Hi,
Well, first of all thanks for the wonderful images
of the docks. I'd been meaning for years to visit and
explore them, and your site at last gave me the inspiration
to do so, coupled with the sudden realisation that their
demolition had begun. I only wish I'd done it sooner.
Of the buildings pictured on your site, only the pump
house and the building with the tower remained on Saturday.
I returned on Sunday to find half the pump house gone,
so I guess I visited not a moment too soon. Little opportunity
for hand-carryable souvenir hunting (the old electrical
gear in your images was fantastic but is undoubtedly
now buried), but maybe the architectural salvage yards
will have something.
Thanks again; I'll keep watching your site to see if
anyone provides archive images of the place in use.
Cheers for now
Matthew Padden
I thought Iwould let you know that my Father John Williams
worked at the Govan Graving Dock for almost forty years.
He worked for most of that time in the main compressor
house that was situated on the right hand side just
as you entered the dock. I remember him telling me many
stories about the docks. Three in particular come to
mind.
The first was about a boat that was in the small dock,
the one furthest away from the road. It had been positioned
at the gate end of the dock. Unfortunately the gate
burst and the force of the water entering the dry dock
lifted the boat right out of the water and throw it
over the wall at the other end of the dock ending up
in the street on the other side. Another one is about
the gang of men who came into the dock one night(unoficially)
and stole a brass propellor weighing many tons by loading
it onto a lorry and driving away with it, and nobody
said a word. The last one is about one of his colleagues.
High up on the inside wall in the compressor house was
a small round window that had no visble means of getting
up to it. My dad's work mate swore blind that he kept
seeing a mans face at the window. I don't know what
ever became of my dad's work mate.
It is a great pity that this site was never developed
as a maritime museum housing such boats as the Royal
Yacht, The Carrick and the Tall Ship now based on the
other side of the river. It was a big mistake giving
the Royal Yacht to Leith. It should have been returned
to its home town.
Yours,
Jim Williams [15/07/2003]
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