Dr Joe McKendrick Collection


Joe McKendrickCRSC has been gifted more than 3,000 digitised images from the slide collection of the late Dr Joe McKendrick, a former president of the Club who played a crucial role in Waverley’s survival in the preservation era.

A selection of the best images will be published over a period of time on this website and in CRSC publications, and will also be used at Club meetings in Glasgow. They include some beautiful shots from the 1960s and 1970s, documenting a long-lost era of steamer activity on the west coast of Scotland, as well as a wide range of Waverley portraits, covering her travels round the British Isles.

The decision to give the collection to CRSC was taken by the executors of Joe’s estate, and the slides were digitised by Richard Danielson, one of his longstanding friends. They demonstrate the breadth of Joe’s shipping interests as well as the quality of his photography.

Joe McKendrick on Uganda in 1986

Joe in 1986

Born on 16 April 1949, Joe first became interested in steam power through his father who was a railway enthusiast. Visits to an uncle living in Kirn stirred Joe’s interest in Clyde steamers and, once he was able to travel by himself, he would arrange his visits to Kirn to sail on members of the Clyde fleet that interested him.

Joe was a graduate of Glasgow University, where he also studied for a doctorate in organic chemistry. In 1974 he joined the staff of Glasgow’s Jordanhill School, remaining there for 35 years as a chemistry teacher, latterly also as principal teacher of guidance and pastoral care. He was known affectionately by pupils as ‘Dr Joe’.

But his work for Waverley gave him a much wider reputation. He was an active participant in the preservation cause from the late 1970s, becoming one of a small team who helped to keep the paddler going during good times and bad. As a long-serving trustee and director of Waverley Steam Navigation Company and its operational subsidiary, Waverley Excursions Ltd, he played an important behind-the-scenes role, bringing practical good sense to board meetings and showing a dedication to the cause that inspired others.

Over many years Joe was closely associated with the ship’s shop, which he developed into a valuable source of income.

He also played an active part in the work of the Blairmore Pier Trust and the Kingswear Castle Trust. He was CRSC president for the 1991-2 session. Joe died on 13 August 2012 aged 63.

Photographs of Joe McKendrick are reproduced courtesy of Deryk Docherty and Richard Danielson.

Jim McFadzean and Joe McKendrick

Joe (right) with Waverley purser Jim McFadzean on the south coast c2009

Waverley at Lundy 20 June 1982

Waverley at Lundy on 20 June 1982. The paddler has been a regular caller at the island during her Bristol Channel visits, anchoring in the bay until the building of a pier in 1999 — copyright photo CRSC Dr Joe McKendrick Collection

Duchess of Hamilton at Bridge Wharf in July 1969

Duchess of Hamilton canting at Bridge Wharf, Glasgow, in July 1969, with the Kingston Bridge in the final stages of construction downriver — copyright photo CRSC Dr Joe McKendrick Collection

Queen Mary II with Claymore and King George V in the East India Harbour, Greenock, in the autumn of 1982 -- copyright photo CRSC Joe McKendrick Collection

Queen Mary II manoeuvring astern towards her winter berth in the East India Harbour, Greenock, in October 1972, with Claymore and King George V also in the picture — copyright photo CRSC Dr Joe McKendrick Collection

Joe McKendrick in the Waverley shop

Joe McKendrick showed a rare dedication to the Waverley cause. He was instrumental in developing the commercial potential of the onboard shop, where he is pictured in a photo from the early preservation era

Published on 2 July 2016