London & Thames Maritime Heritage:
The story of London Dockland and the River Thames is a facinating one which has been recorded for posterity in a variety of ways.
There are several good movie clips dating from the 1920's to 1970's which show tugs and other craft at work on the water. Some highlight the stevedores and dockers on the quaysides and in warehouses and illustrate the huge variety of cargoes that were once handled, coming in from and going out to all parts of the World.
Most can be viewed for free on the British Pathe News web site, by typing keywords such as 'London Docks, Thames, Ships, Tugs' etc into the search box:
http://www.britishpathe.com/
This film footage shows the Brent (we think!) at work and appears 27 seconds in from the start:
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/river-transport/query/thames
This fantastic colour footage dates from 1935 and shows a wonderful variety of ships, boats, sailing barges, lighters and tugs at work along the Thames. From upstream at Richmond down to the Dockland areas and lower reaches off of Gravesend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NObu5VXfTVI
The men who worked on the River and in Dockland had many talents, in Lighterage and towage especially. This film shows one of the last barge driving men, who could maneuver them under oars single handed on the tideway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YUQkQ_TOUM&feature=youtu.be
Brent was built for the War effort and this film shows how the London Docks prepared for the risk of attack and damage in 1940:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRF_LO5oBLY
Queenie Watts was a television and film actress, singer and an Eastend celebrity. This evocative footage of her on the Isle of Dogs, shows Brents sister tug Dollar Bay at work as well as Docklands life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39_XZjwhrNQ
The handling of shipping by tugs and the art of towage was not without risk and accidents did occour. This film of the sinking of the S.T Cervia shows an extreme case. The vessel was subsequently raised and after many years work in London, is now preserved in Ramsgate:
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/6-drown-in-tug-disaster/query/cervia
The Museum of Docklands is a wonderful free exhibition covering all aspects of Dockland history, working life and subsequent re-development. It has a fine collection of objects, models, memorabilia, pictures and photos.
It also has an extensive archives collection and research centre:
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands/
The PortCities web pages allows the user to view the maritime history of London from the Roman era to the present day and covers all aspects of its history and development:
http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/nav.001
The Port of London Authority who owned the Brent was established in 1909 to take responsibilty for the Tidal Thames and enclosed dock systems and their management, a role which it continues to this day. Their webpages have a good history section:
http://www.pla.co.uk/
The Docklands History Group makes studies of the Port of London and Tidal Thames, with monthly meetings, talks and published proceedings:
http://www.docklandshistorygroup.org.uk/
The Liquid Highway Facebook pages charts anything of interest relating to river traffic both past and present on the Thames. It has an exstensive photo library collection and is good for finding out what is happening on a daily basis:
www.facebook.com/liquidhighway/
The excellent Thames Tug and Lighterage website devoted to the history of tugs and towage on the River Thames and London Docks can be found at:
http://www.thamestugs.co.uk/
The National Historic Ships Register includes all vessels which are considered to be of historical importance in the U.K. It is a comprehensive list detailing almost every type of vessel known to survive, including all those powered by steam and aims to provide help and advice to historic vessel owners, their operators, grant making trusts, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Government:
http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/
There are several good movie clips dating from the 1920's to 1970's which show tugs and other craft at work on the water. Some highlight the stevedores and dockers on the quaysides and in warehouses and illustrate the huge variety of cargoes that were once handled, coming in from and going out to all parts of the World.
Most can be viewed for free on the British Pathe News web site, by typing keywords such as 'London Docks, Thames, Ships, Tugs' etc into the search box:
http://www.britishpathe.com/
This film footage shows the Brent (we think!) at work and appears 27 seconds in from the start:
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/river-transport/query/thames
This fantastic colour footage dates from 1935 and shows a wonderful variety of ships, boats, sailing barges, lighters and tugs at work along the Thames. From upstream at Richmond down to the Dockland areas and lower reaches off of Gravesend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NObu5VXfTVI
The men who worked on the River and in Dockland had many talents, in Lighterage and towage especially. This film shows one of the last barge driving men, who could maneuver them under oars single handed on the tideway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YUQkQ_TOUM&feature=youtu.be
Brent was built for the War effort and this film shows how the London Docks prepared for the risk of attack and damage in 1940:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRF_LO5oBLY
Queenie Watts was a television and film actress, singer and an Eastend celebrity. This evocative footage of her on the Isle of Dogs, shows Brents sister tug Dollar Bay at work as well as Docklands life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39_XZjwhrNQ
The handling of shipping by tugs and the art of towage was not without risk and accidents did occour. This film of the sinking of the S.T Cervia shows an extreme case. The vessel was subsequently raised and after many years work in London, is now preserved in Ramsgate:
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/6-drown-in-tug-disaster/query/cervia
The Museum of Docklands is a wonderful free exhibition covering all aspects of Dockland history, working life and subsequent re-development. It has a fine collection of objects, models, memorabilia, pictures and photos.
It also has an extensive archives collection and research centre:
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands/
The PortCities web pages allows the user to view the maritime history of London from the Roman era to the present day and covers all aspects of its history and development:
http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/nav.001
The Port of London Authority who owned the Brent was established in 1909 to take responsibilty for the Tidal Thames and enclosed dock systems and their management, a role which it continues to this day. Their webpages have a good history section:
http://www.pla.co.uk/
The Docklands History Group makes studies of the Port of London and Tidal Thames, with monthly meetings, talks and published proceedings:
http://www.docklandshistorygroup.org.uk/
The Liquid Highway Facebook pages charts anything of interest relating to river traffic both past and present on the Thames. It has an exstensive photo library collection and is good for finding out what is happening on a daily basis:
www.facebook.com/liquidhighway/
The excellent Thames Tug and Lighterage website devoted to the history of tugs and towage on the River Thames and London Docks can be found at:
http://www.thamestugs.co.uk/
The National Historic Ships Register includes all vessels which are considered to be of historical importance in the U.K. It is a comprehensive list detailing almost every type of vessel known to survive, including all those powered by steam and aims to provide help and advice to historic vessel owners, their operators, grant making trusts, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Government:
http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/
The Maritime Heritage Trust aims to represent and promote the interests of owners and operators of traditional and historic vessels at all levels of government.
Also the Trust wishes to increase public interest and support for maritime heritage, which in turn will raise awareness of its cultural importance and have wider benefits for economic drivers such as employment, education and tourism:
http://www.maritimeheritage.org.uk/
The Association of British Transport Museums acts as a forum for all of those involved with the preservation of transport related artefacts, objects, vehicles or vessels:
http://www.abtem.co.uk/index.html
BESTT or Boiler & Engineering Skills Training Trust is a partnership of steam heritage organisations representing railways, ships and traction engines and is developing a range of training courses for young people on; boiler repair, maintenance and the mechanical overhaul of steam engines.
http://www.bestt.org.uk/