October 2015 - Cruising down the Thames
Members of the Horndean & District U3A met for their regular monthly meeting on Friday 2nd October. From their seats in Merchistoun Hall they were transported via a virtual cruise down the river Thames by Dave Allport.
Dave is a particular favourite with our U3A having given several talks in the recent past. He started this talk way back in the year 1592 telling us about the ferry which ran from Gravesend to London. It was cheap and regular but had to be shared with livestock! The Thames is 215 miles long, passes through eight counties from Gloucestershire to Kent and has 200 bridges. Then he told us about the four Maunsell forts which were commissioned in 1942 for the Navy, followed by three Army forts. During WWII they shot down 22 aircraft and 30 flying bombs. They were de-commissioned in the 1950's and have since been used as a pirate radio station and been featured in Dr Who and Danger Man films.
Then we heard about the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery, which sunk with 1400 tonnes of ammunition on board. Hence the large exclusion zone because the ammunition is still in it! Tilbury docks came next on the tour having been commissioned in 1886 and were modern for the age. Imports such as Madeira, chutney and sausage skins came in there. Nowadays Tilbury is one of the largest container ports in the UK and handles 12.5 million tonnes of cargo each year, delivered by some 3000 ships. We were reminded about the migrants who left from here - the £10 Poms and the Jamaicans who arrived in 1948.
We then passed by the Royal Albert docks from where the Mauritania made her maiden voyage. The area suffered 57 consecutive nights of bombing in the blitz, which destroyed, among many other buildings, a sugar and a gin factory, which caused the river to run blue! Then under the Queen Elizabeth bridge at Dartford which is only the second bridge built over the river in the past 100 years, downstream of Central London to be opened since Tower Bridge in 1894.Then came the Thames Barrier, Emirates air line experience (cable car), Millennium Dome, Greenwich, Cutty Sark, Blackwall tunnel, Docklands and Canary Wharf yesteryear and today. We were reminded of the London smog and hanging Judge Jefferys who sentenced people to be hanged for their non-Catholic faith.
Then we passed St Catherine's dock, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, HMS Belfast, the Shard and heard about "Sin City" a den of iniquity in 14th century London and Tyburn where there were 12 hanging days a year with some 300 people hanged each year. Finally, we came to London Bridge, which was originally built in 1209, took 33 years to build and was demolished in 1831. It was rebuilt late 1800's and was sold to an American in 1968 and shipped to the States where it resides today in Lake Havasu City Arizona In 1973 a new bridge was built.
Of course, Dave treated us to many anecdotes and stories about these fascinating places and had us enthralled throughout his talk. This was part one...we cannot wait for part two!
Diane Stoner, Speaker Coordinator