organised a lock tour for berth holders in February. After passing the security barrier, we were guided upstairs to the lock office with excellent views of the marina to the north and down the Orwell to the south. The staff were most helpful in answering many questions from the berth holders.
The lock gates are operated by ABP’s ONS Operators to allow passage at most states of the tide. There is an additional gate on the seaward side, which is controlled by the Environment Agency. This is closed to protect Ipswich from flooding during high spring tides. There is a legal requirement to do this at a dock height of 7.3m. The ONS Operators maintain a minimum height of 6m inside the dock and a maximum height of 7.3m. The lock cill lies 2.87m below chart datum. A spring tide of 4.43m added to the cill depth of 2.87m gives the threshold of 7.3m, when the flood barrier gate has to close.
Although we might expect the tide to move
predictably between high and low water, the staff regularly witness unpredicted levels. These are in part from atmospheric pressure, wind strength and direction, but often large and unexplained.
ABP colleagues working on the commercial side of the port are responsible for coordinating commercial ship movements, berthing, bunkering, loading and unloading, as well as operating the lock during their 12h shifts.
On the marina side, standards of seamanship can vary and some unexpected decisions by leisure skippers can keep the lock staff on their toes. The marina not
only enhances the port’s versatility, but also holds importance for the town by contributing to its appeal and providing important tourist income.
The quay side opposite the Marina is used for commercial and private berthing and mooring, no discharge is undertaken. The cargo vessel Suntis, 82m long and registered in Germany, berths inside the Wet Dock at Eagle Wharf or Gas Works Quay. If you think this may hold up your next trip in a yacht, searching for the position of the Suntis on a ship tracking app can be very helpful.
The lock team also operates the blue Ransomes’ swing bridge. The bridge closes to allow lorries to pass between east and west sides of the port, saving a detour along Quay Street into the north gate of the island site.
This was a fascinating trip and allowed a valuable interaction between customers and ABP staff.
John Warren
The IMT Maritime Quiz
How well do you know your boats, barges and flags?
BOAT JUMBLE AROUND THE WORLD
For each type of boat, we have its picture, origin and description in the wrong column. Can you connect the boxes?
BUILD A BARGE!
How many of these parts of a barge can you find?
ANCHOR HEADSTICK
RIGGING CHOCK
BOB JIB RUDDER
BOB STAY JIB STAY
BOW BADGE LEEBOARD
RUNNING BACKSTAYS
RUNNING BACKSTAYS
BOWSPRIT MAIN BRAIL SPRIT
BOWSPRIT SHROUDS MAIN HATCH STANDING BACKSTAYS
CABIN SCUTTLE HATCH MAIN HORSE STARBOARD SHROUDS
CABIN SKYLIGHT MAIN MAST STAYFALL TACKLE
CHINE MAIN RUNNERS STAYSAIL COAMINGS MAIN SHEET STEM
COVERING BOARD MAINSAIL TOP MAST
CROSS TREES MIZZEN TOPMAST STAY DAVITS MIZZEN BOOM TOPSAIL
FO'C'SLE HATCH MIZZEN MAST WALE
FORE HATCH MIZZEN SHEET WANG
FORE HORSE MIZZEN SHROUDS WHEEL
FORE STAY MIZZEN SPRIT WINDLASS
FORESAIL QUARTER BOARD YARD TACKLE
HEAD LEDGE RAILS
SIGNAL TIME!
What do the flags spell out?
62nd Pin Mill Barge Match
IMT joined with Pin Mill Sailing Club to charter SB Victor and watch the 62nd barge match on Saturday 29th June 2024. Despite a lack of wind, the sun shone gloriously, and bonhomie on board was in plentiful supply … as were the bacon butties, prepared by Denise Westwood aka Mrs Wes.
Also on board was Linda Beavis whose grandfather was FS Cooper, author of Racing Sailormen and A Handbook of Sailing Barges. He worked on sailing barges all his life, carrying corn to the mills, and hay and straw to London from Kent, Essx, Suffolk and Norfolk (with the resulting manure being brought back to be spread on the fields, giving rise to the label of London Dustmen to the barge teams involved in this trade).
Linda and her sister Janet remember their mother’s stories of growing up on a barge. As children, she and her sister Joan would be chased off the barges by the School Board Inspector, whose job it was to get them into schools. They would sleep on deck, tied on if it was windy.
Linda’s grandfather claimed to always know where he was on the river by the smell of the mud. In the East India Docks, he recalled the aroma of molasses and timber; inside the sheds it was the smell of tar and rope. In the sailmakers’ yards, the sails were dyed and the colour fixed with urea ...
FS Cooper was Officer of the Day for 14 years for the Pin Mill Barge Match around the 1960s. Linda recalls: “He would work out the course. His whole life was barges, right up to his death in 1979.”
The prize-giving and hog roast was held afterwards at Pin Mill Sailing Club. Congratulations to the winners: Class A Edme, Class B Repertor, and Class C Pudge.
Photos, clockwise: Denise Westwood serves up the much-appreciated bacon butties. Skipper David (Wes) Westwood with Linda Beavis, whose grandfather was FS Cooper, author of Racing Sailormen and A Handbook of Sailing Barges. And father and son enjoying a day together.
Ipswich Maritime Matters is written and designed by Sea Shell Communications, and published twice-yearly by Ipswich Maritime Trust. editor@ipswichmaritimetrust. org.uk
Come on board!
New members are always welcome: individual membership is £20pa, family £30pa, youth (up to 25 years) £5 single/£7.50 joint. IMT is a charity: these are minimum suggested donations. If you’d like to give more to support IMT, please do!
Your subscription includes: free access to our talks, regular e-mail updates, twice-yearly IMT Matters newsletter, plus the opportunity to get involved in our projects and campaigns.
We are always looking for volunteers. See the article on page 7 for a full list of roles, which includes help with our Window Museum, front of house at talks and events, talking to the public on our stands at events, tagging photos in the Image Archive, and assisting with our schools initiatives.
To join, please contact membership@ ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk or write to us at IMT Membership Secretary, Apt 610, 1 Coprolite Street, Ipswich IP3 0BN
Diary dates 2024
Please check all dates and venues before setting out!
Saturday 7th September: Heritage Open Day
Join us on board SB Victor, moored up alongside the Common Quay, and in the Old Custom House, from 10am-5pm.
An opportunity to explore the iconic Victor - free of charge - and chat to members of the Ipswich Maritime Trust about Ipswich’s maritime heritage. Bring along old photos and documents; take a look at our display boards with amazing photos and images of life on the docks in days gone by, in the basement of the Old Custom House (by kind permission of ABP); or marvel at how the West Bank has developed, as chronicled by our Window Wizards in the IMT’s Window Museum on Albion Quay. This event is part of the Heritage Open Days national fortnight. We are also celebrating Ipswich’s status as a Heritage Harbour, one of a network of 14 historic harbours and inland ports around Britain.
Thursday 12th September: Historic Harwich
An IMT day out on SB Victor. Sail down the Orwell to Ha’penny Pier, Harwich, for a 90-minute tour of historic Harwich with guides from the Harwich Society. £48: bring your own refreshments info@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
SEA, HEAR SEASON: using your eyes and ears to experience our maritime heritage
Wednesday 2nd October: Maritime Photography
Anthony Cullen returns to give us a workshop on what makes a great maritime photograph. Anthony is an editorial and advertising photographer who also runs the Photographic Day workshops from his studio at Pin Mill.
University of Suffolk Waterfront Building, 7.30pm. Free to members; £5 for visitors
Ipswich Maritime Trust (IMT) is a charity formed in 1983 with the objective of educating and informing the public of the long maritime history of Ipswich and the River Orwell which dates back to before the 7th century.
IMT undertakes a wide range of activities, including commenting on maritime issues, running a series of talks on maritime-related themes, and outings on Sailing Barge Victor, curating our Window Museum on Albion Wharf, maintaining an Archive, and supporting young people in maritime projects.
We have over 300 members, and a dedicated committee. Volunteers are always welcome, to help with the Window Museum, assist with marketing, and generally furthering the aims of the Trust. Please see page 7 for a full list of roles.
