The Thames Tug GENERAL IV

GENERAL IV Ship No 222 built at the Leith Shipyards of Henry Robb Ltd and launched in 1936

 

Last heard/seen at Bowling Harbour half sunk just a hull sitting in water now wasting away a bit similar to the state of the SCOT II BEFORE SHE WAS MOVED TO THE Caledonian Canal  (Whatever happened to the rescue attempts to restore the SCOT II)
 

Seems like the same story with the old GENERAL IV very similar lines to the SCOT II as well and looks like there is no one around to attempt a restoration project on this fine old Steam Tug.

You will see a photograph of her here from early this year.
Do not know how she has ended up here but there was another far more recent tug that also sank at Bowling Harbour

https://www.flickr.com/photos/37457215@N02/12072114576/

 

We cannot save then all, but still a shame to see such fine plate work rusting away.

what	where
job title, keywords or company	city, state or zip jobs by

The Irish Lights Ship ALBATROSS

Earn More in One Day Than a Professional Athlete.
Looks like she was or still is up for sale, although she may even have been scraped by the time of writing.

The LS ALBATROSS sits at a quayside somewhere in Kent her fate at this time unknown
Photo credit from shipspotters website and if the owner contacts us we shall credit the photograph


Takes a real will and very deep pockets to take on a large project such as converting or even partially restoring such a large ship

Check out this link to see the ship in better times when she was used to train Irish Sea Cadets

 

Shipwright's

 

 

 

 

 

The Shipwrights

 

It is clear for anyone who knows the Shipwrights Build Ships, they always have done and I don’t care what names they give the trades today it is Shipwrights who build ships.

Yes the Platers have had a large part to play in the process of shipbuilding for the past 100 years or so but the Shipwrights have been around since before recorded time so I thought it well past time to give the Shipwrights of Leith there own page on the website at Leith Shipyards.

For the record while I am at it and controversial it may well be but “Welders” do not build ships they are a relative newcomer to the shipbuilding process and although some are very highly skilled in the trade they are no matter how you look at it in the end just a “Service Trade” only been around for the past 60 years or so in the shipbuilding process, most yards still stuck to tradition and riveted there ships up into the 1960’s as the welded ship had a slight stigma attached deserved or otherwise, the riveted ship had the seams that cannot be replicated today with most welded ships ending up looking like half starved carcasses of a dead horse ribs, depending on how the light hits the shell.

So once more for the sake of clarity the Shipwrights build Ships, Platers mark and shape Plates and all the rest are service trades.

 

Leith Shipwrights


 

 

The Leith Shipyards at the beginning of World War One

As Europe descended into death and destruction once more 100 years ago this month

We take a very quick snapshot back in time when there were three main shipyards all situated next to each other facing into what is now known as the western harbour at Leith Docks.

From West to East we had the smallest of the three shipyards namely the yard of

J. Cran & Co was engaged in the building primarily of Steam Fishing Trawlers and Tugs and they were about to launch the Steam Fishing Trawler ANWORTH while building was going on of a Tug called the VIGOREAUX

The next shipyard in line was the shipyard of Hawthorns & Co who had taken over the old shipyard of S &H Morton two years before.

Hawthorns had a couple of small Cargo Vessels on the stocks at the outbreak of WWI

The shipyard had an order book of Steam Fishing Trawlers to be built as well.

While last but by no means least the Leith Shipyard of Ramage & Ferguson Ltd Shipbuilders had just launched three large steam passenger/cargo ships with the last one launched in the December of 1914 was named as  CHAKDINA the second ship of an order by the BI Line and a ship that would survive WWI only to be involved in tragedy during the Second World War when sinking during an attack in the Mediterranean while full of wounded New Zealand and Allied Soldiers who had been fighting in the fearsome battle for Tobruk.

The shipyards would soon be involved in the repair of many battle scarred vessels from fighting around the British Isles and further a-field if the ship could be brought into Leith at all they could repair her.

Interestingly enough no warships were built at the Leith Shipyards during World War One although many Landing Craft were, unlike the part played by the Leith Shipyard of Henry Robb (the shipyard that over time took over the three shipyards mentioned)

during the Second World War.

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/ww1-centenary

The 4th of August 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the day Britain entered one of the costliest conflicts in history – the First World War – with fighting continuing until the 11th of November 1918, Armistice Day.

The Royal British Legion was founded by British veterans in the aftermath of the First World War and is at the forefront of Centenary commemorations. As we come together in Remembrance of events a century ago, we are reminded of the important welfare work the Legion continues to provide today and will need to provide in the future.

For more on the commemorations of this terrible conflict please visit the British Legion website above.

The Centenary of the First World War

The 4th of August 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the day Britain entered one of the costliest conflicts in its history, the First World War, which ended on Armistice Day, 11th November 1918.

Almost everyone in the UK has an ancestor directly affected by the First World War. The losses were felt across every UK town and village as the lives of nearly one million lives men and women were sacrificed in service of the British Empire.

The Royal British Legion will be joining in the commemoration of all those who served and sacrificed from British, Dominion and Imperial forces from countries including the UK, Republic of Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa.

Remember to buy a Poppy.

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.

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