Working Boatwomen

[Heartland]

The women who worked boats during the Second World War, has been a topic that has been much publicised in recent years, yet what of those women workers who were engaged in war work during the Great War (1914-1918). The Birmingham Daily Post reported on April 5th, 1916, that a woman had been summoned at Tipton for failing to send her son to school regularly.

 

The firm of W & S Foster, canal carriers, Tipton, had because of the scarcity of boatmen, had been forced to employ women and youths. The woman summoned had been engaged in carrying sand to foundries for munitions work. Leonard Foster from the firm was reported as saying: " it was infinitely more important that munitions works should get their requisite supplies of sand than that there should be no interruption in the education of a few youths.

 

This case was deferred for further consideration by the Education Committee.

 

Ray Shill

[Laurence Hogg]

Female boat captains were about irrespective of war, one famous lady worked for H Sabey & Co on the West London wide boat traffic, "Aunt Lou" had a unusual hobby too which was photography and many of her photos survive. There was a recent feature on her in "Narrowboat".

[Heartland]

If I recall examples of Women boat captains can be found, but the need for men to serve in the armed forces during the two world wars led to more women entering this occupation. It would be useful to establish how common this practice was during the Great War

 

Ray Shill

[FadeToScarlet]

I suppose that whilst female boatwomen and some captains were about when carrying long distance, the more traditional day job short haul traffics on the BCN were far more male dominated, hence the story.

[AMModels]

Did this also happen on the BCN in WW2?

Boatman was an 'essential wartime employment' how many of the BCN boats were crewed by women and is there a record of how many boatmen from the canals chose to go to combat?

[PuffinHull]

 

We think this is early 1930's as Uncle Ralph Hunt did go to WW2 and was a prisoner of war. My Great-grandmother ELIZABETH ANNE HUNT is pictured her. I will try and find out more from my oldest aunty.

[Athy]

What a marvellously evocative photo, thank you for posting it. The lady's fancy waistcoat would not have looked out of place in the swinging '60s!

[Higgs]

Marvellous photo. The 'dollies', the roping posts, they're square ish. Not used to seeing these types of boat, expected to see round devices.

 

Must say, glad the squirrel here is on and toasty. The photo made me feel rather nesh. Wimp.

[Leo No2]

Did this also happen on the BCN in WW2?

Boatman was an 'essential wartime employment' how many of the BCN boats were crewed by women and is there a record of how many boatmen from the canals chose to go to combat?

It did happen on the BCN - my Mum's cousin Daphne March operated Heather Bell between Gloucester, Birmingham and Ellesmere Port and was, I understand, the instigator of the Idle Women. She didn't wish to move from the west and therefore didn't move across to the GU where the IW ladies operated but continued to operate through Birmingham until the end of the war with at one stage her mother as crew.

 

The following is taken from her 'report' back to her Oxford College in 1945 or 46 of her work during the war.

 

When I started boating in 1941 the snow was deep on the ground and there were no women skippers. When I left the water for the bank this summer, practically the whole system of inland waterways had been covered by amateur boatwomen trained by two of my early ‘mates’. An advertisement for the first of these brought applications in a number and variety that surprised me: they ranged from ballet-dancers to moneylenders and from sailors to ‘service-dodgers’.

 

It was two years before I attained the competence and social standing of a professional boatwoman, and my experience was gained at the cost of long hours, some spent in the heavy work of handling cargoes, anxious moments at the tiller, and exposure to all weathers.

 

The romantic features of boating have already had their share of publicity, but details of the work done by boats and boat people are usually left behind the curtain of obscurity, which veiled the canals and everything to do with them until AP Herbert published his Water-Gypsies. In four years our Heather Bell carried more than 7,000 tons of cargo. She took slack to Worcester, spam to Nottingham, sugar to Wolverhampton, and flour to Tipton, sauce to Wigan, coal to Oxford, copper and aluminium to Birmingham, shell-cases to the Potteries, grain to the Mersey, and RAF stores to the Bristol Channel. Each cargo had its own peculiarity, and each canal its rule of the road. On some ‘cuts’ boats keep to the right, on others the left, on some empty boats must give way to loaded ones, and on others uphill takes precedence over downhill traffic.

 

Our usual round trip started with loading 352 sacks of flour at Worcester for Tipton. In the first fifteen miles there are 36 locks. If these were against us, we had to draw them off as well as fill them, which meant double work for us both. Novices used to complain of having been made to run half way to Birmingham. At the top lock we would thankfully take the shining handles or ‘windlasses’ from our belts where we carried them and stow them in the cabin for ahead of us stretched a 15-mile ‘pound’, with three tunnels, the last 1¾ miles long. There is no lighting in these tunnels, so we carried a headlamp. If another boat had just gone through, her smoke reduced visibility sometimes to 15 feet, which made steering difficult as the boat is 71 feet long.

 

At the Bar Lock we would give our tickets to the toll-clerk, hear the latest boating news, fill the water-can and perhaps stop for the night at a tie-up. These recognised stopping-places which usually boast a lock, a shop, a village inn (the ‘boozer’) and a stable, are often called after lock-keepers, some still alive, some living in the memories of old boatmen, and others long since forgotten: at Gill’s, Parkerses, Dick’s, Denny Merril’s Mother’s lock, live the families who have given their name to the place, but ‘Ammonses’ is no longer kept by a Hammond.

 

At Tipton the flour was unloaded in a couple of hours and then we set off for Cannock Chase for slack. Here we made friends with the day or ‘Joey’ boatmen who have homes ashore, and never go far from the collieries. I have been glad to know the Black Country, which looks at its best from the water, and its inhabitants – kind people with a good sense of humour.

 

Another trip we often did was to go empty to Sharpness for grain. We locked down into the Severn at Worcester, keeping a good look-out for the petrol tankers which ply up and down the river, and whose crews are always ready to give us a tow: their 160 horse-power was a big help to our 10 if we were trying to reach a tie-up before dark. In the summer the river is lovely, though you have to be careful to avoid the shallows: in the winter there is sometimes too much water for comfort, especially if you run across the tide as well, because the Severn is tidal as far as Tewkesbury.

 

At Gloucester we locked up into the Docks and Berkeley Ship Canal with its low white bridges rather like those over Dutch canals. Sixteen miles further on in Sharpness we loaded bulk wheat from the silo, and if we had time we would brush up our French, Norwegian, or Dutch with the sailors there. In Sharpness before D-day there was a grand array of ships, all flying the B flag: ‘I am loading or discharging explosives’. We were glad to hear that of the sixteen ships, which went to Normandy sixteen came safely back.

 

Fog, wind and ice were our worst enemies. It was on a foggy December evening in 1941 that the Darleydale – the biggest tanker on the river – ran into us. We sank in 8 feet of water in 8 minutes, having luckily salvaged enough blankets to spend the night in moderate comfort on the floor of a Gloucestershire cottage. Fishers History of Europe stood up well to its three days immersion.

 

At Whitsuntide or in August we used to go down the Shropshire Union Canal. If locks had to be repaired, they were generally done then, and boat after boat took her place in the queue waiting for the work to be finished. Those were blissful days with time to paint, shine the brass, scrub the cabin, or de-carbonise the engine at one’s leisure, and afterwards to yarn with the boat people or play the accordion, knowing for once that there was no more work to be done. Then when the ‘stoppage’ was over, everyone set off again in a mad hurry, often going all night to make up for lost time. Twice we went ‘fly’ like that from Ellesmere Port to Wolverhampton: thirty-three hours non-stop, with about an hour’s sleep each.

 

Day and the fields of Cheshire changed slowly into night and the sandstone cuttings of Shropshire. Dawn came at the top of Audlem locks, and the first boat we’d meet would say: ‘What, you two girls been night-‘owlin’ again?’

 

I shall miss the cut and all my friends there: but it is a community that does not change and it is nice to know that Big-Mouthed Bella, Sam and Flo, ‘Stickemup’ and Soapy Joe, young Ada and all the rest of them will probably be about when I go back every now and then.

 

There are some lovely photographs on the the Imperial War Museum website taken, I understand, at Tipton by the Ministry of Information to promote women helping with the war effort. I have copies but I think they are the copywrite of the IWM so here's a link to the images.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Leo No2

[David Schweizer]

Did this also happen on the BCN in WW2?

Boatman was an 'essential wartime employment' how many of the BCN boats were crewed by women and is there a record of how many boatmen from the canals chose to go to combat?

I cannot reference it, but I am sure that the catagory of "essential wartime employment" was not applied to boatmen until about 1941/42, when the Authorities realised that they were running out of boat crews. Of course some younger boatmen probably volunteered for service anyway, so that would have caused a shortage.

Edited January 13, 2013 by David Schweizer

[BuckbyLocks]

I cannot reference it, but I am sure that the catagory of "essential wartime employment" was not applied to boatmen until about 1941/42, when the Authorities realised that they were running out of boat crews. Of course some younger boatmen probably volunteered for service anyway, so that would have caused a shortage.

I can't give you a date either, but I am certain you are correct David. Early volunteering by boaters partly created the shortage and early in 1942 the Minister was having to admit that they were unable to crew all the available boats. Can anyone tell me which Carrying Company that crossed the BCN were nicknamed 'Bluebottles'? A number of their boaters volunteered and were in the Desert Campaign. There was also an attempt made to use female crews on single motors for Severn & Canal Co but this does not seem to have progressed beyond a trial. The BCN Co did approach Daphne March for advice on using women, but as this was normally local traffic the requirements were different to the long distance traffic and Daphne's response is not known.

[Pluto]

I have found a 'Protected Premises' printed paper notice dated 1941 in the Canal Transport Ltd papers in the Waterways Archive. There is a considerable amount of correspondence regarding workers who were exempted from military service in the years following. Not just boatmen are mentioned, but also warehousemen and women office staff. Boatwomen were tried on the L&LC for a few months, but the work was considered too hard as it also involved working in the warehouses as required. Instead, a programme of encouraging men from Ireland to come over to work on canals was instituted, and a few did come over and remained on our canals well after the war. Others soon left the canals for better paid work in factories. They worked on canals across the country.

[Derek R.]

Kathryn wrote:

 

"There are some lovely photographs on the the Imperial War Museum website taken, I understand, at Tipton by the Ministry of Information to promote women helping with the war effort. I have copies but I think they are the copywrite of the IWM so here's a link to the images. "

 

Some nice pictures there.

 

What you have transcribed also appeared in the 2011 HNBOC journal, first quarter, along with a lot of history of the Heather Belle, and a fascinating story it is.

[Leo No2]

Kathryn wrote:

 

"There are some lovely photographs on the the Imperial War Museum website taken, I understand, at Tipton by the Ministry of Information to promote women helping with the war effort. I have copies but I think they are the copywrite of the IWM so here's a link to the images. "

 

Some nice pictures there.

 

What you have transcribed also appeared in the 2011 HNBOC journal, first quarter, along with a lot of history of the Heather Belle, and a fascinating story it is.

Derek - that's because I sent it in!

[Ray T]

Kathryn, many thanks for the "report" on the I. W and the link to the Imperial War Museum site.

 

I am like a sponge where the history of the canals is concerned. I know "Rivers and Canals" is a swear word on this forum but I bought them recently purely for the stunning photographs of the "Idle Women" at work during WW II.

[Leo No2]

Kathryn, many thanks for the "report" on the I. W and the link to the Imperial War Museum site.

 

I am like a sponge where the history of the canals is concerned. I know "Rivers and Canals" is a swear word on this forum but I bought them recently purely for the stunning photographs of the "Idle Women" at work during WW II.

Ray

 

Entirely my pleasure - I am so pleased you enjoyed it. I believe this sort of stuff should be shared and not cosseted away in some archive where no one else can enjoy it and gain an insight into our history. We are who and what we are because of our history and the more we know about these things the better.

 

I believe Heather Bell (the last Frank Nurser wooden boat to the best of my knowledge) is in a barn in East Sussex undergoing restoration.

[Ray T]

Ray

 

Entirely my pleasure - I am so pleased you enjoyed it. I believe this sort of stuff should be shared and not cosseted away in some archive where no one else can enjoy it and gain an insight into our history. We are who and what we are because of our history and the more we know about these things the better.

 

I believe Heather Bell (the last Frank Nurser wooden boat to the best of my knowledge) is in a barn in East Sussex undergoing restoration.

 

Issues 26 & 27, Summer and Autumn 2012 issues of "NarrowBoat" have two articles on Heather Bell - Heather Bell at Tipton and Heather Bell - post war.

 

http://www.narrowboatmagazine.com/issues/issue26/index.html

[Derek R.]

Derek - that's because I sent it in!

 

I did guess you might have! The relationship says much.

[luctor et emergo]

Thank you for that story, as a working boater stories like that have an added resonance for me. Life on the cut is good. It may sound cheesy, but it feels good to keep the old trading days going, even in a very small way. But then, I'm a goods mover anyway. Just prefer to do it by boat now, rather than a truck.

[jeannette smith harrison]

If I recall examples of Women boat captains can be found, but the need for men to serve in the armed forces during the two world wars led to more women entering this occupation. It would be useful to establish how common this practice was during the Great War

 

Ray Shill

As no direct records or lists that i have been able to find appear to have been made of the boatmen

who went to war or even came back.

its mostly through family reserch that people discover that family members have war records e.c.t. or

maybe an old photo of somone in uniform. Most are recorded on the war monuments from their home towns. I

have found my own in Braunston,L/buckby ,Coventry,linslade. but these only list rank & not occupations

some of the churches that where used by the boatmen have recorded them St Lawrence in Brentford (Now moved )

records two of my family & a few others from the boating community.

Most boatmen where v loyal to their King/Queen & country having a picture in the boat or home.

My Grandparents had a large framed photo of the queen in the l/room when they retired.

Through this loyalty more than a few of the men went to serve their country,i know quite a few on this

forum have family links to the old boating community & will no doubt have family members who went to War.

I have some Census records of Family members that record only Women on the boats a few in the late 1800,s

It was not uncommon for the eldest son to take over as steerer if the father was not around often adding

on to his age (My Father was 13 & told the company he was 16 so as to keep the boats whilst Grandad was away)

so as to be allowed to do so as some companys would not accept the womans name as steerer or captin.

By all accounts the everyday running of the boats ect was up to

the woman.

Jeannette

[Leo No2]

I have reread the IWM website and think it is in order to publish a full size picture - I have chosen my favourite one from the collection - hope you enjoy it.

 

 

ETA: Changed the image to ensure it now displays in iPads and iPhones - it was something to do with the image.

Edited January 14, 2013 by Leo No2

[Laurence Hogg]

Wonderful, wonderful picture, thanks for posting it. One question why is there a little serif on the "A" in Heather? Obviously deliberate does it have a meaning?

[Leo No2]

Laurence

 

No idea about the serif on the A I am afraid. I do know that the boat was built at Nursers (their last wooden boat I believe) and I wonder if it was Frank Nurser style perhaps?

 

I'll send you a PM when I get home about how I might share the images - suspect the copyright may be flexible after having read the IWM Website and the fact that the images were taken April 1941.

[dave moore]

Hi

 

The adornment on the letter A is typical of Frank Nursers work, just a decorative flourish to add a lift to the lettering. Love it!! The whole piece is delightfully irregular and characteristic of work by dock painters who had picked up lettering without formal training.

 

Kathryn,thanks for putting the picture up. I don't recall seeing that one before.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Hugh]

Laurence

 

I'll send you a PM when I get home about how I might share the images - suspect the copyright may be flexible after having read the IWM Website and the fact that the images were taken April 1941.

 

At the risk of being accused of advertising, but giving others the opportunity of seeing them relatively easily, this and 18 other pictures in the series were published in the Summer 2012 issue of NarrowBoat when Keith Hodgkins wrote about them in detail. They are a cracking set of pictures

 

Hugh