In Scotland is where the Festival of the Sea (12-27 July) is underway, and also at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum, volunteers have recorded a selection of stories relating to ships built in the ‘Granite City,’ which is steeped in maritime history.
The festival is held two weeks on either side of the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen (19-22 July), is to host the prestigious event for the third time, as Afloat previously reported. Visitors to the North Sea city can also take in the Aberdeen Maritime Museum and listen to the stories on the Bloomberg Connects free digital guide.
Donald Alexander, Colin Heling, Richard Leavett, and Finlay McKichan regularly volunteer their time with the Aberdeen-built Ships project. This database holds records of the 3,000 ships built in Aberdeen at the shipyards of Alexander Hall & Co., John Lewis and Sons, Walter Hood & Co., and Hall Russell & Co.
Afloat.ie highlights that Hall Russel built the ‘Peacock’ class of coastal patrol vessels for the UK Royal Navy, among them HMS Swift and HMS Swallow, which would ultimately serve the Irish Naval Service as LE. Orla and L.E. Ciara, respectively, until decommissioned in April last year, having been replaced by former Royal New Zealand ‘Lake’ class cutters renamed as the LÉ Aoibhinn and L.E. Gobnait, albeit this vessel remains non-operational despite its acquisition more than 15 months ago.
Many of the Aberdeen-built Ships volunteers have worked in the city’s maritime industries, and they all share a passion for maritime history. This direct knowledge and experience benefits the understanding of the collection of objects, plans, films, and photographs cared for by Aberdeen Archives, Gallery, and Museums.
On the Bloomberg Connects digital guide, the volunteers highlight a number of objects and themes around the museum, including
- Objects relating to the clipper ship Thermopylae, built in Aberdeen in 1868 by Walter Hood & Co. This was the age of the 'Tea Races,' when fast clipper ships raced to be the first back to Britain with a cargo of tea. The Cutty Sark was one of Thermopylae’s rivals. Twice they raced each other from China. On both occasions, Thermopylae reached the British ports first.
- The propeller and a model of the Arctic steam yacht Fox. The Fox was built for the landowner Sir Richard Sutton of Nottinghamshire (1798–1855). After Sutton's death, the vessel was bought in 1857 by subscription at Aberdeen by Lady Jane Franklin in order to mount an expedition to discover the fate of her husband, Sir John Franklin, and his expedition team, who had gone missing in the north of Canada.
- The bell cast for the RMS St. Helena, the last ship to be built at the Hall, Russell yard, and Afloat will also have more to report with its Irish link and on the unique former RMS-designated passenger/cargo ship that served its UK overseas territory island namesake in the South Atlantic. In addition, it became the Extreme-E racing series vehicle-carrying cargo ship; however, it is currently no longer in this role.
The Aberdeen-built ships database contains extensive information about the vessels, including technical details, stories discovered from original sources, data from the Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, newspaper accounts, and information passed to the volunteers by relatives and researchers. It also contains information about some vessels that, although not built in the city, were associated with it through ownership, operation, or reconstruction.
Finlay McKichan, Aberdeen-built Ships volunteer, said, “Volunteering for the Aberdeen-built Ships Project gives me the opportunity to follow up on my interest in shipping with research that, through the website, may be read by enthusiasts and genealogists across the world.”
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesman, said, “The Aberdeen-built Ships database is a remarkable record of Aberdeen’s rich maritime heritage, which has been added to over the past 25 years thanks to the dedication of volunteers. We are incredibly grateful for all the knowledge and expertise the volunteers bring to the understanding of the collection. We look forward to sharing their insights with visitors on the Bloomberg Connects digital guide.”
Explore the Aberdeen-built Ships database at the Aberdeen-built Ships | Aberdeen City Council through this link.
The free Bloomberg Connects art and culture app can be downloaded at bloombergconnects.org
The Maritime Museum will be open until 8pm on Saturday 19, Sunday 20, and Monday 21 July during the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen. Admission is free, and donations are welcome. For visiting information, click here.
