Pete Harrison

[pete harrison]

I have discovered something this afternoon regarding my research that is 'leaving a really bad taste in my mouth', and clearly I am not happy at all.

 

Because of this I have decided to take a break from this Forum and for the time being I would like to consider my books to be closed. I will not be responding to PM's, e-mails or telephone calls regarding canal boats.

 

I wish everybody all the best.

 

[Ray T]

Possibly you won't see this now, but sorry to read of this, you will be much missed.

[Hugh]

Sorry to hear that, Pete. Your definitive information will be sadly missed.

 

Hugh

[Rob-M]

That is a real shame and I hope Pete can return in the future with his vast knowledge.

[IanR]

I've only been here a short while, but your posts were always filled with great information and for that I thank you, such a shame but hopefully you'll be back.

 

Many thanks, Ian.

[ditchcrawler]

Possibly you won't see this now, but sorry to read of this, you will be much missed.

Agree 100%

[BuckbyLocks]

This is very sad news. Please reconsider Pete.

[stagedamager]

Best wishes Pete. You, and your wealth of information will be missed and I hope you reconsider and repost soon.

Dan

[Nightwatch]

Ditto. I am always amazed of how completely obscure questions are answered in such quick time. Often by Mr Pete.

[zenataomm]

Sorry your world has been upturned Pete, do what you need to do and be happy.

[Tam & Di]

It sounds for all the world that you have found someone profiting from your knowledge that you make public in the interest of helpfulness. If so I can only offer my sympathies - in fact I offer them whatever the reason.

[alan_fincher]

I would also like to wish Pete the best, and to hope that in time he is able to reverse his decision, although at the end of the day he is the one who has done all the hard work of his researches, and we have no right to make assumptions about the information being available to us.

 

Pete has been immensely helpful in providing details relating to both our historic boats, and I try to reflect that when quoting things that come directly from his research, although I would admit that our web pages (FaceBook or Blog) might get a bit overloaded if every time a date were mentioned it was always accompanied by a credit.

 

I've just had a look, and for example "Flamingo's" FaceBook pages say the following......

 

We are most grateful to Pete Harrison, who has researched narrow boat histories for many years, and who holds huge amounts of information, all gathered from original sources. Pete has prepared a detailed file for the data he holds on "Letchworth" / "Flamingo", and we will be using much of that on "Flamingo's" Facebook page. It may be overkill to credit every reference made to Pete's data individually, so I hope it is sufficient to acknowledge the massive help he has given us here. Thank you Pete!

The problem of course is that it does not prevent others "lifting any data used, and then making no effort to credit the source. As a former family history researcher I got quite used to people "lifting" chunks of my own family tree, and adding it to their own works of fiction. (I could be absolutely sure they were plagiarising, because eventually I deliberately wrote in an error, and could then see that error copied by others). I never actually found the tree by somebody else that proved I was descended from William the Conqueror, but some of the trees my family got added to were nearly as big in terms of fictional content!

[Mike Tee]

When I see a post by Pete Harrison I always make sure I read it. His comments are always to the point, concise, informative and often entertaining.

The amount of work involved in his archives must be immense, and I hope that he will, if not now, at least some time in the (near?) future, come back to this forum.

[Guest]

This seems a pretty big loss to the forum.

 

I concede I am curious as to what has lead to his decision though.

 

Perhaps some on here will discover why but the forum as a collective will likely never know.

Edited October 10, 2015 by MJG

[magnetman]

My first reaction was account hacked.

 

Sadly I am probably wrong.

 

All the best - your input here was much appreciated

[junior]

I suspect that it is something to do with the ' Sculptor ' thread where Pete is clearly upset about something.

 

Like others have said, I'm always amazed by some of the things that Pete has documented and hope that he'll be back in the future with his captains hat smiley.

[The Bearwood Boster]

I am sad to see this as I love social history & Pete provides this in bucketloads.Obviously someone has done 'the nasty' on him, which has made the Forum lose his fantastic input.I hope something gets sorted soon as his knowledge will be missed.

Trina

[stagedamager]

I also think it is the Sculptor thread unfortunately

[Rob-M]

I suspect that it is something to do with the ' Sculptor ' thread where Pete is clearly upset about something.

 

Like others have said, I'm always amazed by some of the things that Pete has documented and hope that he'll be back in the future with his captains hat smiley.

That was my assumption as well having read the Sculptor thread and seen Pete's comments on there.

[AMModels]

Just wanted to add my name to the list of people hoping you wont be gone too long and that whoever has upset you understands what a loss you are to the forum and to canal historians in particular, many boat owners have benefited from your extensive and exhaustive research and everyone knows that if you say something it will be well researched and as accurate as it is possible to get.

 

Having read the Sculptor thread I cant help but agree with others who have drawn the conclusion it is connected, reading the Sculptor blog it is absolutely plain the amount of information and detail provided by Pete, no matter who may have padded it out.

Edited October 10, 2015 by AMModels

[Derek R.]

Sadly there are always some who take credit when the research may have been done by another who seeks no credit at all, such is the case with Pete Harrison whose knowledge of boats is unsurpassed. It is a sad day when a valuable researcher is soured by others.

 

Keep a weather eye out Pete, you are highly esteemed.

[Speedwheel]

Sadly there are always some who take credit when the research may have been done by another who seeks no credit at all, such is the case with Pete Harrison whose knowledge of boats is unsurpassed. It is a sad day when a valuable researcher is soured by others.

 

Keep a weather eye out Pete, you are highly esteemed.

 

+1.

 

A great loss to those of us who value your knowledge Pete. When ever I read your comments I am always assured that they will be the best researched they can be and I always admire how you seek to find out any bits of further information that can either corroborate or, just as importantly, disprove the information you already hold. You always clearly state when something you have said is a best guess or not 100% confirmed and this gives confidence in the times when you do make a definite point.

 

I have to say that when ever I read your comments, I always take them as being unquestionably correct. This may be a dangerous thing to do when dealing with historical 'facts' but I hope it goes someway to show the confidence people have in the depth and comprehensiveness of your research.

 

I wish you all the best.

 

Mark

[Starcoaster]

A huge shame and loss to the forum.

But I understand the pique that (I think we are all assuming) triggered the issue, as a writer, I would feel the same, especially were it something I had provided freely rather than for payment.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Starcoaster

[Guest]

A huge shame and loss to the forum.

But I understand the pique that (I think we are all assuming) triggered the issue, as a writer, I would feel the same, especially were it something I had provided freely rather than for payment.

Well I for one would appreciate a clue, and am mystified as to the apparent hint hint stuff going on.

[Starcoaster]

Last post in this thread is Pete's last post prior to this one:

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=79817&page=2