John vividly recalls the Katherine Ellen and states that she was at Bristol during his early days in the docks until she was taken to Sharpness by the Benjamin Perry Tug Salisbury, and beached at Purton by a Sharpness tug and crew. At this time, he is unable to clarify either the receiving tug or skipper however he is sure it was a river tug such as Primrose Addie or Resolute as the handover actually took place in the River Severn. Research has now indicated that it was the Tug Primrose under the command of Captain Frank Savage.

This was made all the more hazardous as further recalls that she had been a ketch/sailing vessel and that she really didn’t have any side decks. John also states that he believes this design feature proved useful and was duly copied by Perry’s in several of its Charles Hills commissioned steel barges for use in the tobacco industry i.e. Aston & Whitson. This in turn allowed each barge to be loaded with two cast tierces within the confines of the hold and a further three above it.

Evidence to support this claim can be seen in the absence of side decks and hatches covers and the utilisation of side cloths on several Perry owned vessels. John further advised that as a lot of the steel barges did not have hatches they utilised lightweight centre poles and tarpaulin sheeting which were secured on short hatch combings to form a water tight seal

John could not say how or when the vessel was actually beached but he stated that Jack Carol, the company Shipwright, accompanied the vessel on her final voyage and was responsible for cutting large square holes in her hull timbers to ensure permanent beaching and that she must have been temporally stored along side Kings Wharf prior to taking up river. This would have been possible due to limited traffic at the adjacent wharf at Redcliff Bridge, which was owned by Bristol Cooperation who utilised the hinterland for the storage of sand and stone and a stonemason shed. More recently the wharf which has become known as the Sanitary Wharf is owned by Bristol City Council and is the site were the replica, Mathew, was built.

John further recalled that the skipper/only crew member of the Katherine Ellen was a Gloucester man called Captain William Brick and that he was renowned for being a clean & tidy man in his navy blue suit. As a result John stated that the elderly Katherine Ellen’ over sized aft cabin was always in good order tidy and that it benefited from its large deckhead skylight.

He further highlights this whilst viewing the Northcoat 1950 postcard, and identifies the said companionway, the hold hatch (via a straight ladder) and the T.R. Brown tug Medway which can be seen opposite along side the Bathurst Wharf with Prince St Bridge in the background. Furthermore and whilst describing the scene he pointed out the vessels deck located bilge pump and states “That s a deluge pump, good pumps them, all the barges had that type of pump, they were simple to use as they had a valve with a leather flap that once primed with a bucket of water, it would draw water on both the up and down stroke”. John also commented on the stove pipe and remarked that it may have been a newly fitted as it was “a nice bit of bright galvanised steel” and he went on to state that the stove was fitted flush to the cabin bulk head. Finally John went on to confirm the Katherine Ellen’s existence at Purton by identifying the two protruding iron pipe remains by stating that he believes one (with the flange) was for the bilge pump and the other may have been used a sounding pipe for dipping the bilges.

That said, John recalls that the Katherine Ellen’s early days were primarily spent transporting the largest grain bags called a Bushel at Co-op Mills in Avonmouth for Weston Counties Mills at Redcliff Bridge Bristol. That aside and due to the vessels advanced age and lack of engine she was often tied up at Kings Wharf for long period of time and used albeit infrequently to transport low value cargo such as grain. This was partly due to inflated insurance premiums for high value cargo such as tobacco and partly due the constant risk of leaks. John fondly recalls spending time employed in this trade and states he often had to smack skulking rats with a shovel in the final stages of unloading cargos by hand.

Benjamin Perry and Sons fleet … view