with
special thanks to.... John Wraight and Barry Jackson for their
contributions,
The massive flooding of Whitstable in 1953 had
serious consequences for many aspects of town life as recorded in
our Flood
Feature pages. On this page, we confine ourselves to
collecting flood stories involving local Thames barges.
Kathleen on the
Slip
The Kathleen is one the town's most fondly
remembered barges and her exploits have given rise to a book
or two. After all she was.... sunk in 1923.... converted to
an auxiliary in 1945... turned into a full motor barge in 1954...
re-rigged as a barge yacht in 1965.... occupied as a houseboat in
Holland in the 1970s..... and finally hulked near Spaarndam. Her
ship's wheel made it back to UK and now serves as the symbol for
Chaffcutter Books.
With a history like that, the Kathleen was hardly
likely to miss out on the fun of a flood.... and she didn't....
which is why the picture below has a somewhat odd look about it. John Wraight explains.....
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At
the time of the 1953 flood, Kathleen was on the
slip of the Anderson, Rigden and Perkins yard,
Island Wall. She was washed up..... and
demolished the shipyard building and slipway!
Photo supplied by John Wraight
A temporary slipway was built under her and she
was launched back into the sea..... sideways."
John Wraight
Australia |
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to Thames Barge Menu page: 
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