Southampton Docks – I Walk Alone

Stepping back in time ~ 1926

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This may be true, but when it comes to writing historic fiction, a picture can conjure a thousand words, at least for me. My stories might be inspired by family and odd things I’ve read here and there. The details might be sharpened by research using resources like JSTOR, old newspapers, Radio times archives, old OS maps, archived weather reports and local history pages on Facebook. The old photographs and postcards give me a feel for the era I’m writing about, though. They capture the essence of the time and place like words never can.

The rise and fall of the Railways

Gasworks train Britannia Road Southampton

Railways have played a pivotal role in my life. One of my earliest memories is of Pappy sitting me on the railway bridge at Bitterne to watch the trains, and my first full time job was in a British Rail Data Input Centre. It was there that I learned to touch type. It’s no surprise then, that the railway loomed large in my first two novels, Plagued and Land Fit For Heroes. My research told me that one of the big changes between now and then was the role the railways played in people’s lives. The main characters in both books lived in houses backing onto the railway line and the rumble of passing trains would have been a background to their lives. Hospital trains took Thomas across France and from Southampton Docks to Netley Hospital. Mary worried about her son, Eric, crossing the line on his way to school and she travelled on trains to visit Thomas in hospital. The trains rattled Laura’s windows until the General Strike came and quieted them. Percy and Lenny crossed the railway bridge and passed the busy Terminus Station every day on their way to and from work. The whole of Northam was crisscrossed with railway lines back then, but most are gone now.

Coming soon…

Times of change and strife are often the ones that stand out in history and the years between the wars were certainly filled with both. The men who came back from the Great War had been promised a land for for heroes, but what they got was very different. The war left behind both economic and political turmoil, and what peace there was, was uneasy. There were still wars being waged, the Turkish War of Independence, the Polish Soviet War, the Irish War of Independence, the Rif War, problems between the Italians and Libya, the Americans and Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic to mention just a few. Politically too, the world was changing, with the slow rise of both communism and fascism. America may have experienced a period of financial boom in the early 1920’s but Britain faced an unemployment crisis more persistent and severe than any since industrialisation. The ordinary, working-class men who had come back from the war faced terrible hardships. In Southampton, the men of the docks were some of the worst affected.

Southampton docks and Southampton dockers

Research for my second book A Land Fit For Heroes, took me to Southampton Docks during the General Strike of 1926. It should have been easy. In my time working for a cruise company, I’d donned the obligatory hi-vis jacket and wandered around the docks more than once. The problem was, the docks I’d seen in the twenty first century were a far cry from the docks I was writing about. In fact, a lot of the docks as we know them today didn’t exist back then. The western dock had not been built and the sea still lapped at the platforms of Southampton station at high tide. There were no hi-vis jackets back then either. Health and safety wasn’t something the dockers of the mid 1920’s worried about too much.

Lockdowns, redundancies and strikes

In early November 2020 a second lockdown began. At the same time, Commando was told he was under threat of redundancy. The second thing somewhat eclipsed the first, obviously. Escaping into the past was a blessing in many ways. Learning about the General Strike and the terrible depravations the strikers went through during those nine May days in 1926 put things into perspective.

Research is vital

In late October 2020 the news was depressing. COVID cases and deaths were rising. Despite local lockdowns and a new, tiered system of restrictions, there were murmurings about another total lockdown. Businesses were going bust, and unemployment was rising fast. Everywhere I looked there were rumblings of discontent, conflicting information and vociferous opinions that made me wonder if the virus had affected peoples’ capacity to reason. To my mind, no one had definitive answers and, no matter what the government did, or said, they couldn’t win. In the end, I decided the only thing to do was ignore it all, worry about my own health and safety and concentrate on the second big writing project I’d recently started.

Bridges, engines and boilers

14 September 2019

With the ship now turning for home it seemed like a good time to go and see the things we’d missed out of our earlier walk around. First on the list was the bridge. This is where all the exciting things like navigation happen and, normally, it’s somewhere passengers don’t get to go.

SS Shieldhall

14 September 2019

As a reward for all the long walks, or maybe out of guilt for having signed me up for a marathon without my knowledge, Commando arranged a little treat for this afternoon. This came in the form of a cruise, although not the kind most people would imagine when they think of the port of Southampton.

Testing the Test Boardwalk – first published 24 August 2014

After my 2014 visit to Eling Tide Mill I headed for the Boardwalk across the River Test. In truth I didn’t really know where I was going. When I saw the sign for the long distance Test Way walk I double checked on WalkJogRun just be be really sure I went the right way. Much as I’d like to try the forty four mile walk one day when I have time on my hands and I’m feeling strong it wasn’t something I wanted to tackle on a Sunday afternoon when I had loads to do at home. Once I left the sign, the bridge and the River Test behind me it wasn’t long before I came to the Test Boardwalk. Continue reading Testing the Test Boardwalk – first published 24 August 2014

Show me the way to go home – first published 24 august 2014

Finally my 2014 ambition to visit Eling Tide Mill had been fulfilled. With one last look back along the causeway at the little boats in the marina I left the mill behind and made for the road. There were some interesting looking apartments overlooking the small harbour and I have to admit to a pang of envy. Imagine looking out of your window at the old mill and the ever changing view as boats come and go. Continue reading Show me the way to go home – first published 24 august 2014

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