Annie W Lewis
In a harbour ships come and go every day. However, some vessels become more permanent features of the landscape. In Aberdeen one of those vessels was the Annie W Lewis, a trailing suction dredger in use at Aberdeen from 1927-1969. Given its long life, the Annie W Lewis is a reoccurring character in the Harbour Board archive.
One of the earliest documents in its life cycle is a wonderfully preserved menu
from the launch on the 28th June 1927. A truly Scottish affair with
barley soup, salmon mayonnaise and Scotch lamb. My favourite would definitely
be the array of puddings.
The documents can also give us an idea of the working life of the men who operated the vessel. The purpose of dredgers is mainly to displace and remove sand, gravel and debris from the harbour bed. This made the harbour safer for boats to navigate.[1] The Annie W Lewis was also specifically used to increase the depth in the harbour and channels to accommodate traffic.[2]
While thousands of men signed up and were conscripted to
fight on the continent during the Second World War, others were still required
to stay at home and work in the harbours. The coasts were extremely important
points in the UK and needed to remain in operation to take in goods as well as to
provide a place for naval vessels to dock. The men who worked on the water were
in danger from torpedoes and capture and, as an acknowledgement for continuing,
were paid risk money. A document shows that the Annie W Lewis dredger crew were
eligible for this compensation and were rewarded with between £7.16.6 and
£3.7.0 depending on rank. We can also see how weekly wages and risk money
compared with crews at other major ports of Hull and Bristol. Another document
from the national union of seaman in June 1942 declares that the Commissioners
had underestimated the risk that the crew were facing and proposed an increase
in the payments.
From 1927-1969, the Annie W Lewis and its crew experienced an everchanging landscape of the harbour at Aberdeen and is one of the most significant vessels in its recent history.
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