THE THAMES AT WAR
RIVER THAMES BALLOON BARRAGE
During WW2 my late father was a member of an RAF unit which flew barrage balloons from several Silvertown Services lighters on the Thames, located mainly off Beckton Gas Works, Barking Power Station and the Ford motor works at Dagenham. The positioning and servicing needs of these barges was carried out mainly by tugs of the Watkins and Gamecock fleets. Watkins Fabia was one tug which had been requisitioned and placed under RAF control. It performed these duties during 1939 and 1940 and flew the RAF ensign. Another vessel involved was the smaller Denton Wood. This vessel was requisitioned by The Ministry of War Transport for the Admiralty from her owners, Successors to T. F. Wood (Gravesend) Limited on 8-10-1942, for use as a tug, specifically assigned to barrage balloon duties and not finally released back to her owners until 17-8-1944. Denton Wood had been built at South Shields in 1923 as the Sir Acton Blake, and classed as a pilot boat. Built of steel, 67.8'x15.1'x7.6' and 62 tons gross, her official number was 139940. One night in 1943, in a real Thames pea souper fog the skipper of Denton Wood managed to 'smell' his way from the barge to the coal conversion jetty to put my father ashore so that he could then walk 8 miles through the blackout to the hospital where I had just entered this world!
Apart from the weather, other dangers were of course the almost constant attempted bombing of these strategic targets, strafing German aircraft who took pot shots at the tugs and lighters as well as the balloons, and other shipping using the totally blackedout river at night. One barge had a narrow escape one night when struck a glancing blow by a freighter thundering down the river.
The WAAF's in the above pictures taken by my father on Denton Wood were part of the team of girls who patched the balloons after they had been punctured by cannon fire or shrapnel. The lightness of the strongback or towing bar in the picture would seem to confirm that Denton Wood had been built for far lighter duties than those of a Thames Tug. What became of her after the War? I believe she was still around in 1955, possibly owned by ICI, but if anyone can tell me more please contact the site.
20-11-2007 I am indebted to Colin Collier for the following :- As a boy I remember the Denton Wood, she attended to Wood's sailing barges carrying explosives and ICI products based at Denton Wharf, her skipper was Harry Livermore,Mate was Arthur Livermore, Deckhand Jack Stone and Percy ???, Engineer, my father was skipper of the barge Edith and Hilda.
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MAUNSELL SEA FORTS
During 1941 a decision was taken to build gun towers in the Thames Estuary, their main purpose being to prevent mine laying by enemy aircraft and deter E-boat raids.Two different types were designed, one manned by naval personnel and the other by army personnel. All units were constructed at Red Lion Wharf, Gravesend and then towed to Berth 28, Tilbury Dock for final fitting out, before being towed out and sunk in position. Each army tower weighed about 600 tons whilst the complete naval fort weighed about 3000 tons.
The base of the Naval fort was compartmentised and they were towed out relying on their own buoyancy. When in position the compartments were systematically flooded so that the fort sank bow first. The whole sinking procedure taking about five minutes. In one of the photographs below what appears to be a large cylinder can be seen on the bow of the fort. This was in fact solid concrete and harnessed to the base by chains. When the fort began to sink bow first this rolled off and restrained by the chains positioned itself below the bow. This concrete 'buffer' therefore touched the seabed first, and under the weight of the sinking fort progressively broke up, acting in effect as a shock absorber. This idea was adopted after the first fort sustained some damage on striking the sea bed. After the fort was positioned hopper barges of rubble were towed out and dumped around the base to try and prevent the surrounding seabed sand from scouring away with the action of the tides. Also visible in the same picture are the temporary wooden bulwarks erected to prevent the sea from entering the compartments, some of which were open topped. and which were removed prior to sinking. The framework at the rear was also a later addition, providing a dolphin against which supply vessels could berth.
The Army forts were towed out supported by 'camels'.
The Army forts were located at The Nore, Shivering Sands and Red Sands. The Naval forts were located further out in the Estuary at The Roughs, Tongue Sand, Sunk Head and Knock John.
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9-2-1942 0915 HMF Roughs Tower left Tilbury, Dapper towing ahead, Lady Brassey stern tug and Crested Cock and King Lear ( Gamecock's salvage vessel) lashed alongside. 11-2-1942 1645 the fort was in position 51.33.66N 1.28.93E, 7 miles SE of Lowestoft. [This first tow, taking three days, was apparently fraught with problems, including hitting a light vessel moored off Gravesend, colliding with three buoys, R1, Mucking 1 and Mucking 2 and weather problems. After Sunk Head tow was completed, an official is reputed to have commented "now we have the right tugs and the right tugmasters"!]
1-6-1942 HMF Sunk Head towed from Tilbury early hours, Crested Cock towing ahead, Watercock to port and Challenge to starboard, and was in position at 51.46.51N 1.30.21E by 22.30.
27-6-1942 0530 HMF Tongue Sands towed from Tilbury by Crested Cock ahead, Hibernia alongside starboard and Watercock alongside port. The fort was in position at 51.29.55N 1.22.11E off Margate at 22.30.
1-8-1942 0540 HMF Knock John towed from Tilbury by Crested Cock ahead, Watercock alongside port and Challenge alongside starboard. The fort was in position by 1545.
Naval forts towing out. Photo RGR Colln.
4-6-1943 Erection of Army Fort 'Nore Sands' commenced at posn 51.25.45N o 50 00E. 4-7-1943 All towers in situ. Tugs included Crested Cock, Challenge and Sun IV?.
23-6-1943 Army Fort 'Red Sands' positioning began at 51 28 62N 0 59 60E. 3-9-1943 All towers positioned. Tugs included Crested Cock.
18-9-1943 Army Fort 'Shivering Sands' positioning began at 51 21 95N 1 04 48E. 13-12-1943 All towers positioned. Tugs included Crested Cock and Arcadia.
An Army fort towing out, supported by 'camels'. Photo RGR colln.
The first of each group of seven army towers to be positioned was the bofors tower so that it could give protection against raiding aircraft to the tugs and personnel while the other six towers and catwalks were positioned.
When the Army forts were constructed a smaller tug, Odells Ich Dien, towed a barge containing the linking gangways. The forts lasted until many years after the war, some still being in existence in 2006. Some famously became bases for pirate radio stations in the 1960's and 1970's. The Tongue Sand naval tower which had settled badly finally collapsed into the sea during a storm in February 1996.
The Tongue Sand fort in the early 1950's, showing settlement already taking place. Photo RGR colln.
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