February 2025
We welcomed Iain Quinn for another excellent talk – full report pending.
March 2025
For our March meeting we welcomed our old friend Jim Charnock of Manchester Branch and we were treated to an evening of unforgettable nostalgia. Jim’s show consisted of the slides of the late Peter Wynne who in the 1960’s possessed a Dock Pass for Liverpool and Birkenhead Docks and he used it to photographically record what was to be the end of an era as far as ships, Companies and the docks themselves were concerned – the pre-containerisation era. We were treated to some classic ships from some classic shipping lines such as Cunard, Palm Line, Harrisons, Clan Line, Blue Funnel, Federal, Elder Dempster, Ellermans to name just a few – and the number of classic steam tugs on show was a sheer delight! Many thanks Jim and we hope there are more to come.
April 2025
Our April meeting saw the welcome return of John Hooley from Macclesfield. John continued his excellent series of slideshows featuring railway steamers with a few associated ships as well. The presentation covered the east coast of the UK from Scrabster down to Felixstowe with interesting vintage views of the early Scottish ro/ro rail ferries which predated the bridges as well as the vehicle ferries across the Tay and Forth and vessels operated by Associated Humber Lines.
We also wandered a little off course to look at classic Northern Lighthouse Board vessels and there was an excellent vintage colour photo of the ill-fated Irish Sea steamer PRINCESS VICTORIA. Once again, another very enjoyable evening and we look forward to welcoming John back again next year!