John Readhead and Sons
John Readhead and Sons was a shipyard in the West Dock of South Shields (North East England).
history
Lawe Yard
After working as a mill builder until the age of 32, John Readhead began to work as a ship builder at Thomas Marshall's Lawe shipyard and stayed here for fifteen years.
On March 1, 1865, John Readhead founded the Readhead & Softley shipyard together with his partner John Softley . The former shipyard C. Rennoldson was not far from the Readheads training yard in the part of the port of South Shields called The Lawe . The first ships were a necklace - Brigg and an iron screw steamer. As early as October 1866, the 370-ton barque Lizzie Leslie with hull number 12 was launched; it was the first ship to be classified as 100A1 by Lloyd's Register of Shipping . The Washington steam tug, built here in 1870, was used on the Tyne until 1952 and, like other readhead ships, proved to be extremely durable. After 87 ships were built, Readhead and Softley split up in 1872 and Readhead continues to run the shipyard alone.
West yard
In 1881, John Readhead's operations moved upstream to Tyne Dock in the western part of South Shields Harbor when his Lawe yard was becoming too small. The move to the West Yard site was due, among other things, to the long-standing collaboration with Edward Hain from St Ives in Cornwall, who in 84 years ordered a total of 87 trampers at Readhead's Lawe Yard and later West Yard, which is certainly one of the most durable connections between one Shipyard and a ship owner can be viewed.
When Readhead died on March 9, 1894 at the age of 76, his four sons James, Robert, John and William continued the family business. James was in charge of the shipyard and Robert was in charge of mechanical engineering at the shipyard with 1,300 employees. In 1909 the company became a public limited company John Readhead & Sons reshaped whose share capital of £ 300,000 pounds was held by the four Readhead brothers.
First World War and Great Depression
At the beginning of World War I , Readhead employed between 1,500 and 1,800 workers. During the war, under the control of the British Admiralty, the shipyard built twenty tramp ships, including six WAR Type "B" ships. The only seaworthy tanker in shipyard history, the Oletta , was also created in this way. In 1917, the Hain shipping company was taken over by P&O, who had their ships built by other shipyards.
James Readhead was made Hereditary Baronet , of Westoe in the Borough of South Shields in the County Palatine of Durham, in 1922 . From 1926 on, Frank Strick began building ships. By 1931 44 new buildings had been built for the owner of Strick Line. When Sir James Readhead, 1st Baronet died on March 18, 1930 at the age of 77, his son Sir James Halder Readhead, 2nd Baronet, took over the presidency of the Society. The following year the shipyard fired all employees except for the apprentices and remained closed until 1936 due to the global economic crisis . In 1936 the first order came in for the construction of two ships for Strick Line , followed by an order for five ships for Bank Line's liner service , a further four ships for Strick and a tramp ship for Sir Arthur Sutherland.
Second World War
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In 1937 Readhead took over the old Smiths Dock Company dock facilities , which resulted in the shipyard's new construction and repair area being separated. The shipyard's repair department was the only part of Readhead's operation that remained active during the economic crisis and made money. It was also very busy during the Second World War , as ships were constantly damaged by the effects of the war. On the night of April 9-10, 1941, the gates of Dock No. 2 badly damaged during a German air raid , which is still visible today. Sir James H. Readhead, 2nd Baronet, died in 1940. Christopher Southall took the chair, and Sir James' son-in-law Harold Towers became general manager. During the war, 31 trampers, two special repair ships for the Royal Navy and two coastal tankers were built at Readhead. In addition, six more ships could be built for private owners.
post war period
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Between 1945 and 1966, 66 liner and tramp cargo ships were built for well-known shipping companies. During this time, a new type of ship known as a strengthened raised quarter-decker was developed . The design with machinery arranged aft was characterized by five reinforced cargo holds, which made it particularly suitable for bulk cargo such as heavy grain or sugar. From 1965 the shipyard was completely modernized, which led to further orders. The Geddes Report presented in 1966 finally led to the merger with Swan Hunter on January 1, 1968 . In the same year, the first two real container ships built in Great Britain , the Sea Freightliner I and Sea Freightliner II, were built on behalf of British Railways .
On July 1, 1977, the shipyard was incorporated into the state-owned British Shipbuilders Corporation . Under the aegis of British Shipbuilders, the South Shields shipyard in association with Tyne Shiprepair initially focused on the repair business, but was closed in 1982. The staff from John Readhead and Sons leased the yard back and reopened the yard. In 1984 the shipyard ran into financial difficulties and was taken over by Tyne Dock Engineering Co. The former shipyard has since been largely demolished, but remained in operation by the North Sea oil company McNulty Marine, which uses it for renovation work.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry at Miramar Ship Index (English) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ baronet: READHEAD of Westoe, Durham at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
