Saff at the Bartlett Maritime Research Centre, National Maritime Museum Cornwall, have now published a more detailed list of the Alan Buchanan plans that they hold.
You can view and search the list at https://www.maritimeviews.co.uk/databank/buchanan-plans/
The Cadet is designed to be sailed by two children up to the age of 17. It is a one-design class, originally designed by Jack Holt in 1947.
Burnham-on-Crouch hosted the first fifteen International Cadet Weeks, from 1950 to 1964. This week of competition was the forerunner of the modern-day Cadet World Championships.
A British Pathé news film of the 1959 Cadet Week – Junior Regatta – is available on YouTube. Candy can be seen in the dinghy park (0:42 and 0:52) and sailing (3:43). Under the class rules, this was the last year that Brenda, then aged 17, was able to race in Candy. There were 164 entrants that year, and over the week Brenda and Jean were placed 67th. One of the races was dogged by very light winds, and many entrants retired and accepted a tow back to the Corinthian. Brenda was up for a tow back as well, but Jean was made of sterner stuff and insisted they carry on. To some embarrassment they came over the line last, with a round of applause from assembled onlookers on the RCYC balcony.
The Week was won by Jacques Rogge, with his brother as crew. Count Rogge KCMG, an accomplished sailor, grew up to become an orthopedic surgeon and later in life became President of the International Olympic Committee. Three other boats from Burnham took part: 1598 Tiki, sailed by R. and G. Campbell; 674 Otter, sailed by R. Harden and M. Worthington; and 1688 Loftee, sailed by L. and P. Read. All four of the Burnham Cadets were from the Burnham Sailing Club.
Betty Warren and her partner Lloyd Shakespeare bought the Stebbings business from the Stebbings family around 1942. I’m still piecing together the story, but I am uploading photos and newspaper snippets (see below) for others who may be interested.
Betty Warren was the professional name of Babette Hilda Hogan, born on October 31, 1907 in Fareham, Hampshire, England. She died on December 15 1990 in Yeovil, Somerset, England.
This first picture and article is from Shipyard Spotlight, January 1943. This pamphlet was produced by the Admiralty and circulated to boatyards, that were interested, for sale to their employees – price one penny.
I also have this photo of Betty breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow of a new yacht. I don’t know the name of the boat, unfortunately. I’m also not 100% sure this is Betty Warren, but there is a very strong likeness to the photo in Shipyard Spotlight.
Lloyd Shakespeare, a trumpet virtuoso, was born on 6 June 1895 in Leytonstone, London. He led his own bands during the twenties, recording for the Edison Bell Winner, Parlophone and Piccadilly labels and became a top session and side man with many of the great bands of the 30’s, under amongst others, Lew Stone, Arthur Lally, Jack Harris, Sydney Lipton, Ronnie Munro, and Cecil Norman. He died in 1963.
Here is a scan of an advertising leaflet that I have.
There ae various newspaper cuttings from Betty Warren’s time as a resident of Burnham. Here are a couple of examples from the Essex Newsman (first from 19 Nov 1948 and the second from 13 Oct 1944.
An obituary for Betty Warren appeared in the Daily Telegraph.
This photo is something of a mystery at the moment, but a chance search turned up Nigel Sharp’s book, Troubled Waters: Leisure Boating and the Second World War. Nigel had actually contacted me back in 2012 whilst researching the book to see what I knew about the Stebbings yard during the war. At the time I knew relatively little, and alas the same is true today.
In his book, Nigel talks about the conversions of surplus RAF vessels after the war, and specificaly mentions Stebbings converting an air-sea rescue boat to be used by an oil company in the Persian Gulf for survey and transportation work. I knew that Stebbings had converted some of the lifeboats they themselves had built for the Admiralty, but I wasn’t aware of any larger projects. After a rummage through the Stebbings photo box I came across the picture shown above. Maybe this is the conversion of the RAF search and rescue vessel Nigel speaks of.
(The then co-owner of Stebbings, Lloyd Shakespeare, may have been aquainted with Thomas Levington-Jacks CBE of the Anglo-Iranian Oil company (later BP) – he purchased a Rolls Royce 25/30 H.J.Mulliner Sports Saloon from him in 1944. Levington-Jacks had been a director of the company, stationed in Tehran. Maybe the conversion work came to Stebbings as a consequence of this association.)
Or maybe it’s another example. In the the Essex Newsman 19 Nov 1948 there is a short article referring to actress Betty Warren. She and her band-leader husband Lloyd Shakespeare had bought the Stebbings business from the Stebbings family during the war. The article states, “they own a ship building business that manufactures yachts and motor cruisers and convert ex-RAF Air-Sea Rescue craft. They have their home at Burnham in one of these converted rescue boats.”
I also have this photo below, showing Harry Stebbings working on a very similar boat (but I don’t think the same one) with his daughter Jean looking on. The photo was taken for The Times, and on the reverse is a note saying, “With compliments from W.G. Horton”. This photo would have been taken around 1947.
The advertisement above is from Yaching Monthly October 1949. It describes the design that would later be used for the building of Branklet (1952), Roach (1953) and Souris (1954).
The identity of the boat in the photograph is not clear. It is carrying the sail number S1, suggesting that it might be Branklet (Roach has S2). However, Lloyds Register records show that Branklet wasn’t built until 1952, three years after the advert appeared. A bit confusing. There was a classified ad in the Essex Newsman in March 1950 listing a new 4-ton Dallimore design auxiliary sloop. That could have been for Doralind, perhaps, or maybe Branklet was built (but perhaps not completed) earlier than the date in Lloyds.
The Stebbings sloop was a reworking of the Burnham sloop, designed by Norman E. Dallimore before the second world war. The intention had been for them to be built by R.J. Prior and Son, Burnham, but only a few keels had been cast when the war intervened. An article in Yachting World from December 1945 described the design again, but at that point there was still uncertainty about the specification that could be offered given that there was no certainty about the quality and type of materials that would be available. The article says that it was hoped a prototype would be afloat early in the new year (1946). Interestingly, the YW Dec 1945 article shows two variations, one with a coach roof ending just before the mast, and the other a flush deck all the way to the stem.
The National Maritime Museum Cornwall hold the Alan Buchanan plans archive. They have been busy cataloguing the archive, and a list of the plans that are available can be seen on their web site at https://nmmc.co.uk/explore/databases/buchanan-designs/
Firefly was a steam powered paddle dredger built by William Stebbings for Spencer Addison’s oyster business. Work commenced January 5th 1882; she was launched July 1st 1882; and had her steam trial August 1st 1882. Length on keel 29’6″. Length overall 33′. Depth aft 4’4″. Depth forward 4′. Draft master aft 3′. Draft forward 1’8″ with beam 9′.
In the photograph above, Firefly is the second boat from the right. Her fishing registration – CK47 – can be seen quite clearly on her bow. The semi-circular paddle sponsons can be seen, and they’re also evident on the vessel moored to port. What is slightly confusing it that neither paddle boat appears to have a smoke stack. Perhaps they’d been converted from steam to oil at this point, it is not clear. In Essex Gold, Hervey Benham wrote that Firefly was at some point converted to a motor driven propeller, “ending her working days at Mersea where her exceptionally long nameboard, now in the local museum, is a reminder of the broad counters favoured for this sort of hull”.
Of her launch, the CHELMSFORD CHRONICLE, Friday 7th July 1882, recorded,
LAUNCHES – Never before has such an event taken place at Burnham as that of Saturday last, viz., the launching of two steam dredging vessels on the same day. Both launches were successfully carried out. From the ship-building loft belonging to Mr. Spencer Addison there glided into the river a smart-looking craft built for Mr. Addison by Mr. Wm. Stebbings, and from the workshop in the occupation of Mr. William Read was launched an equally smart looking, though smaller, vessel, that had been converted into a steamer by Mr. Read by direction of Mr. John Auger. Both vessels will be employed in the oyster fishery, and will form important additions to the steam dredging fleet connected with this place, which is all of recent construction. The launches, which took place between twelve and one o’clock, excited considerable interest and were witnessed by a large number of persons. The vessels in question were respectively names Firefly and Zeta, the former being named by Miss Rosa Wright in the usual manner, while in the latter case the ceremony was not observed. On Monday evening, in celebration of the launch of the Firefly, the men employed by Mr. Addison partook of an excellent supper provided by Mr. and Mrs. J. Smith at the Anchor Inn.
The pictures above show work being undertaken by Stebbings on the William Fife designed Vanity – a 12 metre class yacht built in 1923. Originally owned by J.R. Payne, Vanity was raced around the east coast and at Cowes. She sunk in a hurricane in the Caribbean in 1992.
Here are some pictures of people from Stebbings. If you recognise anyone – or you recognise yourself! – please leave a reply/comment at the bottom of the page. Very many thanks.
Picture 11. Photo from the the temporary shop set up after the fire of the shop on the quay 1913.
Picture 12. I don’t know who this is.
Picture 13. Unknown group, although the young man front-right appears in other pictures. One of the men in the back row may be Ted Murrell.
Picture 14. Derek Doe working on the fitting out of a Crystal class.
I’ve got a number of photos that include pictures of the people that worked at Stebbings over the years. Many of the images are rather grainy and people’s faces aren’t always clear. I have no idea who the majority of the people are, so if you recognise anyone – or you recognise yourself! – please leave a reply/comment at the bottom of the page, or e-mail me at peteyshep@gmail.com . Very many thanks.
Picture 1. I think this picture was taken in April 1945. Cyril (Sandy) Burgess back row far right.
Picture 2. Peter Jowers, I think, with Harry Stebbings, 1943
Picture 3. I think this is Wilf Burton, 1950
Picture 4. Men working in no. 5 shop, Chapel Road
Picture 5. Another view of men working in no. 5 shop, 1950
Picture 6.
Picture 7. Final preparations before Festival Vertue is sent on her way to the Festival of Britain 1951. William Frederick “Bill” Stebbings in the centre.
Picture 8. Betty Warren standing in the foreground.
Picture 9. A Bonito class under construction, I think.
Picture 10. Second from the right is William Stebbings, and on his right is his brother Albert Harry Stebbings.
Stebbings Archive 