Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Book Review: Men of the Tideway by Dick Fagan & Eric Burgess

One of the fascinations about the Thames is that there are so many levels and stories, from today and the past.

As well as a place for rowing and sailing, for the Thames Clippers to zoom between Putney and Woolwich, it has been a water supply, sewage system and of course major trade-way. Indeed one of the attractions in the foundation of Londinium by the Romans was as a port on the Thames.

For two thousand years the watermen played their trade upon its muddy waters until the London Docks became the greatest in the world. But those days have long gone and the culture of the lightermen is fading.

So we must value all the more records such as this one. Dick Fagan, one of the authors of Men of the Tideway, was freeman of the river for over 40 years, and this book tells of his memories and stories of the river and its working men.

It is full of wonderful detail and realities, of hard tasks and cold nights, with a skill-set and camaraderie all its own. It captures what it must have been like to take a lighter up river in the dark under the power of oars alone, dodging the many bridges, feeling the current and the wind.

It's a rich tapestry of characters, villains and heroes, dockers and customs men, tug skippers and new recruits, barges and wharfs, thieves and policemen, cargoes and ghosts.

A great read, full of life, even if the world it describes is now fading. But the Thames remains a working river and even up by Putney there are tugs and lighters, still, to this day.

There's another legacy: the annual Doggett's Coat and Badge rowing race. Dating back to 1715, next year will be its 300th anniversary.

One for the diary.

5 comments:

Jennycoolasice said...

Any idea where I can get a copy of this book? It seems to be out of print.
Many thanks
Jenny

JP said...

It is indeed hard to find. I did a google and eventually found a copy on the Abebooks site.

JP said...

That's http://www.abebooks.co.uk/

There appears to be a copy available there

Unknown said...

Help please. I’m desperate to get a copy of this book for my Father. Dick Fagan was my Godfathers brother and my Grandfather is mentioned in this book. Any idea where I can get a copy?

JP said...

Thanks for your comment - it is indeed a hard book to track down. As I mentioned, I got my copy through Abebooks https://www.abebooks.co.uk/ and you could also try eBay and Amazon, though it doesn't look like any of these have a copy at the moment.

One idea would be to create an alert so when one becomes available you get an email.

Good luck!