Issue 49 Autumn 2025
Ipswich Maritime Matters
Issue 49
Autumn 2025
From the Editor
As a maritime historian I travel
the world giving talks on cruise
ships, and to local groups and
organisations in East Anglia,
on maritime heroes and brazen
buccaneers. And unsurprisingly,
many of the audience have a story
of their own to tell.
In this issue, I relate two of
those tales, one from the daughter
of an intrepid local doctor who
voyaged on Mayflower 2 (the
replica of Mayflower 1 – which
could have been built in Ipswich,
as I suggest in my talks) and
the second concerning a plaque
removed from Upper Brook Street
to Ipswich School, to one of its
former pupils, Admiral PBV Broke
of Nacton, by another former
pupil. See pages 20-21.
If you have a story to share,
of ancestral maritime exploits,
please get in touch!
Cathy Shelbourne
Front cover: launch of the Ipswich
Heritage Harbour Project. Henry
Cleary (second from right), convenor
of the national Heritage Harbours
network, joined the Ipswich Heritage
Harbour Project team (from left to
right): Lyndon March, Sarah Winter,
Hannah Houghton and Judy Harrison,
with Ben Good, IMT chairman (second
right) at Isaacs on the Quay, on 3rd
July 2025. Photo by Lucy Taylor/
NEWSQUEST.
Contents
Join us at the Heritage Open Days weekend 2025 From the Chairman Ben Good pages 4-5
News pages 5, 6, 8, 9
Profile Judy Harrison page 7
IMT’s quay campaign pages 10-11
Farewell Neptune Marina pages 12-13
Fox’s Boatyard pages 14-15
Old Buoys of the Haven pages 16-17
From the Archives pages 22-23
Talkback pages 24-25
Book reviews pages 28-29
Diary dates back cover
page 3
IMT Trustees
Chairman: Ben Good info@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Treasurer: Adam Rae treasurer@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Magazine Editor and Communications Lead: Cathy Shelbourne
cathy@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
Membership Secretary: Richard Fayers
membership@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
John Warren
John and Angela Cobbold
Minutes Secretary: Frances McGready
Ipswich Heritage Harbour Project (IHHP)
Manager: Judy Harrison judy@ipswichmaritimetrust.onmicrosoft.com
Head of Sailing: Lyndon March
lyndon@ipswichmaritimetrust.onmicrosoft.com
Education Lead: Hannah Houghton
hannah@ipswichmaritimetrust.onmicrosoft.com
Admin: Sarah Winter
admin@ipswichmaritimetrust.onmicrosoft.com
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News
HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 2025
Come on board!
of celebration of our
Join us for a weekend
maritime heritage,
with events and activities
during Heritage Open
Days for all ages and
interests.
This year we will be
participating on Saturday
and Sunday, 13th and
14th September, from
10am-4pm. All events are
free.
Sailing Barge Victor,
moored alongside the
Old Custom House, is
open to visitors. Come
and explore! There’ll be
caulking demonstrations,
knotting workshops,
and postcard crafting
activities, as well as a
selfie trail (with prizes)
around the Heritage
Harbour.
In the Old Custom
House, courtesy of
ABP, IMT’s amazing
exhibition of black and
white photos from our
Image Archive will be on
display, plus a selection
of marine artefacts
from our collections.
We will be joined by the
Nancy Blackett Trust,
and Pioneer Sailing
Trust. And don’t miss
the wonderful artworks
created by participants
during the Ipswich Dock
Art Project – their work
is also currently on
display in our Window
Museum on Albion Quay.
Throughout the
weekend we will be
entertained by sea
shanty and other singing
groups: on Saturday,
Quaynotes, Shanty Folk,
Goldhanger Shanty Crew,
and Shotley Wailers will
perform, and on Sunday
we are holding our first-
ever Sea Shanty Flash
Mob at 12 noon, led by
The Orwellermen, and
joined for an afternoon
of song by Ships’ Rations,
Shefarers and Quaynotes.
The Deputy Mayor
of Ipswich, Councillor
Pat Bruce-Browne, will
follow the Flash Mob
with a speech welcoming
everyone to the Heritage
Harbour.
Want to get out on
the water? Orwell Lady
will be doing short trips
around the dock, with
commentary.
Heritage Open Days is
England’s largest festival
of history and culture.
Every year heritage
sites and community
events are free to visit.
This year’s theme
is Architecture, and
alongside IMT’s maritime
festivities, there will
be walks and tours
highlighting Ipswich’s
architectural features.
For more information
on Heritage Open Days
in Ipswich, see https://
org.uk/whats-on/
printable-area-lists/
ipswich.html
For up to date
information on IMT’s
events, check our
Facebook page.
ABOVE Community artist
Katie Evans presents her
Ipswich Dock Art Project
featuring interpretations
of our maritime heritage -
in IMT’s Window Museum
on Albion Quay
RIGHT Join the shanty
groups in the first-
ever Heritage Harbour
flash mob! Sunday 14th
September at 12 noon
From the Chairman
What an exciting
few weeks as the
Heritage Harbour
Project takes shape! After
securing our grant from
the National Lottery
Heritage Fund, we have
assembled an excellent
team of professionals -
Judy Harrison, Hannah
Houghton, Lyndon
March and Sarah Winter
- bringing to the party a
wealth of experience in
heritage vessels, schools
engagement, barges and
media. They have got into
gear so quickly that, at our
launch event in Isaacs last
month, with the Deputy
Mayor in attendance, we
were already celebrating
the first results. As
described elsewhere, a
big emphasis has been
on the schoolchildren,
with over 1,000 so far
exposed to the project,
in school assemblies and
workshops, or visits to or
trips on Victor. We also
supported a multi-day trip
for a party from Stoke High
School on Blue Mermaid;
and a maritime-themed,
three-day arts project in
Springfield junior school,
which yielded - in a break
with tradition - a new kind
of display in the Window
Museum.
Our ‘Barge at Large’
series of kids’ events,
providing much needed
summer holiday
entertainment for young
families, is proving very
popular. And we will also
shortly be launching our
bursary scheme for young
adults to help them pursue
their maritime dreams.
For me, the rationale for
all this emphasis on youth
engagement is what our
American friends would
call a no-brainer, and also
a two-way street. Youth
engagement is good for
heritage - because what’s past if no one’s going to
be interested in it? - and
heritage is good for young
people - because it (and old
boats in particular) can be a
great source of inspiration,
opportunity and life skills.
Our mission is to use
Ipswich’s unique maritime
heritage to serve the
community, and how better
to do that than to inspire
the next generation?
Away from the youth
activity, there are
many other positive
developments. Stuart
Grimwade has been his
usual indispensable self,
providing IMT images -
and knowledge! - to the
Anchors Away! exhibition
in The Hold (well worth a
look), and to the Borough’s
project to install augmented
reality ‘binoculars’ around
the town. We have also met
with the County Council
about plans for a loop walk
all the way around the Wet
Dock, including crossing
the lock using the existing
swing-bridge. The stars
seem to be aligned for
this project to progress,
and we shall be pressing
for the stretch of the path
alongside the New Cut
to be at least somewhat
reminiscent of its former
glory as a promenade.
There is also a good
possibility that we will be
able to help with the design
of heritage-explanation
installations at various
points along the new walk.
Meanwhile ABP’s plans
for a new ‘loo block’ on
the old Neptune car park
continue to progress, with
construction expected over
the winter. This will give
us a new display window
in a higher-footfall location
than our current Window,
as well as some extra
A postcard from Ipswich, showing the Promenade; from the IMT Image Archive Leonard Woolf Collection, circa 1905
The Ipswich Heritage Harbour Project team, from left to right:
Sarah Winter, Lyndon March, Hannah Houghton and Judy
Harrison.
How can you help?
SAVE VICTOR FOR IPSWICH: IMT has launched a campaign to
raise funds to buy Victor
storage space. And once
this building is done, ABP
will also install for us a new
buoy nearby. This is a large
red-and-white safe water
buoy (like the one on Stoke
Bridge but with the stripes
going the right way!) and
will make a nice maritime
feature/meeting point.
Further afield, people
passing through Ipswich
station are being treated
to a large collage of IMT
archive images, designed
by a student of Suffolk
New College, accompanied
by a short description
and acknowledgement of
IMT. Another way to reach
young (and old!) audiences
perhaps!
Meanwhile, our events
plans continue to progress.
The programme of Talks
has been put together (see
back page), and, more
imminently, so are our
plans for Heritage Open
Days, Saturday and Sunday
13th and 14th September.
As well as our ‘professional
team,’ this requires support
from volunteers - Cathy
Shelbourne and John
Warren in particular
pitch in, it would be much
appreciated!
Finally, watch this space
for news on the purchase
of Victor. We have been
learning a lot this summer
about all the implications
- including financial
ones! - of taking her over.
Certainly, it has been hugely
satisfying to see her put
to the service of the wider
community, not just those
who can afford to be paying
passengers. But all of this,
of course, has to be paid
for, and, more significantly.
so does the challenge of
keeping her sound for the
long term.
We want to save Victor for
Ipswich, to ensure the town
loses her neither to a new
owner who sails her down
the Orwell never to return,
nor to the ravages of time.
Which is just another way
of saying our fundraising
campaign, which is just
getting going, will soon
be asking for your kind
support. If you would like
to make a donation to the
campaign, please go to
savethevictor
have already done a lot of
work - so if you are able to
Ben Good
Bringing Ipswich’s Maritime
History into the Classroom
We’re excited to have launched our new schools
programme—designed not to add pressure to
the curriculum, but to enrich it. Developed with
a local educational consultant and aligned with Ofsted
guidance, the resources support the teaching of local history,
chronological understanding, and national significance
through the story of Ipswich’s docks.
Before summer, we piloted the programme with Morland
VA Primary School and Ranelagh Primary School, beginning
with a whole-school assembly exploring the town’s
development from Saxon port to present-day waterfront.
Students then took part in a workshop focusing on the Wet
Dock as a depth study, stepping into the shoes of 19th-
century engineers to solve historical challenges and examine
real maritime artefacts from our archive.
Thanks to ABP, pupils toured the waterfront from the
Old Custom House and even crewed SB Victor. Onboard,
they explored STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics) concepts such as barge density, wind
direction, and sailors’ knots - while working as a team to
load historical cargo into the hold.
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. One student
said:“ I went on a boat for the first time - it felt fantastic! I’ll
definitely come down to the waterfront more now.”
And a teacher from Morland Primary noted: “This is
literally on our doorstep - we’ll definitely be integrating it
into our curriculum in the long term.”
We have already engaged with more than 1,000 young
people since IMT’s Heritage Harbour Project started back
in May this year. The tide is turning and the winds are
favourable - more maritime encounters are on the horizon
as we continue helping Ipswich pupils discover the stories,
skills, and heritage anchored in their very own waterfront.
Hannah Houghton,
Ipswich Heritage Harbour Project
The Ipswich Docks Art ProjeCommunity Artist
KATIE EVANS took
part in IMT’s oral
history project,
joining Rosemary
Harvey and
John Warren in
interviewing Bob
and Caroline Fox of
Fox’s Boatyard (see
article on page 14).
She describes what
happened next!
“I found the history of the project
really inspiring. Even though I was
brought up in Ipswich I had very little
knowledge of the flood and its impact
for years to come. I also thought that
movement is such a different and also
quite difficult medium to explore,
especially in children, so was excited
to see how this would be blended and
how the children would respond and
use their imagination to this.”
Collaborative practitioner
“I thought this was a really fun day,
and was lovely to see the children
engaging and laughing throughout
the day. It was an opportunity for the
children to learn something new.”
Springfield Year 6 teacher
After several months of
recording, collecting and
being treated to many cups
of coffee and slices of cake, we had
accumulated a broad range of stories
located on the Ipswich Docks from
the early 1900s to the ‘80s. There
was a combination of technical
history and very human recollection.
Developments in boatbuilding
techniques were discussed alongside
childhood memories and family
history illustrated through photos
and artwork (Bob Fox is also a
talented watercolourist).
This first-hand experience of a
‘personal history’ stuck with me, and
when I received a grant in November
2024 from the Norfolk and Norwich
Festival to run a creative project,
I went into partnership with IMT
and created The Ipswich Docks Art Project.
My aim was to explore history in
an empathetic way through personal
stories, rather than isolated major
events that can be difficult to connect
with. I also wanted to see if this could
be done through art, dancing and
music-making as the vehicle: to bring
children out of their shells, encourage
a sense of pride in their work, and
assemble people of different ages.
In total, more than 90 participants
of all ages were involved. The project
began with a pilot workshop at CHIP
Studios, located close to the dock
area, on the Saints in Ipswich.
During an intensive two days in
May, we used oral history stories
and recordings alongside archive
materials to form the basis of a series
of workshops for schoolchildren.
I worked with over 80 Year 6
children from Springfield Junior
School: we made a large-scale
collaborative timeline, created a
sea shanty, and performed a dance
piece inspired by the 1953 East
Coast flood. We were lucky to work
with Helen and Niamh from Gecko
theatre; Richard, Jon, Gareth and
Martin from The Orwellermen; and
local visual and dance artist Katy
Wilkinson-Feller. We were also
fortunate to use historical materials from organisations such as Suffolk Archives, The East Anglian Film
Archive and of course the IMT
Archives. Children were able to
handle archive objects whilst making
art, and watch historical footage
and study images to build a sense of
connection and understanding. Many
tug-of-war battles taught children the
influence of heaving and hauling on
the rhythm and structure of shanties,
and discussing and creating personal
lyrics formed an understanding of
existing historical songs. A specially
made soundtrack layered with Bob’s
stories was created for the dance
performance, with choreography
directly responding to the flood’s
sudden onslaught, as well as the long-
lasting effects felt by homeowners near the river.
Each class shared their respective
artform with the rest of their year
group. Performing was a courageous act for many, with unfamiliar
content and techniques, and the end
result was a triumphant, if chaotic,
assembly shared with Bob and
Caroline Fox, Ben Good from IMT, and
all the workshop practitioners and
schoolteachers.
Our work is now on display in the
IMT’s Window Museum on Albion
Quay. I tried my hand at being curator
and technician, and had the children
dressed as critics with clipboards to
assess my work. A trip onboard Victor
and chance to see Suffolk Archives’
‘Anchors Away’ exhibition turned the
visit into a whole afternoon, and we
had visits from the team at Norfolk
& Norwich Festival, Ipswich.com and
BBC Suffolk as well as many curious members of the public passing by!
Katie Evans at the IMT’s Window
Museum on Albion Quay, with the
artworks from the Ipswich Docks Art
Project
Profile:
Meet Judy Harrison,
Manager of IMT’s
Ipswich Heritage
Harbour Project,
whose associations
with the port of
Ipswich run very
deep.
CATHY SHELBOURNE
tracks her course
from sailor to
skipper to saviour!
Judy Harrison, IMT’s Project Manager,
and recipient of IMT’s first bursary for
a sail training voyage on board OYC
vessel Master Builder. Judy is second
from right in the photo of the crew.
When the newly formed
Ipswich Maritime Trust
gave its first bursary in
1983, no one could’ve guessed
that its first recipient would
be leading the Trust’s newly
appointed Heritage Harbour
Project team in 2025.
Having sailed frequently with
her family on the River Orwell, the
young Judy applied and received
a grant that enabled her to join
her first Sail-Training voyage
with Ocean Youth Club (OYC) – a
voyage which started and finished
in the Wet Dock.
“That voyage became a life-
changing experience for me,”
she recalls, “I soon became a
volunteer Mate with OYC, sailing
from the dock on a regular basis.
“Later on, when I became the
staff skipper of Pioneer, I enjoyed
bringing Pioneer to the Ipswich
Maritime Festival with young
people on board. I went on to
manage two youth Sail-Training
yachts that were based in Ipswich
Haven Marina and we took over
400 young people to sea annually
– mostly starting and finishing
their voyage in Ipswich. It is a
place very dear to my heart –
not least because I also met my
husband Graham here when he
was skipper of the yacht Master
Builder.”
Although Judy initially trained
and worked on land as an
occupational therapist, the
sea always called her back. “I
remembered the skipper, Liz
Goodburn, on that first sail-
training voyage. Seeing her in
command had impressed upon
me that women could take on
such roles.” Judy taught sailing
for many years, as an RYA
Yachtmaster Instructor, and had
her own sea school based at
Levington, but wanted to give
something more, and open young
people’s eyes to sailing as a life
skill and as a career. “I wanted
to make sure that the essence of
what had inspired me, endured.”
She completed a certificate
in charity management at
Anglia Ruskin University, and
subsequently worked for
Adventures Offshore, based
at Beacon Marina, Ipswich, as
Operations Director; Tall Ships
Global, responsible for the
maritime side of the Gloucester
Tall Ships Festival and Bristol
Harbour Festival in 2022;
and Sea-Change Sailing Trust,
managing the ‘Skippers of the
Future’ Lottery Heritage funded
project that took the engineless
Thames sailing barge Blue
Mermaid on a tour of eleven
ports in 2024. She is also setting
up a National Saturday Club for
children in the London Borough
of Newham, located at Trinity
Buoy Wharf on the Thames;
and is working with Heritage
Marine Foundation in Maldon,
co-ordinating the rebuilding and
funding of Torbay Lass.
Her role at IMT, funded by the
National Lottery Heritage Fund,
will further her mission. “Through
the Ipswich Heritage Harbour
Project, we will be raising
the profile of the wonderful
heritage around the dock, and
reconnecting people in Ipswich
– and in the process, inspiring
young people to recognise and
appreciate their heritage and its
significance for them.”
Meet Judy in person at the Heritage
Open Days, and at our IMT monthly
meetings (see the back cover for dates
and details).
Stoke High School go sailing
This Easter, IMT was very
pleased to help fund a trip on
Blue Mermaid, organised by Sea-
Change Sailing Trust, for some
young sailors from Stoke High
School, Ipswich. Principal KAREN
BALDWIN joined them.
the crew of the Blue
Stoke High School joined
Mermaid barge for the
first time last Easter holiday
in what we hope will become
a yearly event.
As we set off from school
on the short journey to
Heybridge Basin, we were
all a little nervous but also
excited about the adventure
that lay ahead. As one
student said, “This is a once
in a lifetime opportunity.” We
wanted to make the most of
every minute. And we did.
The weather, as the British
weather is, was fickle.
We went from winds so
strong that it was unsafe
to sail to mill ponds where
we struggled to get any
forward momentum. But
this didn’t deter from our
enjoyment – we were put
to work doing all manner of
jobs and the students took
pride in everything that they
did. Young people are often
criticised for not having a
strong work ethic, but at no
point could this be said for
any Stoke student – when they
were called to action, they
responded and often asked for
more jobs to complete.
As the days progressed their
confidence grew and those
students who at the beginning
didn’t want to climb the
rigging, not only climbed it
but made it right to the top –
even when it took every ounce
of courage to keep them going.
It was at these times that the
students showed that they
were in tune with each other
and you could watch them
pulling together and shouting
words of encouragement to
each other.
Every student not only
learnt about sailing, working
together as a team and being
responsible for themselves
and each other, but they learnt basic housekeeping duties-
preparing food, washing up,
managing their own down
time in a creative way. They
played games, completed
treasure hunts, learnt card
tricks and we nearly managed
a TikTok dance – but not
once did I hear the immortal
phrase, “I’m bored,” or “What
can I do?”
I always talk to the students
about how I am both proud
and privileged to lead the
school and I have never
been prouder watching our
students demonstrate all our
virtues (courage, leadership,
compassion, creativity,
perseverance, resilience)
but also teamwork. Although
there were times when they
were apprehensive, even
scared of what they were
about to do, they mastered
each and every task under
that constant care, guidance
and support from the fantastic
Captain and crew.
Trips of this nature are
difficult to finance, and they
rely on grants and funding
streams to make them
happen. We would like to take
this opportunity to thank
Ipswich Maritime Trust for
their support in making this
trip of a lifetime happen for
some of our young people. We
would also like to thank Sea-
Change Trust for all their hard
work in securing funding and
the advice and guidance both
before and during the trip. A
special shout out goes to Miss
Jordan who kindly gave up
part of her holiday to staff the
trip. It is always the people
that make things special and
make the magic happen. Ahoy
to you all, and we hope to see
you again next year.
Karen Baldwin,
Stoke High School
Support for the next generation...
Next month we are
launching a bursary
scheme for young
adults pursuing their
maritime dreams.
The IMT Young
Mariners Fund is being
created to provide financial
support for young people
needing help, for example,
to start training in a
maritime trade, or to start
competing at a high level, or
for a life-changing voyage
or other nautical project.
Applications will be
invited from young people
who live or were raised
in the area, usually with a
letter of support from the
applicant’s collaborating
institution (the training
college, sailing club, school,
etc).
The number of bursaries
this year is quite small - we
are aiming to make three
or four awards - but the
aim is for the impact of the
scheme to be quite wide.
For one thing, in promoting
the bursary opportunity we
shall be contacting a wide
range of institutions, which
gives us an opportunity to
publicise the project more
generally. For another, we
will be expecting successful
awardees to share their
stories, via in-person talks
and on social media, as role
models for other young
people and to raise their
awareness of maritime
opportunities.
…. with fantastic
help from the last
The bulk of the funding
for this year’s bursaries will
come from our National
Lottery Heritage Fund grant
and IMT’s own resources.
However, we are already
starting to diversify this
funding base: we are very
grateful to Spirit Yachts
and to Felixstowe Master
Mariners Club for their
support for this year’s
bursaries.
The donation from
the Felixstowe group is
in honour of their past
president, Captain David
Ingham, who sadly died
in May this year. Captain
Inghan worked for many
years as a Trinity House
pilot for the Orwell and
Haven ports, and was
on the team running
the construction ferry
St Antonius during the
building of the Orwell
Bridge.
Furthermore, given his
intimate knowledge of
the Port of Ipswich, his
family has very generously
decided that a fitting
legacy would be to make
a contribution from his
The bursary scheme will
continue an IMT tradition of
supporting young people’s
maritime ambitions. Last
year we supported Alex
Wyatt (above) to study
traditional boatbuilding.
estate which will enable us
to award a Captain David
Ingham Bursary for several
years to come.
Our aim is to make IMT’s
Young Mariners Fund a
permanent feature of the
local maritime economy,
helping young people
for the long term. We are
extremely grateful to the
lnghams for their help in
making that a reality.
Ben Good
Legacy giving
Would you consider making provision for Ipswich
Maritime Trust in your will?
When you look back over your life and your
achievements, on or off the water, and the enjoyment you
experienced, and what our maritime history has meant to you,
how can you ensure that the next generation can benefit too?
Ipswich Maritime Trust has launched a series of initiatives for
young people to get involved in maritime activities and careers
(see above). We continue to promote our maritime heritage, and
run events for all ages, and are working towards purchasing SB
Victor.
Can you help us help them, by giving a legacy to Ipswich
Maritime Trust?
For more information contact info@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk We can point you towards sources
of advice in making your will if you need it. If you want to discuss a non-pecuniary gift, for example
of old documents or artefacts potentially of interest to IMT, we would be pleased to talk to you as
well. Many thanks
Heritage
History Matters - the story of
IMT’s quay names campaign
Before the coming of
the Post Office, and for
centuries before that,
merchants and other dockside
property owners had identified
their land by reference simply
to their own name, with each
succeeding owner using their or
their company’s name as a prefix
to his or her ‘Wharf’, or later
‘Quay’. With the building of the
Wet Dock and the construction
of a continuous quay, each of the
then existing dockside premises
had already been allocated their
own postal address by reference
to their public street frontage
number, with no reference to
the dock at all. The site of the
medieval Smart’s Wharf, for
example, had become No 10. Key
Street.
However, as all these dockside
buildings gradually became
redundant and as new residential
apartments ‘fronting’ the
dock neared completion, their
developers naturally wished to
market them with something
more exciting than by a
number in a possibly otherwise
unprepossessing street. Much
better to come up with an ‘exotic’
name!
Those of us ‘of a certain age’ had
grown up referring to the names
of all the different quays used by
the Ipswich Dock Commission,
and so it came as a shock to
see these familiar names being
abandoned and replaced by new
names chosen by developers who
had no knowledge of, or interest
in, their history. When I enquired
about this, I was surprised to
discover that this practice seemed
to be of little interest to the Post
Office or to the Council either,
who both appeared happy to
accept the names offered. One of
the first to gain public acceptance
was ‘Regatta Quay’, followed by
‘The Winerack’.
It was this that spurred me to
produce our first ‘Occasional
Paper’ on the subject in 2011,
and which duly received publicity
in the local press, courtesy of
its ever-helpful journalist David
Vincent, and to restore those
names established after the
construction of the Wet Dock
through custom and practice, and
using as our base date a 1950s
operational map created by the
Ipswich Dock Commission for
the purposes of managing the
berthing of shipping. Prior to
that it is interesting to note that
some early 19th century editions
of the Ordnance Survey maps of
the dock identified almost the
whole of the northern quays as
‘Common Quay’.
And so the campaign began, but
little did I know how long it would
take, and how difficult it would
be to ‘change the course of the
tanker’!
The first thing to do was to
tackle both the Post Office and
then the Council, so see what
procedure could or should be
followed. It appeared that a
proposal’s name is put forward
by its developer, often at the
planning application stage, on
which the Council later formally
consults the Post Office and an
official street address is then
also allocated, by which time
the developer’s chosen name
had often already been widely
publicised.
Our campaign therefore sought
to win over all those involved in
these processes so they might
better appreciate the value, in
its widest sense, of retaining
a historically relevant name,
using our Occasional Paper as
the source of factually accurate
information. We used every
opportunity to push the issue
when speaking publicly about the
work of the Trust, and of the need
not only for official recognition
of the original wharf and quay names, but more importantly to
secure the actual installation of
‘street plates’ around the dock.
All this gradually bore fruit,
eventually leading to the promise
of consultation with the Trust
at an early stage of all new
development proposals. But then
an unexpected hurdle appeared
when it came to the approval
process for physically putting
up ‘name plates’. In summary
the legal problem seemed to be
that as our quays had never been
streets (and in the case of the
Common Quay, by pre-dating the
idea of such things by hundreds of
years), we couldn’t therefore put
up ‘street plates’. The computer
clearly said ‘No’. Well, I said, in
that case, why can’t we make a
quay name plate that isn’t actually
a street plate? Again the computer
said ‘No’, since the legal procedure
for funding, designing and
physically requiring them to be
fixed to buildings and walls under
the relevant legislation couldn’t
apply.
At this point, and even with my
local government background
and familiarity with such issues,
I began to lose the will to fight.
But we didn’t give up, and very
gradually over a number of years,
I’m pleased to say that a certain
’Ealing comedy’ solution began
to emerge – if everyone thinks
it’s a ‘good idea’, and the various
property owners who might have
objected could be ‘won over’ on
those quays which had never been
streets, why not just do it anyway?
And so, to its credit, the Borough
Council eventually did, and what’s
more they agreed to a unique
‘Wet Dock blue’ design to boot.
So as far as the ‘northern quays’
are concerned, we got there in
the end, with the final piece of the
jig-saw being fixing the ‘Common
Quay’ plates on the Old Custom
House earlier this year.
But what of the rest of the
dock? There’s more to be
done, and when it comes to the
redevelopment of the island site,
it will surely be necessary for the
Trust to resurrect its campaign to
reintroduce the old quay names
there too. All the information
needed is in the revised
Occasional Paper which can be
viewed online or downloaded.
Lastly, (right) a very rare
image from the Leonard Woolf
Collection that I had overlooked
as it was very faded and not the clearest, but it does show very well what
huge steam vessels once moored on Common Quay, actually stretching a
fair way along Wherry Quay as well!
Stuart Grimwade
Launch of ‘An Historical Map of Ipswich’
Earlier this year my wife Pat and myself were invited to assist in the
production of the Ipswich edition in the series of maps published
by the Historic Towns Trust, a charity devoted to illustrating in map
form the unique history of England’s most important historic towns and
cities.
The Trust’s projects rely on volunteer contributors to produce a written
‘gazetteer’ to accompany whichever early OS base map best reflects the
most interesting period of each city’s history. In the case of Ipswich,
the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods were chosen using the
Ordnance Survey map of 1904 as the base time-line onto which layers of
information have been added to reflect the current known history of the
place. As England’s oldest continuously occupied town with an almost
unchanged central street pattern over a thousand years, this meant being
able to add to extant locations a remarkably large amount of historic
information.
As seen in the photograph below, the launch of the Ipswich Map was
celebrated at The Hold at the end of May this year, and it is now widely
available, but preferably from the Trust’s own website. https://www.
historictownstrust.uk
Since the chosen period for the map coincides with perhaps the
peak contribution of the Wet Dock to the town’s maritime and
commercial economy, this has naturally raised the potential to add to
the map’s interest with an ‘add-on’ project. I am most grateful to James
Winterbotham (photo centre) of the Trust for offering the possibility of
financial assistance towards the production of more detailed mapped
data of the dock area as well as use of the digital material developed
when creating the Ipswich map.
Such a new map could, for example, show the various stages of the
dock’s development and its associated quays and wharves, to highlight
the potential offered by its new status as a Heritage Harbour.
Anyone interested in taking this idea forward will be more than
welcome to discuss it further, so that consent for its production can be
sought from the Historic
Towns Trust, and the
relevant data assembled.
Some of the latter work
has already been done
in connection with the
recent update of my
‘Quays and Wharves of
Ipswich’ Occasional Paper.
Stuart Grimwade
Farewell
to Neptune
Marina,
but not to
Neptune
Quay
IMT’s Image
Archivist and
historian STUART
GRIMWADE
reflects on the
changing faces
of the Heritage
Harbour
For many of us who were
his sailing customers, the
disappearance of Alan
Swann’s marina meant more than
simply a change of scene; it was
very much the end of an era. Who
knows how the newly opened up
area of water, extending along
Wherry Quay, will now be used,
since there can be no doubting
its potential to attract historic
vessels of the kind that once used
the quay.
Our Image Archive can supply
us with the opportunity to look
back through each decade of
over 175 years of change of
the northern quays, sometimes
very fast-moving change, such
as during the second half of
the nineteenth century when
buildings came and went with
extraordinary frequency as new
trading opportunities arose
and manufacturing processes
developed. To set the scene, this
is an aerial view of the dock taken
shortly before WWII.
One vital trade stretching back
through the centuries was that of
salt, a particularly highly valued
product during the Hanseatic
period of Ipswich’s commercial
life. In medieval days salt had a
variety of uses and was acquired
from many sources, but most
importantly it was the only means
of preserving meat throughout
the long winter months. In the
13th century Ipswich merchants
took goods to Brittany in return
for salt, and Henry Tooley often
bargained for ‘weys’ of salt when
negotiating the hire of his vessels
to Iceland.
That trade had virtually finished
by the time the aerial photograph
was taken in 1938, but we can
clearly make out the building
known as the ‘Salt House’ beside
IMT Magazine Autumn 2025 ... page 12 Whitmore’s chandlery and sail
loft premises behind the white
funnel of the large black steam
ship on the right of the picture.
In these two images, believed
taken in 1855 and 1865, the same
building can be seen served by
sailing ships of all types such as
Good Hope here adjacent to Isaac
Lord’s warehouse on the left.
Few if any of the quay’s
medieval salt merchants’
buildings however are likely to
have matched those in such Hanse
cities as Lubeck, whose splendid
brick salt houses still stand today.
Certainly the building went
through many company
ownerships whose names have
adorned it since its original
construction date – probably at
the time of the building of the wet
dock and the demolition of most of the medieval buildings that
lined the river bank here at that
time.
By 1965, as seen in this extract
from an extensive panorama
created by David Kindred, the
building had become ‘The British
Oil and Cake Mill’, still retaining
the link with imported salt
from the Tyne in the making of
‘cattlelicks’, but soon to become
unused awaiting its eventual
rescue and conversion to become
the Salthouse Harbour Hotel we
know today. Likewise the low
buildings further west on Wherry
Quay, constructed as a ‘salt office’
by importers Messrs Christie,
had become a building materials
store. They too still remain, linked
of course to the naming of the
adjacent Salthouse Street, itself
constructed in 1878. There is little
evidence to suggest that Ipswich’s
present Salthouse building was
actually built as a salt warehouse,
and so my guess is that the hotel
name derives from its earlier
years’ oblique links to the trade,
and the adjoining buildings’
Salthouse Street addresses.
With so much change across
the centuries, we are fortunate
still to have the wonderful group
of medieval warehouse buildings
known today as Isaacs.
And so back again to the here
and now, this was the scene in
June this year (right) during the
removal of the final elements of
Alan Swann’s marina pontoons,
and we now await the northern
quays’ new future.
Even with some new fingers
berths positioned around the
curve of the quay, the potential
to attract historic vessels of the
kind that once used this area of
the Wet Dock is there once again.
Let’s hope that visiting historic
vessels such as Excelsior, seen
(right) seeking a berth on 27th
June, can be accommodated on
the northern quays.
How can IMT help to make
this happen?
Stuart Grimwade
IMT IMAGE ARCHIVE JOHN FIELD
COLLECTION
The passing of time in the brief life of Neptune Marina is well represented
in these two ‘before and after’ images kindly supplied by David Kindred, both taken from him from the same spot in 1985 and 2025
Members of the IMT have recorded several
hours of interviews with past Trustee Bob
Fox and delved into his extensive archive
relating to Ipswich and Fox’s Boatyard.
Here’s an abridged version, in Bob’s own
words, transcribed by ROSEMARY HARVEY
Fox’s Boatyard
Grandfather Fox
Bridge, and a boat shed. That
who had not the inclination to be
ground was part of the old Halifax
a carpenter, set up with his father
CH Fox and Son of Ipswich started
Yard where they once built East
in business. They were building
with my grandfather, Charles
Indiamen, so Grandfather called it
boats on one side of the yard, and
Henry Fox.
the Halifax Boat Works.
repairing cars on the other side.
Grandfather Fox was employed
as a carpenter at Ransomes,
Sims and Jefferies in Ipswich.
I gather that he worked on
thrashing machines, which
were predominantly oak framed
structures.
Ransomes were heavily
dependent on agriculture for
its sales. And after the First
Fox’s Garage, 1966. Crittal Windows
World War – very familiar story
lorry fetching or delivering galvanised
Early Fox’s promotional photo,
– farming went into a recession.
iron on the right, the photographer’s
probably 1930s, definitely pre-War.
Ransomes had secured a large
van on the left.
contract to supply the Russian
government with traction engines.
Then in the 1920s, the Bolsheviks
reneged on the Tsarist contract.
Ransomes didn’t get paid. Many
people were laid off.
Coincidental with that,
Grandfather got what was then
termed as painter’s colic: lead
poisoning. Grandfather looked
round, decided that there was no
prospect of other employment,
and so he would set up on his
own.
According to my father, he
would make pairs of oars in
the evenings, which he would
sell to supplement his wage. So,
taking his timber expertise from
Ransomes, he went on to establish
boat repairing, and then building.
Charles Fox married my
paternal grandmother who had
a little inheritance, which he
used to build a house in 1924
on Wherstead Road by Bourne
Early years of the yard
As I know to my cost, the
boatyard had one serious
drawback, in that it had very little
water coming up to it. And this
meant that they could only launch
boats on spring tides. So, this led
to Grandfather building motor-
driven craft rather than yachts,
because they were a shallower
draft, and had a better envelope of
high tides to deliver the boats on
time.
Charles Fox had two sons and
a daughter, the eldest being
my father, Henry. Henry Fox
was, in the 1930s, undergoing
a toolmaker’s apprenticeship
in the other big engineering
works in Ipswich, Ransome and
Rapiers. But my father also had an
aptitude for fixing the early motor
cars, the Model T Fords and Bull
Nose Morris type cars that were
around then. And so, my father,
And in those days, motor
cruisers were propelled by vastly
expensive hand-built marine
engines whereas in the motor-car
trade, their engines were mass-
produced. Coincidentally, these
early models were becoming
obsolete, so second-hand engines
became available from scrapped
cars. And my father adapted
the automotive engines for
marine use and put them into
Grandfather’s boats. And so, Fox’s
were able to build motor cruisers
at a much more competitive price.
Grandfather Fox died just before
the War. In moving a boat prior
to launching it, he was crushed
between the shed wall and the
boat. And he had severe head
injuries, which culminated in, I
think, a cerebral haemorrhage.
He was 58, I was about two, so I never knew him.
We used to live above the boatyard, and my playground was
the boatyard really. To a degree, I
had my childhood stolen because
I was always in the boatyard. I
came home from school, went
down the boatyard and often was
told to get a broom and sweep
up the shavings, or, “Cookie’s
got a towing job on the river,
you go with him.” You learn to
scull before you learn to ride a
bike really, and that was second
nature to do all sorts of things
which other boys didn’t get the
opportunity to do.
I left school in the 1953 flood. I
used to go downstairs, turn right
and cycle to school. But on that
Monday morning after the flood,
I went downstairs and turned left
and went to clear up the mess in
the boat yard, and never showed
up for school again. I was 16.
Fox’s built Admiralty boats during
WW2. Here, 32-foot motor-cutters
have been put on a rail truck, waiting
for transport to the RN.
Working in the yard
The family business was all
in-house. Not only the boats
but most of the ironwork and
the bronze fittings were also
produced in the yard. My father
and grandfather had a total
anathema of naval architects,
so they designed in-house too.
Nothing was bought in, or very
little.
The other thing about the
boatyard, with the perspective of
old age, was the apprenticeship
system. Each year, three or four
lads would be taken on. And after
a year or two, the ones that stood
the test of time would be offered a
formal five-year apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship system also
was a form of discipline in that, if
you worked with a man and you
respected his workmanship, you
respected him as a workman. So
the man, who usually had a fairly
stable lifestyle, would inculcate
to the apprentice by example,
and/or the occasional thorough
dressing-down, how you behave.
Also, the chances are, when
learning your woodworking skills,
the timber and the materials
you work with, they discipline
the person working with them.
You saw a piece of wood, and
the wood will tell you if you’re
doing it right or not. That, I think,
society misses today.
Fox’s yard hands aboard on the river.
Ray Cook standing at the stern. From
left to right, Ted Graves, leading
hand; Ron ‘Stutton’ Dorking, LH;
Ray Baldwin, apprentice; Bob Fox,
apprentice; PM Pearce, customer;
Alan Crawford, Hugh Lambert, LH;
Fred Webb, apprentice; Brian Ward,
apprentice.
Fox’s boatyard, 1930s. Jack Pulham
(later yard foreman) and Joe Gosling.
Both apprenticed to Charles Fox.
Sale of Fox’s
In the 1970s, two things then
happened. The Ipswich Dock was
being extended by the wall and
the docks behind the boat yard,
and the boat yard was cut off from
the water, with no compensation.
Then Father died. He never
made a will, so when he died, we
had tremendous assets and no
cash in hand, and virtually no cash
flow. I was going to have to move
the business anyway to survive
because of the big cut-off from the
water, and we’d not got the money
to do that. Things got rather bad.
That’s how the business came
to be sold, to pay the death
duties. That was 1974. I sold a
majority holding to a company
who were going to do all sorts
with the yard. They moved to the
current location at The Strand,
Wherstead. They then ran out of
money and sold it on. Increasingly
disillusioned, I severed all
connections with boats in 1980.
Henry Fox on the river in Ostrich Barge
Dock, with the Orwell Yacht Club in the
background.
Old Buoys of
the Haven
Bob Crawley is an
East Coast sailor
with a keen interest
in local maritime
history. He shares
with us some of the
origins of our local
buoys
Sailors leave red can buoys
on their left, port, side when
arriving, ‘Port to Port to
Port’. When leaving, they leave
green cones to the left. North
America and its neighbours have
colours reversed, so ‘Red, Right
Returning’. It was the rest of the
World that changed, and not
North America being awkward.
Old sea dogs may remember
colours being different, greens
were red and reds, black. The
1948, post-war, chart shows
buoys in the Deben reversed
colours at Methersgate, on the
Orwell at the Harwich- Ipswich
port boundary. Note the green
wreck marks at Landguard and
Lower Reach. Finding out why
uncovered some buoy history.
A fifteenth-century pilot
mentions the ‘Waynes and Weirs
at Orwell (Harwich) Haven’:
these were fishing weirs such
as Andrews and Platters at the
entrance, and ‘waynes’ were
sea walls. Ports with Hanseatic
connections may have had cask
buoys, as at Wells, but none are
known in this area.
Buoys started to appear on
seventeenth-century charts, but
most marks were beacons on
shore or sandbanks or withies
in the mud. The Gunfleet was
buoyed in 1628, and the Roughs
in 1776. Woodbridge Haven had a
buoy in 1804, although the 1845
survey states ‘The Beacons [in
the river] are of a very inferior
description”.
Orwell Haven had no buoys in
1804, relying upon (often mis-)
leading marks. By 1852, there
were some familiar buoys, but
Beach End needed annual re-
positioning due to the growth of
Landguard Spit.
In the mid-nineteenth century,
buoy colours and shapes were
chaotic. Trinity House managed
many buoys in England. However,
responsibility lay across four
Lighthouse authorities, the
Admiralty, and local authorities.
Each used its own system. In
1861, a Commission was formed
to address this.
IMT Magazine Autumn 2025 ... page 1
From the Commission’s report,
we find of the Orwell, ‘We have
no lights or beacons, the channel
being merely partially buoyed
with cask buoys”. These were in
place by 1840 and changed to
iron in the 1860s.
After thirty years, the 1892
Trinity House Conference
produced the ‘Uniform System
of Buoyage’. Shape was primary,
with top marks and optional
colours. Like today, cones to
starboard, single colour, cans to
port, different colour, optionally
patterned. The direction of
buoyage was the flood, with
spherical middle ground buoys
and green wreck marks. This
liberal scheme was gradually
adopted, allowing most
authorities to make little change.
Gas lighting appeared in the
late 1800s. In the early twentieth
century, there was a handful of
buoys on the Orwell, none on the
Stour. By 1907, Harwich had a
gas-lit buoy, and Orwell by the
1930s.
The 1892 ‘Uniform System
of Buoyage’ remained in effect,
with minor changes, until 1977.
As it was liberal, there were
differences in colours between
England and Scotland and other
inconsistencies. The Empire and
North America were broadly
aligned, but there was no global
system. The common feature
was cones to starboard and
cans to port, although there
was an attempt to reverse this.
Attempts to reach an agreement
were interrupted by the Great
War and other conflicts. The
over-complicated 1936 League
of Nations Uniform System was
again stymied by War in 1939.
Most buoys were removed
in wartime, and peacetime
replacement was an opportunity
to conform. It may have been the
case that different authorities
implemented the scheme without
coordination, since by 1948,
Harwich had black to starboard
and red to port, but the Orwell
had red to starboard and black
to port. Lights to starboard were
white, and green reserved for the
many wrecks.
Post-war buoy positions were
similar to today’s; some were
gas-lit. Shoal areas, such as Altar,
Gristle, Cod and Bone, had been
dredged away over the previous
half-century.
In the late 1970s, today’s IALA
‘A’ (International Association
of Lighthouse Authorities)
system was agreed, and Britain
implemented it quickly. North
America, having the majority of
the World’s buoys, adopted the
‘B’ variant later with opposite
colours. Redundant ‘middle
ground’ spherical buoys were re-
purposed as with the Woodbridge
Haven Safe Water Mark.
The 1977 decision to adopt
red to port seems perverse.
Britain, France, and Germany
had to change colours: if
red to starboard had been
retained, there would have
been almost global consistency
and less inconvenience to all.
However, compared to the older,
inconsistent systems, buoyage is
straightforward for the modern
sailor.
Locally, the change to the
modern IALA system saw the
appearance of buoys with
historical names, Grog, Pepys,
Deane, and Washington, for
example. Each of these has a story
[to be continued!].
Bob Crawley
2
4
1. Map on previous page: Extract from 1948
Royal Cruising Club Chart, shows colour
reversal (Personal Collection).
2. Deane PHM in the Deep Water Channel
3. Woodbridge Haven SWM - once a Middle
Ground Buoy 4. Grog SHM in the Orwell.
5. Woodbridge Museum: cask buoy, inverted.
All photos of buoys on this page by BOB
CRAWLEY, seen below, passing Deane
More Tattoos
about Town
Our features on tattoos in
Ipswich Maritime Matters,
issue 47 Summer 2024,
engendered much interest –
including this response from Terry
Manton, a retired professional tattoo
artist from Glasgow, who writes:
“When I started out in the skin
trade back in 1979, Jack [Zeek,
featured in From the Archives] was
an already established and revered
tattoo artist within our magical,
colourful and mystical profession.
Jack passed away in 1999 but
is fondly remembered by many of
my generation whom he helped,
encouraged and assisted with their
own career paths into tattooing.
These days, I’m a researcher and
historian, specialising in the lives of
the early pioneering tattoo artists of
Britain from 1880 until 1980.
At present, I am writing my second
book on this subject, having recently
published my first in March 2024.
In Volume 2 of this series, I will be
including a short bio of Jack Zeek, and
I wondered if anyone could expand
on memories of Jack and his time at
the Ransomes Quay in Ipswich. Any
input would be very welcome.”
For more information, see www.
princevallar.co.uk or search for
‘Terry Tatt Hist’ on Facebook. www.
pioneersofbritishtattooing.com
shows Terry’s first book and he is on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.
com/scottishtattoohistory/
Recently spotted in Ipswich, modelled
by our Head of Sailing, Lyndon March!
Did you know?
English sailors coined
the term cocktail upon
discovering that their drinks
in the Yucatan port of Campeche
in Mexico were stirred with the
thin dried roots of a plant called
cola de gallo, which translates as
cock’s tail.
Guests at the launch of the
Ipswich Heritage Harbour Project
were served a specially created
Man-go Overboard cocktail, with
Malibu rum, pineapple, orange,
lime and of course, mango!
Literary Award
Congratulations to Barry
and Elaine Girling, authors
of Band of Brothers, for the
Deadeye Literary Award from
The Society for Sailing Barge
Research!
We hope he wouldn’t
mind...
Michael Barlow was an officer
of HM Customs & Excise,
whose job it was during the
‘70s to board and inspect visiting
vessels in Great Yarmouth with
all due swagger and authority, in
his smart uniform, complete with
scrambled egg and peaked cap.
His son Simon was kind enough to
contact IMT and ask if we had a use
for the same uniform.
And here it is masquerading as
a naval officer’s uniform, trying to
exert similar authority on this unruly
bunch at Springfield Junior School.
According to Simon, his father, who
owned a series of boats right up to
his death, and competed in the Round
Britain Powerboat Race, had a keen
sense of fun.
So we hope he wouldn’t mind this
repurposing of his very fine uniform.
Our thanks to Simon Barlow.
ABOVE The
Orwellermen
shanty group
encourage children at Springfield
Junior to acquire the team building
skills demonstrated in tug of war
contests.
BELOW Simon Barlow, whose father’s
uniform was put to such good effect!
From Estuary
to Ocean
The Orwellermen are an
enterprising sea shanty
crew based in Ipswich.
They are organising our
sea shanty festivities
during Heritage Open
Days and leading the
flash mob on Sunday
14th September.
RICHARD HUGHES
describes their amazing
summer cycle ride,
singing from the saddle.
There’s a certain courage that
stirs in the soul when the sea
calls - an adventurous spark
that can take even the most sensible
landlubbers and set them adrift on
a merry tide of mayhem. So it was
that The Orwellermen took to their
bicycles and voices to pedal and sing
their way across the country, from
the muddy waters of the Orwell
to the salty breezes of the Cornish
coast - all in the name of cycling,
camaraderie and charity.
It began, as many fine follies do,
with a message in a bottle - well, a
WhatsApp message from skipper
Gareth one blustery weekend in
October 2024: “Is it ridiculous to
cycle to the Falmouth International
Sea Shanty Festival?” What began as
a fanciful notion soon gained wind in
its sails.
By the end of the weekend, a
crew had formed - ten brave souls
rallied by optimism, madness, and
a fondness for song. A meeting
was held at The Dove Street Inn,
where the beer flowed, the singing
resonated, and plans were laid in
pencil rather than ink. Could a crew
of amateur cyclists and enthusiastic
shanty singers really conquer 447
miles across England? Only one way
to find out.
As spring warmed into summer, the
crew took to the roads with pedals
and pitches, busking for the RNLI,
Prostate Cancer UK, and the Selig
Suffolk charity. The target? £1 for
every mile: £4,500 in total.
We launched our ride to Falmouth
from a near-deserted cricket pitch in
Ipswich, and Johno from local shanty
crew Ships Rations presented the
team with a Suffolk flag to proudly fly
at the parade in Falmouth. The BBC
counted us down, and we were away
- wobbling westward on two wheels,
bound for distant shores.
Cycling through London proved
less perilous than feared: quiet
canals, hidden parks, and a
memorable evening gig at the Swan
Inn in Isleworth that left the team
buoyed by applause and ale.
Westward we went: Windsor Great
Park, Newbury Racecourse, and
sleepy Somerset villages each gave
up hospitality, cheer, and sometimes
a slice of cake. At Tucker’s Grave
cider house, we sang for beef stew
and local cider, while in Devizes, the
mystery of the missing tenth roll
became crew folklore.
The rains came hard across Bodmin
Moor. But warm reunions, ginger
pudding, and the laughter of old
friends kept spirits afloat. In Bodmin,
a Thai buffet and a packed house
raised £275 for charity in a single
evening - proof that even a bunch of
drenched singers on soggy bikes can
bring people together.
By the time we reached Falmouth,
The Orwellermen had weathered
storms both literal and emotional.
BBC Cornwall welcomed us, and local
cycling club The Falmouth Wheelers
led the final approach. As we arrived
at the Princess Pavilion, rain-
drenched and road-weary, Suffolk
flags fluttered proudly.
Falmouth greeted us with parades,
platforms, and a sea of shanty
lovers. From Palacio Lounge to
The Greenbank, The Orwellermen
sang their hearts out- sometimes
to packed rooms, other times to
curious crowds we had to win over.
One performance saw us cycle into
the venue, bells jingling, Roger
announcing our arrival like a pirate
town crier. It worked: the marquee
filled, the crowd swayed, and the
energy soared.
On Sunday, at the stately Falmouth
Hotel, the crew sang beneath
scudding clouds to an appreciative
audience on the lawn. One man
left his mobility buggy to climb the
treacherous grass bank on walking
sticks to shake our hands. “You made
my weekend,” he said. We heard that
more than once.
Our final gig, a quieter affair at the
Rugby Club, was no less heartfelt.
Tight harmonies, confident leads, and
newfound poise marked the end of
a musical voyage. We closed it all at
the Seven Stars, Penryn- with cake,
chorus, and local beer.
In total we cycled 447 miles, raised
£3,000, suffered three punctures
and one fall, and gained a thousand
memories. More than just a musical
tour, it was a lesson in grit, joy, and
the power of community.
Doctor at sea
Among the many fascinating
items in The Hold relating
to our maritime heritage is
the following, reference HD4224,
and described as:
1957: handwritten journals
covering the Mayflower II
voyage, one with notes about
the Royal Harwich Yacht Club at
Woolverstone and published copy
of his journal ‘Mayflower II The
Surgeon’s Log’ 1957
These journals were written
by John Stevens, “an amazing
man,” recalls his daughter Lynette
Baldwin, who attended a talk I
gave on the Mayflower, as part of
Suffolk Archives’ events alongside
their exhibition on Departures:
Exploring Emigration from Suffolk.
John was born in South Africa
in 1924, became a submariner,
and came to the University of
Cambridge after the Second World
War to study medicine. As a GP he
worked at Anglesea Road Hospital
in Ipswich and then spent many
years in Aldeburgh. In between
times he spent three months in
Spain working on a film with Alex
Guinness, and was seconded to
Swaziland as a medic. His boat,
Sly Boots, built at Whisstocks
boatyard, was specially adapted
after he had a stroke and had
only one working hand, and no
speech. He sailed through the
Panama Canal and was last seen
off Colombia. He never returned.
But he did leave behind his
journals, and some very amusing
accounts of one of the most
exciting episodes of his life: as
crew member on board Mayflower
II, the replica of Mayflower I
which sailed the Atlantic in
1620. These were published
in Family Doctor magazine in
January 1958. As ship’s doctor,
he was obliged to administer to
a range of ailments suffered by
men enduring a recreation of
conditions three hundred years
earlier. So a pedunculated fibroma
is removed, using the most
basic of equipment: “A crowd
of vultures gather round.” One
of them shouts: “There’s a huge
river of lovely red blood running
down your back.” A master of the
understatement, he concludes:
“My patient takes it very well on
the whole.”
Menial jobs are tackled in an
equally laid-back way. “I cut off
the legs of my corduroy trousers
and hem up what remains into
a pair of Bermuda shorts. They
are such a success that a fashion
starts at once and the wake is
soon littered with a dozen trouser
legs.”
And his interview for a place on
board with Alan Villiers, organiser
of the voyage, was equally direct.
He was asked if he wore brothel-
creepers (no) and if he was a
Catholic (no). His skills as a doctor
were taken as read.
Cathy Shelbourne
Dr Stevens wrote a series of articles
on his Mayflower II voyage for Family
Doctor magazine. FAR LEFT The
Mayflower commemoration medal.
Broke
of the
Shannon
and his
links with
Ipswich
RIGHT FROM TOP
The house in Lower Brook Street,
Ipswich, where John Palmer’s
grandfather lived, and the garden
behind with column and plaque to
Sir Philip Broke, placed by earlier
resident Miss Caroline Acton.
The entrance to Ipswich School’s
swimming pool, with the plaque on the
wall commemorating the Brokes.
BELOW Admiral Sir Philip Broke, of
Nacton.
IMT member John Palmer
(above) has some curious
connections with Admiral Sir
Philip Broke of Broke Hall, Nacton
– the protagonist in the shortest
sea battle ever: 15 minutes long,
on 1st June 1813, between the
Shannon and the Chesapeake, off
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
John’s grandfather lived in this
house (top right) in Lower Brook
Street in Ipswich from 1905
– 1950, and John remembers
playing here as a young child. The
boy in the photo with the dogs is
John’s uncle.
It had previously been lived
in by Miss Caroline Acton, who
was Philip Broke’s aunt-in-law.
She died in 1838 but erected a
monument and plaque in her
garden to her illustrious nephew-
in-law. The plaque, complete with
spelling mistake (Amercian), was
presented by John to Ipswich
School on the 200th anniversary
of the battle between the Shannon
and the Chesapeake, on 1st June
2013 - the very same school
that both John and Philip Broke
attended.
One of the school houses is
named after Broke, and the
principal donor of the swimming
pool was Sir William Broke-
Middleton of Shrubland Hall, in
memory of his ancestor Admiral
Sir Philip Vere Broke (see plaque,
right, outside the swimming
pool).
Cathy Shelbourne
From the Archive
Image Archivist
STUART
GRIMWADE
muses on sorting
fact from fiction
in a digital age
One of the unexpected
consequences of producing
our Image Archive has been
the new demands now being
made of it in ways completely
unforeseen at the time we began
it twenty-five years ago. In
today’s world of AI, CGI and the
revolution in digital manipulation,
the value of having an ‘accurate’
historic image base source is only
now beginning to be recognised,
and we shall have to pay a great
deal more attention to what is a
‘true image’ and what is not. It is
already a major area of concern
to responsible journalists in News
media.
In this article I hadn’t intended
to stray into the copyright
minefield, nor indeed to wonder
how we shall be able to place any
reliance on the accuracy of the
photographic image in future, as
in the phrase ‘the camera never
lies’; I suppose we shall all have
to assume that it most certainly
can, and probably will, so please
forgive just a few further personal
thoughts on this issue at this
point.
When we look at an earlier
image of a place we know, we
can use our own knowledge of
the scene to confirm that the
image hasn’t been manipulated
in any way, or when we look at
an old photograph such as those
in IMT’s Image Archive, we feel
confident that we can rely on the
accuracy of these ‘historic’ film-
based images. But in a fully digital
future, with no original negative
film based images to go by, this
will not be the case.
I digress, but I should like to
think that this could herald a new and vitally important role for a
revival of the public reference
library concept – the place on
which we all once relied when
‘acknowledged facts’ needed to be
sourced and understood. Maybe
that freely available, but vitally
peer-reviewed source of accurate
fact could be extended to become
the recognised repository of all
verified accurate images too,
instead of our current admittedly
convenient but somewhat lazy
reliance on the vagaries of the
internet. Only time will tell
whether this will be increasingly
needed. Suffice to say that in
the meantime we should try to
hold onto our particular image
copyrights for as long as we
can, and make sure that if and
when they are digitally altered,
we make this clear to all. For
my part, in building our Image
Archive, I have only employed
digital manipulation to restore,
say, the contrast or ‘saturation’
of an obviously faded print to
bring back what would have been
the appearance of the original
photograph, so we can then all
accept that what we’re now
looking at is exactly the scene the
photographer saw a century or
more before.
I hope the relevance of these
thoughts will become apparent
as we come back to the here and
now in Ipswich where I have been
involved in a project to instal a
series of fixed freely viewable
‘binoculars’ around the town
located at key points of interest
such as the Cornhill, Giles Circus,
Christchurch Park, and of course
the docks. All this will be very
far from the old days of seaside
‘what the butler saw’ machines!
The idea is that the viewer is
taken into the world of the past
looking at an 180 degree arc of
the same scene as it would have
appeared in the late 19th century,
which of course is the most
common period of our archived
images. Three dockside locations
have been chosen, at St. Peter’s
Wharf, at Common Quay, and on Ransomes (Orwell) Quay)
I was asked to select suitable
A jourimages which could then be
manipulated through AR (in
the jargon, Augmented Reality)
to become moving images,
seemingly bringing its original
19th century people and vessels
to life. An add-on could even be to
make the dock railway run again,
with sound too! At the time of
writing this, only experimental
imagery has been made available
from the consultants who have
been commissioned for the work,
but it looks promising, such as
letting one of the characters ‘from
IMT’s Image Archive’ talk to the
viewer about dock life, such as
this lad here. I gather that Wes
has been approached for ‘a voice’;
perhaps the large chap in the
background with his back to us!
All that’s needed to bring the
image to life-like motion are the
basic relevant historic facts, a
good script, and an imaginative
and talented creative studio with
expertise in the right software
and online tools. But all that
creativity usually comes at a price,
as should their permission to gain
access to our archive too.
Finally, a word of caution in this
age of fake news and false reliance
on the accuracy of what we see on
the web - we will all have to make
sure that we learn how to sort the
fact from the fiction!
Stuart Grimwade
A Journey of Words
The Ipswich Journey of Words
is a new, immersive cultural
walking trail in Ipswich
delivered by Digital Ipswich, part of
Ipswich Borough Council’s Town’s
Fund.
Celebrating writers and cultural
wordsmiths with a connection
to the town, the trail features
‘audio, augmented reality, step-by-
A Journey of Words
step photo guides, and visual and
interpretation content.’ In other
words, you use your smartphone
to access an app that connects you
up to words and images featuring
a very eclectic collection of famous
people who have written, drawn or
performed in Ipswich – ranging from
Tina Turner at the Regent (when it
was the Gaumont) to Enid Blyton
who taught at Ipswich High School
for Girls (when it was in Westerfield
Road).
Ed Sheeran, who spent some of
his teenage years busking on the
streets of Ipswich, is there too.
Another surprising appearance is
by Richard Ayoade, who is recorded
as saying that “Ipswich lives in me
always.”
But perhaps the last word can go
to Little Tim, created by Ipswich
School boy Edward Ardizzone, to
whom there is a blue plaque on the
Waterfront for ‘his love of the docks
Go Jauntly founder Hana Sutch led
a group of trail triallists around
Ipswich during the launch on Friday
4th July.
and little ships.” Apparently Ipswich
played a significant part in shaping
the maritime theme of his Tim
series of books.
“Little Tim lived in a house by
the sea. He wanted very much to
be a sailor, but his parents said
he was much too young and must
wait for years and years, until
he was grown up. So, when Tim
got a chance to stow away on a
steamer, of course he jumped at it,
little expecting the hard work, the
stormy sea, and the sinking ship
to come!”
- Little Tim and the Brave Sea
Captain, 1936
It’s hosted on the award-winning
walking app, Go Jauntly, and
was curated in partnership with
University of Suffolk professors and
students, alongside local historical
and cultural experts (including
representatives from IMT).
https://walks.gojauntly.com/walks/
the-ipswich-journey-of-words-trail
Talk back
IMT talks and events in Spring 2025
Restoring the Mast at HMS Ganges:
Maritime Heritage Foundation
Wednesday 2nd March 2025
Have any of us mere mortals
not looked up at the top
of that mast, and quailed
at the thought of being a button
boy, standing rigid on that tiny
disc, 140’ above the tarmac?
Equally head-spinning, perhaps,
was the story of its restoration,
presented to us by Jim Dines,
of TS Rigging and the Heritage
Marine Foundation, whose dad, he
told us, stood not on the button,
but one down from that, (so, easy-
peasy, then).
Perhaps some numbers
illustrate the point: main mast
sections recycled from not one
but two 19ᵗʰ century navy ships,
(HMS Cordelia, launched 1881,
and HMS Agincourt, 1865); course
yard 70’ long; topsail yard 55’;
4,000’ of standing rigging. All
the wooden spas were replaced
during the restoration; the lower
riveted iron section, believed to
be sunk 26’ into the ground was
shot-blasted in situ.
In Jim’s words, the way to
make a spar from, say, Douglas
fir, is you start with something
of round section and tapered
along its length, then you make it
square and parallel, and then you
make it round and tapered again.
And then you add eight coats of
paint. And this is all made more
challenging for the longest spar,
the course yard, made in two
pieces with a 14” scarf joint.
Back in the day (ie from 1905
to 1976), over 150,000 cadets
climbed the mast, at least up to
the first platform. Without using
the lubbers hole, of course.
The restoration of the mast,
itself a Grade II listed structure,
was a condition of planning
consent for the site, (whose
proposals for redevelopment
have included a failed and
presumably unlamented Butlins
Jim Dines and Jasmin Klinke from the
Heritage Marine Foundation (HMF).
plan), and was completed in
2023 (as reported in IMT’s
Maritime Matters at the time).
Jim’s appreciative audience was
too polite to ask for that other
interesting number - how much
it cost - but we were relieved by
the amount of climbing harnesses,
helmets and cherry pickers
involved. In contrast to all those
free-climbing young men in their
ceremonial pork pie hats.
Jim’s talk was followed by a
terrific talk from Jasmin Klinke,
also of the Heritage Marine
Foundation (HMF), describing the
work of the foundation.
There is a lack of apprenticeship
schemes which target shipwright
work on heritage vessels, and
also - following the demise of the
colleges in both Plymouth and
Lowestoft - a paucity of affordable
places to learn. HMF is seeking
to fill that gap, and has so far
graduated nine apprentices, all
of whom are still in the trade,
a result the team is justifiably
proud of. Jasmine, citing her own
personal experience as well as
the testimony of these graduates,
spoke eloquently of how young
lives can be changed to the better
if given chances like these.
A message, I am sure, we can all
heartily agree with.
Ben Good
Women in Boatbuilding:
Belinda Joslin
Wednesday 2nd April 2025
It’s hard to believe, in this
region of boats and rivers,
where being out on the water
is a part of so many people’s
lives, that boatbuilding is a
disappearing skill. But in 2023
it was placed on the Red List of
Endangered Crafts.
So Belinda’s story – of how she
has literally turned the tide for
not only boat building, but also
for women in boatbuilding, a very
rare species – was particularly
fascinating.
Less than 5% of people working
in boatyards are female, and
Belinda was one of them. There
are lots of reasons for this very
low rate: stereotypes, traditional
patriarchal values, gender bias.
Add in some physical barriers:
no facilities, tools designed for
male physiques; plus emotional
issues such as bullying, exclusion,
lack of trust etc and you have an
offputting workplace.
Belinda is clearly a very
determined person. When
working as a finisher at Spirit
Yachts for four years, she
commented on the lack of
women, and was challenged to
change this. At first, she set up an
Instagram account to highlight
the importance of Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in
boatbuilding and related marine
trades. But such was the interest,
and her impact, that it is now a
Community Interest Company
with a global community and
regular meetings and events.
She works with all sorts of
national organisations and events.
Last year she was invited to be
the headline act at the Wooden
Boat Festival in Port Townend, US.
She is consulted by Members of
Parliament, and she contributes
to the National Shipbuilding
Strategy.
Perhaps one of her greatest
successes has been her influence
through implication of a strategy
on the intake at the Boat Building
Academy in Lyme Regis. Women
now make up 50% of the
participants – going from zero
just two years earlier.
Belinda also touched upon
the shocking impact of Glass
Reinforced Plastic (GRP) boats
on coastal environments, and
what we can do to help. France
is leading the way: see www.
recyclemonbateau.fr
Cathy Shelbourne
TOP Pirates of the Caribbean! Belinda
was a partnership marketing director
for Disney, delivering high-level
marketing partnerships for global
brands.
MIDDLE Working as a finisher at Spirit
Yachts, Ipswich
BELOW The line up at the Port
Townend Wooden Boat Festival, with
Belinda far right
IMT member
RUFFY RUFFLES
was at the
Pin Mill
Sailing Club
63rd Annual
Barge Match
RUFFY RUFFLES
The day promised a lot of sun
and variable, slight easterly
winds as the crew of the
sailing barge Victor mustered at
0730 hours by her berth in front
of the Old Custom House. The
Shipping Forecast told of force 4
to 6 later and predicted the time
of high water as 0830 BST.
Saturday 21st June 2025 was
the day of the 63rd Annual
Barge Match organised by the
Officers and Members of the Pin
JON COBBOLD
IMT Magazine Autumn 2025 ... page 26
Mill Sailing Club and this year
celebrating their 90th year. The
Pin Mill Sailing Club are proud
to have hosted this Barge Match
since its inception in 1961 and
James Ackland, who has been in
his post as Barge Match Secretary
since taking over from his father
in 2020, said that he “believed
that 2025 match came together
better than any previous event
and it was really good.”
The skipper of the sailing barge
Victor is David ‘Wes’ Westwood
and he had entered the Victor into
the Staysail class of the event.
Wes is responsible for the barge’s
operations and charter business.
He also received the 2021 Richard
W Smith Memorial Award from
the Ipswich Maritime Trust for his
contributions to local maritime
heritage, specifically highlighting
his work with the Victor. Victor
made a splendid start crossing
the line just 31 seconds after the
gun but even that was no match
for the performance of Reminder
who, amazingly, crossed just one
second after the official start time
of 1030.
The course took Victor down
the Orwell through Butterman’s
Bay to Collimer Point where, as
she came round to starboard,
the wind came “on the nose”
and tacking was called for until
Shotley Spit was reached. The
speed increased very slightly,
and the crew were kept busy
obeying orders from the Skipper
who was putting in a very good
performance. Victor stood into
the shallower water off Pye End
to take advantage of the last of
the ebb to push her across to the
turning mark at Stonebanks.
An incident at the turning
mark caused Victor to protest the
Pudge but the protest was won
and Skipper Wes got his £20.00
protest fee back. The forecast
force 4 to 6 never did appear and
poor old Victor struggled on in
very light airs until late afternoon
to finish the course third in her
class. But it was, according to the
Skipper, “a very good day and the
crew had all done very well!”
Ruffy Ruffles
Rowing on the Orwell
The Orwell Yacht Club
at Bourne Bridge was
established in 1918 and
has great facilities for dinghy and
yacht sailing. There’s also a very
pleasant clubhouse with a bar
overlooking Ostrich Creek and the
River Orwell.
Although there is a very active
current membership, they are
seeing fewer young people taking
up sailing. So in order to attract
new members and encourage
the take up of rowing, which is
becoming extremely popular, the
club has recently purchased two
St Ayles skiffs.
Rowing is an all-year-round
activity that is very good for
building fitness and is attractive
to all ages and sexes. Long
associated with Cornwall, gig
rowing has rapidly expanded with
the introduction of several new
designs. The St Ayles skiff started
as a museum project in 2009 and
since then has rapidly gained
popularity with now 400 boats
around the world, mostly in the
UK.
The Orwell has a long history
of rowing for pleasure and was a
major attraction of the Victorian
regattas where crews competed
for an impressive collection of
silverware watched by crowds
of 50,000. The 1842 oil painting
(below) of the new Wet Dock,
Ipswich, by CLR Wilson Nursey,
shows a female crew of four and
their cox just below Stoke Bridge.
The two large rowing clubs, Naid
RC and Orwell Works RC, on the
outer wall of Salt Water Bathing
Place off the Wherstead Road
burned down in 1948 and rowing
did not restart until the Ipswich
Rowing Club was founded on the
New Cut in 2013.
The River Orwell is a perfect
location for rowing with
opportunities to row upstream
into the centre of Ipswich
including the Wet Dock or
downstream to Pin Mill and
beyond.
The Orwell Yacht Club is
therefore in a perfect location
having all tide access which
gives ample opportunities to
participate every day and at all
states of the tide.
The St Ayles skiffs, actually
pronounced as ‘Saint Isles,’ are
crewed by four sweeprowers,
and a coxswain with space for
a sixth crew member to allow
the crew to take a rest or swap
roles with the cox. The skiff is
clinker built and was inspired by
the traditional Fair Isle skiff. Ian
Oughtred designed the St Ayles
skiff with the boat’s hull and
frames constructed from plywood
measuring 22’ long with a beam
of 5’8”.
The Orwell Yacht Club skiffs
can be seen in operation in the
Wet Dock over the Heritage Open
Days, Saturday13th and Sunday
14th September. OYC members
will be on the shore handing out
flyers with more information. It
will not be possible to ‘have a go’
in the skiffs over this weekend,
but if you are interested, make
sure you get hold of one of our
flyers which will provide more
information.
John Warren
Book Reviews
Stars to Steer By
What a
fascinating
book! Author
Julia Jones – who spoke
to IMT in February 2024
about her previous
book We Fought Them
In Gunboats – has
brought together an
extraordinary collection
of people connected to
sailing who have for so
long been invisible. Yes,
women!
This is not just an
assembly of stories of
individuals and wife and
husband teams; it’s a
social history of the last
century in which women
were specifically barred
from sailing clubs (“the
Royal Yacht Squadron
kept women in a sort
of shed in the garden”)
and generally ignored -
although Julia quotes an
anecdote of a Victorian
woman who “had such
trouble getting the crew
of her steam-yacht to
obey her orders that
she took and passed her
Board of Trade Master
Mariners exam, which
made disobeying her an
Author Julia Jones
shared her experiences
in writing her latest book
Stars to Steer By, at the
Felixstowe Book Festival
on 29th June 2025
IMT Newsletter Autumn 2025 ... page 28
act of mutiny.”
This was obviously
highly unusual. A
skipper’s authority
should not be challenged.
The Yachtswoman’s
Pocket Book of 1965
makes this very clear.
The preface, written by
the husband of one of
the authors, says: “It is a
wise woman who knows
her place and contrives
to leave the skipper’s ego
intact.” And Julia gives
many more examples
of this attitude through
the decades including
Joyce Sleightholme’s The
Sea Wife’s Handbook,
first published in 1971.
“What we must try to
understand is what
sailing means to a man…
In fact at sea modern,
urbanised, office-bound
man becomes a male in
his real element.”
With such attitudes
rife, it is scarcely
surprising that women
were so disregarded.
Julia writes: “The sea is
not a men-only space.
Only our social and
cultural perceptions
make it so. Women
have travelled by
sea, and lived and
worked on ships, for
centuries.”
She has
meticulously
researched dozens
of women, pointing
out that many of
their adventures are
known now only
because they had
written, painted
and published their
accounts.
I was thrilled to
find that not only
did I know some of
them – including
IMT member and
speaker, marine artist
Claudia Myatt (author
of numerous illustrated
nautical books) and
fellow Shefarer Belinda
Joslin, of Women in
Boatbuilding - but that
my own life had been
directed by one of them:
Mary Dixon, sailor and
social reformer, who
founded the sixth form
college I spent two years
at. Hidden away in the
depths of the countryside
(but in fact only a few
miles from Ipswich,
and most importantly,
The Fountain Inn at
Tuddenham) we were
encouraged to broaden
our horizons through
physical challenges such
as sailing and skiing.
Some of the extra-
curricular activities
engaged in were
probably not quite what
the formidable Mrs D had
in mind.
And of course the
barriers to success
encountered by sailors
aren’t exclusively
gender-specific (just
mostly). Shipwright
Abbey Molyneux, known
as Abbey Boat Builder,
runs her own yard in
Norfolk, and while social
attitudes need to change,
she also thinks lack of
money is a considerable
obstacle. “There were
local courses and
colleges but they weren’t
obtainable for kids like
me and they still aren’t.
And I’d like to tell you
all that it was HARD.
There wasn’t an ounce of
support from anyone….
The chap training me
said I couldn’t drill off
keel bolts because my
hands were too small
to hold the drill, but I
Stars to Steer By:
Celebrating the 20th
century Women who
went to Sea
by Julia Jones
Published by Adlard
Coles £22
can tell you now, I’ve
built more boats with
these tiny hands in ten
years than he has in his
entire career.” [quote
from a speech at the
Wooden Boat Festival,
Port Townsend, 7th
September 2024].
Julia comments that
it is still perhaps hard
for people to accept that
outstanding women
shipwrights and sailors
succeed on merit.
She includes in this
category the negativity
facing round the world
yachtswomen Tracy
Edwards, Ellen McArthur
and Clarisse Cremer.
Babies born at sea,
children of families
cruising for years: all
are included in this
astonishing book. Not
forgetting ‘Granny
sailors’ who have the
wisdom of their years
to bring to the mix.
Or not? According to
transatlantic granny
sailor Helen Tew:
“Whatever you want to
do, someone will tell you
you can’t. It’s too difficult
or dangerous, you’re
either too young or too
old. In fact, the time is
never right unless you
make it so. My advice,
therefore, is simple; just
get on and do it.”
This book will give you
plenty of inspiration to
get on and do it yourself.
Cathy Shelbourne
Battle of Trafalgar, 1966
We are extremely grateful to Roger
Hooper for his gift to the Trust
of a pack of Jackdaw teaching
materials, printed in 1966, on Nelson and
the Battle of Trafalgar.
As the Trust is also working today on
ways to help our local schools teach our
maritime heritage, the gift is most timely.
The pack consists of a series of brief
essays about relevant topics, a facsimile
of Nelson’s memorandum to officers on
the eve of the battle, (I was struck by the
way it was at once precise and vague,
requiring his captains to use their own
initiative as the coming battle unfolded),
charts, a plan of the Victory, a copy of
the London Times on November 7, 1805,
when it first carried the news of the battle
(as well as, for example, a notice about the
bankruptcy sale of one Edward Canning,
thread manufacturer, including a quantity
of ‘Russia ducks’, whatever they are) and
two copies of portraits of our vain and
victorious, fine-featured hero.
As much as there is in here for the
enthusiast of maritime history to chew
on, there is also meat for students of
the history of education. Reading those
essays today, would a modern teacher
find them a mite hagiographic? Perhaps
that language about destroying dastardly
Napoleon’s fleet is a trifle triumphalist?
No matter, perhaps: it is a great story
- indeed many stories - and deserves to
be told. And, yes, this is a good moment
to remind ourselves of Ipswich’s claims
on the attentions of Horatiophiles; plus I
learnt of a new one.
I was aware of Sir Thomas Slade,
designer of HMS Victory, buried in St
Clements churchyard, (where we also have
a fine model of said ship), and that, five
years before he died, Nelson became High
Steward of Ipswich [see IMT Magazine,
Spring 2025, pages 16-17]. I wasn’t aware,
though, that when he died he was laid to
rest in the casket originally designed for
our own Thomas Wolsey, but which was
unoccupied following the latter’s fall from
grace.
Thank you again to Roger for a
wonderful little treasure trove. If anyone
else would like a rummage, please let us
know via info@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.
uk.
Ben Good
ABOVE An invitation to Nelson’s funeral
(from a private collection in Ipswich).
MIDDLE Some of the facsimile documents
relating to the Battle of Trafalgar.
BELOW Roger Hooper, left, presented a
pack of Jackdaw teaching materials to IMT chairman Ben Good
SPILL Festival
23rd-26th October 2025
IMT members will
recall our involvement
in the SPILL Festival in
2023 and the Shefarers
project which took up
residence on board
Victor. Local shefarers
continue to maintain a
supportive environment
for women in the
maritime world.
This year SPILL
has commissioned
Leviathan by Slovenian
artist Mark Požlep, “a
reflective audio-visual
installation which
presents an imagined
dialogue between
Suffolk’s fishermen and
the colossal Leviathan,
a mythological sea
creature and witness to
ecological collapse.”
Mark’s research
and creative process
involved a 100-kilometre
walk along the Suffolk
coastline, during which
he engaged with retired
North Sea fishermen.
His installation at St
Clement’s Church can be
experienced throughout
the festival. In addition,
there will be a coastal
walk from Shotley to
Erwarton with the artist
on 24th October, and
a talk by Mark and Dr
Tom Johnson, medieval
historian, in St Clements
on Saturday 25th
October.
Another SPILL
event with a maritime
theme is Port To Port
by Sophie Giller - a
textile artwork in The
Hold, made by screen-
printing the personal
memories, images, and
favourite objects of
local participants onto
large-scale patchwork
sails, in celebration of
the historic maritime
communities of
Lowestoft, Ipswich and
Felixstowe.
At the close of the
Festival, on Sunday 26th
October, from 6pm, the
St Clements church
bells will ring a brand
new peal specifically
composed for Suffolk by
Mark Požlep.
Port to Port by Sophie Giller. Credit: Doug Atfield
Anchors Away:
Suffolk and the Sea
At The Hold until
27th September,
this fascinating
exhibition draws upon
a diverse collection
of objects in the
Suffolk Archives and
contributions from
local museums and
organisations, including
IMT.
And on tour to relevant
towns is Following
the Fish, a travelling
exhibition telling the
powerful and often
overlooked story of the
Scotch Girls, women who
followed the herring
fleets from Scotland to
Suffolk and Norfolk.
From left to right
in the photo above:
Emily Shepperson,
Exhibition and
Interpretation Officer,
Cathy Shelbourne, IMT;
Deputy Mayor Pat Emily
Shepperson, IBC Deputy
Mayor Cllr Pat Bruce-
Browne, Councillor
Jessica Fleming, Chair of
Suffolk County Council;
and Councillor Philip
Faircloth-Mutton,
Cabinet Member
for Environment,
Communities and
Equality, cutting the
ribbon.
The Life of Admiral Lord Nelson, KB, from His Lordship’s
Manuscripts: one of the exhibits in the Anchors Away
exhibition at The Hold
Congratulations to the Felixstowe Lifeboat
The team that used to be
Felixstowe Coast Patrol &
Rescue has celebrated an
upgrade in its status with a name
change: to Felixstowe Lifeboat.
What’s the difference?, you may ask.
If you put that question to their
new chairman, Chris Pell, he would
probably say, in the gnomic terms
that insiders often reserve for
themselves, the difference is that
we’re now a Designated Asset.
That may leave you none the wiser,
but what it means, to the team’s
enormous credit, is that, after many
hours of maintenance, refining
procedures, training and the like, the
MCA and the Coastguard are satisfied
that the boat and its crew can serve
as a fully-fledged inshore lifeboat.
After taking over as chair earlier
this year from Shotley resident Johno
Brett, who had served for many
years, Chris has been ably supported
by over 20 other volunteers in a
range of roles, both on the boat and
on the shore. This summer, for the
first time, the boat is on call on a
24/7 basis, and has so far been called
out 26 times, and has helped some
41 people and 3 dogs out of difficulty.
(Any fundraiser will tell you that it
is always important to mention pet
rescues!).
All quite impressive for a
volunteer-only organisation funded
solely by private donations. (It was
founded in 1997 in response to the
Coastguard ceasing its waterborne
patrols). The distinctive orange of
the boat - Last Orders, a 10m RIB -
can often be seen on the Orwell. It is
launched from Suffolk Yacht Harbour,
and its full patch stretches from the
Backwaters to the Alde.
Apart from operating in ‘our’
waters, the Lifeboat has other links
with IMT. Two of our trustees -
Jon Cobbold and myself - serve as
volunteers. And the safewater buoy
that IMT has arranged for ABP to
install as a feature on Orwell Quay, is
actually the property of Felixstowe
Lifeboat. It became available when
the Lifeboat vacated its old operating
base behind the Co-op in Felixstowe,
in favour of smart new premises in
Trimley.
So, congratulations to the
Felixstowe Lifeboat crew for all you
have achieved. Thank you for your
buoy, and, rather more important,
for keeping our waters a little safer.
And, speaking for those of us IMT
members who enjoy our time afloat, I
hope that whenever I see you roaring
off over the waves, it’s ‘cos you’re off
to help someone else, not me.
Ben Good
LEFT Last Orders responds to a call; CENTRE IMT
Trustee Jon Cobbold at the helm; RIGHT Last year
the Lifeboat did its first patrol with an all-female
crew
Ipswich Maritime Matters is
written and designed by Sea
Shell Communications, and
published twice-yearly by
Ipswich Maritime Trust.
Typeset in Cambria, and printed
on Navigator paper.
editor@ipswichmaritimetrust.
org.uk
Come on board!
New members are always
welcome: individual membership
is £20pa, family £30pa, youth
(up to 25 years) £5 single/£7.50
joint. IMT is a charity: these are
minimum suggested donations. If
you’d like to give more to support
IMT, please do!
Your subscription includes: free
access to our talks, regular e-mail
updates, twice-yearly IMT Matters
Magazine, plus the opportunity to
get involved in our projects and
campaigns.
We are always looking for
volunteers - including help with
our Window Museum, front of
house at talks and events, chatting
to the public on our stands at
events, tagging photos in the
Image Archive, and assisting with
our schools initiatives.
To join, please contact
membership@
ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk or
write to us at IMT Membership
Secretary, Apt 610, 1 Coprolite
Street, Ipswich IP3 0BN
Diary dates 2025
Please check all dates and venues
before setting out!
IMT Talks take place on the First Wednesday of the Month, at the
Methodist Church,
Black Horse Lane, Ipswich at 7.30pm
(NB new venue)
Saturday and Sunday 13th and 14th
September: Heritage Open Days
Explore Thames Sailing Barge Victor, moored
up alongside the Common Quay. Enjoy a trip
around the dock on Orwell Lady. Have a go at
being a shipwright, take a self-guided heritage
selfie-trail around the dock - with a chance
of winning a picnic cruise for a family of four
aboard Victor. Discover our amazing old photos
and maritime models and other artefacts, in the
Old Custom House. Sea shanties and activities
for all ages. From 10am-4.30pm each day.
Sea Shanty Flash Mob: Sunday 14th
September at 12 noon
www.ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
now until 27th September: Anchors Away: Suffolk and the Sea
exhibition and events at The Hold www.suffolkarchives.co.uk
Wednesday 1st October: IMT AGM
followed by IMT talk by Jane Stone, about her
work as a pilot at the Harwich Haven Authority.
23rd - 26th October: SPILL Festival www.
spillfestival.com
Wednesday 5th November: IMT Talk
by Dave Selby, columnist and author of The
Impractical Boat Owner
Wednesday 3rd December: The Shipping
Forecast, IMT Talk presented by Andy Beharell.
NB there are no IMT meetings from May to
September.
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 commenting on
maritime issues, running a series of talks on maritime-related themes,
and outings on Sailing Barge Victor, curating our Window Museum on
Albion Wharf, maintaining an Archive, and supporting young people in
maritime projects.
We have around 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.
If you would like to make a donation to our Victor campaign please go to: https://givealittle.co/c/savethevictor