Springsong

Regarding the wreck at Salhouse, I was always lead to believe it was of WW1 vintage. I have recently been in touch with a chap from Salhouse who reckons she is a WW1 torpedo towing boat, was converted to a private yacht between the wars and was sunk during WW11 to prevent seaplanes landing. By the end of hostilities she was beyond economical repair and was towed to where she now lays to end her days. He says that allegedly when she sunk she had a grand piano on board.

Clive Springsong Nocturn Cassandra were all 1930s Graham Bunn designs the ones Merry wind Pour toi Bubble etc were all later I think Rip Martin designs from the late forties and fifties.I am fairly sure by the time these were built Hagenbach owned Windboats. Brookwind of course is one of the early ones she was the larger version of Springsong and I think since Broadwind was broken up in the eighties she is the last one, at least that I know of.

Hi Clive That would be Nocturn used to be in Ralph Englishs' fleet , she belonged to a friend of mine Guy, he died I believe about five years ago, I lost touch with him whilst away from Norfolk. I have been told he sold her to somewhere in Wales after he stopped living on her, I really must try and find out what happened to him and her. There used to be a few around but there only seems to be Cassandra left now.

Yes Jonny we had two Daschunds over the years this is the 1939 model on board Golden Eagle.

The aerial shot maybe a little difficult for you to replicate Simon, unless you are lucky enough like me to have had an eighty year old flying father. This was taken in 1987/88 the last boat on what was then Peter Mills' moorings was Springsong after which my forum name. We at this time had The Ship just up the road in South Walsham. I have some aerial photos of South Walsham mainly of The Ship, I must look them out and post them up if anyone is interested.Thinking about this my friend still flies a 1940s' piper cub, it saw service in the war as a spotter plane the whole cabin side clips up onto the high wing and the passenger sits in the front a la Tiger Moth, the fuel gauge is a wire on a cork floating in the tank in front of the screen. This plane is beloved of photographers because of its very slow speed flat out at about eighty, so with a good headwind it just about hovvers I remember some odd looks from hire boats we used to hovver over. Sorry went off course a little there. Anyway he did offer to take me up again, that would be something to aim for, if Douglas Bader did why not me. These three pictures were all taken from more or less the same spot in 1959 / 1962 and 1976 little appears to have changed apart from the moorings starting to appear in the 1976 photo.

Lovely period photo Clive, you just don't seem to see those weathered expressive faces anymore, or maybe i don't look. I think I shall move on to Ranworth in the then and nows, everyone appears to love the place, I wonder if because from the staithe you have this wide open vista, which I don't think you get anywhere else from a mooring, at least not of this length. Please correct me if you can think of anywhere else. These three pictures are almost the same taken over a twelve year period from the first in 1959 second the mid fifties and the third in 1947. You will notice the complete lack of moorings to the left of the pictures, I guess these started to appear in the seventies when private craft were starting to increase. Int he fifties and sixties it was quite rare to see a private boat, and generally quite exiting. What we now know as the Island did not exist as a mooring, I don't know when it was developed but I don't seem to recall it in the seventies or early eighties, but someone will put me straight I am sure.

Hi Col Yes to where Happy Jax 11 is mored that is my take on it, I didn't like to say so on open forum but as you have I feel I can. I would say that the quay heading is exactly that dyke. As for the mowing gentleman I would say he is standing on the down river edge of what is now The Vintage Boatyard. This is only part hazy memory part surmise. I cannot recall from those days any activity down river of the boatyard. Please understand that I am not positive about any of these Wayford pictures.

Hi Col Wayford Bridge boatyards, I only have two and they are realy an absence of boatyards rather than the other way about. My Uncle used to have Wayford Marine which later became Bowers Craft and then Windboats I think. This yard I think will be fairly familiar to you, although not from either of these photos. The first one is of Woodpecker being launched in the mid-late fifties I would guess. To the extreme right of the picture one can just see the beginings of a quay headed dyke and at the end of the ways a slipway, now I am guessing but at the opposite end of the ways must be some kind of winding station, to enable them to haul out as well as launch therefor, I think that behind the camera is the boatshed which I think still stands today in more or less its origional form. The second photo is looking down stream from said boatyard towards and past where the huge Wayford Marine Services now stands, the change down this side of the river is quite dramatic, whereas the other side seems to me to be rather shall we say less intrusive. The other two are period pictures of Hunsett Mill taked again probably mid fifties, and that concludes Wayford Bridge and as I said at the beginning less tells its own story.

Sorry Jonny don.t have a single photo of Loddon, mainly north rivers.

I am tired of Horning so if someone would like to suggest somewhere in the north rivers preferably i will se what I can come up with

Labrador you are of course rght on the money, I often wondered about all the yachts on the Ferry moorings in these photos, of course no petrol although it would appear that later in the year they found some because they had Vesta out I imagine in August. Speedwell from memory came from Banhams in Horning, and I believe there are at least two still sailing. A stag week seems to be the order of the day, I guess yachts were too basic for the femails of my family far to delicate. I may as well add these two to fill the page so to speak. Albion entering Horning from the Wroxham direction some time in the late sixties I think, and finally for Horning I think a very changed view looking toward the large house standing on the bank with the little round summerhouse, I always thought was Horning Hall but evidently it is not.

I wasn't born you understand and I can only go by the photos and from what I can remember of faces from later years. I do know from an embroidery that my mother did every year that they (my parents) were on Monach along with my Uncle and Aunt and cousins, I think various friends were on the Vestas. My Father was RAF but never on active service due to TB so I guess his war ended quite quickly, as for all the others I haven't a clue. Looking at the attached embroidery they went twice in 1946 so with Monach being there I guess that would be April, that being when we went in later years. I know I have other photos with three or four Vestas and Vestellas in shot all being in one party.

Going down river to Horning Ferry, I don't regretably have that many of the actual pub, they seem mainly to be of the moorings and the Woodbastwick side of the river. First picture is taken from more or less where all the excavations for Len Funnels' new boatshed is standing and looking toward the pub ie up stream. The thatch barn type building was I think storage for the ferry itself, it being more or less opposite the ferry dock. The dock on the Woodbastwick side still remains at the end of the quay heading. The next picture shows the ferry dock with the ferry man. The dock on the horning side was where that angular point outside the pub is, you boaters must know it, almost impossible to tie up properly on it, and it is always the last spot. Now the next two taken in 1938 just before the war, you have probably seen before I have used them again to illustrate my point for the last picture. Notice how close to the water the buildings are albeit the tiled extension runs off at an angle to the river. Now if you look at the last picture taken in 1946 just after the war, remembering that the pub was bombed, with a loss of 39 lives, the pub does not appear to be there other than what appears to be a gable wall just showing above the trees. I have only recently noticed this so if anyone cleverer than I can clean it up to give a definitive answer I would be most interested. I have never seen a picture of a result of the bombing only the much photographed end rebuilt result, and of course the post fire result we know today.

There hasn’t been a huge amount to report over the last couple of weeks the November weather has been against us. Today we have been down and the aft cockpit is starting to take shape, the frames are made now for both sides and across the stern, they are faced with ply, which as yet is not fastened because it will have to be remove again to allow the copper nails to be hammered over, and the bilges to be primed and painted. All this ply and both sides of the bulkhead will be covered in hardwood tongue and groove and the locker tops/steps will have varnished sapele. These are the doors which we are going to restore, there is some talk of putting some windows in but we have not yet come to a decision. This is the last but one plank to go in the bottom on the port side, which when complete will allow us to finish the aft well and also to make a start on the galley frame work.

Hi Sue That would be fine you certainly can print them off, and thanks for asking Jonny if you click on the photos I am sure you know they enlarge, so if you look at the 1952 picture you will see the single story extension becomes two story in 1958 and a huge picture window in the eigties that we know today. If you look at the older black and whites you will notice two arches either side of the front door, then if you look at the Jimbo doppleganger you can see the arches have been replaced with pillars, which I think I am right have been filled in and incorporated into the main bar room thus extending it. I have to confess it has taken me a while to work all this out, my powers of observation have always been c p.

N N you are absolutely right Bullards it was if you look at the third picture down you can see on the sign. I think I will just move down just a little to the staithe and see how that might have changed. Not really the staithe but Lower Street is the reason for the staithe, not changed hugely but notice right at the far end the petrol pump on the road side, I would love to see the expression on a modern day H&S bod if he saw that, probably close Horning. The first photo was taken in the early eighties you can just see Cissy Lants cottage on the right of the picture, now of course the Willow and wotsit, sorry age just taken over and forgotten the other bit, but the food is very good there. I would say except for the parking and the electric pylon little has changed, oh and posts instead of rings to tie to. 1962 The staithe the road way doesn't appear to be made up, and you can what I mean about no posts. The Swan has yet to have it's alterations. Still 1962 but technically not the staithe, We are stood on Banhams front looking toward the staithe, the left hand side of the river has changed the most with all the moorings that are now there. Here is Cissy Lants shop which I think stands pretty well unaltered today. There are some more of this area if you would like to see them just say so.

Simon He has been around a VERY long time they tell me. He does have a copy of said picture.

The Swan Hotel over the time it has stood looking up the Bure has really changed very little although all around it has changed dramatically. The first picture is taken probably from the staithe rather than the Swan moorings. The large thatched building was Southgates Main Yard and stood where the (new) houses with moorings now stand. The HSC is just out of shot to the right. Please forgive my small older brother, he has not changed at all in the intervening years, still playing the fool, bless The only difference between the next four photos I think is the white building to the left more or less where the NBN awards were held is missing in the 80s picture. I always remember the Swan as rather a dour place and it has taken many years to shake that feeling. Stupid boy I have just remembered that in the 60s they altered the ground floor frontage to what it is in the 80s photo, of course it has again changed with the latest revamp. Interesting

OK here we go in no particular order Horning through the years, in reverse order last picture first. Firstly looking towards the mill holiday home on the bend before the Ferry Inn. Notice the complete lack of buildings. The photographer was almost certainly standing on the end of the piece of land that Chumley & Hawkes houseboats were moored on, see next photo. Twenty years later 1958 these are the house boats I refered to before, so the previous photo was taken from roughly where the fisherman is standing but looking to YOUR right. Spud bashing 1938 style, on the roof of Mermaid the house boat, some things don't change much do they. This is loking towards Horning village, in fact probably taken from the same spot as the first one but facing the other way. The second dyke behind him is the one that nowdays has the fellow who makes covers and the boat sales at its end. This next one is agaoin standing in more or less the same place but looking up river towards the village, the cruiser moored on the far bank is pretty well opposite the house called Langton and where they are or have been building that new house. finally or firstly whichever you prefer this from 1963 shows Aviemore in the dyke in question, now that has changed and in my opinion quite definitely for the worse, progress ?

OK I will start posting. I shall start with Horning

Thanks Jonny Simon I have literally hundreds of photos of the Broads from 1928 through to the present day, although the seventies are not represented. If you are going to go out and about by car camera in hand do let me know and we can meet, secondly I guess some kind of directional plan would be needed, so if you could let me know where you are going I could bring the origional photo with me for reference. The only problem I can forsee is that many were taken from a boat, I don't have one and I believe you are also boatless at present. What say you. Some to be going on with.

Sorry Jonny Labrador already had it with Chumley and Hawkes. I did actually post before so somewhere in cyber space is etc. The clue was obviously too easy for him, but well done Labrador

Labrador you are getting warmer. Big clue.

Sorry got carried away with other things. Jonny, Col you are ......................................... both .......................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................ WRONG Would you like a clue ?

Thank you