[danube4]

London Thames Workers (Karbine)

Hi Karbine. I worked for Tilbury Dredging Co, late 1950s. I was a decky on Danube4 tug. We took dummy hoppers from bucket dredgers in docks, to dumping grounds near the Tongue Lightship. Round trip 12 hours. Photo, colours fading with age. On the way out with hopper Bow creek in tow.
All the best. Barney.

 

[danube4]

Hi Oldbosun. What type dredgers were you on. I suppose you worked Bucket and suction dredgers. On the Thames i just worked on the tugs, towing the hoppers to the Barrow Deep, If my memory is right, up by Tongue Lightship. I worked on most type of M.D.& H.B vessels on river Mersey early 50s.: bucket dredger, Hoppers, floating crane. tug. Longest time 14months on big suction dredgers in river and Queens channel. SPD Hoyle and SPD Leviathan.

 

[danube4]

I spent five days trying to deliver twenty tons of paper at Tilbury dock around 1970. Arrive at dock 0600 join queue o lorrys. Book in when office opened. About 1130 Checker would come round, count so many vehicles to stay, and signe your notes and tell you to come back tomorrow. This used to happen every day. About 1530 checker would come again, count the vehicles, keep so many to last untill 1900. There over time and send the rest away. They would usually be finnished by 1830 and go home. They would unload nearly as many vehicles in there over time as they did all day. I was in and out of docks all over the courntry, i never saw a docker do a hard or full days work. The dockers down the ships holds worked hard, they where about the only ones. Liverpool. London and Tilbury were the worst. Felixstow dockers could do more in three days than the other three would do in a week. Barney.

 

[danube4]

Hi Karbine. Scroll up to page 2. Pic of tug Danube4 towing hopper Bow Creek.
Barney.

 

[danube4]

London thames workers

Karbine, check all pages on this thread.
Barney.

 

[danube4]

Karbine, look at your first anouncement when you opend this thread, 30th oct, along that line on the right you will see a one. Go down one to 8th feb. click thumb nail
Barney.