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Dear Gary
My great grandfather was born in Mirfield in 1847 he was a keel man as was his father before him. I
was born in Sowerby Bridge and went working on the Calder Carrying Company's (the commercial arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation)keels on leaving school in 1945, the last of my family and the
last boy from Sowerby Bridge to do so. During my three years with the CCC I worked on three West Country Keels and one West Country Barge all 57'6"long by 14'2"beam relatively new
and built at Ledgard Bridge. The keels were all clean cargo vessels engaged in carrying wheat, flour,cocoa beans and marablins between Hull and Sowerby Bridge and all the interim C&HN wharves. We
also worked Immingham, Selby, York and Leeds. The keels were named "Sowerby Bridge", "Cooper Bridge" and "Brookfoot". The barge was launched in 1948 and named
"48", she was the first of the open hatch class as portrayed in your photo's eg "Ëthel". With the exception of "Brookfoot" all were powered by 21 hp Lister diesel
engines, "Brookfoot had a 30hp Gardner diesel.The keels were true keels having knightheads, wooden barreled hand spike windlasses, head ledges, coamings,carlings,lutchet and a wooden tiller
stepped underneath the after rail. The skippers I was with were Oliver Carey from Cooper Bridge and Wilf Ransley of Soweby Bridge both members of old keel families. When Hargreaves of Leeds took over
the CCC boats I left and went working on the Trent for a year carring bulk wheat from Hull to Lincoln, Newark, Nottingham and Boston. I then went deep sea and served in New Zealand registered vessels
around the Pacific from 1952 -96 and am now more familiar with Suva than Sowerby Bridge. People from Mirfield that I can recall were Dick Calvert, lock keeper at Shepley Bridge, Willie Hennel and his
brother, Frank Maskill, Bryce Fisher, Wilf Jennings and Brian Hoole, who all worked at Ledgard Bridge dock yard. I also have a photo of the "Sowerby Bridge" the day she was launched if
you're interested I'll send it. Although I've visited Mirfield several times over the years, and as recently as last September in fact, my most endearing memory is the smell of the
maltings as we came up the cutit's something that will stay with me forever. They were very happy days. You've got a great web site, very interesting. To you and yours all the best for the
festive season and I hope I haven't bored you to death
Regards
Gordon Dixon
Otaki, New Zealand
Hi Gary
Thank you for your comments, after I'd sent the email I thought you must think I'm bit of a clown talking about carlings and coamings, but as you're a boatbuilder you know more about them than I do. The
attachment is a photo of the "Sowerby Bridge" the day she was launched in 1945. The gentleman on the tiller is Tommy Carey, the
two stood for'ard are company directors and it is obvious by their physiques that they haven't been affected by war time rationing. This
shot was given to me by the late Reggie Wood a respected authority on inland waterways. He went to school with my parents and I kept in
touch with him up until his death some twenty years ago. As you can see the name Sowerby Bridge has yet to be cut in in white on both bows as the CCC livery required. The time I was there the company
had ten vessels all registered in Hull, they were; "Sowerby Bridge"(Oliver Carey) "Salterhebble"(Bill Bentham) "Elland"(Robert Carey)
"Brookfoot" (Frank Yorkie Donkersly)"Brighouse" (Walt Ransley) "Cooper Bridge" (Wilf Ransley)"Ravensthorpe) (Bill Claxton)" "Horbury" (Douglas Carey) "Frank W"(Ken Kettle) and "Richard
Sugden" (Jim Ransley). The "Richard Sugden was üsed in the coal trade to Brighouse gas works", the others all worked the Humber.
Some of the mates were Dick Ramsden David Sheard and my second cousin Frank Broderick, Dick was from Sowerby Bridge and the other
two from Thornhill. Yes I would love any shots of any keels and if it's possible a register of the vessels built at Ledgard Bridge. By the way
the pencil sketch on page one is a Rochdale canal boat not a keel, have a look at the tiller, rudder head and water barrel.
Regards
Gordon Dixon
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