Wendover Boats 1960’s -70’s

Although I have been down the aisle twice and in total have been married for forty years, I still don’t properly understand the female sex, in fact I don’t think any man really understands women.  I am however after all this exposure to them beginning to pick up on one or two things like when out shopping you hear “those cushions would look nice in our bedroom” really means “ get ready because you’re about to re-decorate the whole bedroom, paper, paint, curtains, carpets etc. etc.  or another example being “ I’ll have to get a new hat if we are going to soandso’s wedding/christening/birthday etc.” really means Get your wallet out boy cause I’m having a new dress, blouse, bra & knickers, coat/jumper/cardigan, shoes and handbag and all to match the new hat.  However I did not see this one coming.  For my birthday earlier this year, Dawn bought me a new computer with wireless keyboard and mouse and a lovely massive flat screen.  A week or so after my birthday I unpacked it all and set about setting it up.  My old computer had been on an a computer desk purchased from somewhere like PC world or Staples, as I put the monitor up on the desk, disaster!, it would not fit, it was too big.  I should have known------ “Don’t worry, we can call over to Ikea tomorrow night and get a new desk”  Not too bad I thought something cheap and cheerful but how wrong I was.  Four weeks later I am putting the finishing touches to our ‘new office. Worktops, cupboards, shelf units, bookcases, desk lamp as well as complete re-paint and rug, that will teach me……….Anyway as a result of this epic saga, I had to empty all my existing draws and cupboards of Junk, as Dawn calls it, and find space for it while the transformation took place.  I stacked all my bits and bobs into another cupboard in the spare bedroom and, as you do, I came across a file I had not looked into for years, in fact I had forgotten all about it.  It contained lots of more canal related ‘junk’ which I amused myself reading such as letters to and from British waterways,  Birmingham & Midland to purchase Linda (Victoria), News letters from the 1960’s – 70’s from Dudley Canal Preservation Society (Dudley Canal Trust) etc. etc. but one small note book took me eye which contained all sorts from the 1960’s newspaper cuttings about canals, a map I drew of Dudley tunnel and a hand written description, along with lots of notes about my purchase and restoration of Large Woolwich butty Bingley.  One thing that did amuse me was this.

When once I did receive confirmation that my bid for butty Bingley had been successful I went down to her to get her ready for bringing back.  This involved taking measurements of various bits that were missing like doors, slide, cross bed table cupboard etc,so I could make temporary ones for the trip.  As you can see from the scan of my notes it is simply a set of directions to get there (pre sat-nav days) nothing unusual there I hear you say but you have to remember I was only 18 at the time and still an apprentice, on apprentices wages and without transport, other than a push bike! And yes I did cycle there, a journey of 100 miles.  What the scanned note says is: 

Little Tring

Tring A41

Aylesbury A41

Bicester A41

Banbury A41

Warwick A41

Birmingham  B'ham New Road

Dudley Port

The rest is a list of things I took with me in an ex-army rucksack:

Bucket

Blowlamp

Tar

Saw

Tape

Pencils & paper

Canvas

Overalls

Parrafin & bottle

Samo's (Sandwiches)

Hammer

Chisel

Handbrush

Squash.

 I set out at about six on the Saturday morning and got there at dinner time,  spent a few of hours on the boat bailing out about two foot of water, measuring up, cleaning out, and then, not willing to face the bike ride back, cycled down to Tring station and travelled back, with my bike in the guards van to Moor Street Station in Birmingham then cycled back home along the Birmingham new main line getting home at about ten in the evening, absolutely shattered.  Another page in this little gem was this one

This was a sketch I made of the boats and their positions up the Wendover Arm ready for the sale by tender in 1971.  And so to the purpose of this evenings blog,  I thought some of you may be interested in the full list of motors and butties that were sold by British Waterways on their 1968 and 1971 tenders.  In 1971 I paid £400 for Bingley (on average selling nowadays for 60 times that) which to me was a fortune and on the 1968 tender, motors Aldgate, Greenlaw, Stratford and my own darling Darley were all sold to Alfred Matty and Sons for £150 each! (on average selling for over 300 times that figure now)

1968 Wendover Sale

Motors:

1 Aldgate                                           (Large Woolwich)

2 Aquarius                                         (Small Woolwich)

3 Ascot                                              (Large Woolwich)

4 Bainton                                            (Large Woolwich)

5 Baldock                                           (Large Woolwich)

6 Bargus                                             (Small Woolwich)

7 Barrow                                            (Large Woolwich)

8 Battersea                                       (Large Woolwich)

9 Beaulieu                                          (Large Woolwich)

10 Bicester                                        (Large Woolwich)

11 Birmingham                                   (Large Woolwich)

12 Bletchley                                       (Large Woolwich)

13 Bognor                                           (Large Woolwich)

14 Comet                                            (Large Woolwich)

15 Darley                                           (Large Woolwich)

16 Elstree                                          (Large Woolwich)

17 Greenlaw                                       (Large Woolwich)

18 Greenock                                       (Large Woolwich)

19  Hampstead                                  (Large Woolwich)

20 Nutfield                                       (Large Northwich)

21 Petrel                                            (Josher)

22 Renfrew                                        (Large Northwich)

23 Shirley                                          (Large Northwich)

24 Stirling                                         (Large Northwich)

25 Stratford                                     (Large Northwich)

26 Towcester                                    (Large Northwich)

Butties:

1 Argo                                                (Small Woolwich)

2 Argus                                              (Small Woolwich)

3 Balham                                            (Large Woolwich)

4 Betelgeuse                                      (Small Woolwich)

5 Brighton                                          (Large Woolwich)

6 Carina                                              (Small Northwich

7 Hyades                                            (Small Woolwich)

8 Moon                                               (Small Woolwich)

9 Puppis                                              (Small Northwich)

10 Titania                                           (Small Woolwich)

11 Vela                                                (Small Woolwich)

1971 Wendover sale

Motors

1 Halsall                                             (Large Woolwich)

2 Tarporley                                        (Large Northwich)

3 Alton                                               (Large Woolwich)

4 Belfast                                            (Large Woolwich)

5 Sudbury                                          (Large Northwich)

6 Coleshill                                          (Large Woolwich)

7 Nuneaton                                        (Large Northwich)

8 Badsey                                            (Large Woolwich)

Butties

1 Satelite                                           (Small Woolwich)

2 Toucan                                            (Small Northwich)

3 Bingley                                            (Large Woolwich)

4 Baildon                                            (Large Woolwich)

5 Alperton                                         (Large Woolwich)

One other butty was on this sale but had no name on it and can’t even remember the type.  Well there you go another load of rubbish and one thing you can say about all these boats was that they had spent a long hard life when they were all shunted up the Wendover Arm and during that time they:

Had banged ‘em about

Blossom.