Issue 44 Winter 2022
Sailing into the new year
Spring season of IMT Talks
page 6
Window wizards
The magic continues, in the UK’s smallest maritime museum? page 3
Meet the members
Knot lost but moving on:
Des Pawson reminisces page 4
Issue 44
Winter 2022/2023 www.ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
From the Editor
Welcome to a new-look newsletter, with a new editor on board. Many thanks to previous editor Fraser Yates, for doing a wonderful job for so many years.
The newslettter will continue to be published twice-yearly, in the winter and in the summer.
Feedback and contributions are always welcome; please e-mail editor@ipswichmaritimetrust. org.uk
Cathy Shelbourne
Diary dates 2023
Wednesday 1st February IMT Talk: Around the World on a Container Ship by Peter Hesketh
25th February – 10th September
Gloucester shipwreck exhibition, Norwich Castle
Wednesday 1st March
IMT Talk: Local Pirates and Smugglers by Andy Beharrell
Wednesday 5th April
IMT Talk: In Conversation with ‘Wes’ Westwood
2nd - 6th August
Old Gaffers Association 60th anniversary celebrations
13th-15th October
Harwich Shanty Festival
Contents
From Window Wizardry to Pantomine Magic page 3 News pages 3, 7, 13, 14
Meet the Members: Des Pawson MBE pages 4-5 IMT Talks for 2023 page 6
Talkback: reports by Geoffrey Dyball pages 8-9 A Ship named Desire page 10
Then ... and Now page 10
From the Archives: selected by Stuart Grimwade page 11 Obituary: Bob Pawsey, by John Warren page 12 Christmas Stocking Fillers pages 14-16
IMT Committee members
Chairman: Geoffrey Dyball
chairman@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Vice Chairman: Des Pawson
vice-chairman@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Treasurer: Adam Rae
treasurer@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Membership Secretary: Fraser Yates
membership@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Minutes Secretary: Frances McGready Barge trips: John Warren
Social media co-ordinator: Andy Parker Newsletter editor: Cathy Shelbourne
editor@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Co-opted: Angela and Jon Cobbold info@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk www.ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
About the Trust
Ipswich Maritime Trust (IMT) is a charity formed in 1983 with the objective of educating and informing the public of the long maritime history of Ipswich and the River Orwell which dates back to before the 7th century.
IMT undertakes a wide range of activities, including running a series of talks on maritime-related themes, curating the Window Museum on Albion Wharf, maintaining an Archive, and supporting young people in maritime projects.
It has over 300 members, and a dedicated committee. Volunteers are always welcome, to help with the Window Museum, assist with marketing, and generally furthering the aims of the Trust.
From Window Wizardry ...
Forty years on
From a dying dock in 1982 to the splendid waterfront of 2022, the IMT Window Museum
on the Waterfront highlights Maritime Ipswich ‘82, which kick-started the transformation of a part of Ipswich perceived to be decaying and without a future.
Become a Window Wizard
Volunteers are always welcome, to research and prepare and install the window displays.
No experience or special skills are needed, just a willingness to help create displays that communicate Ipswich’s maritime story to the public.
... to Pantomine Magic
This year’s pantomime at the Ipswich Regent has a vaguely maritime feel, in the form of Captain Hook, played by West End legend Darren Day, seen here terrorising Wendy aka Liza Walker from Rushmere.
Peter Pan the panto runs from 16th-31st December 2022, and tickets are available from www.ipswichtheatres.co.uk
Presentation of Pierhead paintings
Seven paintings with an Ipswich connection, from Des Pawson’s collection of pierhead paintings, were presented by him to the Friends of the Ipswich Museums (FOIM) on 7th October 2022.
Pierhead paintings were made for the captain or crew of a ship, who would take them home and proudly display over the mantlepiece.
Curator Emma Roodhouse talked about the paintings, and the new Landscape Rebels exhibition now open in the Wolsey Gallery.
Landscape Rebels
Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, until 16th April 2023. Free
This exhibition at the Mansion connects art and culture with the climate crisis and explores how human impacts are changing our landscape.
Turner’s masterpiece, Walton Bridges, is joined by the new acquisition Shingle Street Legend by Julia Heseltine, and artworks from the Ipswich Collection by artists such as Anna Airy and Connie Winn. www.landscape-rebels.co.uk
Meet the Members: Des Pawson MBE
Is Des Pawson an Ipswich icon? With his long grey beard and red hat, he is certainly a very well-known figure, and not just in Ipswich. Des is one of the world’s leading authorities on knots and sailors’ ropework. On the eve of his departure, with his wife Liz, to pastures new on the Isle of Wight, he reminisces about his time with Ipswich Maritime Trust.
had taken my little Zeil Schouw [semi flat-bottomed yacht], Esther
Susan, to the wonderful IMT Maritime Festival in 1982, and had been part of one of the special weekends in the Home Warehouse demonstrating knots and ropework. I remember well the last night of shanties in Tooley’s Tavern. Over the next few years I became known around Ipswich for my interest in Knots and Sailors’ Ropework and all things maritime.
A younger Des demonstrating ropework in the Home Warehouse at the Ipswich Maritime Festival in 1982.
Sometime in 1986 or ‘7, I had a phone call from Paul Granville, Chairman of the Development Committee of IMT, asking me to join the planning group of Ipswich Maritime Trust. I was a little wary, Paul came to see me, I said “yes”, and thus started my association with IMT.
Maritime Museum?
In those days there was a planning group that met every few months, whose tasks were working on the potential of a Maritime Museum on the Island Site, and thinking of events to spread the word about Ipswich’s Maritime Heritage.
The Directors, who were also Trustees, met perhaps twice a year, chaired by Brian Pinner, to consider any plans developed and to agree funding for those ideas, as well as any application to help a young person to get afloat. There was much discussion about the design and funding practicalities of the hoped-for Maritime Museum, before the idea was abandoned as being both practically and financially unsound. I certainly remember being the commentator at the 1988 Festival of Traditional Sail, the first big on-the-water event after 1982. In 1989 I was supplying knots to go inside the educational boxes, that were put together to be made available to schools. I must have become a Director of IMT about this time, as Companies House has me as a Director before 1992. 1992 saw another festival in the dock, together with a display put together with Ipswich Museum in Isaac Lords, part funded by IMT, in the hope that the Borough would take the initiative for a permanent Maritime Museum on the dockside, again not to be. I guess the footfall was not enough to warrant the staffing.
Sail Ipswich 1997
In 1997, with Alan Swann, the Chairman of the Trustees, Mark Grimwade and Maggie Lamb pulled together the mammoth Sail Ipswich 1997. Shortly after, Alan stood down as Chairman, his role being taken over by Colin Meek with myself as Vice Chairman. This was the year that ABP took over the Port and the idea of converting the basement of the Old Custom House into a Conference Centre, with a potential of being a Heritage Centre at weekends, was floated. Mark Grimwade, Colin Meek and myself then got involved with multi-lateral negotiations between ABP, Ipswich Museum and IMT, trying to find a formula that would work for all. This was not helped by a change of manager at ABP three-quarters of the way through. The Museum agreed to provide ship models and dioramas and IMT provided the display cases and large copies of paintings for the walls.
Conference Centre
The Conference Centre was opened in 2000, but by then it was apparent that there was a conflict of interest with the possible need to hire out the conference area for events
at weekends, combined with difficulty in finding enough volunteers to open on a regular basis. This meant that plans had to be modified. IMT opened a few times a year, such as Heritage Open Days and special events like the visit of Dunkirk Little Ships, Gosnold’s ship Discovery, together with regular exhibitions with the Society for that ABP took over the Port and the idea of converting the basement of the Old Custom
House into a Conference Centre, with a potential of being a Heritage Centre at weekends, was floated. Mark Grimwade,
Colin Meek and myself then got involved with multi-lateral negotiations between ABP, Ipswich Museum and IMT, trying to find a formula that would work for all. This was not helped by a change of manager at ABP three-quarters of the way through. The Museum agreed to provide ship models and dioramas and IMT provided the display cases and large copies of paintings for the walls.
Conference Centre
The Conference Centre was opened in 2000, but by then it was apparent that there was a conflict of interest with the possible need to hire out the conference area for events at weekends, combined with difficulty in finding enough volunteers to open on a regular basis. This meant that plans had to be modified. IMT opened a few times a year, such as Heritage Open Days and special events like the visit of Dunkirk Little Ships, Gosnold’s ship Discovery, together with regular exhibitions with the Society for Sailing Barge Research, led by IMT Trustee Richard Smith and his wife Joan.
Around 2003, Colin Meek moved to Cyprus and I took over as Chairman. It was obvious that something had to be done to change things, as the small team that was IMT was getting smaller by the year, and there was a need for more people involved to continue the work of IMT. As a first step we started the IMT Lectures in the spring of 2003, with Richard Smith and myself giving the first two talks to test the water. We felt that there was support out there amongst local people and IMT was re-constituted, so we could have a wider membership and the Trust could continue to grow.
24/7 Museum Windows
When Stuart Grimwade spotted the opportunity to try and create some kind of heritage asset within the development of the Cranfield Site, I was very happy, as we had already purchased a shipping container to house the last items from Whitmore’s Sail Loft, as well as other items for our events at the OCH.
When we achieved the planning condition that the developers should include five “Museum Windows” in the overall development, we were very excited, if a little daunted, by the scale of what we were to deliver. I stood down as Chairman in favour of Geoff Hargrove, so I could concentrate all my efforts on the Window Museum, but remained Vice Chairman.
In the end the development was split into two phases and the large major Window Museum, actually a giant museum case, was built. We still await the other four smaller cases. Our Window Museum has proved to be a major asset that has had international recognition: a museum that is open 24/7, with no barriers. Since the first
display, we have put together 23 separate exhibitions, with more planned; something to be very proud of.
Development catalyst
The maritime part of Ipswich would have been measurably poorer if it was not for the IMT, and I am proud that I have been associated with it for so many years. Its role has been
a catalyst for many positive developments and it is essential that it continues to thrive, to
be vigilant as the port evolves and speak up for our Maritime Heritage in all its aspects.
IMT punches far above its weight but now it needs others to take up the cause. Please get involved as I did all those years ago; you too can make a difference!!
Artists in the Rigging
Des will be giving a talk in the IMT Autumn Series 2023. As co-founder of the International Guild of Knot Tyers, he will give an
overview of the wide range f decorative sailors’ rope work created by the ‘Artists in the Rigging.’
Des' lateset book, Knot Craft and Rope Mats is available from Des (see page 16), all good bookshops or online for £18.99
IMT Talks for 2023
Talks take place at the University of Suffolk Waterfront Building in Ipswich at 7.30pm. Entry is £4.50 (£3.50 for members) and includes
the opportunity to chat to the speaker over refreshments afterwards.
Wednesday 1st February: Aound the World on Container Ships by Peter Hesketh
Travelling around the world on container ships is positively not a cruise! Taking just under four months and with one or two unforeseen factors in the mix, this was certainly an experience of a lifetime.
I started my working life in the British Merchant Navy, followed by 30 years as a Police Officer and latterly as a mediator, but always having the call of the sea in my blood.
My talk is not a list of places I visited but an insight into
modern shipping and the people who make the ships work.
Wednesday 1st March: Local Pirates and Smugglers
by Andy Beharrel
The naturally indented coast of East Anglia was (and is?) a haven for smuggling. In the golden
age of smuggling (17th-19th century) gangs of smugglers brought in a wide range of illicit contraband, stashing it in hidden vaults, cellars and even
under false bottoms in ponds. In this talk we will look at what they smuggled and why and also consider the methods they used. We will look at a range of locations where the smugglers
operated and how the authorities tried to prevent the smuggling gangs - generally unsuccessfully.
Wednesday 5th April: In conversation with Wes
Wes was the recipient of the IMT’s 2021 Richard Smith Memorial Award and the citation drew attention to ‘a larger-than-life character who goes out of his way to help others’, whose labour of love in restoring and running Sailing Barge Victor ensures that guests can experience maritime Ipswich from the water – and enjoy superb teas, courtesy of his wife Denise or delicious suppers supplied by the neighbouring Mariners floating restaurant!
After a lifetime of working on and around the Orwell, as a boatman and a bargee, Wes took on Victor in 2009, and now works flat out through the summer months, offering public cruises and private charters.
First act of a new monarch
Imagine you have acceded to the throne. What would your first act be?
Apparently Queen Victoria’s first act on becoming queen in 1837 was to ask for an hour alone.
Eighteen-year-old Victoria was accompanied everywhere by governesses and slept in the same room as her mother until the day she became queen.
More pertinently for Ipswich, the first Act of Parliament during her reign was the 1837 Ipswich Dock Act.
This Act allowed the Ipswich Dock Commissioners to construct a new wet dock whilst also placing certain conditions on them.
The following is abridged from the IMT’s website, accompanying a feature on one of the IMT Window Museum displays.
“A Dock Committee, formed in 1836, asked civil engineer Henry Palmer to assess the viability of a Wet Dock, whereby ships could stay afloat in deep water at all stages of the tide. The idea was to dam the River Orwell near the present lock, dredge out the river bed and remove adjacent boggy
marshland to provide a stay-afloat dock some 13 hectares in extent – the largest in England at the time. The tidal river channel would be diverted along a new cut and ships would enter the dock through a lock opposite what is now Felaw Street. Work started in 1838 and the dock opened for business in1842.
But the lock was awkwardly placed for ships to enter and was replaced by new lock in 1881. This lock is still in use today. New quays were constructed around the dock during the 19th and 20th centuries to cater for new industries in the town. The dock’s heyday was probably the 1960s but by this time larger ships were using Cliff Quay and the West Bank Terminal outside the Wet Dock. Leisure boating increased during the 1980s and the dock has been largely converted to a marina, although timber is still regularly imported into one dockside warehouse.”
Papers relating to this Act can be seen in The Hold, Fore Street, Ipswich IP4 1LR. The archives are open on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday by appointment.
News
A Stitch in Time
If the Battle of Sole Bay conjures up thoughts of Adnams Ales, think again! The National Maritime Museum has launched a fundraising campaign to help preserve the tapestry The Burning of the Royal James at the Battle of Sole Bay, 28th May 1672. The tapestry depicts the climax of the battle, which took place off Southwold. It was commissioned by Charles 11, and was designed at the Queen’s House, Greenwich. It is prized for its intricate details, from burning ships to churning waves.
This enormous tapestry is based on the sketches and paintings of Willem Van de Velde the Elder and his son Van de Velde the Younger, the most famous maritime artists of the seventeenth century.
Incredibly, they actually sailed into naval battles, sketching and recording events as they happened.
The restored tapestry will be one of the highlights of The Van de Veldes: Greenwich, Art and the Sea exhibition at the Queen’s House, opening on 2nd March 2023 and running until 14th January 2024.
Lots more information at https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/queens-house/van-de-veldes-art-exhibition
From pints to apartments
The Cliff Quay brewery site, including the old Brewery Tap pub, is being developed to include 120 apartments – and a newly-refurbished pub. If you are interested in seeing the plans, and maybe reminiscing about old times at the brewery or the pub, go along to the open day in April.
More details in due course on our website
Talkback
Geoffrey Dyball reports on the last three talks of 2022
Antarctic Sketchbook
The first of the IMT Autumn series of talks was given by ClaudiaMyatt.
Claudia had been appointed by Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute to be Artist
in Residence for 2021-2022. She spent five weeks over Christmas 2021 as the only civilian on board the Royal Navy’s ice patrol ship HMS Protector.
In 1775 Cook’s Sailing Master took him to Latitude 60 degrees. Below that was deemed to be both barren and too risky. That seemed to be the accepted view for many years, until the possibilities for oil exploitation began to be realised. Happily, the 1959 Antarctica Treaty forbade any exploitation, so the area remains as a wilderness. HMS Protector had been built in Norway in 2000. Following eight days in quarantine, Claudia flew to the Falklands to board ship. This was her first experience of naval discipline, but she was made very welcome.
The route was to be via South Georgia to the east of Antarctica and round. The old whaling station on South Georgia is still in recognisable condition, including the hull of the 1906 whaler Viola. At its peak 175,000 whales were put through the station. A moving service was held at Shackleton’s grave.
On to South Sandwich Island, where survey work got underway. This is all done by electronics - predictably. Bio-security is at a very high level, to the extent that it is forbidden to drop anchor; the ship is held on station automatically.
There was much for Claudia to sketch and photograph, but it was not easy. Trying to sketch with frozen fingers in a snowstorm is difficult; being wrapped in cold-weather clothing does not help. But
there was a huge amount to be recorded, from the albatrosses to the penguins, and the ice floes to the volcanoes. The sea itself was sketched each day, and each day was different.
This was a fascinating talk by someone who plainly loves her craft.
Kings of Pinmill: the boatbuilding years
he second of the IMT Autumn talks took place in the University’s
Waterfront building on 2nd November 2022. Sarah Curtis, now co-owner with husband Gus of Harry King’s Boatyard business at Pin Mill, spoke of the yard’s boatbuilding years, mainly from the early 1900s to the end of the Second World War.
George Garrard set up a boatyard at Pin Mill in 1850, and there has been a yard on the same site ever since. One of George’s apprentices, Harry King, took over the yard in 1898, and soon built an enviable reputation.
Initially, Harry built clinker dinghies and dayboats in a fairly basic shed at the front of the site, known as the Shanty. This had been put up without the landowner’s consent, but the resulting dispute was eventually resolved. Working conditions were difficult; oil lamps were
a fire hazard. Harry lived first in a cottage in front of the Butt and Oyster, demolished just after the last war, and then in what was called Sam’s Cottage, immediately alongside the yard.
Maintenance work on larger craft led after the First War to building cruising boats of around 30 feet. Winona was built in 1923, with a length of 27 feet; Priscilla built 1932 is still sailing. KIngs built designs by many of the leading naval architects of the time, including Griffiths and White. They built two boats for Arthur Ransome, including the Nancy Blackett.
The Shanty was replaced by a ‘tin shed’, but launching was still a major operation, requiring a channel to be dug through the mud and a decent high tide.
KIngs’ reputation was for good-looking well-made craft. Some still find their way back to Pin Mill for a refit.
Sarah also touched on the changes to Pin Mill. The Alma was a pub, then had a sail loft to the rear, then had a fruit and veg stall to the front, and eventually found its way back to being a single house. The small building alongside also has a history; the cottage in front of the Butt and Oyster was demolished
to improve access to the pub, which would nowadays have been regarded as sacrilege. The short film Ha-penny Breeze was intended to put a somewhat stylised view of Pin Mill just after the last war, and is still enjoyed. Sarah’s talk was very well received. Some 125 members and guests filled the Lecture Theatre to capacity.
Around the world in 80 days … or more
The final talk was given by Cathy Shelbourne, who focused on the 500th anniversary in September this year of the first recorded circumnavigation of the world, by Magellan. Except that perhaps it was not strictly speaking Magellan.
Cathy opened her talk with a shot of the traditional ‘crossing the line’ ceremony, and followed with some of the action from the Amazon Prime film Boundless, directed in Spanish by Simon West. The film highlights the dynamics between Magellan and his captain, Elcano.
The main reason for the voyage was essentially to find an alternative route to open up the Far Eastern spice trade. Nutmeg, for example, was almost fabulously expensive. The existence of the Pacific
Ocean had been known (at least to western navigators) since 1513, but seeing it from Panama is some way from appreciating its width. The expedition was backed by the King of Spain, and sailed from Seville in August 1519. The chosen route was east to west, rounding the bottom of South America through what are now known as the Magellan Straits.
By April 1521 they had reached the Philippines. On the 27th of April, Magellan was killed during a battle with a large number of natives. There were only 80 or so survivors who, led by Elcano, eventually landed in Seville on the 6th September 1522. So, Elcano completed the circumnavigation, but Magellan to this day still gets the credit.
Francis Drake in the Golden Hind was the second man to circumnavigate the world, but Suffolk interest is entirely in the third man to do it, Thomas Cavendish, from 1586 to 1588.
Cavendish was born in 1560 at Grimston Hall in Trimley St Martin. He inherited a fortune at the age of 12; through his family he was connected to much of Suffolk ‘royalty’. He went to Ipswich School, when
it was in The Master’s House in Lower Brook Street, and then to Cambridge; he left without a degree, and then went to Court.
It seems his interest lay in navigation, but his voyage was also to help find a new spice route. His ‘fleet’ comprised the Desire, of some 160 tons, and two other craft. Pitifully small, but still sufficient to overcome two Spanish bullion ships en route.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth on his return. A second voyage ended in his death in a battle with natives in Brazil. His fellow crew member, Thomas Eldred, survived, and is widely commemorated in Ipswich. His mantlepiece in Christchurch Mansion has his portrait, a ship and a globe - with his chest under. Curiously, Cathy was able to find reference to a similar mantlepiece in
a house in Stanway, near Colchester, with Eldred family connections. The portrait was not that of Thomas but probably a relative, possibly John Eldred of Nutmeg Hall, Great Saxham, near Bury St Edmunds. Cathy was eventually able to establish that the house, Olivers, had suffered a serious fire some years ago, and there was no longer
any trace of the ‘other’ Eldred mantlepiece.
A ship named Desire
When Chalky Cooper, aged 15, went to the tattooist behind the old Whitmore’s sailmakers, at the back of the Neptune Inn on Fore Street, he chose a ship as his first tattoo. Not just any ship though – he selected the Desire, Thomas Cavendish’s lead ship in his voyage around the world in 1586-88 [see talk report, page 9].
“I was interested in ships when I was at school – and the tattooist knew the ship too,” recalls Chalky (below), now 79 years old. “I don’t know why I didn’t choose the Golden Hind though. My father used that pub on Nacton Road all the time!”
As his father was a registered docker, he too, at the age of 21, could work on the docks. For many years he worked on Marjorie, one of the two barges owned by R & W Paul.
And it was the barge skipper who gave him his nickname Chalky. They were on board one dark night, near Southend. “The skipper went aft for a cup of tea, and when he came back he saw me at the wheel, looking so white I was like a ghost. So he called me Chalky, and the name has stayed ever since.”
Then and Now
IMT members are welcome to meet in the Lord Nelson pub before the monthly meetings at the University.
But have you ever wondered why there is a Lord Nelson pub in Ipswich?
Previously called the Noah’s Ark, the pub in Fore Street was renamed after Admiral Lord Nelson, who was created High Steward of Ipswich in 1801.
His wife Fanny organised the purchase of Roundwood House, but he never lived there with her (being otherwise occupied by affairs of the state … and the heart). The house was demolished in the 1960s and replaced by St John’s primary school.
Many of the local roads and buildings are named in memory of Nelson and his
association with the town, for example, Roundwood Road and Roundwood bowls club, Victory Road, Nelson Road and Nelson Cottages, Trafalgar House and Trafalgar Close.
From the Archives - selected by Stuart Grimwade
At our new Editor’s request, I am choosing an image from the Archive which I hope will be of interest. The scene is familiar enough, but means a great deal to me as it was my first effort at taking colour images in ‘unusual’ light conditions. For such a picture in those long-ago mid-1950s days lengthy exposures of around a minute were required – and in this particular case I recall a freezing and intensely cold long wait for the wind to die down to reduce moving ripples on the water! It was Boxing Day, just before the usual early January snowfall and the hoped-for tobogganing in Christchurch Park before the end of the school holidays!
In those days each tide brought a new crop of lighters into the dock as seen waiting here outside the lock. Virtually all cargo, for both import and export was moved by rail, which of course meant that the streets around the dock were never filled by lorries or other heavy traffic as today, leaving plenty of road space for trolley buses and the many thousands of cyclists for the journeys to work.
For me this was the beginning of a lifetime of taking images in and around the old Wet Dock eventually leading to the setting up of our Image Archive to collect photographs from its first 150 years of life.
Stuart Grimwade, IMT
From the Archives: Duke Street in about 1912, packed at lunchtime with workers from Ransomes Sims and Jefferies Ltd. No vehicles!
IMT Collection and Archive
The IMT’s collection of maritime artefacts is gradually being digitised by a team of volunteers, and can be accessed via eHive, a web-based cataloguing system.
If you can help with looking after this incredible collection, or would like to submit photos or objects relating to Ipswich’s maritime heritage, please contact us.
www.ipswichmaritimetrust.org. uk/collection-and-archive
Orwell Bridge 40th anniversary
The Orwell Bridge was opened on 17th December 1982, and to celebrate its fortieth anniversary, we are publishing some rarely-seen photos taken by John Blatchly, Headmaster of Ipswich School from 1972-1993.
Standing at a height of 43 metres (141 feet), the bridge is just tall enough to allow this ship to pass through - with at least half a metre to spare! One of the first across the bridge was a cow.
Farewell to Bob Pawsey
he IMT Committee was very sad to learn the news of Richard
‘Bob’ Pawsey crossing the bar in October 2022. He was an endless source of enthusiasm and energy, working tirelessly for the committee which he joined about twenty years ago.
Bob left school at 16 in 1950, and joined the family firm. He worked up from paper bags to running a wholesale stationery business employing some 400 people with his three brothers.
Early on he drove with his father round sales outlets and suppliers where he showed a remarkable talent for getting on with people, making a sale and a sharp eye for business. He was a dangerous man to sit next to as you would find yourself joining the IMT, buying a cap, an IMT fleece, a book on Ipswich, going on a barge trip, or making a contribution to the Suffolk Punch Trust. Sales success arose from his affability, lovely smile and interest in people. A keen walker, he was proud to be
able to walk the 17 miles along the Gipping to Stowmarket in a day for many years after his retirement.
An interest in the water led to him buying a Twinkle sailing dinghy and rowing on the Gipping up to Bramford as a youngster. Small yachts followed, transatlantic trips as crew (aged 70), and cruises with Trinity House. Post retirement Esme encouraged him to buy the boat of his dreams which he thoroughly enjoyed. He put much of his happiness down to a successful marriage. After looking after Esme at home for six years he missed her terribly when she passed away. Joining the IMT became a great outlet.
Selling out six day trips a year on Victor with 40 guests, as well as music trips, was a key source of income of the Trust as well as a great day out for so many.
He loved Ipswich, the Suffolk countryside, and the estuaries of the East Coast. A wonderful, generous friend to many, he will be sorely missed. He is survived by two daughters and three grandsons.
John Warren
Frances McGready, above centre, with Bob, right, on board Josca
When Bob first had Josca we were trying the radar out on a very cold winter morning in the Stour, with icy rain falling. Nothing was showing on the radar but a ship silently slipped past us coming down from
Mistley; we were just outside the shipping channel luckily.
Josca had three compasses and they pointed in different directions, one, the fluxgate compass was way out and we spent ages motoring round in the Orwell to try to set it but to no avail. It transpired that a workman had dropped a
magnetic spanner in the bottom of the yacht!
Frances McGready
News
Making a sea change
IMT is keen to support young people taking the plunge (but not necessarily literally!) and discovering the pleasures of the maritime world.
The Sea-Change Sailing Trust is a charity based in
Maldon, Essex, which provides residential opportunities for young people
and vulnerable adults to learn and develop
in a unique environment.
By living and working together aboard the
Trust’s engine-less sailing barge Blue Mermaid, they participate in a wide range of life skills and are encouraged to take increasing responsibility
for their contribution and group decisions.
IMT sponsored an Ipswich schoolboy to take up a summer
training place on board
Blue Mermaid.
“Thank you Ipswich Maritime Trust for supporting Sea-Change Sailing Trust and enabling this young man to have time
with us to develop both nautical and life skills,” wrote Judy Harrison, Assistant Executive Officer of the Sea-Change Trust.
“He found the first day of the voyage very difficult and experienced considerable anxiety at being in a strange environment with people he
didn’t know. He soon overcame this himself, and became a willing participant in the voyage, joining in with all activities onboard. He celebrated his 16th birthday onboard
too!
He also participated in RYA training working towards his Competent Crew award.”
At the end of his time onboard, the schoolboy
commented: “I have learnt knots, names of sails,
how to sail, sailed a Topper dinghy and learned how
to recover from capsize. I am pretty proud of myself for what I’ve done. This has completely changed me, and I have not felt anxious since the first day. I have enjoyed working with other people. It was perfect the whole time for me, and I most enjoyed going aloft and out on the bowsprit, and sailing the Topper.”
Anthony Cullen’s famous photo of the barges at Pin Mill heads up The Guardian’s article on the Shotley peninsula by bus.
Guardian spots maritime window display
An article in The Guardian (19th November 2022) features the ‘salty wilderness’ of the Shotley peninsula and how to explore
its treasures without a car. This sojourn includes a trip to Pin Mill’s Butt and Oyster pub and a stroll along Arthur Ransome’s East Coast walk, as well as a quick perusal of the IMT’s ‘maritime window display’ declaring Ipswich to have been a seaport since the seventh century.
Gloucester shipwreck exhibition
Norwich Castle Museum, 25th February – 10th September 2023
The Gloucester sank off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1682. Next year the Norwich Castle Museum will exhibit items from the wreck, including cannon from the sea bed, bottles covered in barnacles, and even spectacles and their wooden case.
According to JD Davies in his book Kings of the Sea, the ship’s pilot, James Ayres, was held responsible and was court-martialled. But the finger of blame has also been pointed
at another James, the Duke of York, younger brother of Charles II, and heir to the throne!
News
Old Gaffers celebrate 60th anniversary
2nd- 6th August, Ipswich and Levington
The Old Gaffers Association is planning five days of
celebration, starting with a Civic Reception in Ipswich, parade of sail from Ipswich to Levington, historic vessels open to visitors, rope workshops, Gaffiing 4.1 championship heats, cruise to the Walton backwaters, Jubilee East Coast Race, and prizegiving – followed by the East Coast Area Summer Cruise from 7th-10th August.
https://www.oga.org.uk/oga60/ oga60.html
The Harwich Bell
No, not another
pub in old Harwich, but a stunning modern time and tide bell, which was inaugurated during the Harwich Shanty Festival, on 8th October 2022. It is part of a nationwide network of bells as artworks, and the Harwich bell is the eighth to be installed around the UK’s coast.
The Harwich Bell is located by the Low Lighthouse, which
houses the Maritime Museum, and it rings according to the tide. At high water, the sea moves the clapper to strike the bell, and as the waves hit, a musical pattern is created.
Rising sea levels caused by climate change will alter the pattern of the ringing of the bells around the country over time and they may have to be relocated eventually.
Christmas stocking
fillers
The Ipswich to Stowmarket Navigation by Ian Petchey Published by River Gipping Trust, 2022 £10.00 plus p&p (£2.50)
A handy companion for the riverside walk between Ipswich and Stowmarket. Despite increasing trade on the A14, this idyllic river remains a wonderful nature reserve.
The history of the river from Roman times is well described, and throughout there are excellent maps, pictures and photographs. Bridges, mills, industry and people of the river are carefully researched and documented.
New Hanse Movement
Following the publication by IMT in November 2019 of my booklet Ipswich - A Hanseatic Port [see right] and a recent well-attended talk at The Hold, we’ve now set up a Hanseatic group to take forward Ipswich’s involvement in the New Hanse movement and to promote awareness of this important part of our history.
As a member of the New Hanse since 2017, Ipswich is linked with the five other English member towns: Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn, Boston, Hull and Beverley, and with nearly 200 cities in northern Europe.
With Geoffrey Dyball as one of our panel members we are grateful for a continued close link with IMT, and also with Ipswich Borough Council, Ipswich Museum and the University of Suffolk. Our first
project is to create a portable display which can be mounted at various Waterfront locations for special events or as an information point for the general public.
Available from Dial Lane Bookshop, hello@diallanebooks. co.uk and The River Gipping Trust www.rivergippingtrust.org.uk
Ipswich: A Hanseatic Port by Pat Grimwade. Copies are obtainable from The Hold and Christchurch Mansion. Donation: £2.
Pat Grimwade
Available from Dial Lane Bookshop, hello@diallanebooks. co.uk and The River Gipping Trust www.rivergippingtrust.org.uk
Ipswich: A Hanseatic Port by Pat Grimwade. Copies are obtainable from The Hold and Christchurch Mansion. Donation: £2.
Christmas stocking fillers
Monumental Maritime Heroes playing cards
£10 + £4 p&p
December’s speaker Cathy Shelbourne has created an unusual and informative pack of playing cards featuring maritime heroes as hearts, explorers and circumnavigators as clubs, pirates as spades and ships as diamonds. The presentation box also contains a leaflet and time line for the Age of Sail.
https:// seashellcommunications. co.uk/shop
Anglo Saxon Inspirations
Patterns and designs to colour and create - colouring book
£6.50 including p&p for one;
£11.50 for two
The treasures of Sutton Hoo and other finds have shown us how incredibly skilled the Anglo-Saxons were with their beautiful intricate designs. Living on the opposite bank of the river to Sutton Hoo, Claudia Myatt has had the chance to study some of the patterns and work out how to draw them.
Part colouring book and part step by step instructions on how to create some Anglo-Saxon designs for yourself. Suitable for all ages.
https://claudiamyatt.co.uk/ shop/
Sketchbook Sailor
Published by Golden Duck,
£17.50 including p&p
Our November speaker Claudia Myatt sailed from Galapagos to Easter Island and round Cape Horn to the Falklands on board Dutch sailing ship Tecla.
“I took no camera on my two month sailing trip but came back with two full sketchbooks and a story to tell. Every day I filled a page or two of my sketchbook journal and all the pages are here, reflecting the challenges and joys of painting at sea.”
https://claudiamyatt.co.uk/ shop/
Membership News
A warm welcome to our new members:
Basil and Angela Tenwick, Melvyn Eke,
Brian Cribb, Ian Boreham,
Helen Persighetti, Derek Jarman, Ben Good,
and Richard Leigh.
Thank you to everyone for continuing to support IMT.
Fraser Yates
The gifts that keep on giving!
IMT calendar 2023
This year’s wall-hanging calendar contains a mixture of colour and black-and-white images of Ipswich Dock and the New Cut dating between 1860 and 1970. Approx 28cm wide x 43cm tall when opened to show the month planner beneath each image.
The calendars are of the same quality as previous years but we have been able to reduce the price and they are now available for £8 for one or £7 each for two or more if collected, or plus £2 post and packing if purchasing 1 or 2 calendars. If you would like more than 2 calendars sent by post please get in touch.
How to buy your IMT 2023 calendar
COLLECTION
Calendars can be collected by arrangement from Des Pawson at 501 Wherstead Road, Ipswich, IP2 8LL. IMPORTANT – Please contact Des on 01473 690090 to arrange time/date for collection. Payment can be made by any of the methods shown below.
DELIVERED BY POST
Send an email to membership@ ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk with your name, address and number of calendars or books required and make payment using one of the methods below, or call and leave a message on 07531 083576 and I will call you back.
Payment methods
by credit/debit card. Please say in the email (or on the phone) that you would like to pay by card and you will be emailed or texted a link to the secure SumUp payment site to complete the transaction; for your security we do not take card payment over the phone and no card details are passed to us.
bank transfer to Ipswich Maritime Trust Ltd, sort code 20-44-51, account number 80486485
send cheque payable to ‘IMT’ to 17 Bowthorpe Close, Ipswich IP1 3PZ, or give to Des Pawson if collecting.
Membership of IMT
Individual £5 pa; joint adult membership £7.50 pa.
The gift that keeps on giving! You get the satisfaction of knowing that by buying membership for a friend or relation you are helping to support Ipswich’s maritime heritage; your recipient also gets reduced price access to our talks and lectures, and regular updates and newsletters.
https://ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk/get-involved/membership/