Issue 26 Jan 2014

Newsletter January 2014

The Museum side of Ipswich Maritime Trust

Newsletter No. 26

The Window Museum is not the only museum activity IMT carries out, IMT is a member of the Ipswich Heritage Forum, and a member of the Association of Suffolk Museums, regularly attending their gatherings, indeed we recently put on a display at their annual awards ceremony held at the UCS.

We are also influential members of Maritime Heritage East (MHE), a network of maritime museums in East Anglia, with Ben Bendall acting as their Treasurer and Des Pawson (through his Museum of Knots & Sailor’s Ropework) acting as chairman. It was under the banner of MHE that IMT had a stand at the Maritime Heritage Fair held on the end of Southend Pier on the 1st of June, and a presence at Felixstowe for a local history fair. One useful aspect of MHE is that they have a very comprehensive website www.maritimeheritageeast.org.uk giving details of Maritime Museums in East Anglia and many online exhibitions covering varied themes. This site is visited by people from all over the world, thus spreading the good word about Ipswich’s maritime past. We are sure that you will find it of interest if you have a look.

One of the benefits of meeting other Museums is that it builds relationships with like-minded organisations, allowing us to borrow objects from fellow members, to get new ideas and to learn how to develop our own activities.

The team that puts together the window exhibition meets regularly throughout the year. They call themselves “The Window Wizards” and are kept busy, firstly coming up with the theme for the next display, planning the exhibition, sourcing items for the display, organising the photos needed and making up the labels; all this before the hectic run up to the actual installation of the exhibition.

The exhibition changes every six months and we will be even busier when the hoped-for extra Windows come on-stream when development restarts on the waterfront site.

The Wizards are aware that there is room for many more museum activities to be carried out, but these would require additional man or woman power.

For example there is an opportunity for IMT to develop an oral history project and, should anyone be interested in this aspect of saving our heritage, there would be chance for them to attend an Oral History Study Day at the Suffolk Record Office on Saturday March 28th; please contact Des Pawson if you might be interested in this project..

We would also be interested to know if anyone is researching a particular aspect of Ipswich’s maritime past, or perhaps you have some knowledge of a family or company with strong maritime connections, as from time to time IMT is contacted by people researching their family or a vessel with particular ties to Ipswich.

Perhaps you have an idea for a display, do let us know.

If any of these activities interest you, or you have something to offer, please contact Des Pawson on 01473 690090 or by email at des@despawson.com .

Museum News

The new Window Museum display -

‘The Port of Ipswich in Wartime’

It was with a sigh of relief that we were able to remove the 900lb cannon (used in the Broke display) from the window without causing damage to either the window or the people involved. The new window display ‘The Port of Ipswich in Wartime’ features two German maps used to identify bombing targets in Ipswich, together with the propeller blade from the Focke-Wulf F/W190 which, having bombed Myrtle Road, crashed to the east of the dock lock-gates; another heavy item for the team to move!

There are various photos of some of the destruction caused around the port, as well as photos of how people around the port helped with the war effort, making all kinds of armaments and war goods and providing emergency services. Scattered around are reminders of that wartime world, with gas masks and helmets of various types. The best thing is to go and look at it yourselves.

You will find the window looking super clean, as one IMT member kindly donated the proper professional equipment to clean the window, for which we are very grateful.

Des Pawson

IMT Sponsorships update

In the July 2013 Newsletter we listed the projects we had sponsored in recent years; below is an update on some of them.

Ipswich Merchant Navy Association (IMNA) Memorial

The Memorial Stone is now complete and is in storage waiting for the better weather. It is intended to erect the stone work on Orwell Quay in either late March or very early April in time for the Dedication on April 12th.

The dedication service will be preceded by a parade headed by the Harwich Pipe Band, followed by the standards of the MNA and other bodies including the Royal Naval Association, Royal British Legion, Korean Veterans and cadet organisations. The salute will be taken by the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk. The Mayor of Ipswich and other dignitaries will be present

This dedication event will start at 3 pm on 12 April and should attract a major turnout: members of the public are very welcome to attend.

Geoff Hartgrove

[Advance Notice to all IMT members and friends: the Ipswich Branch of the MNA are hosting an illustrated talk on 13 March by Peter Hesketh on his Round-the-World trip on container ships. Further details will follow]

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Stem to Stern

Members maybe interested to know that the IMT has supported, by a donation of £500, a project by the Woodbridge 5th Sea Scouts to build a 12’ 6” Sea Ranger, wooden and copper fastened, clinker built centreboard sailing dinghy. An apprentice boat builder, Tim Smith has been engaged to build the dinghy which is now at the stage of being almost fully planked; the last plank is about to be fixed in place. The next step is to fit the rubbing strake after which the boat will be turned the right way up in order to finish the interior. Timber for the two spars, mast and boom has been selected and work on these will start in the near future. The Sea Scouts are having structured sessions watching the boat’s progress followed by class room sessions looking at all aspects of the design and building.

The apprentice, Tim Smith meanwhile is obtaining valuable experience in building wooden boats. Bob Pawsey

Books (1)

Sailing Barges – The Dunkirk Story by Barbara Butler

In 2013 the IMT donated £700 towards the production of the book which was published in October.

The book captures the stories of barges and people and is a remarkable collection of tales told by the people themselves.

Please see the enclosed order form for more details on the book and how to purchase.

Books (2)

In 2011 the IMT donated £2000

towards the production of a

definitive book called ‘The Port of

Ipswich its shipping and trades’ by

Richard W Smith and Jill Freestone.

The book is of a large format

paperback, 280 x 210 mm, 384 pages inc. approx 400 photographs. ISBN 978-0-9539680-4-6,

There are just a few copies of this book still available at £30 each from either Claude Cox Bookshop, Silent street (open Thursday Fri & Saturday) or from the Tourist Information Office in St Stephens Lane.

Gift Aid -

Changes to the legislation regarding donations.

From January 1st 2013 the wording HMRC required on Gift Aid declarations was changed. Unfortunately a number of our GA declaration forms were completed after this date without the new wording. Therefore all members who have completed a GA form since January 1st 2013 with the incorrect wording will be sent a new declaration, together with a SAE for return.

In the case of the vast majority of members, who joined and signed declarations prior to 1st January 2013, HMRC does not require new declarations but does require me to notify/remind you of the requirement to inform the Ipswich Maritime Trust if you:

- wish to cancel your declaration

- have changed your name or home address - or no longer pay enough income or capital gains tax to cover all the donations that you have declared for Gift Aid.

The new wording on the declaration is:

I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify.

If you have any queries on this please contact me at membership@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk or on 07531 083576.

Fraser Yates

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Future Events

3rd April 2014

IMT visit to the ‘TURNER AND THE SEA’ exhibition.

Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight

1835, JMW Turner

IMT have organised a trip to the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich to see the widely-acclaimed ‘Turner and the Sea’ exhibition. This celebrates JMW Turner’s lifelong fascination with the sea, and brings together a collection of masterpieces from around the world. The exhibition includes The Fighting Temeraire, voted Britain’s favourite painting, and Wreck of a Transport Ship, not seen in this country for almost forty years.

Please see the booking form included with the newsletter for further details.

Spring 2014 talks

We have three more interesting talks on a historical maritime theme this spring start on February 5th. The titles of the talks are below with more details on page 10 of the newsletter. Reminders of the March and April talks will be sent out closer to the events, together with information for the supper booking, but please make a note of the dates in your diary.

Wednesday February 5th at 8pm ‘The boats of Arthur Ransome’ by Prof. Ted Evans and Michael Rines

Wednesday March 5th at 8pm

‘The Eldreds of Ipswich and Colchester, Hadleigh, Dover and Great Saxham’ by Dr John Blatchly

Wednesday April 2nd at 8pm

‘Captain Richard Hall Gower 1767-1833’ by Dr Fenton Robb, presented by Des Pawson

Past Events

Heritage Weekend and IMNA Memorial fundraising

12th/13th September

Anyone who saw Jeremy Clarkson's programme on 2nd January about the WWII Arctic convoys, in particular convoy PQ17, will have been graphically reminded that the men (and women) of the merchant navy were heroes beyond measure for their part in helping defeat Nazism in atrocious weather conditions north of Russia and against fearsome firepower. In other theatres of conflict, merchant seafarers have borne - and in some places still bear - the brunt of hostile action from land, sea and air with little, if any, means of defending themselves.

For too long their stories remained untold until a lottery-funded project sought to remedy this with a touring photographic exhibition last year, augmented by a dramatic one-man performance encapsulating the thoughts and fears of a symbolic sailor speaking for all his colleagues who were at sea in WWII. Unsung heroes indeed. The exhibition and one-man show were key features of the 2013 Heritage Weekend event at the Old Custom House organised by IMT and visitors, Trust members and their guests were generous in support of the on-going fund-raising campaign for a seafarers' memorial being organised by the Ipswich branch of the Merchant Navy Association.

Over the weekend £759 was raised towards this very worthwhile project. The memorial is to be unveiled and dedicated at its designated site on Orwell Quay on 12 April 2014.

Richard Watkinson

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Broke Bicentenary - An International Symposium 12th October

Broke of the Shannon and the War of 1812 On October the 12th, just on 200 people completely filled the upper lecture theatre at UCS, including members of the Broke family, the Canadian military attaché, Ben Gummer MP and Bryony Rudkin, culture portfolio holder for Ipswich Borough Council. As one of the speakers said to me “more than they get to Greenwich (National Maritime Museum)” which just goes to show Ipswich can do it.

People had come to hear a wide range of first-rate speakers from around the world. After a brief introduction, the day started with Professor John Hattendorf from the U.S. Naval War College, who had flown in from Boston, via Gibraltar, speaking on the American view of the 1812 war; it was all about their President wanting to forge the nation together.

He was followed by Professor Andrew Lambert from the Department of War Studies, Kings College, giving the British point of view; that in many ways it was a side show to the main Napoleonic War, but Broke’s victory changed things for the British Navy.

Professor Chris Madsen who had come from the Canadian Forces College and Royal Military College of Canada, Toronto, gave the Canadian point of view of a land-based conflict with some naval battles being fought on the Great Lakes. A joint question time was followed by a first class lunch, laid on by Ipswich’s own Steamboat Tavern .

After lunch we heard from Dr John Blatchly about Philip Broke’s early days at Ipswich School and Dr Tim Voelcker spoke about Broke’s motivation, with Dr Ellen Gill giving a further insight to the man, with his letters home to his “beloved Loo”, his wife living at Nacton.

Martin Bibbings, who some of you may recall first introduced us to Captain Philip Broke a few years ago, spoke of Broke’s gunnery innovations, which went on to influence naval gunnery for many years and which made him such a formidable opponent to the unsuspecting Captain Lawrence of USS Chesapeake. The highlight of the day undoubtedly was Martin’s masterful step by step account of the actual battle, which had the audience almost holding its breath, even though we all knew the

outcome; an incredibly fast victory for Broke and The Shannon, leaving Broke severely wounded and Lawrence of the Chesapeake dead.

Things were then lightened up slightly, with a display of caricatures depicting various points of view of the war of 1812, presented by Dr James Davey from The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Colin Read spoke of the outcome of the war and the whole day was rounded off with a question and answer session.

Ipswich Maritime Trust can be justifiably proud of putting on such a great event and our thanks should go to Harvey Osborne from UCS for supporting the event, to Martin Bibbings who first alerted us to this special bicentenary, Tim Voelcker who managed to entice such top rate speakers, and the IMT members who spent their day acting as door people.

This brief report cannot give the full story of the engagement between the Shannon and the Chesapeake and its place within the context of the War of 1812, for that the book “Broke of the Shannon and the War of 1812” has chapters by all the speakers and much more. It is published by Seaforth Publishing at £19.99, but can be purchased at a special ‘direct from the author’ price of £15. If you wish it can be signed by Dr. Tim Voelcker, the editor and part-author.

Orders may be made, either by post with cheque payable to Tim Voelcker and sent to him at: The Old Rectory, Bucklesham, Ipswich IP10 0DX, or by emailing your order to: timvoelcker@lineone.net (payable by PayPal).

Please include your name, address and a contact telephone number with your order.

For those within range of Ipswich, orders can be collected from Wines of Interest, 46 Burlington Road, Ipswich, IP1 2HS on presentation of your receipt/e-mail acknowledgement – the shop has parking outside (tel. 01473-215752 for opening hours) - or posted to you within the UK for an additional £3.

Des Pawson

Celebratory Concert Nacton Church - 13 October 2013

As John Blatchly reported in his account of the Concert in the ‘Old Ipswichian’ magazine, ‘no one who was at Nacton Church in the afternoon of 13 October 2013 will ever forget the occasion.’ It was almost like being off Boston, at Vittoria and at Waterloo two hundred years ago as the inimitable Martin Bibbings presented displays in the churchyard and in the porch to prepare us to be astonished.

Patriotic songs and martial strains of brass and percussion came from all around us in the packed church, flags were carried in and raised and lowered, all to envelop us in waves of national and local pride. OI President Richard Wilson and the BBC’s Louise Fryer combined with many talented Ipswich School students to tell Broke’s story in rousing words, authentic song, and instrumental music, whose strains were dwarfed by the perfectly timed thunder of Martin’s cannon fire in the churchyard outside, much to the annoyance, we later gathered, of Felixstowe peninsula poultry farmers. I’m sure that if they had only known its significance, they would have been more forgiving. Earlier in the morning we had welcomed members of the Broke family to hear rehearsals, and to be photographed beside the Broke family monuments and vaults in the church. A remarkable day to round off an outstandingly successful week-end of celebration of our truly great naval hero.

Stuart Grimwade

Winter 2013 talks

Cadet World Championships Wednesday October 2nd

Talk by Emma White and her friend and crew, Ellie Wotten

As for so many of us, however old, it all began at Waldringfield! Emma’s family had quickly discovered and encouraged her natural talent for fearlessly competitive dinghy sailing, leaving Dad with little option but to provide suitable Cadet dinghies at gradually increasing costs from a very young age! Competition at local level soon led to National competition and her successful teaming up with friend Ellie, eventually to be selected as members of Team GB.

Emma introduced these stages in their careers with the help of graphic images, and explanations of the endless competition to achieve these heights. And so it was that IMT became involved with an offer of a grant towards the huge costs of fitting out and shipping a container full of dinghies and other equipment to Tasmania, Australia last Christmas. This included ‘Zest’, built for Ellie by her father Matthew, and the first Cadet built in wood for twenty years, to the original Jack Holt design. Emma and Ellie took turns to describe their races in harsh conditions of simultaneous and extreme heat and cold (the air and the water respectively), as unpredictably vicious blasts of hot winds off the nearby Mount Wellington whipped up challenging racing conditions for the many nations taking part. It transpired that these two very different individuals found a way of working through each racing decision together, rather than relying on the decision of the helmsman – an unusual way of sailing, but one that clearly worked for them. So much so that they found themselves in 2nd place in the World race standings on a number of occasions, finally to achieve a very creditable 9th place overall at the finish, battered and bruised from head to foot to prove just how tough were the conditions ‘out there’. They clearly have a very bright future at World level, both as crew and as helmsman (or rather helmswoman) in new and more challenging craft such as Olympic National ‘29ers’, and ‘49ers’. We wish them well.

Stuart Grimwade

‘Five East Anglain Boats’ Wednesday October 2nd

Following Emma White’s story all about youth and International Competitive Sailing, we stepped back a little in time to learn of the, slightly older, but in years only (certainly not heart) exploits of the Caiels family and their local yachts which they sailed in our waters - and further afield.

Ron came to this area as a Naval dentist at HMS Ganges in the ‘50s. Those were the days when the users of Harwich Harbour had to dodge Sunderland flying boats! This was obviously no deterrent as Ron proceeded to buy (including having 2 of them built) and sail, over the next 50 years, a series of 5 yachts which were all built locally. The second of these was a very traditional broads yacht and the

third an East Anglian One Design built for him by Kings at Pin Mill. Perhaps their favourite was “Vivette”, another King-built yacht, a 36ft ketch and built pre-war. She was by far the largest and with lots of strings for his family to pull. This including one occasion in the middle of a North Sea gale hauling a broken mast and gear back on board, before successfully reaching Ostende under jury-rig. Vivette carried them on some great adventures, not just to the Low Countries but also the West Coast of Scotland and to the Baltic.

The wish for simplicity took Ron and Wendy a bit further up the Orwell to Fox’s where they had the cold moulded wooden yacht “Wednesday” built. Well, not quite “had built” as Wendy had a big part in her construction, spending over 2,000 hours at the yard working on her.

Many thanks Ron and Wendy, a great conclusion to a varied and fascinating evening!

Mark Grimwade

'The Role of the Merchant Navy in the Falklands War' Wednesday November 6th

The supper talk on 6 November was given by John Johnson-Allen, and was on the role of the Merchant Navy in the Falklands conflict.

Britain formally took possession of the Falklands in 1832, and for most of the following years Argentina had been voicing her unhappiness. This culminated in the invasion of April 1982. Thus began the conflict; curiously, there was no declaration of war.

Some fifty two merchant vessels comprised the main support fleet to the Navy’ response; these were ‘ships taken up from trade’, or STUFF. They were manned by seven thousand men, all volunteers, all British, and included cruise liners, ferries, tankers, repair ships, container ships, tugs, hospital ships and stores ships. Most were subjected to alterations of varying degrees of severity, but at best were only very lightly armed. Canberra was the first to leave; the QE II (for obvious political reasons) was allowed only as close as South

Georgia. There was then the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, again manned by merchant seamen and including landing ships.

The conflict was mercifully brief. From the merchant fleet, the major casualty was the Atlantic Conveyor, hit by two Excepts and sunk two days later; the Navy’s losses were greater.

On the 14th of June the Argentinian forces surrendered. One of the final acts was to take upwards of four thousand prisoners back to Argentina.

The speaker then posed the question ‘could it be done again today?’ The probable answer is that we could probably find the ships, but it is highly unlikely we could now find the men. A very high proportion of British ships are manned by foreign crews, so that the British manpower would simply not be available.

In the words of Admiral Lord West, ‘without the Merchant Navy the operation could not have happened’.

Geoffrey Dyball

‘The Wash Ports and the Hanseatic League’

Wednesday December 4th

The supper talk on 4 December was given by Dry Paul Richards, a noted expert on the topic.

The Hanseatic League, or Hans, flourished between the mid-14th and 17th centuries. It spanned and dominated North Germany and beyond, from Lubeck and Riga to Hamburg, and from London to Bergen. The basis was the grouping together of merchants for security purposes. These merchants were the backbone of the eighty or so cities involved.

The power of the Hansa at its peak was tremendous. It had its own parliament to govern its affairs. From 1468 to 1473 England was at war with the Hansa, a position only ended by the Treaty of Utrecht.

The main English Hansa ports were London, Kings Lynn and Boston. Lynn has the last remaining Kontor, or trading depot, an impressive building dating from 1475 with two warehouses to the rear.

Ipswich is recorded as having had a Kontor, but its whereabouts are unknown. There is also a record of the crane having been renewed in 1477.

Paul described the growth of the New Hanseatic League, now including some one hundred and eighty towns and cities. Lynn has been a member since 2005, and Boston joined last year. Paul finished by posing the question, ’why not Ipswich?’ Why not indeed.

Geoffrey Dyball

Thames Barge Trips Thursday August 15th

The second of the two Thames Barges trips of 2103 was on ‘Victor’ for the first time.

Thursday 15 August saw twenty seven members and friends board SB Victor for another of the IMT river cruises. Weather overcast but promising, and both skipper Wes Westlake and mate Bev in good form.

Victor was built in 1895 by Shrubsalls of Ipswich for Owen Parry of Colchester. The main trade was linseed from East Coast ports to Parry’s mill, and then the oil to London. In 1952 Parry was bought out by London and Rochester Shipping Co. By then, Victor had been the last sailing barge to be decommissioned, and in the 1950s was converted to a motor barge. She was sold in 1964, restored in the mid 70’s, and refurbished again in 2005 / 2007.

Passing beneath the Orwell Bridge is still an event in itself. Sails up (with a little bit of help from members) and on down river. The new Royal Harwich clubhouse is an attractive building, and has a very nice setting. Down to Felixstowe, with the container ships looking even bigger from river level, and then up the Stour to Mistley. A glimpse there of the infamous fencing on the quay heading, and then turning back down river and lunch. Three courses with wine, well appreciated.

After lunch, Keith Kingdom gave us some memories of Victor. Keith moved to Australia many years ago but was back on probably his last visit. He had Joined Victor as ‘mate’ aged about 15, when she was by then a motor barge. Even without sails life was hard, and all for about 10 shillings a week. Keith became familiar with most of the coast and rivers between Ipswich and London, including some of the mud flats, but eventually an accident on

board left him with a broken foot and being laid off.

Under way again, and back up the Orwell. A little light rain a diversion rather than a disaster, and then safely moored in front of the Old Custom House.

Many thanks to Wes and Bev, and thanks as usual to Ben Bendall for the excellent catering. Morning coffee, lunch and cream tea made sure nobody left the boat hungry.

Geoffrey Dyball

Membership News We have reached the 300 mark!

The membership has continued to increase steadily throughout the year and at the end of 2013 totalled 302 members.

New members

A warm welcome to the new members who have joined since June 2013 (with apologies for missing off names of joint memberships where it has not been supplied) -

Colin Kreidewolf, John Wyatt, Cathy Shelbourne, John Johnson-Allen, Alan Lewis, Matthew Clarke, Phil Smith, Peter Fletcher, Tim Thomas, Chris Snelling, Colin & Phyllis Palmer, Diana Barrett & Keith Slaughter, Diana Pegram, Mrs J Chambers.

Annual Subscriptions

It is that time of year again when annual subscriptions become due. Firstly ‘thank you’ to all those members who pay by Standing Order - it is very much appreciated.

If a renewal form is enclosed with this newsletter then the annual subscription is due and we very much hope you will renew your membership either by post, bank transfer or at the talk on February 5th ; please also consider paying by Standing Order as it helps considerably to reduce the administrative overhead each year.

[If you have received this newsletter by email, the renewal notice will be sent as a separate email, unless you have paid by Standing Order]

Fraser Yates

IMT 2014 Spring talks

Wednesday February 5th at 8pm

‘The boats of Arthur Ransome’ by Professor Ted Evans and Michael Rines

Swallows and Amazons author Arthur Ransome lived on the Orwell

in the 1930s, basing two of his best loved books on the river. He

owned a succession of yachts, starting with Racundra, in which he

cruised the Baltic. Next was Nancy Blackett, which featured as

Goblin, in two of his books. Then Selina King and Peter Duck, both

built at Pin Mill, and finally two successive Hillyards, both named

Lottie Blossom.

Professor Ted Evans, owner of the first Lottie Blossom, now named Ragged Robin, will tell the story of Ransome’s boats, and Michael Rines will tell how he restored the wreck of Nancy Blackett, even though he had never read a Ransome book. A weird series of coincidences makes him think he was fated to take on the task

In addition Nick Fowler, a professional baritone, will sing Ransome’s favourite sea shanties.

Wednesday March 5th at 8pm

‘The Eldreds of Ipswich and Colchester, Hadleigh, Dover and Great Saxham’ by Dr John Blatchly

How did Thomas Cavendish and Thomas Eldred, from quite different

backgrounds, come to be friends at Ipswich Grammar School in the

1560s, and then shipmates on the circumnavigation of 1586-88? What

happened to them when their paths diverged? What is left of Thomas

Eldred's house in Fore Street, and how was it that Eldreds were the

top men in Ipswich, Hadleigh and Colchester?

The far grander John Eldred of Nutmeg Hall, Great Saxham, was probably not related to the east Suffolk Eldreds, but what became of his admiration for Thomas of Ipswich?

John Blatchly hopes to answer all these questions and many more.

Wednesday April 2nd at 8pm

Captain Richard Hall Gower 1767-1833

By Dr Fenton Robb

The story of an Ipswich Maritime innovator by Dr Fenton Robb of Eyemouth, Berwickshire, presented by Des Pawson.

Captain Richard Hall Gower went to Ipswich School served in The East India Company. He was a man of considerable talent and ingenuity and wrote a number of books and developed interesting and ground breaking ideas in ship design.

In his later years he lived in Nova Scotia House, Wherstead Road, and was responsible for the design and build of a number of innovative vessels called Transit, the last of which was built for Lord Vernon at Halifax shipyard. Gower Street in Ipswich bears his name to this day.

Page 10

‘TURNER AND THE SEA’

3 APRIL 2014, at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

IMT have organised a trip to Greenwich to see the widely-acclaimed Turner and the Sea exhibition. This celebrates JMW Turner’s lifelong fascination with the sea, and brings together a collection of masterpieces from around the world. The exhibition includes The Fighting Temeraire, voted Britain’s favourite painting, and Wreck of a

Transport Ship, not seen in this country for almost forty years.

The Royal Museums Greenwich website has more details on this landmark exhibition: http://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/events/turner-and-the-sea

We last went to Greenwich in August 2012, for the Royal River exhibition combined with Cutty Sark.. Those took up the whole day. This time, the Queens House will be open; the ticket price includes that and the National Maritime Museum. If you missed the previous trip, Cutty Sark is a must, and entry tickets can be arranged at an extra cost of £9 per head.

Travel Arrangements

The coach (Soames/Forget-me-Not Travel) will leave from Crown Street lay-by, Ipswich, at 8.30, returning from Greenwich at 4.30. A pick-up at Copdock can be arranged; the coach starts from Otley. The cost, to include the coach (and driver’s gratuity) and entry to the exhibition, is £26 per person.

Booking Arrangements

Book through Geoffrey Dyball, 42 Cotswold Avenue, Ipswich IP1 4LJ, Telephone 01473 214004, or email bookings@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk

Preferred payment - cheque with booking, made payable to IMT.

IMT members only until 17 February, then open to guests.

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Booking Form

‘TURNER AND THE SEA’

3 APRIL 2014, at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Please reserve ……… places at £26 per head for the ‘Turner and the Sea’ exhibition, and ………. places at £9 per head for entry to the Cutty Sark.

Cheque, made payable to ‘IMT’ enclosed for £………….

Name: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Phone number and/or email address for confirmation of reservation, and in case of need to contact: Phone number: …………………………………………………………..

Email address: ……………………………………………………………………………………

NEW Caterer for the IMT Suppers – Val from the Steamboat!

The next IMT talk is on Wednesday February 5th. As previously, prior to the talk an optional supper at £11 per head is available in the UCS Theta café, where the bar is also open from 6.30pm.

If booking supper please let Geoffrey Dyball know your menu choice from the menu below. Supper bookings to Geoffrey Dyball on either bookings@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk or by phone on 01473 214004 by Friday 31st January, thank you.

The supper menu for February 5th is:

Main Courses

Fish Pie and fresh vegetables.

Bangers and Mash and red wine and onion gravy

Desserts

Fresh Fruit Salad and crème

Apple Crumble and custard or cream

Cheese & Biscuits

Plus

Filter Coffee or Teas

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‘The boats of Arthur Ransome’ by Professor Ted Evans and Michael Rines

Swallows and Amazons author Arthur Ransome lived on the Orwell in the 1930s, basing two of his best loved books on the river. He owned a succession of yachts, starting with Racundra, in which he cruised the Baltic. Next was Nancy Blackett, which featured as Goblin, in two of his books. Then Selina King and Peter Duck, both built at Pin Mill, and finally two successive Hillyards, both named Lottie Blossom.

In addition Nick Fowler, a professional baritone, will sing Ransome’s favourite sea shanties.

Biographical notes

Prof E F (Ted) Evans After a career in medicine and hearing research, Ted and Diana retired to Woodbridge. They unexpectedly bought Arthur Ransome's penultimate boat, a 6-ton Hillyard: Lottie Blossom (now Ragged Robin III). They spent several days in the Ransome archives in the University of Leeds and have really begun to appreciate the characters of Arthur and Evgenia Ransome through the archives and through Lottie Blossom. This culminated in 2003 in re-sailing the same voyages the Ransomes made in her in 1952, since which they have sailed her round Denmark and much of the North Sea and the Channel.

Michael Rines is a retired journalist, editor and marketing consultant. He was editor of Marketing magazine for 10 years and wrote for extensively for Management Today and the Financial Times. He has also written for a number of nautical publications and is President of Maritime Woodbridge, which he co-founded.

Distinguished professional baritone Nick Fowler has sung at venues in the UK from Thurso in the far North to Portsmouth in the South, and in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria. He has sung with the Scottish Opera, in several London opera festivals and bro adcast on Classic FM and Greater London Radio.