Tag: History

Sailing barge Westmoreland returns to Lower Halstow – and needs funds

Westmoreland returns to Lower Halstow

This may not look like much to most folks – but it shows the brickie barge Westmoreland returning to Lower Halstow a few days ago.

The next step in bringing her back to life is to put in a bid for a Heritage Lottery grant – but in the meantime the trust looking after her could do with some donations to help pay for towing her to her new berth, and the insurance the job required.

Built in 1900 in Conyer (just a few creeks away off the Swale), the sailing barge worked from Lower Halstow for 60 years, taking bricks up to London. She’s also Kent’s last brickie barge – generally small barges these were built specifically for the job.

The aim of the Westmoreland Trust Community Interest Company is to restore the barge and to use her to tell the story of the brickfields and barges that carried the bricks used to build London.

Read more about the SB Westmoreland here and here.

Wonderful old photos from the Museum of Ireland Flickr

These fabulous historical shots come from the National Library of Ireland on The Commons – a collection that’s well worth a bit of time, and not just for the boat and sea related shots.

See also:

And this set:

A history of the naval toast

A willing foe and searoom

This is well worth reading, and something of a window into the non-politically correct, not to say disgraceful minds of young naval officers of years gone by. Here’s a short sample:

‘It was common that the Loyal Toast be followed at mess dinners by several toasts that had to be formalized and used on a rotating basis, a separate naval toast for each day of the week:

‘On Sunday “To Absent Friends!”, on Monday “To Our Ships at Sea!”,
‘On Tuesday “To Our Men!”, and on Wednesday “To Ourselves!”
‘On Thursday “To A Bloody War or A Sickly Season!”
‘On Friday “To A Willing Foe and Sea Room!”
‘And on Saturday “To Sweethearts and Wives!”‘

They reveal a surprising – to me – interest in having a fight, partly because the British Navy generally expected to win and partly because a good battle could lead to deaths and sickness, which would in turn lead to promotions for some of the younger officers and crew.

And I gather that the toast ‘To Sweethearts and Wives!’ traditionally prompted the scurrilous response ‘May they never meet!’.

PS – I’ve just noticed we’ve just passed 4m hits. Here’s to the next million…