Joseph

Happy Christmas everyone I thought there might be ONE reply to my query, so I'm very impressed by the plethora of responses. Pete, no admonition; interesting to know when the boat went out of service, and this gives an impression of how long it took to convert. Pluto, I've come across the Wigan Boys Club boat and their outings; presumably it all ended in wartime. Still interested in Felis Catus - any ideas? I have also dredged up another sighting of a converted boat on the canal to Llangollen - Minnie Tonka, last seen in the 1940s in an advanced state of rot. Any thoughts, anyone? All the best for the New Year. Joseph

Hello again Hugh, I am red-faced about the WW article - I suppose one should not write when snowed in a long way from one's collection of back issues.... I'm not so sure about the piece by Robert Aickman, since this was based on a letter of 28 December 1945 from Tom Rolt, now in the National Archives. At the time Tom referred to two conversions other than CRESSY. One was IMAGEN, converted by Trevithick of Nottingham in 1932 (or so he wrote, not 1931) for the industrialist Sir John Jardine; and the “conversion” (actually a new build) of SUSAN SHEILA by Nurser of Braunston in 1935-6 for the LNER director Carr-Ellison. I take it from this that the conversions he cited in 1929 (RUSSIAN and a mysterious one) were no longer in existence by 1945. I am very grateful to all those who have replied - a much fuller picture is emerging. Joseph

Many thanks. It's very helpful to see this information What is the history of Bridgmere? Digging round, I have heard mention of Felis Catus I, once owned by the late Mike Stevens, which apparently had various earlier names. Could this be the candidate? Great if anyone can help. Joseph

This is very interesting. Forgive my ignorance, but are there details about the original conversion of Elizabeth? Still interested in Mr Anglin and Russian. Joseph

Very many thanks Giggetty and Pete Interesting that Russian would be described as a "house boat", which probably reflects the lack of pleasure boats of any size at the time. Good to see that Elizabeth has been eliminated from the enquiries here; is it the case that this boat is still afloat? I agree that Russian was probably destroyed long ago. Giggetty, I've seen the list of Mr Anglin's publications and a newspaper review of one; they seem to have been largely science fiction of a (then) advanced kind, so few clues there. Mr A seems to have given up after Poison Gas, and perhaps if the reason was known this might provide a pointer. Any more info, even speculations, would be gratefully received. Joseph

Hello everyone I am researching the subject of Norman Anglin (1891-1944), a precursor of L T C Rolt who also lived on a converted Shropshire Union boat and wrote about his encounters with people on narrow boats (and indeed seagoing vessels); he wrote various artciles on this for a regional newspaper. He organised the conversion and motorisation of the Shropshire fly boat Russian at Manchester in 1928. Russian was regaited for the SURCCo in 1908 and then passed through several hands before being used as a manure boat between Warrington, Lymm and Manchester between 1926 and 1928. Mr Anglin travelled a range of waterways, including the Kennet & Avon line to Bristol, in 1928 and 1929, when the last account was his journey up the Warwickshire Avon in summer 1929. His involvement in pleasure boating was cited in 1930, and then the trail goes cold. In 1939 he was described as "of Gibraltar". Two questions arise: 1. Has anyone any idea what happened to Russian? 2. Writing in Landscape with Machines, Tom Rolt stated that in 1929, when Cressy was being converted at Frankton, there were only two other conversions in existence. This would almost certainly include Russian, which Kyrle Willans, who knew the Kennet and Avon, would have heard about, at the very least. Does anyone have any idea what the other one could be? I have heard the Elizabeth referred to as a very early conversion, but with no date cited. As ever, I would be very grateful for any assistance. This is a small corner of research, but one worthy of investigation and, if possible, resolution. Joseph

Many thanks to everyone Unfortunate that much original work was removed to enlarge the canal for traffics that were short-lived. NOT something the enthusiasts (including me) for modern freight waterways in Britain would advocate. Joseph

Morning The secondary author was Geoffrey Kichenside, who (from memories of looking at Charles Hadfield's private papers, which I don't have with me) worked for David & Charles. It does make for an odd text, but I suppose it made the book more saleable as more up-to-date. I don't know if Mr Kichenside is still with us. I listened to the radio programme with interest. I felt that it conveyed the breadth of Tom Rolt's interests but not really the depth. My better half commented that if a listener had never heard of Tom Rolt and his work, the programme would not (sadly) inspire further inquiry. She is new to waterways and conservation, and she is nearly always right, so I defer to her judgement! At least it avoided the impression that Tom Rolt (and fellow-enthusiasts, by implication) was some sort of cheerless obsessive, to which that over-worked, abusive and derogatory term "anorak" could be applied. Some of his enthusiasm and passion were conveyed, and oddly it was his son Richard's description of his father's involvement with the engine for the Alvis - that marriage of science, technique and craft - that I found the most enlightening part. (Oddly, because I am almost entirely unmoved by veteran cars, whereas waterways and the built environment are lifelong interests). I've recently been involved with a TV programme (many questions about Tom Rolt and waterways compaigning), and it is very easy for contributors to be put on the spot and their improvisations to be extracted as definitive. However, I was surprised to hear that Tom converted Cressy from a hull (when the original conversion was organised by his uncle Kyrle Willans with further work by Mr Fortune from Leicester), and that it had a steam engine (must have missed all those stops to take on for coal...). Oh well......... My own favourite of Tom Rolt's works? Not Narrow Boat, which when I first read it as a small boy just read like a travel book, an impression hard to shake off. The Inland Waterways of England provides a portrait, in its incidental and tacit assumptions of a world that has gone. But it is the autobiographies that really provide insights, and recuperate works that are passing into the history of literature. Tom's prose is lyrical and enjoyable, but there has been much work since, especially on Brunel, with (I think) three more biographies, one a conscious response to his own study. I hope that this "year of Rolt" inspires lasting interest in his work, and especially the many matters about which he (and with many others, now, many inspired by him) cared. Joseph

Evenin' all I'm afraid that outside the British Isles my knowledge of waterways is not all it could be. I have read in several places that traffic on the Canal du Midi ceased in 1989, despite a partially completed enlargement scheme, but I seem to recall more recent conversations in which traffic was reported. Does anyone know what were the final traffics, and whether there have been traffics since 1989? I would be very interested if anyone knows. Joseph

Thanks everyone It's odd, given that so many people expereinced them, that more has not been recorded and written about hire boat fleets and operations. Odd sources have turned up through Google sources, but someone (not me) could usefully track down a lot of detail. http://www.canalscape.net/ is an interesting site with a lot of pointers and memories. I have been looking further, and have found that Ernest Thomas died in 1973, aged 77. I think his widow survived him by many years. There is a photograph that confirms Coot in the fleet, and Dad's films show Falcon. It seems to show three boats that could be trip boats, two of them clearly conversions. Great memories - Mr Sinclair, that photograph sounds interesting if it can be scanned and posted here. Canalfreak and Hugh, you confirm a memory of mine, that the boats were extremely slow. When we got back to Gailey my father set off down the A5 at about 15 mph - it seemed to be going very fast!! I have found that Ray, Mr Thomas' son, kept the firm going until at least 1983, but I am under the impression that the whole place was sold off at some stage. If anyone has any more details (e.g. which boat has been restored?) or memories I would be very interested. Joseph

Evenin' all Some time ago there were discussions on this forum about early hire boat fleets. My own earliest encounter with waterways was with the hire fleet of Ernest Thomas. In July 1963 we hired Kingfisher from him at Gailey, and Heron in July 1964. On both journeys we went from Gailey to Ellesmere and back, in a fortnight. I have some of my late father's home movies of these trips, and also ones at Calf Heath, seemingly in July 1965, when Mr Thomas had constructed the cafe there and was clearing out the first two locks on the Hatherton Branch. The gates to the first lock looked reasonable but the lower gates to the second lock were full of holes! I wonder if anyone has any memories of this fleet and its operations. I have gleaned some details from various postings here and to the rec.waterways newsgroup. From my own memory the holiday fleet, all named after birds, included the smaller boats Robin and Wren, and possibly Coot and Linnet. Others have recalled Eagle, Hawk and Raven (seemingly afloat according to a 1999 posting) and Swallow (reported seen in poor order in 1998). It seems that an ET boat was still moored at Calf Heath in 2006 and that another had been restored. There was also a trip boat Maverick, skippered by Fred Moore (whom I vaguely recall) and which I saw running north from around Bridge 6 on the Shropshire Union in the later 1960s. I gather that the fleet was operating in the early 1970s but that some of the earlier boats were replaced in that decade. It's hard to tell from photographs, but the early ones seem to have been converted joeys, but later ones purpose-built. I am unsure when hiring ended, but I think (using my failing memory of a source I cannot now trace ) that Ernest Thomas began hiring in 1959 from Gailey. One odd memory from 1963 is that Kingfisher broke down at Goldstone Wharf, and ET sent a lorry and block and tackle to lift out the engine and install another engine. I have not heard of this kind of practice since. I did see the Kingfisher sunk and abandoned above the second lock at Calf Heath (it must have been a feat to get that top gate open!!) around 1977 or 1978, but does anyone know about the fate of any other boats? Did anyone on this forum hire any of the ET boats, and if so, is my impression correct, that these were somewhat more luxurious than similar hire boats of the time? And when were the origianl "Bird" boats withdrawn fromn service? I would be very interested if anyone has any memories or information to share over this. Joseph

Hello I have just re-read Tim Wilkinson's Hold on a Minute, and, with some reservations, found it a very good re-read. Just wondering - I know that he disguised the names of many, if not all, the boatpeople that he encountered, but I am wondering if anyone knows what were their real identities? Or the boats involved? In partciular, are John Redknapp and Emma Buck (they married, still boating in the 1950s, he stated in 1965) still with us? They would now be in their late 70s. All sorts of other names there, and I wonder what happened to these people in real life. Just curious, but I would be very interested in any comments. Happy New Year, everyone! Joseph Boughey co-author British Canals: the standard history

Hello everyone and especially Dave "Tootles" I don't think you can class Charles Hadfield along with the love life of Robert Aickman. He did marry twice, but his second marriage, to Alice Mary, a war widow, lasted from October 1945 until her death in 1989. Not a question of any improprieties during the whole of that time. I met them in later years and they were a completely devoted couple. No evidence that anything improper happened with Angela Rolt or Tom Rolt. By all accounts they were not well-matched and drifted apart. Aickman, on the other hand.....................!!!!!! Joseph Boughey P.S. Angela's photographs were superb but were, I gather, severely damaged in a repository, I think, somewhere in France.

Just to add that, sa far as I know, D&C stopped producing canal books in any quantity many years ago. JB

Hello everyone Sorry, I'm new to this forum and the way it works. But I do think I can comment on this very interesting posting. Stewey wrote: "It would have been interesting to have been been at the D&C meeting when it was decided the order in which the individual canal histories were to be published. It is understandable that they decided to start with canals in their local region but why select the Nutbrook Canal before, say the Shropshire Union Canal, the Lancaster Canal or the Leeds & Liverpool Canal? It certainly would be great if both the regional series and the individual canal books were updated and it would be even better if the individual canal histories were, over a period of time, completed. With Charles Hadfield being a co-founder of D&C, his great interest and enthusiasm for canals expressed in his many books on the subject undoubtedly helped propel the publishing of canal histories by D&C. Without that drive and also because D&C was acquired in 2000 by an American publishing group, F+W Publications, Inc, it is hard to see this happening. I hope I am proven wrong on this!" Readers of my book Charles Hadfield: Canal Man and More (long remaindered, btw, noone seems to have read it) could find part of the answer to this. There was no selection meeting, and no grand plan as such. Baron Duckham's book preceded the idea of a series. Charles did know a number of RCHS members and persuaded some to contribute titles to the Inland Waterways Histories series. Peter Stevenson and Philip Stevens, for instance, planned to write on the Derby, Erewash, Cromford and Nutbrook canals, and the Leicester line and Leicester Navigation. Peter Stevenson wrote the Nutbrook Canal and part of the Derby Canal. In other areas, all depended on whether there were authors who could be approached, or who approached Charles. The Canals of the British Isles series was partly conceived in similar fashion. Charles had written British Canals and the Southern England and South Wales volumes, and then safter D&C was formed made it a formal series. The authors for the Irish and Scottish volumes were recruited by revising one pre-existing MS (Vincent Delany's book on the South of Ireland) and by commissioning Jean Lindsay (RCHS member) and Alan McCutcheon (industrial archaeologist, Charles met him at a conference). Anyway, it's all in my book, if you can find a copy anywhere! How I wish there was a prospect (any prospect) of revising the British Isles volumes and the individual histories (and extending the latter series to cover all waterways). And indeed, bringing the stories up to date, with much more emphasis on the post-1947 scene. Charles would agree with you over that. BUT - the reason why the original series faltered was a simple one - markets. Roaring inflation in the 1970s, very little scope for specialised books, expensively produced. Today - brief rant follows - mainstream commercial publishers look for what can turn a safe, quick profit. Books full of a lot of text, meticulously researched and prepared, are great for us to read, but they don't sell profitably enough. I have recently seen published the 9th edition of British Canals, after long delays while the original publisher was sold to two successive publishers. The new owners have just written to tell me how good they have been in honouring the contract to publish the book, when this was a contract with the previous owners (whom, presumably, I could sue for lost royalties if it wasn't published). Which, I suppose they are in the circumstances.... Sorry, but if anyone wants to see the classic books updated back in print (noone more than me), someone will have to win the jackpot on the Lottery and turn their winnings into huge subsidies. Or, (dream on!) if governments saw the publsihing of important histories as part of their function (in some ways, this did happen in the past). That would be, if authors were available and forthcoming, willing to accept minimal financial rewards. Authors of this kind of book rarely make any money at all, and only grim and determined enthusiasm drives many of us along. And there are very few people carrying out detailed historical research into waterways, sadly. Very expensive and very very time-consuming. That doesn't stop me - or anyone else - dreaming! Joseph Boughey

Hi My first posting - just discovered this forum. The book was indeed factual. "Tim" was (from memoy) P H G Wilkinson. His wife had a different name from that in the book, and she died some time before him. The working boatpeople were under pseudonyms too. I seem to recall a review in which the reviewer (David Blagrove...??) stated that their real names were known to him, but they cannot be to many. Regards Joseph Boughey