It was therefore an important break though to discover the working diaries of John Perkins who whilst employed as a lighterman on the Gloucester to Sharpness Canal and River Severn between 1955 -1969 maintained an accurate record of his time. This was principally conducted in order to support his claim for legitimate payment whilst at the helm of various vessels and would be duly submitted to the pay clerk the as evidence of hours worked. Further and more importantly John accurately recorded his transient movement throughout the fleet, in doing so he gives us a rare insight into the working of the dock whilst recording the last days of Purton eight concretes lighters F.C.B. 51, 52, 67, 68, 75, 76, 77 and 78.

From this we can further cross reference the Gloucester Port Book entries of July and October 1946 and more latterly with David R Macgregor’s recorded visits and research of the 1950s and again during the 1960s. As a result, we can confirm the F.C.B. fleet listing and establish FCB 67, 68, 76, 77 and 78 their eventual abandoned during the early part of the 1960s.

Finally, the arrival and sketching of a young David Wheeler in 1965 have proven pivotal, as David accurately recorded F.C.B. 75 being beached across his favourite vessel Monarch, whilst he vividly recalls the existence of F.C.B. 51 as being “freshly deposited” in June 1965. That said David goes on to note that by October 1969 the same vessel was only recognisable as “only her bows and stern gunnel remain visible, due to extensively silting.” It was during this final visit that David formally identified the removed F.C.B. by recording her hand painted number which was still visible on the soon to become rusty forward chain plate. He further confirmed this by annotating in his words his ‘Crude’ 1969 draw map “F.C.B. 52 located just south of the suction plant”.

Should one visit the site, not only are visitors be amazed at the size of these concrete goliaths but one very quickly establish via Friends of Purton installed plaques, that FCB, 67, 67, 68, 76, 77 and 78. are currently positioned to the north of the site. This fact was initially established during the visit in 1963 by emanate maritime historian David R. MaGregor, who meticulously recorded photographed and located these vessels in light of their still visible chain plate numbers. Sadly however David made no reference to FCB 51 or 52, which it is believed, were still afloat in service at Sharpness Docks. This did however effectively narrow the re-identification of B5 to one of only two possible candidates FCB 51 or 52!

It was around this time in the 1960s, that Dock Company Bank Foreman, Bob Greene noticed a rapid onset of bank erosion that was affecting the area known as the Gutter to the south of the site. As a result he conducted a series of rudimentary experiments using Hazelwood stakes being located along the existing bank, in order to gauge the loss of river bank. Once established, the findings were latter feed back to Dock Company Superintendent, Donald Fowler, who very quickly thereafter decreed that the ‘Gutter be shut off to the ebbing tide by positioning barges across or into the deep channel’.

In line with this, the author was advised of the possibly that as many as three concrete lighters were originally ear marked to be abandoned in or around the head of the gutter, but has as yet been unable to substantiate this claim at this time. What is however now clearly understood via long time Friends of Purton member and one time Purton site recorder, David Wheeler, that the gutter was indeed closed of with the use of one concrete lighter, which he personally saw and as previously recorded in detail during his 1965 visit as ‘concrete lighter buried up to gunnels in channel to the south of the site’.

As a result the author remains indebted to David, for forming his boyhood chart, which would, with time, eventually provide the key component in identifying Purtons illusive FCB. Little did young David realise the significance of his flitting pencil strokes as he formed his simplistic schematic diagram all those years ago. Never could he have realised that he would eventually become the finite source of information that would effectively locate and record the last resting place as he put it of ‘concrete lighter 51’. It is therefore principally due to the process of elimination, good fortune and steadfast detective work that FCB 52 was eventually correctly identified and reunited with her past.

Recent visitor who often come the site will eventually stumble across a distinctly boat shaped hole and yet very few will stop and think or even recognise that they are standing alongside the last resting place of one of Purton’s best kept enigmas, that said the Friends are scheduled to erect a plaque to mark the pasting of one of our own – recovered and quietly waiting forlorn once more abandoned barely afloat simply waiting.

So there we have it, it was as the result of the primitive hand sketching and inquisitive mind of a child, that led to the modern day re-identification of F.C.B. 52, whose story has only now come full circle and, who, I’m sure, will continue to dominate Gloucestershire maritime history for many years to come.