Picturing a port city's recent past
Shipping on the Thames and the Port of London During the 1940s-1980s, by Malcolm Batten and Reg Batten
In the second of our three books celebrating London as a port city, author Malcolm Batten brings readers a treasure trove of ship pictures taken by his father Reg Batten.
The introduction to Shipping on the Thames explains that Reg Batten came from a seafaring family but was not encouraged to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Instead, he ended up in the printing and photographic trades, yet could never entirely stay away from the maritime world.
The combination of Batten senior's photographic skill and passion for shipping has resulted in a fine collection of images taken over 40 years, now gathered in a book in the popular 'shipspotting' genre we often feature on these pages.
If you sailed on the Thames between the 1940s and 1980s, there's a good chance you'll see some vessels here which you remember as old friends (or indeed as difficult old rustbuckets). The pictures are grouped into Docks Views, Cargo Shipping, Service Vessels, Passenger Shipping, Courtesy Visits, Sail Training Ships and Heritage Shipping – which includes some of the beloved historic Thames barges.
In a postscript on 'Rundown and Renaissance', Batten junior brings the story told by his father's photographs up to date, looking at the decline of the old Port of London in the city centre and the establishment of new container facilities downriver at the likes of London Gateway.
Overall, this is a valuable piece of work, well presented with sharp black-and-white pictures on glossy paper, which brings to light many previously-unpublished photographs. Recommended.
Shipping on the Thames and the Port of London During the 1940s-1980s
By Malcolm Batten and Reg Batten
Pen & Sword, £30
ISBN: 978 13990 18401
Books landing page image: London Thames 1943/Wikimedia Commons
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Salvage story told through a treasure trove of images
In the Wake of the Empress of Ireland, by David Saint-PierreThe sinking of the Empress of Ireland in 1914 remains the worst peacetime disaster in Canadian history. Of the 1,477 people onboard, 1,012 died as the ocean liner went down in just 14 minutes.
Fighting on after D-Day
Normandy: The Sailors’ Story, by Nick HewittTo tie in with the 80th anniversary of D-Day last year, Yale University Press published this detailed and readable book by veteran ship restorer and historian Nick Hewitt, which puts the efforts of the Allied navies in the Battle for France centre stage.
Scotland's WW2 supply crews
Never to Return, by Roderick G MacleanAs remembrance season approaches, we often look out for new titles on the Merchant Navy in wartime, and Never to Return fits the bill this year.
New northern take on the Titanic tragedy
Titanic: The Greater Manchester Connections, by James W BancroftFew maritime tragedies have held such a place in the public imagination as that of the Titanic. The tales and testimonies of passengers aboard that doomed voyage in 1912 have inspired countless books and several film adaptations, some more fictionalised than others.