Narrowboat Evolution

Reader's Letters & Queries: NarrowBoat, Winter 2016

John Pearce’s feedback (Autumn 2016 NB) sent me hurrying back to find my Summer issue. (In my defence I have to say it has been a rather busy summer and I may have been guilty of speed reading it.) John is quite correct in saying the photo of Bedford and Essex used in the article ‘Narrowboat Evolution’ shows Devizes Top Lock. It was one of a series of photographs taken to illustrate an article from a 1918 weekly (I think) magazine, The Great War. Edited by Hammerton & Wilson, the article was a report on the work of the Royal Engineers Inland Water Transport and another photo in the series shows the top lock rather clearer. Copies have appeared for sale on Ebay from time to time. As in World War II, the Ministry/Government had misjudged the importance of canals to Britain and arrangements had been made to transfer boaters from the front line to transport battalions, where they could be returned to work on the canals while still remaining in the army. Additionall…