The First Concrete Barge to Be Built in Britain

The first ferro-concrete barge to be built in Britain was launched from the Hamworthy Shipyard, Poole of Hill, Richards & Co on 24 August 1918. A Culture Volunteer on the Poole History Centre First World War project describes the background to the launch and the actual event.

The Ministry of Munitions had decided in late 1917 that concrete ships could help overcome the shortage of steel and would only need an unskilled workforce. 154 barges and tugs were ordered in February 1918 but the requirement for them ended with the declaration of peace and it is believed that only 54 barges and 12 tugs were actually built. A concrete barge cost around £27 500 compared to nearly £18 000 for a steel barge and it was found that a more skilled workforce was required than had been anticipated. The scheme lost nearly £3million and it was concluded that the project was carried out on too large a scale for an experiment although it was accepted that war-time necessitated the effort.

Construction of ‘Admiralty Auxiliary Shipyard Extension No 62’ at Hamworthy began in December 1917 on marsh and farmland by Poole Harbour. It took around 10 months to construct the 16 slipways and associated works and eventually covered 250 acres. A timber mill was needed to provide the wood used in the building of the moulds for the ships. The original plan was to cover the slipways to stop wind and frost damaging the concrete as it ‘cured’ but the cessation of war meant that this was not needed. The shipyard gave the Hamworthy branch line a new life having been singled in 1905. The second line was reinstated in 1916 to enable materials to be brought in and Lake Halt was built for the shipyard workers.

The first barge to be launched was PD 25 (known as Cretacre). It took about six months to build to a design of the Marine and General Concrete Construction Company. The barge had a double skin and its dimensions were 190ft long, 33ft beam and 15ft 6in deep.

The launch ceremony was a major event for Poole and the shipyard was decorated with flags and streamers. Several thousand people gathered to watch the opening ceremony carried out by the Mayoress of Poole (Mrs Dolby) at 12 o’clock on the Saturday. As the barge went down the slipway a paddle steamer waited in Poole Harbour. The Premier, of Cosens of Weymouth, had been hired to act as a tug because the concrete barge was unpowered. The Premier towed the barge to the Claypits Pier which was adjacent to the shipyard.

An employee sports event was held in the afternoon with prizes awarded by Mrs Ward, wife of the Commander of the Poole Naval Base. Sports included egg and spoon races, wheelbarrow races, and tilting at the water bucket. The Tug of War for men was won by the ‘barge carpenters labourers’ and in the ladies competition the lady typists beat the lady accountants. The Poole Town Band provided the musical entertainment. Among those who attended the launch was a group of men from the Cornelia Hospital in Poole. They were known as the ‘boys in blue’ because they wore blue uniforms to indicate they had been wounded in the war.

On January 16 1919 a ferro-concrete oil-tanker, designed to carry a 1000 tons of oil, was launched from the shipyard. HRH Prince Nicholas, Crown Prince of Romania performed the launch ceremony of OC 601 at 9.30 am with the traditional bottle of wine.

The platform was decorated with British and Romanian flags; Romania had declared war on Austria, an ally of Germany, in 1916. The barge had Romanian flags at the stern and a Union Jack on the mast. Even though the event was more low-key than the launch of PD 25, around a thousand workers watched the event.

The Romanian military attache and directors from Hill, Richards were among the launch party, as well as Mr E.O. Williams, who had invented the system used in the construction. Interestingly, the concrete barge has in the photograph the name ‘Prince Nicholas’ on the bow. The Prince then went to visit the German submarine U 107 which was at Poole Quay.

The Table gives the known details about the barges that were built by the Hill, Richards & Co shipyard in Hamworthy, Poole. The newspaper report of the launch of PD 25 noted that eight barges and three steam tugs were on the timber construction frames.

Name (1)	Type	PD No (2)	Launch	Use and final fate
Cretacre	Barge	PD25	24/8/18	Army stores transport – scrapped 1948
Cretabode	Barge	PD26	1918	Army stores transport – deregistered 1952
Cretalp	Barge	–	1918	Army stores transport – depot ship 1924
Creteol	Oil barge	–	16/1/19	Civilian use -Sold to France 1937
Cretoleum	Oil barge	–	1919	Civilian use -Sold to France 1937
Cretarch	Barge	PD42	1919	Civilian use – Scrapped and sunk 1922
Creterill	Barge	PD29	1919	Civilian use – Sold to Norway 1922
Cretearmour	Barge	PD28	1919	Civilian use – Sold to Brazil 1926
Cretangle	Barge	PD30	1919	Civilian use – Broken up at Shoreham 1957

 

• Sometimes the spelling is different eg Creteangle instead of Cretangle, Cretol instead of Creteol.
• Port discharge number = Government Hull number

Gardiners Shipbuilding and Engineering Co purchased the shipyard in July 1919. The company had great plans and had an initial contract to build six 7 200 ton steel steamers. By November 1920, the company was facing compulsory liquidation for unpaid debts from several companies and the company folded.

German U-boats in Poole Harbour

An unusual aspect of the Poole First World War Project is that, while the main focus is on 1914-1918, the Project is also interested in what happened in Poole post-1918.  Looking through the Poole & East Dorset Herald newspaper, a Culture Volunteer has come across the report of unusual event – the visit of two German U-boats to Poole in January 1919; one accidental and one planned.

U 143 was being escorted to Japan by two Japanese destroyers, Kanran and Kashiwa, as part of the compensation settlement between Japan and Germany. The newspaper has a brief report of U 143 becoming stuck on a sandbank in Poole Bay and being recovered with great difficulty. Another source records that the U-boat, which was being crewed by Japanese sailors, was taken into the Harbour for assessment and repairs. During this time, the destroyers were docked at Poole Quay much to the interest of on-lookers. U 143 eventually set sail for Japan where it was renumbered O 7. It served in the Japanese Navy until it was scrapped in 1921. Although the newspaper described it as U 143 it is more accurately known as UB 143 because it was a Type UB III submarine.

The other German submarine in Poole during January 1919 was U 107. A Royal Navy crew had sailed the U-boat from Portland to Poole for a planned 11 day visit from January 6. Over 10,000 people, including many schoolchildren, took advantage of the U-boat’s stay to explore the submarine, with donations going to the King’s Fund for Disabled Officers and Soldiers. A reporter from the Poole & East Dorset Herald gave a layman’s description of the inside of the submarine, such as sleeping arrangements, and mentions that at the bow there were ‘four 19.5 torpedoes in position’. The submarine returned to Portland on completion of its visit and Herbert Carter, a former Mayor of Poole, was on the return trip. He explains that one reason for being on-board was that he could translate the German ‘control notices’. He notes that the submarine only sailed on the surface and did not submerge.

But which U 107 was on Poole Quay given that there are three possibilities; UB 107 (a Type UB III), UC 107 (a Type UC III mine laying) or U 107 (a Type U 93)?
– UB 107 was sunk off the Yorkshire coast and, although wreckage has been identified, there is uncertainty as to the date and circumstances of its sinking.
– UC 107 did not have four torpedo tubes at the bow. It was given in war reparations, but it is unclear if it went to Britain or France.
– U 107 had four torpedo tubes at the bow which fits with the reporter’s description. U 107 was surrendered at Harwich on 20 November 1918 and scrapped in Swansea in 1922. In another source, the Japanese wanted U 107 instead of U 99, which they claimed was not seaworthy, and were told by the Royal Navy that it was destined for America.

It follows that the German U-boat on Poole Quay during January 1919 was the Type 93 U 107. And there the story would have ended if it was not for some research carried out by another Culture Volunteer who found a short film of the actual visit in the British Pathe Archive (www.britishpathe.com/video/u-boats-visit-the-south-coast). The film shows the U-boat alongside Poole Quay, near the Customs House, with crowds of people clearly inspecting the U-boat with great interest. However, it must have been with mixed feelings. U 107 is believed to have sunk 25 000 tons of shipping since its launch in 1917. Curiosity at seeing a U-boat close-up must have been coupled with sadness knowing this, together with over three hundred like it, had sunk millions of tons of shipping and cost tens of thousands of lives.

There is a very sad postscript to the visit of U107 to Poole. Lieutenant B.J. Clarke was second in command during its stay. He was accompanied by his wife and son and showed the East Dorset Herald reporter around the submarine.
On 20 January 1920, Lieut. Clarke was on-board the British submarine K5 while it was taking part in an exercise off the Scilly Islands when it failed to surface. Fifty-seven men lost their lives. A rescue was impossible as it sank in 85 fathoms while a salvage vessel could only reach to a depth of 30 fathoms.