When old king coal ruled the waves to the Continent

Coal in this case, loading of chalk from horse-drawn trucks, fishermen repairing their nets, Thames sailing barges with their varied cargoes, and then for certain, boat building or repairing at Cantells' two building works, the outside device for bending timbers, a site finally taken over as the Fishermen's Club.

It was endless, fine for the boys you may well say, what about the girls?

Let's be fair, these riverside events would not generally appeal to them, they were by nature more interested in matters of the house and how they appeared.

Also, of course, there were two very positive factors regarding the boys' behaviour: first a respect for the law instilled by most parents and the serious crime to have disgraced your school, and if you did so, the school had means to see you punished for it and it could hurt!

Yes, there were gangs, there was mischief, but very little pointless vandalism.

So many of the boys had families where relatives were employed on the Channel steamers, a longstanding situation, you just knew for convenience sake, perhaps.

So let us take a walk up that west bank in the very early 1930s.

Not having taken the photo, how do we know the date?

The far Channel steamer is the Arundel of 1900 (last of the steam piston driven). She was sold in 1934 to Germany for scrap.

The nearer vessel is the famous Paris (4) of 1913, steam turbine and record breaker Newhaven-Dieppe 2 hours 36 minutes.

She was a vessel for all weathers, not a fancy skimmer on fair waters. We held the letter mail contract for the Continent and that was expected to be delivered. To cancel a crossing was extremely rare.

In 1940 she was attacked about nine miles off Dunkirk, twice, after having visited the beaches four or five times. She was abandoned, sinking with two fatalities. She was clearly coloured as a Red Cross ship.

In the early 1930s she had been converted to oil burning and had the promenade decks plated in, with glass windows as can be faintly seen in the picture.

The Arundel could well be at the marine shops, being 'debriefed' before leaving to be scrapped. The date, therefore, is most probably 1934.

Returning to the photo, the two black curves are of the corrugated steel tarpaulin works where covers were made, repaired and treated for railway goods wagons. Here many lads found their first and very messy employment.

This massive building was south of the Ark Inn. Nearer the camera was the large bonded warehouse.

Both were demolished after World War II but a wall of the latter remained into the 1990s, when Bickerstaff's fish shop was built in the area.

Note the single steam crane. This was on a small coal stage for private supply to visiting shipping but the main wharf with its two steam cranes and a steamer alongside delivered coal for use by the railway for the joint steamers, passenger or cargo. Another very dirty job.

After the war, it became a wharf for discharge of cargo, then for ballast discharge and treatment on the land vacated by the sheet loft and its tarpaulin sheets, which must have been very unpleasant for some of the residents in Chapel Street.

That is all at North Quay now and the old wharf has gone.

PETER BAILEY

Peter Bailey is curator of the Newhaven Local and Maritime Museum based in its own fascinating premises in the grounds of Paradise Park in Avis Road, Newhaven. Summer opening hours are daily, 2-4pm or by arrangement. Admission 1 (accompanied children free). Contact the curator on 01273 514760. Log on to the website at www.newhavenmuseum.co.uk