After more than seven years and over 300 editions, this wonderful little newspaper is about to close and rather than cling on grimly until the last moment, I’ve decided to bow out gracefully ahead of time.
I’ve had a fantastic time writing about our stretch of the Thames and, in doing so, I’ve met some amazing people and some brilliant characters who all have one thing in common – a love for the most famous river in England.
I’d like this last Riverwatch to be a tribute to all of them because without their input and enthusiasm, I’d have had much less to write about.
I’ve covered traditional boatbuilding on the Thames with Mike Dennett and his team at Laleham Reach. A great group of guys who have rightly earned themselves a reputation for first class workmanship and a love of history by restoring and maintaining so many of the Dunkirk Little Ships.
I must also pay tribute to Jenny Beagle, from Bridge Marine where my brother and I kept our boats for so many years, who was always a source of great stories.
Another highlight has been focusing on the wildlife of the Thames – everything from kingfishers to herons and from salmon to champion pike.
Even writing about invasive species like the Chinese mitten crab, quagga mussels and the American freshwater shrimp has been interesting.
Delving into the history of the Thames through articles about the islands that can be found along the river from Molesey to Runnymede – Tagg’s, Pharoah’s, Lady May’s, Desborough, Grand Junction – all had stories to tell about the Thames’ past.
I particularly enjoyed revealing some of the wartime contributions made by those who lived and worked along the river – from building motor torpedo boats to testing amphibious tanks – along with the role of the Thames Patrol, the Home Guard on the river.
I’ve written about the bridges that span the river, the development of the lock and weir systems right up to the current day and the future plans to try to prevent a recurrence of the devastating floods that affected so many last winter.
I’ve been taken to task for not writing enough about fishing on the Thames (particularly by my old mate, Doug Millsom from Weybridge, who calls himself the ‘Ancient Angler’). It is, after all, still one of the biggest participant pastimes in the United Kingdom. Sorry Doug – I never did get round to a study of where all the fish have disappeared to!
Over the past seven years, I’ve written a lot about the Environment Agency’s role as guardians of the Thames and I have to say my attitude towards it has altered quite a lot over that time.
Starting from a view that the EA was failing to look after the Thames effectively, it has slowly dawned on me that the agency has been battling a series of massive cuts in its budget that would have defeated many other teams yet it has performed miracles with very limited resources. The fabric of the Thames – the locks, weirs and moorings – has probably never been in better condition than right now and no one should criticise the dedication of the people who wear the EA uniform.
I’d like to thank all the wonderful boat clubs I’ve covered in Riverwatch – from skiff and punt clubs to dragon boat racers to rowing clubs.
And especially our lovely sailing clubs – Desborough, Staines, Hampton, Arial and, of course, Weybridge SC who adopted me and proved what I’ve always believed – that sailors are among the most welcoming group of folk on the planet.
It’s been a long and eventful voyage writing Riverwatch and now that it’s coming to an end, I know I shall miss it terribly, but I will walk away with some lovely memories. And I’d like to thank everyone that I’ve not managed to mention by name here for their contributions.
To quote Douglas Adams, the author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ; ‘So long, and thanks for all the fish…’
]]>Ros Lamb, from Ashford, was nominated in recognition of her commitment to Littleton PhabSail, a ‘lodger’ club at Littleton Sailing Club in Shepperton while Roger Bennett from Wraysbury is to receive the award for his work with the Silver Wing Sailing Club.
Both sailors were selected as winners by the RYA Honours and Awards Panel and will receive their awards at the organisation’s annual awards ceremony in London on November 21.
In nominating Ros Lilttleton PhabSail said of her: “For over 15 years, Ros has volunteered for Littleton PhabSail, providing sailing for children, young people and adults with disabilities and/or special needs, their family, friends and carers.
“As Activities Co-ordinator, she makes sure each session is well organised, safe and compliant with all good practice requirements and is very good at encouraging people to become volunteers. Ros is also secretary and a Trustee and has recruited volunteers to join the Trustee Board and led fundraising activities to ensure adequate money is available to cover costs.
“She is often found hosting informal fundraising events at LSC, including invites to afternoon tea and cakes with the Mayor.
“Her work goes further afield as well, organising regular trips for Littleton Phabsail members in the Solent.
Ros said: “I was very excited and thrilled to find out that I had won the award, I couldn’t have done it without the hard work and support from the Littleton Phabsail volunteers.”
Roger Bennett was nominated by the Silver Wing SC who said of him: “Although Roger has a longstanding record of service to the club, it is his outstanding work over the last four years that is responsible for transforming the club into the vibrant, successful organisation it is today.
“On becoming Commodore in 2010, Roger’s mission was for the club SC to gain recognised RYA Training Centre status and market the club more locally as a volunteer-run family focused club, large enough to take new asymmetric performance dinghies as well as the traditional classes.
“Within two years he had spearheaded the establishment of the Wing Cadets junior club and cajoled more members to train or re-train as RYA Dinghy, Senior and Powerboat Instructors.
He also threw himself growing the club’s facilities, obtaining new storage containers, grants for new and used training craft (RS Visions), and a new concrete jetty are amongst his many successes. “
Roger said of his selection: “I was very surprised when I heard I had won the award. I’ve always been active at the club because I love to see the club succeed. I had never considered whether anyone was looking out for me or what I do at the club.
“My wife says she deserves an award for putting up with my not being at home for years! I am looking forward to the day and chuffed that I will meet Princess Anne.”
For more information about sailing in the Thames Valley and London region visit:
http://www.rya.org.uk/regions/thamesvalley/Pages/ThamesValleyRegion.aspx
Thames21 has just celebrated its tenth anniversary and it is remarkable how it has grown to be a real force for good in the environment of the rivers that criss-cross London – including our own stretch of the River Thames and its tributaries.
It developed from a partnership programme supported by Keep Britain Tidy, (remember there old television advertising campaigns?), the Port of London Authority, the Environment Agency, Thames Water, British Waterways, The Corporation of London and 19 local authorities.
From that initial beginning, the charity is now independent, and is funded by a wide variety of charitable trusts, companies and public funding.
Although a large part of what Thames21 does is based around cleaning up our rivers and canals, their activities now include all kinds of projects designed to improve our waterways in different ways, including:
- Engaging people of all ages, abilities and from all parts of society in London’s waterways
- Removing litter
- Creating new habitats for wildlife, flora and fauna
- Removing non-native invasive species
- Promoting safe and equitable access to waterways
- Removing graffiti
- Undertaking monitoring and research
- Delivering educational projects
- Campaigning for the reduction of waterway pollution and promoting sustainable behaviour
- Accrediting and training community groups to deliver safe and sustainable waterway improvement events.
Thames21 can now mobilise upwards of 12,000 volunteers around the capital to help with these objectives and they do a quite remarkable job. I’ll continue to keep you informed about the charity’s activities in our area (like regular clean-ups at places like Desborough Island and Sunbury Lock Cut island, but if you’d like to know more about what Thames21 offers, visit the website at www.thames21.org.uk.
A couple of weeks ago, I included a plea for help from regular reader Geoff Voller who remembered, as a young lad in 1940, visiting a Dunkirk little ship by the quay at Isleworth and asked whether anyone could remember its name.
Although unable to help with an answer to that question, Mike Minihane emailed me to say that he, too, had recollections of that craft.
Mike wrote: “I was very interested to read about the Dunkirk veteran moored at Isleworth in last week’s Surrey Herald. I’m afraid I cannot help Geoff Voller with the name of the vessel, but I do remember the occasion.
“I lived in Isleworth from 1933 to 1964 and as schoolboy my father took me down to The London Apprentice to see the little ship and, as Geoff said, ‘complete with bullet holes.’
“I did know the name, but with the passing of the years it has slipped my memory, but I suspect that if i saw it again I would recognise it. I have scanned some of the past lists of the gatherings of the veterans, but none of them have rung a bell! I’m sorry that I have not been more helpful, but I felt I must write to you about this.”
Thanks, Mike – I know what you mean about the passing of the years doing terrible things to the memory!
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If you don’t own a boat, then for many people their only experience of getting out on the Thames is by taking a trip on a passenger launch.
The heyday of the Thames passenger launches was during the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th, when the Victorians and Edwardians crowded their way aboard boats run by firms like Salters and French Brothers to take trips from Oxford, Maidenhead and Windsor down to Staines, Hampton Court, Kingston and, on occasions, as far as Westminster.
I’ve written several times recently about my own experiences growing up near Richmond and travelling aboard launches running up to Hampton Court – and those memories seem to have chimed with a number of readers who have their own recollections about the Thames passenger launches.
Doug Millsom from Weybridge tells me that he remembers as a boy taking a trip aboard a Salters launch that regularly used to call at the old steamer steps on the Weybridge bank of the Thames.
He said: “We used to watch the boats arrive to pick up passengers there and then turn in the weir stream just below Shepperton Lock.
“They’d go into the lock, heading upstream towards Windsor and pick up another load of passengers from the Shepperton side of the river before setting off.
“I remember taking a trip with my mum and dad aboard one of those boats and just loving every minute of it – I can only have been 10 or 11 at the time but those kind of memories stay with you.”
Doug reminded me that many of the Salter Brothers boats were named after towns on the Thames – Sonning, Reading, Henley, Mapledurham, Oxford etc.
And it’s a tribute to that company that it still operates boat trips on the Thames more than 150 years after it first started to trade in 1858.
Actually, Salters was originally a boat-building business based at Folly Bridge in Oxford but the potential for profit from offering trips on the Thames persuaded the three brothers to commence regular passenger services between Oxford and Kingston using the steam-powered launch ‘Alaska’.
From that small beginning, the company grew rapidly, operating a substantial fleet of boats that cruised the Thames, taking tens of thousands of people out on the river every year.
‘Alaska’, built in 1883, is still operating under the flag of Thames Steamers Ltd based in Marlow and if you get the opportunity to travel aboard her, I’d urge you to grab it. She has been beautifully restored and you could almost imagine yourself back in Victorian times as you step aboard.
Another former Salter’s launch – ‘Nuneham’ – is also still offering pleasure trips with French Brothers.
Nuneham, too, has been sympathetically restored and re-equipped with a steam engine.
French Brothers operate services between Windsor and Hampton Court through the summer months along with private charters.
My old mate Barry Dix occasionally used to time his departure from the Herald and News office in Chertsey so that he could arrive at Chertsey Lock in time to grab a ride aboard one of the French launches back to his home near Penton Hook Lock.
Now that’s commuting with style!
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I’ve been contacted by an old friend – Doug Myers from Weybridge, the retired architect who undertook to produce paintings of every bridge on the Thames over a 10-year period – with concerns about the proposed River Thames Scheme to reduce flooding risks.
Doug says: “Locals attended a meeting at St James Church Hall recently to hear details of the flood alleviation plans and were alarmed when they realised that the proposed alleviation channel carrying water from above Chertsey was due to terminate virtually on our doorstep.
“Residents are also upset at the proposed cutting back of the southerly towpath to widen the Desborough Cut to accommodate the extra volume of water.”
Doug went on to point out that in the dreadful floods at the beginning of this year, much of the inundation occurred because the narrow width of the Desborough Island bridges at just 24.5m caused the water to back up and overflow – yet there is no plan to increase the width of the bridges in line with widening the channel – so the likelihood is that the same thing would happen again.
Following the meeting, a local residents’ website called www.weybridgefloods.net was set up to allow people to make their views known.
And it contains one item I found particularly interesting – namely the possibility of cutting another floodwater diversion channel right through the centre of Desborough Island that would emerge close to the waterworks.
I wonder what the Environment Agency’s thoughts are on that idea?
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[dropcap]I[/dropcap] RECEIVED an email from regular reader, Geoff Voller, who grew up in Isleworth from 1935 to 1956, especially the waterfront and island.
Geoff wrote to me: “After the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, there was one of the ‘War Savings Weeks’ and one of the boats that took part (complete with bullet holes) was moored at the ferry landing near to the London Apprentice pub and people could go on board to look over it for a donation. (I was 10 years old at the time).
“I do not remember the name of the boat and although I’ve seen many photos of the Thames contingent of Dunkirk Little Ships have not identified this raft. Could you help me please?”
That was the first I’d heard about this incident and I suggested that Geoff contact the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships to see whether they could help.
But it occurs to me that there may be other readers of Riverwatch who might just remember this – if so, do contact me and let me know which of those amazing little boats was involved.
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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]HAMES21 are organising one of their last clean-ups of the year on December 7 at Sunbury Lock Ait. It will take place between 10am and 1pm and the charity is looking for more volunteers to help clean up litter and cut back vegetation.
All you need to do is turn up ready to get stuck in! Meet at the footbridge by the lock house, (KT12 2JE)
]]>The creature, has recently been discovered in the Wraysbury reservoir near Heathrow and, more worryingly, in the Wraysbury River which flows into the Thames at Staines.
And Government agencies are warning that we must try to prevent it entering the Thames itself because of the havoc it can wreak.
Quagga mussels, which grow to around 4cm in size, originate from the Ukraine and their biggest threat is that they breed incredibly prolifically and can block water pipes and encrust anything they come into contact with.
The mussels were originally found in the Black and Caspian Seas but they have migrated across the whole of Europe through the canal and river systems that criss-cross the continent.
They have also been introduced into North America by ships discharging their ballast water into the Great Lakes – and thus spreading the larvae.
They form huge colonies and attach themselves to any hard surface and right now engineers at Lake Mead in Colorado are trying to find a way to prevent the creatures from coming into contact with the turbines on the Hoover Dam, which supplies electricity to Las Vegas.
Quaggas not only block water pipes, boat engines and attach themselves to the hulls of boats in vast numbers but they also affect the quality of the water.
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, which runs the centre in Barnes says that the mussels could have a devastating impact on the wildlife and ecology of the site.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says it will do everything it can to prevent the pests from spreading further but the bottom line is that there is currently no way of eradicating the creatures.
Boat owners who use trailers are being urged to make sure that they wash off their boats, equipment, trailers and clothing before removing their craft from the Thames to try to ensure that they are not transporting the larvae to other areas.
But if the bivalves have already got into the Thames, it’s probably already too late for that.
Quagga mussels have distinctive light and dark brown stripes on their shells – if you see any of them, please contact the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology via the website www.brc.ac.uk/risc/alert.php?species=quagga_mussel.
I wrote a few weeks back about the planned closures of Sunbury and Penton Hook locks over the winter so that the Environment Agency could carry out essential maintenance on both.
The dates for the closure of Sunbury New Lock remain unchanged – the work to replace the lock gates and refurbish the lock chamber is going on right now and will continue until its scheduled end on December 19.
But work to replace the pintles on the lock gates at Penton Hook Lock has been put back until after Christmas – starting on January 5 and running until February 28.
]]>Sometimes I’ve heard people say – ‘It’s just a river – what’s so special about that?’ – which simply makes me think they have no soul or no imagination or neither.
I’m not going to try to over-analyse what it is about the Thames that draws me to it – wherever I am – but if there is one phrase that probably comes closest to summing it up it is ‘liquid history.’
Old Father Thames has been winding his way from Lechlade to the sea since prehistoric times.
The river has seen countless changes as man has extended his influence over the surrounding land, from the tentative first steps to tame the Thames by the building of locks and weirs, from the construction of bridges, the development of housing along its banks and the growth of industries, which made use of the river to ship their goods both to other parts of the United Kingdom and much farther afield during the days of empire.
It has watched momentous events – the sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215; the building of Hampton Court Palace and the waterborne processions that carried monarchs from the Tower of London to that glorious edifice; the Great Fire of London in 1666; the pounding of the London docks by the Luftwaffe in 1940, the celebration of our current Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012; the list goes on.
The river has provided work for generations – from traditional wooden boat builders, who have used their skills to construct both pleasure craft and ships of war through to the lightermen and tugboat skippers who used to haul cargoes of timber, brick and coal along its length.
And despite our best efforts to abuse the river – by dumping our sewage into its waters, by polluting it with chemicals, diesel oil and all manner of rubbish, it continues to serve us as a source of pleasure, commerce and interest.
It’s true that occasionally, Old Father Thames hits back at those arrogant enough to believe that we have him under our collective thumbs.
The catastrophic floods that devastated the lives of so many riverside dwellers last winter are ample evidence of that. But generally, he is content to go on rolling along, watching our efforts without any kind of judgement.
These days, there is far less industry on the Thames than there used to be and the river is now mainly used for leisure pursuits – fishing, sailing, motor-boating, rowing or even swimming.
But that fact doesn’t diminish the role that the Thames has played in our lives for hundreds of years.
Every time I step aboard a boat or take a walk along the banks of the river, I find myself thinking about others who have done similar things in the past.
Was King John aware of the worldwide significance of that grand charter to which he applied his seal at Runnymede?
Did Henry VIII stand where I am now standing on the riverbank looking at the water while he considered ways to try to resolve some important matter of state? What was great train robber Buster Edwards thinking as he boarded the cabin cruiser at Shepperton which was to whisk him away from the pursuing police and off to South America?
Yes, I think that’s it – it’s the liquid history that has me hooked.
]]>And I mentioned a particular boat, originally owned by Hastings Launches, called the Yarmouth Belle.
Last week, I heard from a man who had very special memories of the boat – and a wonderful story to tell.
John Hankey, who now runs a car showroom in Isleworth, told me about his younger days in the 1950s when he and his friends used to play around Teddington Lock on a Saturday – and how that led him to a Saturday job aboard the Yarmouth Belle.
John said: “We used to hang around on the lock side and take the lines from boats that were passing through – we’d sometimes get threepence or sixpence for helping out.
“One of the regulars was the Yarmouth Belle and her skipper was Harry Hastings, the chap who owned her and three other launches that used to carry passengers between Richmond and Hampton Court.
“He got to know me and after a while he asked if I’d like a ride down to Richmond and back and I jumped at the chance. That became a fairly regular thing and eventually I got offered the chance to be a Saturday boy getting paid half a crown a week (12.5 pence in today’s money).
“Yarmouth Belle was a beautiful old boat – a huge steering wheel, twin engines and a proper brass bridge telegraph to the engine room. In those days there was an engineer down below and the skipper used to ring down instructions. One of my regular jobs was to polish that telegraph so that it shone.
“Harry let me steer her – but I was only 12 or 13 at the time so I had to stand on a wooden Schweppes bottle crate so I could see over the wheel.
“There was a bar in the saloon for the passengers and Harry used to like a glass or two. He’d often leave me steering and nip down to the saloon for a quick one and come back up a few minutes later.
“Well, on one occasion he went down for a drink but he didn’t come back up and we were approaching Teddington Lock cut from upstream.
“I thought – what the heck do I do? There was an 84-year-old mate called Arthur who used to handle the lines in the lock and he was on the side of the boat. He looked up, saw me steering and just gave me a thumbs up – and fortunately, the lock keeper had seen us coming and had the gates open. I used the telegraph to ring down ‘engines easy’ and we glided into the lock. Arthur dropped the mooring line over a bollard and with a very gentle bump we stopped alongside.
“Harry came running up from the saloon and said: ‘Oh, we’re in – well done, son.’
“I was awfully nervous while it was going on – but I felt very proud of myself afterwards.”
I had to laugh when John told this story – you can just imagine what the health and safety police would have made of allowing a 12-year-old to take a crowded passenger boat into a lock if it happened these days!
But that was part of what made growing up in the 50s so much fun – you did occasionally get the chance to do things like that – and it was a magical time.
I’m very grateful to John for telling me the story.
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I suppose it’s not surprising that someone like me who loves messing about in boats – either on the river or at sea – has a corresponding interest in the workings of the Corporation of Trinity House, (TH) the organisation responsible for looking after the buoys and lighthouses that provide essential navigational aids around the British coast and for pilotage – the guiding of big ships into and out from our harbours.
So it is with great pleasure that I can recommend a newly published book to you – Light Through a Lens: an Illustrated Celebration of 500 Years of Trinity House.
Written by Neil Jones and Paul Ridgway and published by Bloomsbury Publishing, the book looks at the origins of the institution and some of its varied responsibilities through its 500-year history (Trinity House celebrated its 500th anniversary on May 20, 2014).
Henry VIII granted TH a charter in 1514 following a petition from mariners for their incorporation in order to regulate pilotage on the River Thames, complaining that ‘Scots, Flemings and Frenchmen have been suffered to learn as lodesmen (pilots) the secrets of the King’s streams.’
Most people who know anything about Trinity House assume that its sole responsibility is the maintenance and protection of the lighthouses that dot the coast of the British Isles, but over the years, TH has played a much more disparate role in the lives of our mariners.
TH has always acted in support of the state – starting in its early days by organising the recruitment of men and the provision of ships of war. The corporation also advised on the design and construction of warships and for defending the Thames itself from threats posed by the French during the Napoleonic War and by the Americans during the War of Independence.
It’s probably also not widely known that TH played a vital role during the Second World War, firstly by maintaining a safe passage along the east coast convoy route and secondly by following the minesweepers and marking a buoyed passage right up to the Normandy beaches during Operation Overlord – D-Day.
TH has also played a major part in providing help and support for elderly mariners – a role it continues to fulfil to this day.
The book tells the story of how TH took responsibility for all the lighthouses and light vessels around the British coast through an act of Parliament in 1836.
Prior to that date, many lighthouses were privately owned but there was no standardisation of regulation or construction of the buildings.
The authors skilfully paint a picture of the lives of the hardy bunch of keepers who lived in the offshore lighthouses for months at a time, supplied – when the elements allowed – by tenders from the shore that brought food, water, post and, from time to time, a relief team.
Inevitably, there have been tragedies that have struck those who endeavour to make our lives safer at sea – the original Eddystone lighthouse being destroyed in a storm, the capsize of the South Goodwins lightship – to name but two – and the book carries details of all such events.
Light through a Lens is a superbly illustrated and well-written chronicle about one of the UK’s lesser known public organisations that continues to work tirelessly to protect those who travel by sea. I can recommend it very highly.
Light Through a Lens is published by Adland Coles Nautical and has the ISBN number 978-1-4081-7595-8. It is priced at £20 in hardback.
]]>But plans to provide that home in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames foundered earlier this month when the council scrapped a proposal to build her a mooring dock beside Orleans Gardens, Twickenham.
The council proposals were for the construction of a covered dock on the site of a children’s playground that would have been the size of a row of seven terraced houses and would have cost in the order of £3million.
Local residents reacted angrily to the idea saying that they wanted to preserve the playground and that the buildings would have been wholly out of proportion in an area, which, they argued was effectively Green Belt land.
And it would certainly have taken a substantial structure to keep the barge undercover.
Gloriana is a 28.6-metre-long (94 ft) rowing barge. It accommodates a crew of 18 oarsmen but it can also be driven by an inboard engine and can carry an additional 34 passengers and crew.
According to Lord Sterling, the design is inspired Canaletto’s London paintings of 18th-century barges.
She was built in Brentrford with construction starting in November 2011 under the direction of master shipwright Mark Edwards.
Why do I mention this? Well, because of a suggestion that has come from regular reader of this column, Julian Nowell from Walton who has been following the debate about a permanent home for the barge.
Julian wrote to me saying: “Having just heard that Richmond have refused to berth The Gloriana, wouldn’t it be a good idea to berth it here in Walton?
“We have no specific tourist attractions on our stretch of the Thames and plenty of river space in which to moor it.
“Perhaps you could champion the idea in a future issue of Riverwatch as I am sure it would prove a tourist magnet, especially as we already have three marinas in the immediate area.
“On reflection, I think a mooring at Cowey Sale would be ideal, as many people congregate there, especially at weekends.
“I have also written to our MP, and hope he may encourage the idea…we live in hope…!”
I have to say I really like the idea and I’m sure Julian is quite right when he suggests that finding a permanent home for Gloriana would draw people to the area.
Of course, there are many issues that would have to be addressed – deciding whether the barge would need a permanent covered mooring (which has planning implications) and providing first class security for the vessel to ensure that she remains safe.
But you can always find reasons NOT to do something – the trick surely is to see and opportunity and to seize it with enthusiasm.
I’d be really interested to hear what other readers think of Julian’s idea – let’s see if there is enough backing to push this forward, if not at Cowey Sale then perhaps in one of our big marinas…?
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