Recent content by gavros

Early Day Motion for the Thames Ironworks Heritage Trust Jim Fitzpatrick, MP for Poplar and Limehouse, has been a strong supporter of the Thames Ironworks Heritage Trust from day 1. He this week tabled an Early Day Motion supporting our cause in Parliament. If you can, please do your best to...

The Thames Ironworks Heritage Trust Press Release The Thames Ironworks Heritage Trust launched today following the return of the first of its historic lifeboats to east London. The lifeboat will be received at a reception at the Trust’s new temporary...

Had some really good meetings the past couple of weeks. I hope to be able to announce soon the date for the return of the first of the Thames Ironworks boats to London. Meanwhile, here's some more history: Churchill and the end of the Thames Ironworks Winston Churchill became First Lord of...

Frederick Kitchen – our latest acquisition We have added ON 621 Frederick Kitchen to our fleet for restoration. Built by Thames Ironworks in 1912 at cost of £3727, she is one of only four 43 feet Watson-class motor lifeboats built by the company. She had a fine record of service with the RNLI...

This is the RNLI John Ryburn, built by the Thames Ironworks in 1908 and stationed at Stronsay and Peterhead during a career which saw her save 168 lives. Since the early 80s she's been used as a motor cruiser by her owner in Caernarfon under a pseudonym, but having heard about the Trust, he is...

The Gandhi connection Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Independence movement in India and widely considered to be the Father of the Nation, moved to London in 1888 to study law. As a vegetarian himself, he was drawn into the London Vegetarian Society, whose headquarters on Farringdon Street was...

This interview with Ian, the Trust's Secretary, is an excellent round up of what we're trying to achieve http://radiopetedotorg.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/nusound-radio-92fm-120913-thames-ironworks-trust.mp3

Proof that Scotland Wales and Ireland never existed before the 20th century.

Thames Ironworks' Annual Report for 1900 provides a charming insight into the company's relationship with the RNLI. The Ironworks was the sole provider of lifeboats between 1895 and it's closure in 1912, thanks to the build quality of their boats. It goes on: "while building monster...

How east London became a titan of industrial Britain The Coat of Arms of the County Borough of West Ham underscores the importance of the Thames Ironworks and wider manufacturing industry to east London. The Metropolitan Building Act of 1844 was one of the defining events in the history of...

Quick update: we have been in meetings with a number of largely acronym-based organisations, and while we cant at the moment relate what's been said, it's looking very positive indeed. Hope to fill you in with something more solid soon. This in the meantime may pique your interest. From...

Important statement of support today. The LVRPA are responsible for a huge amount of parkland in east and north London, and their backing is crucial: "The history of shipbuilding in the East End, as set out in your letter, is indeed fascinating and the Authority strongly supports the Thames...

That's a shame Keith (though Constantinople sounds like a good story). By the way, we now have a Flickr account with some more pics of our lifeboats (we aim to add more pics as we add to the boats we own - which will hopefully happen soon). http://www.flickr.com/photos/tihtuk/

Hello Keith. Long shot I know, but have any stories survived from your ancestors time? One of our later projects will be to try to preserve the personal stories of those that worked at the Ironworks, and later still develop a genealogy tool.

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