Leith-Built Ships
1 primary work • 2 total works
Book 1
Leith-Built Ships is a testimony to the skill of the men who built the ships and to the many men and women who may have sailed or served on them. This history is brought together in vol. I of a three-volume series about the almost-forgotten part that Leith played in our great maritime heritage and is the culmination of the author's lifetime experience of shipbuilding.
Most people may well be aware of the part played by the great shipbuilding centres in the UK's history but many may be unaware of the part played by the shipbuilders of Leith. This port was once Scotland's main port with many firsts to its name. Leith had begun building ships some 400 years before the great shipyards of the Clyde and these vessels reached all corners of the globe, touching many people's lives. Some had sad histories while others took part in some of the great conflicts of the times; many were just ordinary working vessels that carried their crew safely through long working lives.
With a pedigree of shipbuilding second to none going back over 660 years of recorded history, the ships built at Leith deserve their place in history and this book begins the story.
Most people may well be aware of the part played by the great shipbuilding centres in the UK's history but many may be unaware of the part played by the shipbuilders of Leith. This port was once Scotland's main port with many firsts to its name. Leith had begun building ships some 400 years before the great shipyards of the Clyde and these vessels reached all corners of the globe, touching many people's lives. Some had sad histories while others took part in some of the great conflicts of the times; many were just ordinary working vessels that carried their crew safely through long working lives.
With a pedigree of shipbuilding second to none going back over 660 years of recorded history, the ships built at Leith deserve their place in history and this book begins the story.
![Cover of Henry Robb Ltd. [1945-1965]](https://images.bookhype.com/covers/52/ae/952e384b-67e3-4e97-bfac-ab8333f5ea25/9781849955072-67f5f8166f6dedd16b4c66.jpg)
The story of Leith-built ships continues in this third volume from just after the conclusion of World War Two to 1965. However, the world was different; the men came back from the front and those women who had been working in the shipyards lost their jobs.
All shipyards were experiencing full order books, replacing, or repairing ships lost or damaged in the conflict, but the industry was changing albeit slowly at first. The advent of electric welding would eventually change the way ships were built leading to the demise of the Rivet Squad, which was replaced as a cost cutting exercise as it became the accepted method of ship construction.
Henry Robb Shipyard participated in the massive new shipbuilding programme with a great many vessels being ordered from two of the largest customers of the yard. Many orders came from the giant Ellerman Lines, while a great many more were ordered by other customers, such as the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand. The Admiralty also remained a customer and a few large supply ships would be built in this time.
In this volume the author has not forgotten the people who were the very fabric of the yard and community. Personal accounts are included from those who built or sailed on these vessels.
This is the story of a mighty industry, but one which nonetheless had begun its decline. In the century from 1893, this nation went from producing 80% of all the worlds' commercial ships to producing no commercial ships at all. It is a sad fact, but this volume keeps alive the story of the Leith-built ships and the vibrant industry that once existed.
All shipyards were experiencing full order books, replacing, or repairing ships lost or damaged in the conflict, but the industry was changing albeit slowly at first. The advent of electric welding would eventually change the way ships were built leading to the demise of the Rivet Squad, which was replaced as a cost cutting exercise as it became the accepted method of ship construction.
Henry Robb Shipyard participated in the massive new shipbuilding programme with a great many vessels being ordered from two of the largest customers of the yard. Many orders came from the giant Ellerman Lines, while a great many more were ordered by other customers, such as the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand. The Admiralty also remained a customer and a few large supply ships would be built in this time.
In this volume the author has not forgotten the people who were the very fabric of the yard and community. Personal accounts are included from those who built or sailed on these vessels.
This is the story of a mighty industry, but one which nonetheless had begun its decline. In the century from 1893, this nation went from producing 80% of all the worlds' commercial ships to producing no commercial ships at all. It is a sad fact, but this volume keeps alive the story of the Leith-built ships and the vibrant industry that once existed.