CRSC members gathered at Glasgow’s Maldron Hotel on Wednesday 13 November to welcome a speaker from a faraway land; well just Bristol, actually. Mike Tedstone is well known to the club, both as a regular visitor to us and as an author of several books on his chosen topic: ‘Balmoral and the Bristol Channel’ and ‘The Barry Railway Steamers’ to name but two. Stuart Craig gives his appraisal of the proceedings.
Mike evidently knows the White Funnel Fleet of the Bristol Channel, and their link to the railway, intimately, as he worked in management for South-east Railways, Railtrack and then Network Rail.
During the course of his career he became well acquainted with the much-loved ‘steamer’ Balmoral. [editorial pause here: oh to have her back up here again for a wee sail on our west coast…]
Mike’s presentation was based around the six Bristol Channel paddle-steamers that had all survived war service – five of them having been built on the Clyde.
The six steamers were: Ravenswood (1891), Britannia (1896), Glen Usk (1914), Glen Gower (1922), Cardiff Queen (1947) and Bristol Queen (1951). His talk was illustrated by, mostly, black and white restored images from photographer Norman Bird. Mike gave a concise account of each of these fine paddle-steamers and for each image explained where the pictures were taken. Because of the high tidal range on the Bristol Channel many of the photographs had been taken from piers that towered above the departing steamer, giving them the appearance of having been taken by a drone – many decades before drones were invented.
Laid up and facing an uncertain future, Cardiff Queen lies alongside Bristol Queen at the very end of 1966
Here are some factoids that Mike highlighted for us. Ravenswood served for over 60 years, giving her farewell cruise in September 1951. Glen Usk and Glen Gower were built at Ailsa of Troon. The former could take 1700 passengers, and the latter took so long to complete that there were complaints about her delay into service – something that sounds strangely familiar! Bristol Queen was usually to be found on the service between Bristol and Illfracombe but had to adjust her timetable daily to suit the tides, and as we all know the second highest tidal range in the world is in the Bristol Channel. Sometimes she would take scheduled sailings at 4am, when she could reach the piers. My favourite picture was of a special event aboard Bristol Queen with Shirley Bassey belting out a song, her mouth almost as wide as the ship’s deck ventilators!
The magnificent Glen Usk of 1914, which could carry over 1700 passengers, seen in July 1952
Before her rise to fame, Shirley Bassey “belting out a song” on board Bristol Queen in 1956
Moving on – I’m sure many of Mike’s audience did not know that Cardiff Queen was built as a close copy of the Clyde steamer twins PS Jupiter and Juno, indeed she was also built on the Clyde, at Fairfield’s. It was also noted, by a few in the audience, that all six steamers had open bridges. It was suggested that this was to aid navigation in the steep confines of the upper channel.
Mike’s talk was of great interest and the pictures he had chosen to show us perfectly illustrated and enhanced his presentation. Poignantly he showed a photo from 1966 of the two Queens together – their last meeting, both were gone within a year of each other, which sadly demonstrated that it was not just the Clyde that lost its great ships during this period. Thankfully Waverley still beats around the Bristol Channel each year.
It was very kind of Mike to travel north to entertain and inform us last Wednesday. He is a jolly decent chap who really knows his subject. Thank you.
When you start the video, please click the box on the lower lefthand side to get the full screen version.
Thanks to David Cherry and Robert Newth for video production.
CRSC is an association of friendly enthusiasts united by the quest to ‘meet together, sail together and talk together’, mainly on the west of Scotland — but many members hail from further afield, as this report demonstrates. If you join us, you’ll receive copies of our much-prized west coast shipping Review and annual magazine, as well as access to a huge library of archive photos in the ‘Members Only’ section of this website. We gather for meetings and cruises throughout the year. To join us, click here.
Published on 18 November 2024