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Modern canal "History" consigned to the tip. You cannot keep everything!


Laurence Hogg

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In my move from Willenhall to pastures new in Shropshire the early history of much of IWM (Inland Waterways Models) and The Boatmans Cabin Company is being dumped.

Its sad as if there was somewhere who could look at it properly then some may be conserved.

Its sad to look at the foundry invoices, the polishers invoices etc and know that world is gone.

 

It makes me realize how much skill we have now lost forever.

 

During the 1980's and 1990s our combined operations produced massive amounts of chandlery and canal giftware on a huge scale. Nothing today compares to the boom time we were in then. Our canal ware items range wasnt just sellling in tens and twenties but in tens of thousands of pieces as we serviced export markets as far away as Israel and South Africa!

 

Over 400 large scale models were built for private and corporate customers, many are to be seen still at Stoke Bruerne.

 

Our brassware was on virtually all boats of the period and we sold to around 86% of the available marine market with other wholesalers working too. It was a wonderful time of manufacturing and producing items hard to get. !978 - 1986 I worked with my ex as sole propietor, 1987 saw the formation of the Ltd company, and there there was the birth of the "Premiere" stove and the the re emergence of the Ruston YD2 as the CD2 engine.

 

Below are three gems of those days, Bococks were on their last legs and hardly producing any amount of galvanised ware, Matty's were starting to let boats go and Keays were having a "re birth",

 

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gallery_5000_522_86556.jpg

 

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Proud to have been a very small part of it and to have had the opportunity to work with you. From hacking around the back streets of the Black Country, making chimneys & firing up a Ruston engine to make smoke rings on stand at the NEC - different times & great memories. Glad you are scanning in some of the older docs - is there a Black Country industry heritage project that might appreciate some of the bits you have?

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If there isnt there should be, I know the BCLM is a living museum but do they have a section where some of your items could be displayed?

 

I am not aware of anywhere suitable Andy.

Its mainly data and invoices from suppliers and accounts, a lot of sorting theres a dozen black sacks of it. Has been stored since 1987. You would have to be dedicated to make a concise collection from it. I have saved all the relevent highlights and photos to my archive, also a lot of it relates to export as we used to show at the NEC Spring giftware fair for many years selling hand decorated ware to foreign buyers.

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Although the invoices are nice, what is probably more interesting for the canal historian of the future would be your business accounts as they would give some indication of the growth of canals as a leisure industry. They would give an idea of how profitable such businesses were, and thus how important to the development of the present canal scene. Regarding the invoices, you could just digitise the most interesting.

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the county records office will hold them for you

That will depend upon their collections policy, and on how they view the material on offer. In these days of financial cuts, record offices are being much more choosy about what they take in, given the cost of storage.

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I am not aware of anywhere suitable Andy.

Its mainly data and invoices from suppliers and accounts, a lot of sorting theres a dozen black sacks of it. Has been stored since 1987. You would have to be dedicated to make a concise collection from it. I have saved all the relevent highlights and photos to my archive, also a lot of it relates to export as we used to show at the NEC Spring giftware fair for many years selling hand decorated ware to foreign buyers.

 

Have you tried the Walsall Local History Centre?

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Have you tried the Walsall Local History Centre?

The company was run from Wombourne in Staffordshire, Birmingham and Iver Bucks during its active days. All production was Black Country based.

 

I have kept selected items but the rest is now on the tip in Ettingshall.

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Wow, that invoice from Ken is something special! What a lovely thing to have

Things like that I'm sure you could find some wall space for!

 

The (Robert Wilson?) drawing was introduced by Tony Miles as part of his attempt to bring Keay's yard into the 20th century-as Laurence says, a "rebirth". I always thought the moustachioed geezer wearing the silly trilby in the drawing looked as though he should have been a member of the Village People. I told Ken I felt it was a mistake as it went against the very ethos of the yard and somehow looked out of place. He agreed.

Somewhere in the loft I think I still have all my old invoices for work done to Canis and Vulcan in the '70s. Most of them are of the previous, far simpler pattern to this, and look as though they were printed in the 19th century.

Edited by johnthebridge
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The (Robert Wilson?) drawing was introduced by Tony Miles as part of his attempt to bring Keay's yard into the 20th century-as Laurence says, a "rebirth". I always thought the moustachioed geezer wearing the silly trilby in the drawing looked as though he should have been a member of the Village People. I told Ken I felt it was a mistake as it went against the very ethos of the yard and somehow looked out of place. He agreed.

Somewhere in the loft I think I still have all my old invoices for work done to Canis and Vulcan in the '70s. Most of them are of the previous, far simpler pattern to this, and look as though they were printed in the 19th century.

 

Dead right John, it was the 19th century until Tony came on the scene, mind you (God rest him) if he had stayed it would still be in the 1970's today!! Do you remember when Ken cut the wrong boat in two? The prototype H&W little woolwich got chopped instead of Canis!!

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Dead right John, it was the 19th century until Tony came on the scene, mind you (God rest him) if he had stayed it would still be in the 1970's today!! Do you remember when Ken cut the wrong boat in two? The prototype H&W little woolwich got chopped instead of Canis!!

Now that's one story I haven't heard Laurence! As I would have been the owner of Canis at the time, I'm intrigued-do tell!

I seem to remember Tony had been a journalist on a Derby newspaper prior to meeting Ken. Is that correct, or does me memory fail me?

Stories about KK abound-he and I went round to Salvage Turn one wet afternoon to look at a boat. I think it was the Brittania. His driving was, as I'm sure you know, appalling and after frightening me witless driving across from Carl St. to Brum in his old Volvo estate, he abandons the car on the pavement, wipes off his steamed-up spectacles, dons a very ancient crispy Pac-a-Mac, grabs his trusty 'ommer along with sundry other tools and proceeds to poke and prod at this old girl, innocently sat there minding her own business. After a few minutes, the inevitable water spout appears. KK says, "Time to leave", and leaps out. We're stood on the bank, considering our next move, when KK espies an old bike lying in the hold. Without further ado, he has the front wheel off, the tyre cut off and a patch of decaying rubber made up, which he then neatly tacks over the offending hole, sealed with a handful of towpath grot. Bosh! Leak stemmed, survey continued. He was a lovely man.

Edited by johnthebridge
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Now that's one story I haven't heard Laurence! As I would have been the owner of Canis at the time, I'm intrigued-do tell!

I seem to remember Tony had been a journalist on a Derby newspaper prior to meeting Ken. Is that correct, or does me memory fail me?

Stories about KK abound-he and I went round to Salvage Turn one wet afternoon to look at a boat. I think it was the Brittania. His driving was, as I'm sure you know, appalling and after frightening me witless driving across from Carl St. to Brum in his old Volvo estate, he abandons the car on the pavement, wipes off his steamed-up spectacles, dons a very ancient crispy Pac-a-Mac, grabs his trusty 'ommer along with sundry other tools and proceeds to poke and prod at this old girl, innocently sat there minding her own business. After a few minutes, the inevitable water spout appears. KK says, "Time to leave", and leaps out. We're stood on the bank, considering our next move, when KK espies an old bike lying in the hold. Without further ado, he has the front wheel off, the tyre cut off and a patch of decaying rubber made up, which he then neatly tacks over the offending hole, sealed with a handful of towpath grot. Bosh! Leak stemmed, survey continued. He was a lovely man.

Yes Tony worked for the Derby Eveng Telegraph.

I dont know how it happened but the wooden little woolwich got cut in two and there was no buyer for it, I think we all assumed someone had cocked up but they never sold either half, one half still exists though.

Do you remember the yard cat, snarling purring moggie, the bar of chocolate that he gave everyone at Christmas, the bakers cart's mouldering away on the yard, he had to buy them with the horses he purchased, the 'ovel smelling of toast and oakum, the huge much dented kettle and the day when Sid jumped into Thos Clayton tanker Monnows hold without looking and landed in the tar!!

Fred Carno's boatyard...

Happy days!

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Bet Sid's trousers stood up on their own for years after that!

 

It nearly caused a strike!

Lots of more remnants of our archive on ebay now including the original gauging for Fellows & Co "Northolt" which became "Sunny Valley" of painted boats fame,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151151528427&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=161135712149&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Also lots of "Waterways" BW in house magazines, a DIWE wall map etc

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It nearly caused a strike!

Lots of more remnants of our archive on ebay now including the original gauging for Fellows & Co "Northolt" which became "Sunny Valley" of painted boats fame,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151151528427&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=161135712149&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Also lots of "Waterways" BW in house magazines, a DIWE wall map etc

Looking at the front covers of those magazines makes one wonder when the obsession with narrow canals began and the interest in the broad and wide waterways waned.

 

I'm very tempted but they'd have to arrive in plain wrapping and taken straight to the shed and the hidden pile of magazines that were "recycled" recently.

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