Image reference: U/HH/10/22
Written by Lara Moon, Archivist
We recently acquired a series of photographs relating to two ships built on Teesside in the 1970s by Swan Hunter at their Haverton Hill shipyard – the Sir Alexander Glen and the Sir John Hunter. Both ships were built for the Thornhope Shipping Co. Ltd. as oil and iron ore carriers. The photographs show views of the ships being built as well as internal shots of the crews mess, onboard hospital room, galley and sleeping facilities.
They were deposited with us via South Shields Museum. The depositor’s father had worked in the shipbuilding industry across the Tyne and Tees shipyards. The photographs were used as part of a presentation on shipyards by the depositor when they were a primary school teacher. Accompanying the photographs is some very useful information which provides context and information about how the ships were made.
This image shows all the stagging around the ship which allows the men to work on the shell of the ship. The big ball shape at the bottom is the bulbous bow, it parts the water as the ship goes forward and puts 5 or 5 extra knots on the ships speed.
The Sir John Hunter was built in 1973. Full information on the ship can be found on the Tees Built Ships website here: Motor Vessel SIR JOHN HUNTER built by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd. in 1973 for Thornhope Shipping Co. Ltd. (Houlder Bros. & Co.), Liverpool, Ore Bulk Oil (teesbuiltships.co.uk) The image below shows the ship in the water after launch. A tug is helping to moor her. The completed ship is going out for sea trials – it’s first voyage so that the men can test everything and ensure it is working properly.
The Sir Alexander Glen was built in 1974. It was named after Sir Alexander Richard Glen, who was an Arctic explorer and wartime intelligence officer. Full information on the ship can be found on the Tees Built Ships website here: Motor Vessel SIR ALEXANDER GLEN built by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd. in 1974 for Thornhope Shipping Co. Ltd. (Houlder Bros. & Co.), London, Ore Bulk Oil (teesbuiltships.co.uk) The image below shows the Sir Alexander Glen being launched for the first time on 14th November 1974.
The photographs have been added to our Haverton Hill Shipyard Collection and are available for public access. A selection have been also digitised to illustrate this blogpost.
If you are interested in depositing material with the archives then please contact us to find out more. We accept material either on deposit or as a gift from organisations or individuals as long as they are deemed relevant to Teesside and not duplicated within our collections.
Teesside Archives 