Hibernian Supporters Limited (HSL)

This group we feel is going in the right direction so we are happy to let our readers know about the efforts to turn this great old club around. (We have removed the other group)
 The shipyards of Leith (All of them) have long had a connection to Hibernian Football Club (Hibs)
and as such the Blog at Leith Built Ships are happy to do a little bit to publicise an intended Supporters Buy Out to return the Football club to the supporters of the team.
The organisation has been set up and a website is now on-line for any pledges of support to return this fine club to it's rightful place in Scottish Football, innovators since 1875 so who knows this may well help return the Glory Days to Easter Road Stadium.

The following is from the official website:-

Hibernian SupportersLimited (HSL) has been established with simple and clear objectives:

·      To raise funds to purchase shares in Hibernian Football Club, and

·      To hold those shares for the benefit of all supporters and the community.

There is strength in solidarity and the more funds we can raise the more shares we can buy.  We have a legally binding agreement with the Club that enables us to buy shares with the funds we raise.  This agreement is open ended and is not limited by the closing date like the option supporters have if they elect to buy direct.

We have the opportunity to own our Club and it is up to us all to take that opportunity and I would encourage you to visit our donation page and either make a lump sum contribution or sign up to a direct debit and pay monthly.  Either way you can be safe in the knowledge that the money contributed will go a long way to securing the future of our Club.

This is the start of the journey to something we as supporters have been calling for - FAN ownership.

www.hiberniansupporters.co.uk/

Sign of the Times?

Well the time has finally come when I need to set some adverts onto this Blog and in time you will also see them appear on my website as well.

It is an expensive business the upkeep of the website and up to now all the cost has been carried by me.

So perhaps with some little advertising revenue coming in it may help offset some of the cost of keeping the website up to date and enable me to keep it going as there is so much more to go onto the website.

Up to now partly due to time constraints I have only put some small pieces onto the Leith Shipyards website about the 4 previous Shipyards that eventually morphed into the shipyard known as the Henry Robb yard.

So please help to support the website by clicking through on any of the advert that you may find of interest as any little helps.

There are also many more job adverts on the Blog and will be on the website and if we can help to even get one person a job then wouldn’t that be a fine thing.

Your support and interest during this journey is much appreciated.

 

A scene from a once busy Leith Shipyard around the mid 1970's
and the Hibs also had a pretty good team in them days as well 7-0 springs to mind.



The new maritime E-library is now open at Ships and the Sea





 

 

QUEEN ELIZABETH Floats

HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH was floated out from her building dock last week and pleased to say she floats.

While the dock was flooded she was carefully monitored by the guy’s from the “Dim Squad” (Dimensional Control) although just what this fine body of men were going to do if she began to heel over is left to the imagination, I just cannot see them being able to run around placing side shores to prop her up.

Not quite as spectacular as a traditional slipway launch but an important event in the life of the ship all the same, she will now be berthed at the quayside in the large basin at Rosyth Dockyard and all her outfitting will continue for another two or three years before she begins commissioning trials so more work for the men for some time to come, which is all good news as far as the workers are concerned.

The second ship of the class HMS PRINCE OF WALES is due to begin assembly in the same dry dock in a couple of months.

 

The new Aircraft Carrier HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH floats out from her assembly dock at Rosyth

 

It would be interesting to know how level in the water she sits just to know if her ballast calculations were correct as she was floated out, this was always a very nervous time for a shipyard and the Naval Architects responsible for the ships calculations at the time of launch, more importantly if she was being launched down a slipway than a simple float out a real squeaky bum time to put things mildly.

Queen Victoria Cruise Liner (The Loftsmans collection)


Just for a size comparison the new Aircraft Carrier QUEEN ELIZABETH is slightly longer than the Cunard Cruise ship QUEEN VICTORIA shown above during a visit to the Firth of Forth

 

As Time Goes by: the Changing Face of Leith’s Shoreline

We feature another article from our guest feature writer Jenni Buxton and while we agree with a lot of what she writes we don't necessarily endorse or agree with all of it.
All things must pass after all be it for the better or the worse, change has to happen.

Old Leith from the ediburghs-war.ed.ac.uk website



 

As Time Goes by: the Changing Face of Leith’s Shoreline

 

Although the shipbuilding traditions of Leith Docks generally resides in the shadow of the traditions of the Clyde, the East Coast shipyard has just as proud a history that is as much a backdrop to north Edinburgh’s present as it ever has been in the past. Initially a hub of the British Empire’s wine trade, secondly a world power in steamship construction and now, as Leith rises out of the more home-grown shadow cast by the so-called ‘trainspotting generation’ of the 90s, the shipyard’s image is once again being reimagined as an important, iconic reminder of Leith’s history and a symbol of Scottish growth and prosperity.

 

Leith Shipyard’s Proudest Moment

Perhaps the proudest moment in the history of the shipyard's of Leith at the old Menzies yard on the Water of Leith was the construction of the legendary steam boat, Sirius. Built at Leith in 1837, the Sirius was intended to run the London to Cork route for the Saint George Steam Packet Company. However, proving itself early on to be a masterpiece of craftsmanship, the Sirius was chartered to cross the Atlantic by the British and American Steam Navigation Company. By arriving in New York a day ahead of the Great Western, a ship designed by none other than the great industrialist Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Sirius became the first steamship to make the Atlantic crossing. Legend has it that in the last two days of the 18 day crossing, the Sirius ran out of coal and had to be powered by timber and resin. [1]

Nearly 200 years on, the achievements of the Leithers that built the Sirius are still talked about in the pubs on the Walk and the stands of Easter Road to this day, highlighting the reverberation of spirit and community that the shipyard inspires.

At Easter Road they Play Since 1875 Hibernian Football Club has been an integral part of sporting life in the City of Edinburgh and Port of Leith; its early history up to 1946 has been brilliantly documented in The Making of Hibernian trilogy by Alan Lugton. John Campbell's At Easter Road they Play is the first part of a new trilogy that brings the history up to date, picking up the story from 1946 and covering what was the most successful part of the club's history when Hibernian won three Championship titles and became the first British club to play in the European Cup, reaching the semi-final. Packed with anecdotal tales of the times, it gives a fascinating insight into life at the club when the Famous Five were in their heyday right through to the mid-sixties when a young lad by the name of Joe Baker burst onto the scene. A game-bygame, goal-by-goal account of the many highs and numerous lows, At Easter Road they Play takes the reader on a fantastic journey back to the days when massive crowds flocked to Easter Road to see Hibernian play. For any Hibs fan that lived through those heady days this book will bring back to life a host of happy memories whilst at the same time allowing those fans who were perhaps too young or not even born at the time to see just how different football was back then when compared to the modern day game.

Leith Docks and the Wine Trade

Long before paddle steamers, the port at Leith was one of the UK’s great trading ports, and though many of the later problems that were associated with the ‘trainspotting generation’ came from alcohol, the alcohol trade was a key factor for the areas early growth. As early as the twelfth century, all the wine for the Stuart kings that resided at Holyrood palace was brought in through Leith Docks and in the days of Mary Queen of Scots, the famous French wines that she became fond of during her time there were imported through Leith. This trade increased over the next 200 years and Sherry from Spain and Port from Portugal were added to the haul.

Leith became one of the biggest importers of the finest qualities of wine in the whole of the United Kingdom. The mass storage of wine in Leith was even noted by Sir Walter Scott who talks of coopering (the art of barrelling alcohol for storage) at Leith’s docks:

“Peter Puncheon that was cooper to the queen’s stores at the Timmer Burse (or Timber Bush) at Leith.”

By the Time of Bonnie Prince Charlie in the early 17^th century, the list of wines coming into Leith included claret, burgundy, champagne, sherry, port and even some wines from as far afield as Australia. [2] With the export of whisky and the import of wine you could well say that Leith’s was built on alcohol, and though that might have been a proud thing to say a couple of hundred years ago, it could well be a source of shame given the recent stereotype of the area that came out of the 90s.

Ecstasy Lloyd from Leith has a transfiguring passion for the unhappily married Heather. Together they explore the true nature of house music and chemical romance. Will their ardour fizzle and die or will it ignite and blaze like a thousand suns? Ecstasy follows them and others through the backstreets of Edinburgh, stifling suburban sitting rooms and the bright lights of London. Exhilarating and dazzling, this is Welsh at his very best.

The More Recent History of the Leith Shipyard

The shipyards recent image was summed up in the Proclaimer’s music video for ‘Letter from America’ in 1987, lamenting the closure of industry across Scotland and the migration of once proud industrial workers to America and Canada in search of work. In the video, Henry Robb’s Shipyard, once a bustling hive of activity, looms over Leith, rendered desolate by mass unemployment and the destruction of industry. Though still a symbol of community pride, that pride was slipping as alcoholism and drug abuse began to tarnish the reputation of the region leading to the stain of the character of the ‘trainspotting generation’ of the 90s. The young heroin addicts that Irvine Welsh’s bestselling novel is based on were the sons and daughters of proud shipbuilders at the Henry Robb yards, the unemployment of the closure of industry, coupled with Leith’s history of importing opiates led to this near epidemic. Aida Edemariam and Kirsty Scott recently pointed out that this generation, though now in their forties, are still dying younger than their peers from other parts of the UK. [3]

Released in 1993, the harrowing story of Trainspotting drew attention to the drug and alcohol problems that were rampant in Edinburgh [4], and in particular Leith at this time and the derelict Shipyards became a depressing symbol of this social degredation.

 

Back on track

Though this generation changed the image of the shipyard throughout the 90s to one of decay, in the last decade it has managed to brush its self off and rise like a phoenix from the flames again. With world class drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres and community groups [5] helping more and more people with problems of addiction back to their feet the problem is beginning to show signs of decline. [6] Alcohol abuse, though still a problem across all Scotland, is under some degree of control and the Leith shoreline is home to modern gastro-pubs, restaurants and wine bars that are using alcohol to restore a pride to the shipyards more reminiscent of the booming times of the alcohol trade in the 17^th century.

The Rise and Fall of British Shipbuilding This is the story of how, from modest beginnings, Britain rose throughout the 19th century to become the greatest shipbuilding nation in the world. It begins with the age of sail, then moves on to the days of iron-hulled steamers. It shows how conflicts arose between the traditional shipwrights and the new men who came from the metal industries, leading to the infamous demarcation disputes. It is also the story of men like Brunel and Armstrong, geniuses who were always looking for change and development. It is also the story of decline in the 20th century, when yards were no longer as innovative as their foreign competitors and the British merchant fleet shrank from being the biggest in the world at the start of the century to ranking number 38 at the end of it. It is a story of great achievements and tragic collapse.

Looking to the future of Leith Docks

With new industries in computer software design and a solid reputation as an area for the burgeoning industry of game design, employment is beginning to creep back into the area. As well as the government building at Victoria Quay, [7] Leith Docks are also managing to keep the proud maritime traditions going by earning a strong reputation as a supporting dock for offshore development and acting as an important destination for the northern European cruise industry. [8] After a difficult few decades, the shipyards at Leith are once again becoming a modern icon of regeneration and pride.

1. "Sirius." Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed on 20/07/2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/546617/Sirius
2. "The Story of Leith," Electric Scotland, accessed on 20/07/2014, http://www.electricscotland.com/history/leith/32.htm
3. Aida Edemariam and Kirsty Scott, "What Happened to the Trainspotting Generation?" The Guardian online, August 15 2009, accessed 20/07/2014, http://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/aug/15/scotland-trainspotting-generation-dying-fact
4. "Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse," Helpguide Scotland, Accessed on 20/07/2014, http://www.helpguide.org/mental/alcohol_abuse_alcoholism_signs_effects_treatment.htm
5. "Turning Point Leith," Turning Point, accessed on 20/07/2014, http://www.turningpointscotland.com/what-we-do/substance-misuse/turning-point-leith/
6. "Treatment Programs for Alcohol Abuse," Treatment4Addiction, accessed on 20/07/2014, http://www.treatment4addiction.com/treatment/alcohol/
7. "Victoria Quay," The Scottish Government, accessed on 20/07/2014, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Locations/victoria-quay
8. "Port of Leith," Forth Ports, accessed on 20/07/2014, http://www.forthports.co.uk/leith-edinburgh/

This more modern photograph is from 2011 and not so much has changed really as far as the architectural look of the Shore anyway.

Find all the books you will ever need at the E-Library Ships and the Sea

Council buys Custom House for Leith "Maritime" Museum

Well at last as someone who is amongst the first to slag off the Edinburgh Council, credit where it's due as they have at last done something positive and purchased the old Custom House in Leith and although they do not mention "Maritime Museum" with any luck and some vision the majority of the building will be set aside to celebrate the rich and very long maritime history of the Port of Leith.

The old Custom House in Leith, Scotland shown her in this Edinburgh Evening News Photograph

This classic old building just lends itself to being the home of a Maritime Museum

Perhaps now a lot of the hidden from public sight memorabilia and material will at last be shown along with much of the material hidden away in private collections.

Book with confidence thanks to the Best Price Guarantee from Expedia.com I do not for a minute understand why some people with the knowledge and information they have gathered over time would not wish to show material in such a magnificent setting, with the proviso that the "Edgits" are kept well away from the running and setting up such a worthwhile project.
While the council are to be congratulated with this one they do not have a very good track record of success now do they?


The following is From the Edinburgh Evening News

THE bid to establish a dedicated Leith Museum has taken a giant leap forward after the city sealed a deal to buy the Custom House from the National Museums Scotland.

Culture chiefs agreed to pay £650,000 for the building after a six-year campaign by residents to save the landmark. to read more



 

HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH

The sum of the parts makes for a pretty impressive weapons platform built around the British Isles in the few remaining shipyards and put together in Fife, Scotland

Lets forget about the politics and the build problems encountered while building the Royal Navy's largest ever ship, to hell with the cost of the vessel as well, as the cost would only have been wasted by the useless politicians on something else anyway, at least this project kept alive some skills and shipbuilding know how in a country that used to build ships.
So the day has finally arrived when the  new Aircraft Carrier is named, not launched mind you as she will have a what they call now "A Float Off" as she was assembled in dry dock.
It is a strange feeling for shipbuilders at the launch or in this case naming ceremony as they can already see there jobs on the line, the harder the Shipwrights, Platers and Welders work then the faster they face un-employment, just all part of the job of a shipbuilder.
Despite all the politics involved in this particular build it is still a great occasion when you see a ship completed although this one will still have 3 or 4 years outfitting work ahead of her before she is ready to accept aircraft (if they ever complete the aircraft due to fly from her)
This is also a time for the politicians and there assembled flunky's and upper management of the concerned shipyards to do a lot of back slapping and hand wringing again having had little to do with the building of a ship, politics and shipbuilding you just cant separate.
Its the guys who built and assembled this mighty ship who deserve the pat on the back, and yes there were many problems during her construction and some which I am very qualified to speak on as I was involved for a couple of years in her construction, You see I am a shipbuilder, so it would be hoped that they now have the experience behind them and the second carrier will be assembled much better and will in fact prove to be the better built of the two aircraft carriers, strange then that there is still talk of this better second one being mothballed or even sold off at a cut down price........see politics and shipbuilding they go hand and hand.
For a lot more on this story of the naming of the ship at the Rosyth Dockyard in Scotland (Note - It is not a shipyard) see the story in the Scotsman newspaper.

I could not direct you to the BBC and there stories on the ship as they still don't seem to know the difference between a Ship and a Boat.(perhaps a sign of the times)
The ignorance today in the U.K. about shipbuilding or should I say about the lack of shipbuilding knowledge is a bit scary for an Island Nation but again that's politics and this blog is about Shipbuilding.

LECTRO

Ship No 197

An order from The Union Lighterage Co Ltd for a Single Screw Diesel Electric Tug, from my records this would appear to be the first such vessel powered by a Diesel Electric Motor built by Henry Robb at Leith.

She was 120 tons with a length overall of 86 feet and a beam of 22 feet. She was launched from the Leith yard on 4th November 1933.

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BOMBO

Ship No 154

Was a Single Screw Motor Coaster, ordered by New South Wales Government, Australia. At 603 tons, with a length overall of 154 feet and a beam of 30 feet, She was the last Ship of the decade that was called the “Roaring Twenties” She went down the slips on 18th December 1929.
She had a fine service record during World War II

Bombo was requisitioned for naval service in February 1941 and fitted with a single twelve-pound gun, which was mounted on the forecastle head. Also installed, abreast of the foremast were two Oerlikons machine guns. Commissioned in Sydney in May 1941, under the command of Lieutenant Arthur S. Codling, RANR(S), she operated between Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart as an auxiliary minesweeper until November 1943. Bombo was then converted into a stores carrier and left Sydney in February 1944 and spent the next eighteen months in the Darwin and Northern Australian area. During wartime the vessel had a complement of thirty-five men and on many occasions she participated in gunnery practice with the Darwin defence forces by towing targets outside Darwin Harbour. Included in her ports of call over that period of time where the remote Islands of New Year, West Montalivet, Peron and North Goulburn. On September 11th, 1945, the steamer participated in the occupation of Koepang, Netherlands Timor by the Australian Army. With the end of hostilities, Bombo sailed from Darwin for the last time in late November 1945; however, she was not returned to her owners until July 1947.

Bombo sank off the Australian coast and the folowing is from a newspaper cutting telling they story of some of the survivors.

EXTRACT FROM 'THE SOUTH COAST TIMES' THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24th 1949


Ship Capsizes Off Wollongong

Twelve Drowned

Two survivors came ashore at Bulli on Wednesday morning after being ten hours in the water.

The two survivors are:

Michael Fitzsimmons (48) fireman, of Napier street, North Sydney, and Thorvald Thomson (57) also a fireman.

The body of another member of the crew was washed ashore north of Corrimal and Mr. A. Barnett, in his trawler Pacific Gull, recovered a second body believed to be that of the captain. Fitzsimmons was little the worse for his experience, but Thomson was suffering badly from exposure and was taken to Bulli Hospital for treatment.

The Bombo, a steel vessel of 640 tons was built in 1930 especially for carrying blue metal from Kiama to Sydney. On Tuesday she left Kiama shortly before noon for Sydney, a trip which usually takes about eight hours. She was carrying about 600 tons of metal, slightly less than a full load. A graphic story of the trip was told by Fitzsimmons; who claimed that the cause of the sinking was the shifting of the ship's cargo. He said after leaving Kiama they sailed the usual course but about 5 pm, when about 5 miles off Stanwell Park he noticed the ship listing to port. He said he heard the Captain A. R. Bell tell the chief engineer he was going to turn back and to keep the engines going slowly to keep steerage way on the ship.

They continued southward until about 9.30 pm. when, some four or five miles north east of Wollongong lighthouse, he heard that the Captain had informed the second engineer he proposed to drop anchor off Port Kembla until daylight. Fitzsimmons said he noticed the list was getting worse and than heard the Captain' shout "All hands on deck and lower the starboard lifeboat". "I tried to assist two sailors to lower the boat" said Fitzsimmons, ship began to list more so we grabbed the lifebouys and jumped. He said the captain and seven others followed them and no more, than no more than two minutes later the ship turned over on her port side and sank.

Fitzsimmons said the captain told them to keep together and they commenced swimming towards the beach, six of them clinging to two pieces of timber. Another man who was swimming weakly was helped to this board. "After paddling for some hours we became very tired," said Fitzsimmons, "and then we just hung onto the timber." The floated around until about 4 o'clock when the beach came into site and they recommenced to paddle. One man pointed out the plank might be dangerous in the surf, so one by one they left the plank and made for the shore. He said he managed to struggle ashore where he took off his lifebelt. He made towards a house where he saw a bread carter, Mr. Hobbs, of Hubbards bakery, who gave an overcoat and took him to Bulli police station.

Throughout yesterday a close watch was kept on the beaches and an aerial search was carried out.

Mr. E. F. Reid, of Wollongong and South Coast Aviation Services, with Mr. Brian Crump, as observer, made a two hour search in one of the companies tiger moth planes. Members of the Woonona Surf Club joined in the search with a lifeboat. Heavy seas and drizzling rain made the task more difficult for searchers. Late yesterday afternoon a Catalina search plane dropped flares over several objects floating in the water off Coldale.

Owing to very heavy seas, however, launches and boats were unable to put out to investigate the wreckage and pieces of similar were washed ashore at many beaches, but only a lifebouy found near Bulli beach has been actually identified as coming from the Bombo. Police and citizens have maintained watching squads on cliffs and beaches between Cronulla and Wollongong during the day.

Fitzsimmons was in a state of collapse when he arrived at the Bulli Police station with Hobbs and had to be carried into the station. He refused to go to hospital and declined a suggestion that he should have a sleep.He was provided with a meal at the home of Sgt P. Kennedy, Bulli station sergeant. Sgt. Kennedy also gave him socks, shoes, and clothing.

Propeller from the wreck of "Bombo"