Month: December 2008

Cockleshell Hero canoes at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall

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A new National Maritime Museum Cornwall display explores the evolution of fighting canoes used by the British in World War II.

The oldest canoe in the collection, the Mark II, was made famous by Operation Frankton in December 1942, which was the basis for the film The Cockleshell Heroes.

The real Cockleshell Heroes were Royal Marine Commandos, who got their nickname from the canoes that they used, which were known as cockles. They were difficult to spot at night  and easy to hide, launch attacks and seek out suitable landing places, and could even be used to and could be used to land and collect secret agents. Collapsible types could be carried and launched from submarines.

A brief description of the raid and a collection of relevant links appears at the Wikipedia.

I should explain that much of the information now available and some of the artifacts on show is available thanks to the painstaking research work of  Quentin Rees, who has recently published a book on the topic: The Cockleshell Canoes: British Military Canoes of World War Two.

The exhibition, which runs until the 26th April 2009, includes two other canoes in the exhibition are built of aluminium for use in the tropics, and the display is said to bring together three of the rarest military canoes of the time.

Boxing Day at Rye Harbour

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Old beach boat at Rye Harbour. Click on the thumbnails for much
larger photographs

It’s almost a tradition in our house to take a trip down to Rye Harbour on Boxing Day, if the weather’s bright and clear – see this post from the same day last year. This time Julie’s cold and my injured right Achille’s heel prevented us walking very far, but I did manage to grab a few shots.

A nice bonus was that the pub has this photo including  singer, fisherman and ferryman Johnny Doughty on its wall. Johnny died in the mid-1980s,  but although the publican couldn’t say who was in the picture, I was pleased to find there were still people in the bar who remembered the old fella living in the hamlet and singing in the pub.

There are more photos of the old boy and the ferry, and a host of great images of local beach boats being used and built at the  Rye Harbour website – just enter the terms ‘Doughty’ and ‘boat’ in the search gizmo to find them.

Some time ago I put up a post some time ago explaining the story behind one of the songs most closely associated with Johnny, The Wreck of the Northfleet.

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Above left: the channel to the sea.  I suppose there’s not much call for pilotage
services when the tide’s low. Above right: the River Brede

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Motor launch at a boatyard near Rye. It’s interesting to compare this motor launch
with the one shown in this post

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Can anyone tell us something about this mysterious and interesting boat? Whoever designed it knew where a little extra standing room would cause the least harm to the boat’s sailing qualities

NMMC photographic exhibition of working Newlyn fishermen

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barrie-gutting-monkfish-on-pz198 Newlyn: Fishing for a Living

Sample images from Newlyn: Fishing for a Living – click on the
thumbnails for much larger images

A dramatic National Maritime Museum Cornwall exhibition by photo journalist Vince Bevan explores the working lives of fishermen at the port of Newlyn, Cornwall, from January 7th.

The images taken from a photo essay titled Newlyn: Fishing for a Living provide an insight into the highs and lows of contemporary fishing life, and echo the work of the Newlyn School artists, who depicted the harsh realities of life in this Cornish port at the end of the 19th century.

‘With rising fuel cost and the restrictive quotas placed on fishermen it seems as though every other day we read about the pressures faced by fishing communities,’ says Bevan. ‘These photographs portray a way of life that is increasingly under threat.’

Newlyn is the largest fishing port in England and has a strong and proud community, supplying livelihoods to many who are fiercely loyal to their profession; however, commercial fishing is still one of the country’s most dangerous industries, and even with modern boats and equipment serious injury and loss of life are common, and vessels are regularly lost.

The exhibition is supported by the Arts Council England.