Museum Matters August 2014

Museum MattersAugust 2014

Newsletter of The Friends of The CanalMuseum, Stoke Bruerne

© The Friends of The Canal MuseumRegistered Charity No 1121146

www.friendsofthecanalmuseum.org.ukPage 2

OUR Chairman, waterway enthusiast, life-long campaigner and local IWA member,David Blagrove has been appointed anMBE inTheQueen’sBirthdayHonoursList.The citation reads: Order Of The BritishEmpire, Civil: Member David RichardBlagrove, Volunteer. For services toRestoration of the UK Waterways.(Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire).

For over sixty years David has dedicated ahuge proportion of his life to the restorationand promotion of the waterways, starting inthe 1950s when, still at school, and as amember of the Kennet & Avon CanalAssociation, he helped set up the ReadingBranch of the Association and begancampaigning for its restoration andeventual re-opening, which took place in1990. In 1961 he became joint owner ofEnterprise an former working boat

converted to run as a passenger boatoperating on the remaining navigablesection of the River Kennet at Reading andcommercial carrying at the same time. Thefollowing year he assisted with the settingup of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust,formedout of the previousAssociation, andwas an early Council Member of that Trust.

On leaving a job in London, David went towork for the Willow Wren Canal CarryingCompany, initially as a sub-contractor andlater with a pair of boats. During the bigfreeze of 1962-63 he fetched up in StokeBruerne, where he lives now. In the springof1963he joined theThamesConservancyas a Relief Lock Keeper, finally leaving full

In this IssueDavid Blagrove MBE 2Chairman's Jottings 5Jack James 9Images from recent events 13Sculptor update 21Village at War 23FoCM News 24Researching Sister Mary 25Mathew Bradley 28Family Festival Update 29Living Waterway Awards 30FoCM Diary 31

Cover picture: Richard Parry (Chief Exec CRT) congratulates David Blagrove on theaward of his MBE at the Stoke Bruerne Canal Family Festival (Photo: KD)

David preparing for an outing on his belovedSculptor (Photo: KD)

David Blagrove MBELynda Payton



time employment on the waterways aftermarrying Jean in 1964 in order to train as ahistory teacher. He moved to StokeBruerne in 1966 and took up a post at thelocal secondary school. He continued tocarry freight part-time until retirement.

Having joined the Inland WaterwaysAssociation in 1960, he helped set up theNorthampton Branch in 1971-2, serving asits Chairman from 1972-78 during whichtime the Branch campaigned for theretention of grain traffic to Whitworth’s Millat Wellingborough, organised a series ofboat rallies, including the 1971 ‘National’ inNorthampton which saw over 600 boatsattending, and gave evidence at a publicinquiry into the diversion of the A5 whichbisected the line of the Old Stratford Canalmaking the restoration of the BuckinghamArm more difficult. In 1983 he both gaveevidenceonbehalf of IWAand represented

the Association at a public inquiry atBlisworth over the routing of the BlisworthBypass and its effect on the NorthamptonArm.

David has held a number of posts, servingas an IWA Council member between1981-90 and being appointed as a VicePresident in 1991. In 1990 he was afounding committeememberofwhat is nowthe Commercial Boat Owners Association,serving as Vice Chairman until 2006 andfrequently represented CBOA at meetingsof the Parliamentary Waterways Group atthe House of Commons. He is a Vice-

President of this Association. He is also anHonorary Life Member of the NarrowboatTrust (set up in 1970) and contributes to awebsite chat forum for the SMJ Society

David a few years (perhaps) ago - boatingon Elton and music


David welcoming guests to the 2013 Villageat War event (Photo: KD)



(Stratford upon Avon Midland JunctionRailway). Another interest he championsalongside waterways!

More recently, in 2005/6,David co-foundeda new volunteer group, The Friends of TheCanal Museum, set up to help support thethen ailing Canal Museum in StokeBruerne, andstill servesas itsChairman.Atthe same time he joined a re-invigoratedStoke Bruerne Canal Partnership working

on a number of projects including theproduction of an award winningConservation Plan in 2008, and currently aDevelopment Plan. He is also responsiblefor the setting up an operation of the StokeBruerne Canal Adoption Group under theauspices of the Partnership.

You might well think that all this is enoughto be going on with – but any spare timeDavid left over has supported a secondarycareer as an accomplished historian,author of many books about the railwaysand canals, musician and songwriter,keeping the traditionsandoral history of thewaterways alive. He is also a regular

contributor of numerous articles andcolumns for magazines and newslettersdirected at the waterway and railwaycommunities, as well as deliveringinteresting talks in his own inimitable wittystyle.

Many of you will agree with me I’m sure.David’s honour is overdue and welldeserved recognition of sixty years of a lifededicated to our waterways. Well doneDavid!


The Old Stables - tidied up on a 'CanalAdoption' day (Photo: KD)

A Day out with The Friends

Sadly this event has had to be cancelled asthere was not enough support to make itviable from a financial point of view.

For those of you who did express aninterest - thank you for doing so.

Denis Atkinson

Village at War - Help Please

If you can help on the day pleae makeyourself known at the control point whichwill be shown on the map in theprogramme.

If you can help with donations of cakes etcpleasedeliver them to the villagehall on theday.



SO far this year has been a difficult one forboth ourselves and the Museums andAttractions Partnership of CRT with whomweconstantly interact. TheM&Ahavebeenbeset with problems, not least being thesudden lossofDavidHenderson, aswell astheextensive refurbishment of theMuseumbuildingandstaff illnesses. Theynowseemto be well on the way to recovering. Forourselves, several Council members haveretired or are about to do so andconsequently we are in need of fresh bloodonCouncil. I amdelighted to record the factthat BarbaraEverest’s husband, Brian, hasagreed to take over the financial running ofVillage atWar for this year, which is a greatweight off my shoulders, but we urgentlyneed a replacement for Sandie Morton,who has been one of our stalwarts onCouncil from the beginning and who hasbeen Membership Secretary. LikewiseJenny Copeland, who originally came upwith the idea of the Village at War event,has also decided that the time forretirement has come,whileRickThake, ourTreasurer, is still recovering from hissudden illness of last January. Meanwhiletwo more stalwarts will be relinquishingtheir responsibilities after the AGM. DenisAtkinson, who has been our long-sufferingMinutes Secretary for several years, hasintimated that he would like to retire thisyear and Lynda Payton, whilst not exactlywishing to retire, needs to shed someof herresponsibilities in view of her commitmentselsewhere in CRT. So, as the ancienttypist’s exercise used to say 'Now is thetime for all good men to come to the aid ofthe party' (and in this obviously we includewomen!). There is no need to wait for theAGM. There is plenty to do, as will bemadeplain below, and any volunteers can be

instantly co-opted and their appointmentconfirmed at a later date. If you live withinreasonable travelling distance of theMuseum I should like to hear from you. Mytelephone number is (01604) 862174.Before turning to other matters I would liketo pay tribute to those retiring members forthe work that they have done.

As well as losing these valued members ofCouncil, we have also lost the services ofour Honorary Curators, Mike and SueConstable, who are also taking a well-earned retirement. Without Mike and Suewe should not have been able to haveobtained the essential accreditation of theMuseum that has opened the door to betterfunding and to establishing a more securefuture. Both of them were professionalmuseum curators and could quitereasonably have said that they wishednothing more for the last five years or sothan to be left in peace to enjoy their

retirement from the profession. Insteadthey agreed to come on board andmastermind the whole process ofaccreditation. Their wise counsel will be

Chairman's JottingsDavid Blagrove

David with Jenny Copeland and DenisAtkinson - both of whom are retiring

(Photo: LS)



missed and on your behalf I wish them aproper and peaceful second retirement.

I occasionally hear mutterings about theamount of money that The Friends have inthe Bank and what do we intend doing withit? Theanswer is not that somemembers ofCouncil haveplans for a retirement home inthe Caribbean, but that until recently ourenergies were centred on keeping theMuseum in existence. This thankfully is nolonger an issue and now is the time tomoveforward. There were plans back in the1990s for expansion of the buildings, whichhad to be shelved because of financialconstraints. Maybe now is the time to takethese down and dust them off. The StokeBruerneCanalPartnership, ofwhichweareactive members, has prepared a Ten-YearPlan for the canalside in consultation withCRT and South Northants Council, andthese include developments of the

Museum infrastructure. Of course suchdevelopments are expensive but theprinciple of match funding means that wecanmakea significant contribution towardsany such project. At present we have some£40,000+ in funds, but putting this towardsmatch funding and using volunteer labourcan turn this to amany times greater figure.This is always provided that The Friendscan keep going as a viable organisation,and this means more hands to the pumps,especially on Council and its various sub-Committees.TheJulyCouncilmeetingwasin fact dedicated entirely to the question ofwhere we are going, and membersunanimously voted for working towards anever-more improved Museum andfacilities.

Since the formation of the Canal & RiverTrust two years ago there has been aconsiderable, and welcome, upsurge involunteering in all parts of the organisation,not least the Museums and AttractionsPartnership. However, and in my viewinevitably, concerns have been raised overthe application of some of the Health andSafety considerations. In particular thosevolunteers who maintain and operateSculptor on behalf of the M&A Partnershiphave raised concerns over suchmatters asthe wearing of life jackets when bothoperating the vessel under way andworking on it at its moorings. To this end ameeting with the Partnership wasscheduled for 4th August.

At this point it is as well to draw members’attention to a Bill, currently beforeParliament, with the rather ponderous titleof 'The Social Action, Responsibility andHeroism Bill 2014-15'. This is aGovernment Bill, which essentially means

Wearing lifejackets on Sculptor is a mustwhen underway (Photo: KD)




that it reflects the policy of HMGovernmentrather than a Private, or Private Members'Bill, which reflects an individual orcorporate concern. The Parliamentarywebsite gives a summary of this as 'A Bill tomake provision as to matters to which acourt must have regard in determining aclaim in negligence or breach of statutoryduty'. Without going into the detail of theprovisions, which are in any case subject tochange during subsequent readings of the

Bill before it receives the Royal Assent,probably next year, it appears to me thatwhat the Bill attempts to do is to re-assertthe ancient principle of English CommonLaw known by the Latin phrase 'volenti nonfit injuria'. Passing over the question of whyanEnglish principle should beexpressed inLatin, the phrase effectively means thatputting oneself deliberately in peril does notmake a case for an injury claim. Thisancient principle, inwhich the application ofcommon sense was an integral part, hasbeen overlaid by more recent Eurolegislation and here a quick resume of thetwo legal systems is of relevance.

The Common Law of England has, like somuch of our way of life, evolved over manyhundreds of years, some of the principlesgoing as far back as the Anglo-Saxon

period and many more to the Middle Ages,for human nature changes little over thecenturies. It is a judge-made law based onthe principles of common sense,reasonability and precedent and is alwayscapable of being amended and updatedaccording to current circumstances.Frequently it has been incorporated intoStatute Law, which is the law made byParliament, a body elected by the freepeople of England. Most Continental Lawon the other hand is based on the CodeNapoleon, a series of laws imposed uponconquered countries by an unelecteddictator. In some respects this has itsadvantages, especially when it comes tomaking sure that the populace does as itsGovernment wants it to, but itsdisadvantage is inflexibility. It is probablyreasonably evident that my preference isfor our system.

If the above Bill becomes law it will have aprofound effect upon the status ofvolunteers. It will not alter the Duty of Carethat must be exercised, but hopefully it willgo some way towards relievingorganisations such asCRT fromconstantlylooking over their collective shoulders forambulance-chasing solicitors.

TheFamily Festival was once again a greatsuccess. I leave it to Lynda to report on itelsewhere, but our thanks are again due toLynda and her team for once moredelivering the goods. Preparations are welladvanced for the Village at War event of13th-14th September. So far this summerhas been an exceptionally good one,although the Festival weekend could havebeen better. Let’s hope that September willcrownMick Butler and his team’s work withsome good weather.




You will read elsewhere in this newsletterabout the Red Wheel Plaque, to beinaugurated on 22nd August. To this end theVolunteer Group has had two sessionsround the Tunnel end clearing intrusivevegetation and opening up views of theportal and horse shelter. Our CRTOrganiser, Miriam Tedder has meanwhilebeen in Switzerland taking part in an IronMan Triathlon. This involved a lake swim, aMarathon run and a bike ride all inmountainous country. Miriam completedthe course in 12 hours, 55 minutes and 58seconds, which is a very creditable result.

Work continuesonSculptor. The rewiring ismore-or-less complete, thanks to MickGardner’s sterling efforts. He has also fixedthe electric bilge pump which required agood deal of rootling about in amucky bilge(although it is now very much cleaner than

previously). Mick was until fairly recently adriver on theSevernValleyRailway and hisreply tomy apology for the state of the bilgewas 'It is nothing compared to getting undera steam loco!' The boat has made severalforays this year. InMay it went toBraunstonfor the IWA Rally and a few weeks later toCrick for the Boat Show. In June it returnedto Braunston for the Working BoatGathering and in July to Cosgrove insupport of the Buckingham ArmRestoration. Several training runs havebeen undertaken. It is hoped that regularmovementswill takeplaceduring thewinterseason, so here is yet another activity inwhich volunteers will be welcome.

TheMuseumhasanew recruit in the shapeof Mat Bradley, who has been appointedjoint manager of the Museum alongsideLouise Stockwin. For some reason StokeBruerne is acquiring a definite Antipodeanflavour, for, like our Editor, Mat comes fromthe other side of the globe. He has alreadysettled in as though he has always been atthe Museum, so this is as good a place asany to wish him every success in his careerwith us.

Finally I have been taken aback by thenumber of congratulations and goodwishes following the last BirthdayHonours.I know that the initiative came from mycolleagues within the Friends and IWA. AllI can say is that there are many otherswhose work has never been recognised,and I am pleased to accept the Honour onbehalf of these unsung heroes.

So, enjoy what remains of the summer andplease, if you possibly can, come and giveus a hand, even if it is only helping out atVillage at War for an hour or so.

The Red Wheel for Blisworth tunnel in place(Photo: KD)




WHETHER Jack had made hisacquaintance during his previous visit toReading I am not certain, but certainly by1928 he appears in a loose form ofpartnership with Alfred William (Bill)Chivers and his brother-in-law JackGarner. Bill Chivers was of Jack’s father’sgeneration and towards the end of his lifeclaimed to be the 'last of the Kennet & Avonbargemen'. Thiswas not strictly true, but hecertainly was the last bargeman to liveafloat on the Kennet & Avon Canal. BillChivers at that time owned a barge calledMarjory, capable of carrying 70 tons, andhis contribution to the partnership was thisand some dredging equipment. Under thebusiness name of Thames Transport thepartnership set about matters in asbusiness-likemannerascouldbeexpectedfrom what were essentially transientprincipals. Printed stationery and invoiceformswere produced, there were premisesof a sort in Bridge Street and the accountsand legal affairs such as contracts wereplaced in the hands of a Reading solicitor.

Much of the work was ballasting, done in asimilar fashion to the work mentionedbefore at Kings Weir. Reading was anexpanding town and there was a readymarket for building supplies so thepartnership was kept busy. Jack and hisbrother-in-lawprovidedmuchof themusclepower while Bill Chivers used his localcontacts to find outlets for river-dredgedballast. The dredging equipment would bemounted on one of the narrow boats andthe two men would fill approximately oneboat per day, say thirty tons, then the twowould set off behind the tug for Reading,where the ballast would once again bemanhandled onto the wharf. Jack Garner

told me of some of their exploits. JackJames had the bright idea of seeing whatgravel might be extracted from the RiverLoddon, a tributary of the Thames whichjoins the main river just upstream ofWargrave. The Loddon has never beenofficially navigable, but the two Jacks foundthat they could work some distanceupstream from the confluence with theThames by pulling the boats stern first withthe tug. In this fashion theywereablenearly

to reach theA4BathRoad.Oncewhile theywere working here there was heavy rainandboth rivers hadwhat locals call 'a flush'.The two boats were loaded and the twomen went aboard the tug leaving theirwives to steer the loaded pair. They set offdownstreambut, just as theywere crossingthe Shiplake Weir stream prior to gettinginto Shiplake Lock the Bolinder went out.The whole ensemble began to be sweptdownstream towards the piers of ShiplakeRailway Bridge and the two womenpumped their tillers frantically as the bridgeloomed nearer. They narrowly missed thepierswhile the twohusbandsstruggledwithand cursed at the engine. Finally, justbefore theypassed theGeorge&DragonatWargrave the engine decided to fire and

Jack JamesA serialised biography by David Blagrove - Part 9

River Loddon joining the Thames(Photo: Geograph.org.uk)



they managed to struggle back upstreamtowards Reading. The Loddon episodeendedwhen an irate landowner cameuponJack James happily dredging off hisriparian property early one morning. Thelandowner asked Jack how he had got theboats there and when he explained he wastold that he either ought to be given amedalor a jail sentence. Jack took the hint anddeparted.

Another cargo handled by the partnershipwas scrap metal. In 1925 the GreatWestern Railway rebuilt the bridge acrossthe Thames at Appleford. Jack James’sboats were used to remove the scrapgirders and to take them to a firm of scrapmerchants in Reading called Jacksons. Atthis time a boatyard near Reading Bridgewas building a large wooden pleasuresteamer, Queen of the Thames. This was

the largest wooden steamer ever to be builtfor the Upper Thames and one of thegirders was used to strengthen the newsteamer’s hull. This boat lasted in serviceuntil 1962 and the girder was evident in themain saloon to the very end. In themid-1920s the growth of internalcombustion engines in road vehicles saw

thousands of horses made redundant.Many of these wretched beasts wereslaughtered for pet food and Jacksonsacquired the horseshoes. These they sentto Cohens at Limehouse for export toGermanyandJack’s pairwas themeansbywhich the scrap shoes reached RegentsCanal Dock, as Limehouse Basin was thenknown.Thiswasquite anexperience, sincethe loaded boats had to travel down thetideway from Teddington, their only motivepower being the little tug. The Lighterman’sCompany was jealous of its privileges andinsisted that the boats be crewed by aRegistered Lighterman, but on Chivers’advice the brothers-in-law successfullyclaimed the 'East and Westabout'concession. This little-known right datedfrom Stuart times when London was besetby plague. The bargemen of the 'westcountry' (i.e. from upstream of Staines, theboundary of the City of London’sjurisdiction over the river) continued tobring food and supplies into London whenother workers refused. In thanks for thisservice King Charles II granted the 'westcountry' bargemen the right touse their ownlabour over the City’s waters.

Otherworkundertakenat this time includedcarrying racing shells to the variousregattas held on the Thames, working anarrow boat converted into a houseboatthrough the entire length of the Kennet &Avon Canal as far as Bath, and salvagejobs on the Thames. This last was not overpopular with the wives since they seemedmainly to involve recovering craft late atnight atweekends. Jack James toldme thathe would be employed by establishmentssuch as Skindles Hotel at Maidenhead,then a very fashionable rendezvous for 'the


Shiplake Railway Bridge(Photo: Geograph.org.uk)



fast set' from London. These places oftenhad punts and skiffs which would be hiredout to young bloods, who would pay inadvance plus a hefty deposit for theprivilege. 'Of course' said Jack, 'They’dhave a ‘friend’ wi’ them. Actresses, theycalled ‘em,but I reckon theywasnot exactlyon the stage'. The aforesaid young bloodswould leave the girls to their fate once theyhad had what they wanted and the twoJackswould be deputed to go out after darkwith the tug to recover the abandonedvessels, very often finding a comatose'actress' still aboard. Emma and Milly werehighly suspicious of what went happenedon these occasions, though both thehusbands pleaded innocence.

The ballast work was hit by the financialcrisis of 1931 and other work becameconsiderably scarcer than it haddone in thelatter 1920s. Consequently it seems thatthe partnership began to fall on hard times.Chivers is recordedas having takena smallload of 'sundries' to Newbury in May 1934and as assisting with the passage throughthe whole canal of pleasure steamers:Gaiety in March 1929, en route to

Evesham; Hurley, also en route forEvesham in February 1932 and Jubileefrom Evesham to London in July 1936.

Apart from this he had very little work and agroupofManchester scouts hired his bargeDoris for a holiday travelling fromThatcham, where he moored his barge, toSemington and back in August 1935. JackJamesand JackGarner had little or nothingto do with any of these exploits. Beingbased at a fixed place at least allowed theolder children to attend school at nearbyKatesgrove. Sadly this hard but stableexistence was brought to an abrupt endwhen the solicitor, to whom thepartnership’s affairs were entrusted,defaulted with the financial assets, leavingthe James and Garner families almostdestitute. Being boaters though theymanaged to extricate themselves from thisdistressing situation, but the price was thatJackGarnerwas left with a boat and the tugwhile Jack James returned to Oxford withthe other boat to see what work might beavailable there. Subsequently Jack Garnerwent to work for a firm of contractors inReading and he, Milly and their childrenmoved ashore to a house in nearby UpperCrown Street. The contractors bought thetug and removed the Bolinder.

Although Hubert Hawkins was still inbusiness in Oxford, the trade into Oxford


The London Stone - marking the boundaryof London at Staines (Image: © Spelthorne

Museum)

Skindles Hotel Maidenhead



Basin was visibly flagging by 1938, whenJack James returned. Indeed the CanalCompany was negotiating with Sir WilliamMorris, later Lord Nuffield, over the sale ofthe terminal basin for the site of NuffieldCollege. However a new opportunity arosewith the Grand Union Canal CarryingCompany. ThisCompanyhadbeen formedas a subsidiary of the Grand Union CanalCompany,which in turnwas formed in1929from an amalgamation of older canalcompanies led by the Regents CanalCompany of London. The Grand UnionCompany now controlled a system ofwaterways stretching from Limehouse andBrentford in the south to Birmingham andNottinghamshire in the Midlands and at anearly stage had begun a programme ofmodernisation of boats and waterways as

well as acquiring a number of subsidiarycompanies to deal with varying transportmatters. The Carrying Companyessentially dealt with the narrow boat trafficbetween London and theMidlands and hadexpanded greatly during the 1930s. A halt

to this expansion had had to be called in1937 because the Company wasexperiencing problems in finding sufficientwork and crews for the new boats. Anumber of ex-Number Ones had alreadybeen recruited and so when Jack appliedfor a job he was welcomed with open arms.


County Lock Reading c1910. County Weir isto the left, the lock left of centre and the 'Jacko' Newbury' Stream on the right beyond theguard rails. See p13 of last issue of MM

(Photo: DB)

The Red Wheel

The proposal came up at Friends councilmeeting when discussing a statue inmemory of Jack James. The prices wererocketing and it was suggested that a ‘blueplaque’ would be a suitable alternative butthat these were now not being approveddue to the high cost and the high numbersof suitable people to acknowledge.

It was then suggested that a TransportTrust ‘RedWheel’ might be appropriate sothe Transport Trust were approached.Red Wheels, we were advised, were forengineering excellence and that BlisworthTunnel would be a veryworthy recipient. Ithad been proposed some time ago but forvarious reasons it had not beenprogressed.

It has now been progressed and on 22nd

August it was unveiled; 22nd Augustmarked the 30th Anniversary since thereopening of the tunnel in 1984. The RedWheel is attached to the west-facing wallof the forge at the request of CRT.Permission to place it on the south facingsouthern portal was considered but as it isa Grade II listed structure the west-facingwall of the forge was seen as the bestoption.



Aquarius and Ilford, fully laden with loose loaded coal, with crews Glyn and RosemaryPhillips and Roger and Teresa Fuller graced the Canal Family Festival (Photo: KD)

Holland, Ilford, Aquarius, Sculptor and Southern Cross prior to the Family Festival(Photo: KD)

Canal Family Festival



Kate Saffin entertaining guests alongside Ilford (Photo: LP)


Champagne and strawberries at Hoperidge Cottage courtesy of Roy and Christine Sears(Photo: LP)



Red Wheel event for Blisworth Tunnel

Charlie, kindly provided by the Stoke Bruerne Boat Co, delivering the guests who boarded inBlisworth (Photo: RW)

The Red Wheel showing its position relative to the southern portal of the tunnel (Photo: KD)




The fabulous cake (made locally) to celebrate the Red Wheel event (Photo: KD)

L to R James Clifton (CRT), Lord Leiutenant of Northamptonshire, David Laing, the Hon SirWilliam McAlpine Bt (President of the Transport Trust) and Dr Nigel Crowe (CRT Head of

Heritage) (Photo: KD)




Tunnellers all - L to R John Woods, Roy Slocombe and Colin Mackenzie, who all had animportant part to play in the rebuilding of the tunnel 30 years ago. The photo also shows thereopening sign, beautifully reconditioned by FoCM member Rob Westlake (Photo: MR)

L to R Dr Nigel Crowe (CRT Head of Heritage), Lord Leiutenant of Northamptonshire, DavidLaing and the Hon Sir William McAlpine Bt (President of the Transport Trust) cutting the cake

(Photo: SD)




The Lord Leiutenant of Northamptonshire, David Laing and the Hon Sir William McAlpine Bt(President of the Transport Trust) unveiling the Red Wheel (Photo: SD)

L to R Dr Nigel Crowe, James Clifton, Lady Judy and Sir William McAlpine, Lord LeiutenantDavid Laing, Stuart Wilkinson (Chairman of the Transport Trust) and Peter Stone (Transport

Trust) (Photo: SD)



The Vikings arrive in Stoke Bruerne aboard Sickle (Photo: LP)

Alan and Cath Fincher's Sickle as the Viking boat at the Festival (Photo: DW)




One of the many vintage motorcycles to visit the Museum during the year with Sculptor in thebackground (Photo: KD)

A sight not seen often - Julia Cook's pair of boats (Towcester and Bideford) well ladenapproaching Stoke Bruerne top lock (Photo: KD)

Candid Camera



WORK on completely restoring Sculptorcontinues, largely thanks to Rob Westlake(woodwork and general cabinrefurbishment) and Mike Gardner (engineand electrics, including some very muckywork in the bilges,which are nowclean!). Atthe time of writing the bilge pump, cabinlights and headlamp are now all controlledfrom the steering position and a new fuseboard has been installed. Mike is trying tosource a suitable bulb for the engine roomlight. Rob continues to repair broken shuts,a task not unlike painting the Forth Bridge.Tom Stewart and Richard Cox haveremoved the steel cages from the ballasttanks (which have now been transferred toourAsset List for storagepurposes)and the

back end of the hold is now looking muchtidier. Weather permitting some touching-up of paintwork is due this month and a drydock at Braunston hasbeenbooked for lateSeptember.

Kathryn Dodington meanwhile keeps theworkers provided with sustenance andregularly updates the blog.

Remaining work includes rubbing downand repainting the inside of the hold,repairing the gunwales and making thecabin gunwales and handrails safer for thecrew, completing the repaint of the cabinand renewing the exhaust lagging in theengine room. Much of this should beaccomplished during next autumn, butassistance is always welcome.

This summer the boat has attended theIWARally and theWorking Boat Gatheringat Braunston inMay and June respectively;the Crick Boat Show; the BuckinghamCanal Society's event at Cosgrove and hasundertaken several crew training runslocally. The team consists of all the above-mentioned, plus Steve Dean, Phil Kidd, BillMann and Lorna York and myself and I amhappy to report that the commitment ofeveryone to the cause of restoring the boatto first class working condition remainsundiminished.

We have enjoyed a very useful meetingwith CRT about Sculptor covering suchsubjects as Health and Safety, training,finance, next year’s rallies, proposedwintermaintenance and working with other CRThistoric fleets – a very useful evening.

Sculptor's blog is availabe to view atwww.nbsculptor.blogspot.co.uk

Sculptor (2nd out from the bankside) withfellow historic boats at the Braunston

Historic rally (Photo: KD)

Sculptor UpdateDavid Blagrove





FOR the seventh successive year StokeBruerne is all set to return to the 1940s withthe Village at War Weekend on Saturday13th and Sunday 14th September. Theweekend will kick off early on Fridayevening (12th) for boaterswith the fabulous LolaLamour singing nostalgicsongs of the 40s in TheNavigation pub (tablebooking advised on(01604) 864988) andcontinues with village halltea dances, firepowerdemonstrations andbattles, vintage andmilitary vehicle displays, aBlack Market (get yournylons here!), re-enactments from livinghistory groups such as thePitsford Home Guard,Women’s Land Army, Dogs Army, AlliedAssortment, UKTankClub, Trucks, Troopsand Stores and the Tommy Atkins Societyand in the skies, the Battle of BritainMemorial Flight.

As usual the canal will be full of workingnarrowboatsmany of themdecorated in full1940s style. During the war the canalplayed an important role in transportingessential supplies from the Midlands to theLondon area and, story has it, that part ofour Gold Reserves were shipped from theBank of England to Liverpool during theinvasion scare of 1940. Our own Museumexhibit, Sculptor,moored outside theMuseum was even called into service as a

fire boat in London during the latter part ofthe war.

Mick Butler and his Village at War Teamwould appreciate any help members (or

non-members!) can give with setting up,help over the weekend or taking downafterwards. E-mail the team [email protected] or telephoneMick on (07806) 632798 tooffer assistance (volunteers get freepasses) or just turn up on the day at theControl Point.

The cost of entry is £5 per person + £3 percar for parking. More information can befound on our website atwww.fr iendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk/village-at-war-2014.

Grab your gas masks - Stoke Bruerne is off to war again

The crowds enjoying last year's event (Photo: KD)



Lest We Forget

MONDAY 4th August marked 100 yearssince the declaration of War at the start ofWW1. TheRoyal British Legion suggesteda ‘Lights Out’ event to commemorate thedeclaration of war. We had a lovely smallceremony at the flagpole with the flag athalf-mast andanumberof candlesburning.Both the Spice of Bruerne and the Boat Innhelped by turning out their external lights.We spent a lovely hour in our own thoughtsand looking up at the stars. A very movingexperience.

Financial Matters

THE profit from the Family Festival was£4,098.00.

This quarter we have paid the finalinstalment on the timber for the newbottomfor Sculptor (£2,500.00) and haveadditionally spent £527.62 on parts andequipment, the greater part being onupdating the electrics to conform with BoatSafety Regulations while at the same timepreserving the outward appearance of the1940s.

The finances of The Friends are inreasonable shape and the position, as atthe 5th August 2014, is as follows:

Charity Account: £23,315.95

Company Account: £16,555.72

Business Reserve: £ 1,051.71

Cash in hand: £ 0.00

Total Liquid Assets: £40,923.38

Assets of: £ 4,300.00

Thesum in theTradingCompany'saccountis to cover setting up expenses for theFamily Festival and Village at War eventsand to provide a float. This, plus any profitsfrom theevents,will be returned to themainCharity in the form of a donation from theTrading Company after the eventsconcerned.

David Blagrove, Chairman

FoCM News

The scene at the top lock at 23:00on Monday 4th August (Photo: NH)



I start with an apology because this finalarticle was promised for the previousedition of MM but unexpectedly I wastaken ill so the article did notmaterialise. Thanks to Kathryn forstepping in with a mostinteresting article whichrevealed more on the IdleWomen. Nevertheless duringillness, and at a time of greatneed much was achievedregarding the Sister Maryresearch, in the mainattributed to my receiving avisit to the Black Country byLorna, where she took mymind offmy troubles throughcogitating and contemplatedon the Sister Mary researchwe had arrived at to date.

DuringLorna’s visitwe travelledaround the Black CountryCanal Network (in the car) seeing the ‘Cut’from roadside stops as opposed to boaterviews. Lorna was able to meet my parents(Kath and John), and from a casualconversationwith John the issue of boatersbeing in our familywas raised (news tome).As you can imagine this set Lorna’s cogs inmotion, the outcome of which was awonderful birthday present for my dad, aset of files containing evidence of thefamilies boating heritage, alongwith a handcrafted ‘magnifying glass’ bought fromEBay which Lorna suggested to my son. Iam now proud to announce I am the fourthgeneration on the bank of an ownerboatman family who operated from TheDelph, BrierleyHill in theBlackCountry.My

mom, on talking to Lorna, recalled her firstsecretarial jobbeing locatednext to top lockat The Delph, describing vividly how sheregularly spent time eating lunch with theoffice girls whilst sitting on the balancebeam (also news to me).

My last article promised an explanation ofthe content of the display boards (producedby and referred to internally at theUniversity of Wolverhampton as ZAPboards), delivered to ‘The Friends’ lastEaster, now on display in the educationroom of the museum. Their content wasdelicately mapped out on the floor ofDavid's and Jean’s conservatory using theearly data that had been unearthedregarding Sister Mary’s life. Afterdiscussions with Lorna and Davidregarding the proposed content and layoutof the display boards, I duly returned to theUniversity. More planning and floor workthen took place in my office, and I pressedthe button on my computer, transferring all

Researching Sister MaryDr Della Sadler-Moore

The content being ‘mapped’ on David's and Jean’sconservatory floor (Photo: DSM)



the files to the marketing department. Acouple of weeks then passed and‘magically’ the two display boards arrived.On opening them I recall being ‘thrilled’ soI askedanoffice colleague to takeapicture.

My questions for readers are:

1 Have you seen the display boards?

2 Have you looked closely at them?

I suspectmost people say no to at least oneof these questions, so I would suggest theyare well worth a closer look. Their contentsclearly depict the basis of the Sister Marystory in Stoke Bruerne from which thepending ‘Care on the Cut’ book hasevolved.

The Sister Mary research journey hascontinued.

Since previously reporting on the researchjourney I can confirm we have been toEllesmere Port Waterways Archive, Kew

National Records Office, NorthamptonCentral Library (twice), BirminghamArchive (twice) and on numerousoccasions to Northampton Records Office.Additionally at Stoke Bruerne andBraunston Canal Festival I was able todiscuss Sister Mary with first handrecipients of her care and collegiality. Afterall these visits and data collection I havespent a number of weeks cataloguing andcross referencing the sources ofinformation.

Announcing another ‘canal’ researcheris on board.

We are happy to announce that Chris MJones has joined us in the production of the‘Care on the Cut’ book. Chris is the canalillustrator / artist who does the wonderfulartwork on the front of the quarterlymagazine ‘Narrow Boat’. Chris is also aphenomenal sourceof informationoncanalhistory, a friend of Lorna and an all-roundnice chap. Chris is writing specific sectionsin the book, advising on technical aspectsof boating heritage and producing theillustrations.

The so-called ‘Idle Women’?

Much data has been revealed on thisjourney which links Sister Mary and theGrand Union Canal with the boatwomencrews recruited in World War II. Thissection of the book will be quite interestingto some readers as it re-interprets aspectsof ‘common understanding of thesesomewhat temporary/transient crews’.

In researching the World War II aspect ofSister Mary’s contribution to canal boater’swelfare, I came to ask myself questions


Della with the Sister Mary display(Photo: DSM)



regarding the title ‘Idle Women’. Wheredoes this label come from? Whatspecifically does it mean? At a number ofcanal boat festivals over the last couple ofyears I have heard a variety of renditions tothe public as to the women boaters, so Iwould welcome any theories you have onthese questions before the book ispublished.

Outside ‘expert’ help from within thenursing community.

In a number of previous publications aboutSister Mary it is reported she had one limbshorter than the other, walked with a limpand therefore wore a raised surgical boot.This was confirmed and its cause revealed

whensheappearedonThis isYour Life. Asa result of my Registered Nursebackground and contacts within specialistnurses in Orthopaedics at the University ofWolverhampton, ‘experts’ from the RoyalCollege of Nursing were contacted and arenow advising Lorna and myself regardingSister Mary’s orthopaedic condition,leading us to additional referencematerialspertinent to the years when she underwenttreatment for a limb deformity.

The pending book.

The ‘Care on the Cut’ book is wellunderway, the central focus being thejourney family boaters took fromBirmingham to London and back again,

where they would have passedthrough Stoke Bruerne regularly. TheAmos family, from whom Sister Maryoriginated, had a five generationpresence in Stoke Bruerne from1851to 1968. I leave the rest to yourimagination. This is a fascinatingaccount of one family’s presence, inone village in one county which needsto be told to the current andforthcoming generations. It is anaccount of social mobility, enterprise,caring and working class boaterswhich has not previously been told in asingle and coherent format.

Appeal for additional information.

If anyone feels they would like tocontribute their stories pertaining toStoke Bruerne or their care by SisterMary please contact [email protected].


Handing over the Sister Mary display boards toDavid Blagrove and Lorna York with Sculptor at

Stoke Bruerne (Photo: DSM)



Imoved to theUK just beforeChristmas lastyear with theplanof doing some travel, andgaining experience working in the tourismindustry abroad. After staying with somefriends in Milton Keynes, I was luckyenough to land a rolewith theCanal &RiverTrust. I’ve now been working with Louiseand the team at the Canal Museum foraround three months.

I grew up on arice farm, about30km outside asmall towncalled Leeton inwestern NewSouth Wales,around 750kmwest of Sydney.Leeton is in thecentre of the

’Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area’, where anetwork of thousands of kilometres ofirrigation canals divert water from theMurrumbidgee river to irrigate farmsgrowing rice, cotton,wine grapesand citrusfruit.

The canals I grew up around were certainlydifferent to what you’ll find around StokeBruerne. While you’ll never see a singleboat or lock on the irrigation canals ofhome, I have fond memories spendingsummer swimming in the irrigation canalsand catching yabbies... and trying to stayout of the way of the snakes!

In the mid 1990s the rice industry in Japanexperienced a major supply shortage andJapan started importing Australian rice.

Suddenly our rice farm in the middle ofnowhere was inundated with Japanesestudy groups and educational tours. Mydad started working as a tour guide for theJapanese visitors, and my family hostedcountless homestay groups from Japan.This sparked my interest in the tourismindustry and in the Japanese language andculture.

After graduating High School, I moved tothe city of Albury-Wodonga, on the NewSouthWales-Victoria state border, to studyTourism Management and Japanese atuniversity.

Since university, I’ve spent three yearsteaching English in Japan, andimmediately before relocating to the UK,was working as Tourism DevelopmentCoordinator for theCityofWodongaback inAustralia.

I’menjoyingmy timehere inStokeBruerne,and with Louise, and looking forward toworking on ensuring Stoke Bruerne andThe Canal Museum is appreciated as thebeautiful andhistorically significant site it is.

A new face - welcome to Mat Bradley

The type of canals Mat is used to(Photo: MB)

Mat Bradley(Photo: MB)



RAMPAGING vikings, historic and modelboats, clog andMorris Dancing, displays oftraditional canal crafts, music, theatre, abustling market and much more. Despitethe rain showers our Family Festivalattractedagoodcrowdover theweekendof14-15th June raising a record sum ofbetween £4-4.5k. This year’s festival had areal celebratory feel spurred onenormously by the release of The Queen'sHonours List at midnight on Friday and thewelcome news that our Chairman DavidBlagrove had been awarded a muchdeservedMBE for services to restoration ofthe UK Waterways.

This year’s Festival was more familyorientated than usual featuring a circusworkshop with tuition in juggling, clowningand walking a low wire trapeze as well aspopular games like hook-a-duck and acolouring competition and as a result therewere a lot more children in evidence. Wealso had huge community involvementwithvillage gardens open to the public and lotsof historic and trading boats on the water.Over the weekend quite a few visitors

dropped by including Canal & River TrustCEO Richard Parry who was on hand tocongratulate David on his award; aswell as

Acting SE Waterway Manager Neil Owenand two judges from the Living WaterwaysAwards 2014. Following on from this, weare pleased to be able to report that theFriends have been nominated as one of theFinalists for an award. Read more aboutthis on page 22 of Museum Matters.

The Family Festival Sub-Committee wouldlike to thank all our members (and non-members!) who gave up their time to helpout with the advance planning or on the dayrunningvariousactivities, stalls or carparksand to all the residents of Stoke Bruernewho pitched in to help and put up with extravisitors in the village over the weekend.Weare particularly grateful to all the individualsand businesses who either donatedauction prizes (which raised a whopping£427 on its own!) or made donations backto the event. There are too many of you toname individually, but you know who youare – THANK YOU!

Some rampaging at the Family Festival

Liam Whitby proving that not all Vikings arefrightening (Photo: LP)

There was some rampaging on the canalside(Photo: LP)



WE are pleased to be able to report that the Friends have been nominated as a Finalistin theTourism&Recreationcategoryof theLivingWaterwaysAwards2014 foreight yearsof 'Events' staged in Stoke Bruerne since our founding in 2006, as a direct result of whichwe have now raised a total of over £66,000 towards our work helping to support theMuseum.Theevents includeour annualOpenWeekend/Gala/Family Festival andCarols& Illuminated Boat Parade which have been staged every year since 2006, the Village atWar Weekend which was first held in 2008 and one off fundraising events such as ourOctoberfest, Barn Dance and Auction of Promises.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Armouries, Clarence Dock,Leeds on 24 September 2014 which our Chairman David Blagrove and Mick ButlerChairman of the Village at War Sub-Committee, hope to attend on our behalf. Keep yourfingers crossed!

Living Waterway Awards

Illuminated boats and Christmas Carols (Photo: JR)Village at War (Photo: KD)

Canal FamilyFestival

(Photo: LP)

Friends of The Canal Museum inspired events



The Friends of The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne may not agree with the opinions expressedin this newsletter, but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may beconstrued as policy or an official statement unless so stated. The Friends of The Canal Museumaccept no liability for any matter, errors or omissions contained within this newsletter. We willhowever gladly publish corrections if notified. The Editor reserves the right to shorten or modifyarticles published in the interests of space or clarity.

September-201413th / 14th FoCM Village at War 10:00

18th FoCM Winter Talks 19:30Speaker To be confirmed

20th / 21st Canal Museum Roses and Castles Painting 14:00

October-201416th FoCM Winter Talks 19:30

Speaker To be confirmed

November-2014


27th FoCM AGM at the Museum 19:30

December-20146th FoCM Illuminated Boats and Carols 16:00


January-201515th FoCM Winter Talks 19:30


February-201519th FoCM Winter Talks 19:30


March-201519th FoCM Winter Talks 19:30


Speakers have yet to be confirmed for the winter talks. The Friends website (http://www.friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk) will be updated as speakers confirm theircommitment to present so please kep an eye on The Friends website.

FoCM Diary 2014/15



ChairmanDavid Blagrove(01604) 862174 also member of the Curatorial Group & Trustee

Vice-ChairmanLorna York (Trustee)

TreasurerRick Thake ([email protected])

Minutes SecretaryDenis Atkinson

Membership SecretaryJenny Copeland ([email protected])

Publicity & Website, Grant Funding & AwardsLynda Payton (01604) 861205 ([email protected])

NewsletterKathryn Dodington ([email protected])

Museums & AttractionsPartnershipJohn Alderson

Volunteer Co-ordinatorTrevor Allum

OtherMuseumManager (ex-officio seat)Jenny Copeland (Trustee)Bill Mann (Catering)Michael Butler (Village at War)

Events Sub-CommitteesTrevorAllum,DennisAtkinson,MichaelButler, JennyCopeland,DavidDaines,BillMann,Sandie Morton, Mike Partridge, Lynda Payton, Victoria Powell, Terry Richardson,Graeme Scothern, Louise Stockwin, Laura Sturrock, Rick Thake, Helen Westlake andLiam Whitby.

Non-Council PostsRoger Hasdell Asst Newsletter Editor Laura Sturrock TrusteeTerry Richardson Asst Publicity OfficerBrian Collings Curatorial GroupRose Granaghan Winter Talks Organiser

Photographic Credits

LS Louise Stockwin CRTKD Kathryn Dodington FoCMNH Nigel Heath (www.ShotSport.co.uk)SD Steve Dean FoCMDB David Blagrove FoCMLP Lynda Payton FoCMDW Diane Whitby FoCMJR James Rudd About My Area NN12MB Mat Bradley CRTRW Rob Westlake FoCMMR Malcolm Ranieri Transport Trust

FoCM Council

Documents

Museum Matters August 2014