My aim is to create awareness of the Life and Times of a unique fleet of 66 concrete ships that were commissioned by the British Government during World War I and launched between 1918 and 1920 after the Armistice was signed and the war was over. A number of these vessels still exist but most are lost forever. This website is to highlight the plight of the few remaining Crete vessels in the hope that greater awareness will stimulate greater interest and ideally, commitment to restore what remains today of this fleet.
The subject matter is the topic of a forthcoming book by Richard G Lewis entitled 'The Life and Times of The Crete Fleet'
I was intrigued by the presence of a remarkable concrete boat - Cretegaff - moored in Carlingford Marina near where I live. This stimulated a research project which in turn led to a mission to find out what happened to the others. Cretegaff was known as 'The Lady Boyne' when she resided in Drogheda for over half a century and I think the story of her 'Life and Times' needs to be told.
I am appealing for recollections, stories and photographs that can be used on this website and in my forthcoming book. If you have a photo, painting, drawing, poem - you name it - that you are happy to be presented here, you can join up or just mail thecaptain@thecretefleet.com. Your photos and anything else you contribute will be credited to the owner / author / artist whenever possible. Some photos are just 'on the net' !
A unique fleet of 66 concrete ships built between 1918 and 1920
Ripley postcard showing the launch of Gretegaff at John Ver Mehr's shipyard at Shoreham-by-Sea, one of 6 concrete Tugs and 6 concrete Barges from THE most prolific of Crete Fleet builders. They were 'THE boys' when it came to building concrete ships. Cretegaff is the only Crete Tug floating today. She came from Drogheda in 1988 where she had been known as 'The Lady Boyne' for 50 years. She was my initial inspiration to tell this story . . .
"All aboard that's coming aboard !"
Here's the Creteboom all dressed up with somewhere to go having just had her final fit -out in Southampton, Doesn't look quite the same today ! She is absolutely stunning looking over at Ballina - catch her in the right light and she can make any photo look fab. A monolithic lump of degrading concrete boat with coloured lights on her. See her whilst she lasts !
#savethecreteboom
"Well just look at her !" Not so fine and dandy now is she, rotting on the bank of The River Wear ? How can we just let our heritage rot away ? She's had a tough life has Cretehawser. Holed during a German air raid, towed up the River Wear and dumped. Her cousin Cretestem was blown up altogether and buried at sea. Rumour has it that Sunderland Council wanted her gone - trouble is, you would have to nuke one of these concrete boats to get rid ! #savethecretehawser
Torry, Aberdeen built Crete barge, she is still with us, lying grounded in a harbour on the isle of Scalpay acting as a store for fishermen's nets. Does it seem likely that one fine day, one of the fishermen of Scalpay mused "Where shall we store our nets ?" for another to say "I know, let's get ourselves a 180 foot concrete barge !" ? There is more to this story than first meets the eye - a Crete boat on the isle of Scalpay
Close to where I live, Cretefield is still visible, albeit sunk, at low tide. Cretefield was built at the J&R Thompson shipyard at Warrenpoint, Co. Down. The four Crete barges built at Warrenpoint were launched sideways into Carlingford Lough. Amazingly, one Warrenpoint barge returned to Carlingford Lough for her final years as a breakwater at Carlingford Marina. Creteforge and Cretefarm (above) were also built into harbour walls
There will be a section here for the Crete ships from The Crete Fleet that sadly, are no longer with us. Dismantled & scuttled, destroyed in German WW2 air raids, used to explode sea mines, run aground and wrecked on rocks (one on her maiden voyage), capsized whilst at her moorings, built into harbour walls, fatally damaged at launch. It's going to be a series of sad tales but hopefully with some joy as well - prepare yourself !
Gretegaff was built in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex in 1920 by the John ver Mehr shipyard.
Cretegaff has her registered name deeply etched into her concrete hull as do all of the Crete ships. However, if half your life you have been known by another name, it is only fair to recognise that fact and to pay homage to that period of her life.
Her official registration number on the Lloyd’s of London List of Maritime Vessels is 144623. She was deemed to be an experimental vessel with an ‘A1’ classification, one that limited her sphere of operations and meant that she was subject to an annual survey. As per the standard specification for the Crete Tugs, Cretegaff is 125 feet long, has a 27 feet 6 inches beam, has a ‘hold depth’ of 12 feet 6 inches and a Gross Registered Tonnage of 267 tonnes. She has a draught of 13 feet 4 inches which is just over 4 metres. She provided accommodation for a crew of 17 hands, with the Officers’ quarters positioned behind the funnel. Her triple-expansion steam engine, delivering 750 Indicated Horse Power, was built by J Milne & Son of Edinburgh,
In 1922 she was sold to the Crete Shipping Company by the Admiralty, part of a large fleet of concrete ships conceived during WWI and born after it ended. They were sold off by the British Government (that had financed their construction) as surplus to requirements. Shipbuilding returned to more 'traditional' materials such as steel when WWI shortages had passed.
There are many shipping reports that track Cretegaff plying the seas of the North East and the near continent in the early 1920s but unfortunately, The Crete Shipping Company foundered itself by 1924. At this time, the entire The Crete Fleet - those that hadn't sunk or been scrapped - was mothballed on the Tyne for many years looking for new owners. Many left the UK and each has it's own story - stories I intend to tell.
In 1936, Cretegaff was sold to Captain S.A. Portus of Garston and she was used to transport newsprint from Liverpool to the Isle of Man. This fact is recorded in Captain Stephen Carter's book 'The Toxteth Tragedy' as he knew Cpt S. A. Portus himself. By 1937 she was dismantled (all useful equipment salvaged) by Frederick Oldham Limited of Liverpool. In February 2021, 84 years AFTER she was hulk in Liverpool, I got confirmation, with photograph,s that two of her internal doors were now tables at Kehoe's Pub and Parlour, Kilmore Quay near Wexford.
rReports that she acted as a grain barge on the River Mersey are unsubstantiated and highly unlikely due to her size, length and breadth. Size matters.
What is certain is that in 1937 she was bought by the Drogheda based Irish Oil & Cake Company to be used for 'grain storage' and she was towed to the River Boyne from Liverpool. It is often reported that she arrived in Drogheda 'under her own steam' which is not correct - she didn't have a steam engine at this point. Having settled in the Port of Drogheda, she became known as ‘The Lady Boyne’ and is still referred to as such by literally everyone with Drogheda roots. I have had feedback from the 'Drogheda Diaspora' from around the world that normally starts with the words "That'sThe Lady Boyne". What's in a name...?
There are photos existing of her moored up at the Irish Oil & Cake Mills on the River Boyne in 1949 provided by Michelle Allen in a 2021 Facebook post on Drogheda Down Memory Lane, so she was still in fine fettle after the War.. Recollections are hazy but in the 1960s, she was moved to the North Quay and then eventually to the river bank at Marsh Road where she lay for many years.
The Lady Boyne proved to be an amazingly attractive 'Adventure Playground' for the children and youths of Drogheda - what is there not to like about a 125' abandoned concrete tug on the river bank. Whilst The Lady Boyne was much beloved by many of the folk of Drogheda, for others she was just an old wreck - in the way of Port development and 'an eyesore'. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and one local admirer, John MacSharry was moved to poetry which was published in ‘The Boynesider’ on December 11th 1987
O ship you look so lonely
along the quayside
I wonder how many years it’s been
since you sailed upon the tide
Looking at your ghostly state
I wonder what became your fate
Here you lie along our shore
for all to see but not adore
What parts of the world did you venture ?
What ports of Europe did you enter ?
All of this we’ll never know
as the bridge of time does flow
It’s now all past
Your crews all gone
No more life
No more song
For you are alone for all to see
a little shipwreck down by the quay.
John was one of number that had innovative ideas and plans as to how The Lady Boyne could be turned to better use. Councillor Frank Godfrey, later to become Mayor, was other big supporter of keeping The Lady Boyne in Drogheda. I received a Facebook message via Drogheda Down Memory Lane which, verbatim, goes like this :-
"As kids living on the Marsh Road, we played down the banks where she was moored. You had to climb up the rope to get on and be part of the gang. The best times of my life!'
In the photo gallery you will see a few photos sent to me of the good times on The Lady Boyne
As things came to pass, she was acquired by the developer of Carlingford Marina in 1987 who intended to use her as a breakwater at the new marina. There is much to that time in the life of 'The Lady Boyne' that will be in the book !
In April 1988, 'The Lady Boyne' was towed out of Drogheda, an event captured by three local girls and reported in the newspaper at that time (take a look at 'What the Papers Say' section for the article. By the time she left the mouth of the River Boyne, she became Cretegaff, her registered name, and on she journeyed, up to Carlingford Lough, where she resides to this day.
Her duties began as a breakwater as the Marina was developed, When the marina was completed, she sat in the middle of all the wonderful yachts and boats. She acted as the Marina clubhouse until around 2001 when the main Marina facilities were completed 'landslide' and throughout this time, and up to this day, she was the hub of the jetty and pontoon infrastructure at Carlingford Marina.
Later this year my book - 'The Life and Times of The Crete Fleet' will hopefully be finished and published. I have received many contributions from the folk of Drogheda, countless people that have very fond memories and a decidedly soft spot for the concrete tug ' previously known as' 'The Lady Boyne for half a century or more. Thank you all for those contributions and for sharing your stories and for the 'vintage photographs that you will see int he Photo Gallery
In January 2021, I was given permission (as a lessee of a business that operates in the Marina) to go aboard. It was an amazing experience to be inside the last remaining, floating example of a Crete Tug that exists today, over one hundred years after she launched.
Later this year my book - 'The Life and Times of The Crete Fleet' will hopefully be finished and published. I have received many contributions from the folk of Drogheda, countless people that have very fond memories and a decidedly soft spot for the concrete tug ' previously known as' 'The Lady Boyne for half a century or more.
Thank you all for those contributions and for sharing your stories and for the 'vintage photographs that you will see inthe Photo Gallery
Thanks also to Andy Spearman for this article in Drogheda Life
https://droghedalife.com/news/new-book-and-web-site-featuring-the-lady-boyne
“If only ships could talk, the Crete Fleet could tell quite a story. They cannot, so I am trying to tell their story for them. I hope that over time, a lot more can be discovered about “The Life and Times of The Creet Fleet ”
#Cretegaff - a photograph by Richard G Lewis. Free-to-use with appropriate credit
Creteboom was launched at Shoreham-by-Sea in 1919, the year before her younger sister, Cretegaff. She had 5 sister Tugs and 6 sister Barges. John ver Mehr was the most prolific of all Crete ship builders and the book "The Life and Times of The Crete Fleet will track down every one of these concrete barges
Shoreham-by-Sea is at the mouth of the River Adur and shipbuilding on the river goes back to at least Saxon times where a large port was established at Steyning , The order for 6 Crete Tugs and 6 Crete Barges brought something of a revival to shipbuilding at Shoreham-by-Sea and in particular at the John Ver Mehr & Co shipyard.
Creteboom followed the standard specification of the Crete Tugs and was powered by a 750 i.h.p (Indicated Horsepower) triple-expansion steam engine built in Bradford by Newton Bean & Mitchell. The coal bunker capacity to fuel the steam engine was 80 tonnes.
In 1922, Creteboom, like her sisters and cousins, was sold on to the newly formed Crete Shipping Company of Sunderland, the company founded by Stelp & Leighton Ltd of London. Her primary purpose in life was to carry coal from the North East of England to the South of England and to other areas that her A1 classification allowed. It is said that she travelled to the Baltic.
Cold there in the Winter
After being tied up on the Tyne for a long time, in 1935, Creteboom was sold to the South Stockton Shipbreaking Company on Teeside where she was stripped bare. In 1937, the 'hulk' was then sold on to the Ballina Harbour Commissioners in County Mayo. One purpose mooted as to why she was bought is that she was there to ‘train’ the River Moy so as to improve its flow, mitigate flooding & reduce silting. Unfortunately, she sprang a leak on her voyage that worsened whilst being maneuvered in to position and hence she had to be abandoned where she then lay.
In 1974 she was briefly refloated and moved to the position she is found in today. That's 47 years and counting. If she could be refloated then, why not now ?
I make no secret of the fact that I believe with a lot of imagination and probably not a huge amount of money, Creteboom could be saved, salvaged, refloated, renovated, put to constructive use. Having been inside Cretegaff I can tell you that the hold is huge. I don't think anyone realistic thinks that the Tug should be restored, with a steam engine and all - but there were quite a few solid ideas put forward for Cretegaff's re-incarnation.
If she is left abandoned and unloved for another half a century, my guess, she'll still be there. Sooner or later, someone will step in with an offer and a plan to salvage her. I hope.
A longer version of the Creteboom story is published at
https://www.northmayo.ie/guest-post-the-life-and-times-of-creteboom-by-richard-lewis/
“If only ships could talk, the Crete Fleet could tell quite a story. They cannot, so I am trying to tell their story for them. I hope that over time, a lot more can be discovered about “The Life and Times of The Creet Fleet ”
#Creteboom - a photograph by David Beattie - Copyright David Beattie - all rights reserved
Cretehawser was launched at Southwick on 15 March 1919 having been built by the Wear Concrete Building Company Ltd.
Cretehawser followed the standard Crete Tug specifications : Overall length was 125 feet, Beam 27 feet 6 inches and Draught 13 feet six inches with a Gross Registered Tonnage of 262 tonnes.
She was fitted with a screw driven, 3-cylinder triple expansion 720 hp steam engine from Central Marine Engine Works, West Hartlepool. Two other concrete tugs, Cretecable and Creterope, were also completed by the shipyard in 1919.
In 1922, Cretehawser was one of the Crete Fleet sold to Stelp & Leighton Ltd of London to join the ‘Crete Fleet’ in Sunderland. Cretehawser was listed in the 1926 Mercantile Navy List of British Registered Steam Vessels as being registered to Crete Shipping Co. Ltd until 1935 when she was re-registered to Samuel Levy of South Shields. In the same year it is noted as having been sold on again to the South Stockton Shipbuilding Company of Stockton for ‘breaking’,
Cretehawser,along with a second Crete Tug, Cretestem, were then bought by the River Wear Commissioners for use as emergency breakwaters. Cretehawser and Cretestem were moored in the South Dock, Sunderland where they were tied up safely until they were needed.
1942, Cretehawser was holed during a German bombing raid. A year later in 1943, Cretestem was completely destroyed in another German air aid. Fearing that further raids would create an even bigger problem than the Cretestem now represented, Cretehawser was towed up the River Wear and beached opposite the old Hylton Colliery, very close to where she was first built and where she stands today..
Just after the turn of the millennium, it is reported that Sunderland City Council considered removing Cretehawser from the riverbank and scrap her, but eventually decided against it.
In the view 'The Captain' at 'The Crete Fleet' ie me, these concrete ships are important examples of the ingenuity of the human race and valuable examples of our industrial archaeology and heritage. So much of our heritage has been lost. If Cretegaff could be salvaged and repurposed, why not Cretehawser ?.
I hope that during my lifetime to see Cretehawser salvaged.
#savethecretehawser
“If only ships could talk, the Crete Fleet could tell quite a story. They cannot, so I am trying to tell their story for them. I hope that over time, a lot more can be discovered about “The Life and Times of The Creet Fleet ”
The very first Crete barge launched by The Aberdeen Concrete Shipbuilding Co. Ltd was Cretetree in December 1918 , a month after WW1 had ended. The Aberdeen Concrete Shipbuilding Co built three vessels for the Crete Fleet. Crete Tug Cretehatch and Crete Barges Cretetorrent and Cretetree.
Cretetree is one of the very few remaining Crete Barges that exist today, lying beached in the North harbour of the Isle of Scalpay near Tarbert, Harris, Scotland and used as a storeroom facility by the local fisherman - you can see this from the photo kindly provided by Marc Calhoun, a Western Isles explorer and travel blogger https://marccalhoun.blogspot.com
Cretetree went into by the British Government ownership on completion and was transferred to the Crete Shipping Co. in 1922 along with many of her peers. By June 1924 she had been sold and re-registered to John W Robertson, a Shetland Islands entrepreneur who used her to supply coal to 'steam drifters'
In 1929 she was sold on to W A Bruce of Stornoway and used as a coal store through to 1948.
By 1955 she had been hulked and towed to her current resting place on the Isle of of Scalpay ‘to be used as a fishing gear store’. Is this true I wonder ? Researching Cretetree, I couldn’t help but think, ‘why on earth anyone would you drag a 180 foot long, 711 ton concrete barge to the Isle of Scalpay to use it as a fishing net store’ ?. In the book 'The Life and Times of The Crete Fleet' I shall reveal why Cretetree was towed to Scalpay and what happened next . . . .
Suffice to say - I WANT HER !!
Four of the Crete Barges were built at Warrenpoint, Co. Down (across Carlingford Lough from Carlingford Marina) by the J & R Thompson shipyard. They were named Creteforge, Cretefield, Creteforest and Cretefarm.
A major beneficiary of four of the individual barge contracts was a small shipyard in Warrenpoint, J&R Thompson. They didn’t build the barges alone - they were assisted by McLoughlin & Harvey of Belfast, established 1853. Now a major international engineering and construction company and 100+ years ago they instrumental in the building of the four concrete barges at Warrenpoint. Such an unusual ship building material required expertise in concrete, not just in ships. The concrete itself required innovative new techniques and an advanced knowledge of concrete chemistry.
Cretefarm was the first to be built at Warrenpoint and was launched on 18th December 1918. She was registered at Lloyd’s on 1st May 1919 , Reg.No. 143180, and was completed in June 2019.
Since all the barges were the same 180 feet long, 31 feet 5 inches wide and 16 feet and 4 inches deep, they would all have looked the same apart from having their individual names on the stern.
She was side-launched into Carlingford Lough, according to The Northern Whig reports, a “system most suitable to the building site and the facilities which the lough offers in its immediate vicinity The launch brought of the first Crete barge to be launched at Warrenpoint attracted a great deal of interest and there were other similar reports in a number of Irish newspapers.
The launch was followed by luncheon at The Great Northern Hotel at Rostrevor with Mr W. H. Mc Laughlin presiding over a celebratory lunch with Champagne. The speeches heralded the co-operation between J&R Thompson and McLoughlin & Harvey that delivered the vessel Cretefarm and others to follow. A breakthrough in shipbuilding technology.
Creteforge - PD71 - was launched on 5th March 1919, registered on 7th May 2019, Reg. No. 143194, and also completed in the June of that year. All 4 barges were launched within 7 months of each other and were registered under the name of ‘The Shipping Controller’.
In 1922, most of ‘The Crete Fleet’ were transferred to Crete Shipping Company which subsequently failed and by 1924 they were mothballed on the Tyne.
In 1929, Creteforge and Cretefam were sold to 'Banco de Crédito Gijonés' who were the bankers behind the development of a harbour at Candás, a small fishing village in Asturias in the north of Spain. Their last trip in tow would have been from Sunderland to Candás, around 900 nautical miles.
Lloyd’s register shows that Creteforge and Cretefarm were registered under the Spanish flag by 1930. On 17th August 1935, both barges were sunk side by side. Since 2001, neither barge has been visible as they are deeply embedded in the extended harbour wall
Cretefarm and Creteforge were born of the same shipyard and managed to stay together for eternity as both are now buried in the harbour wall of Candás, I will visit - but mainly for the seafood.
Having followed the familiar path of The Shipping Controller and then Crete Shipping Co., Creteforest was acquired in 1924 by Hughes Bolckow & Co. Ltd of Blythe a well known ship-breaking company .
She was only in her youth in 1924 and it is reasonable to assume that there was a much greater supply of concrete ships for sale after the failure of the Crete Shipping Company than there was demand Having been dismantled in Blyth in 1925, the hull was towed out and ‘deposited’ in the North Sea off the coast from Blyth.
Cretefield – PD72 – followed a similar path of launch, The Shipping Controller, Crete Shipping and then abandoned, unloved and unwanted.
In 1924 she was acquired by a Waterford Coal Merchant and was moored just above the bridge at Gratton Quay. Around 1957 she was moved down river to Belview and in 1990 acquired by Carlingford Marina and towed to her final resting place.
This final resting place is within 20 metres of her illustrious 1st cousin Gretegaff in the Carlingford Marina breakwater. Unlike Cretegaff, which floats and is in fine condition considering her age, Cretefield is only visible at very low tides. She is only around 4 miles from where she was built
The R&J Thompson shipyard closed down in the inter-war years but in WWII reopened as Warrenpoint Shipyard Company to build steel landings craft – LCTs – for the war effort. I have read that the shipyard employed over a 1000 men at that time and built more than 20 LCTs.
So here endeth the (summarized) story of the 4 Crete barges that were built in Warrenpoint.
One is in Carlingford, one is in the depths of the North Sea off Blyth and the two are in Northern Spain, never to be seen again but, thanks to www.thecretefleet.com, never to be forgotten !
#Cretegaff - you magnificent, beautiful beast, you aren't a wreck !! She was though - 23 years ago before she was patched up, reflected and repurposed at Carlingford Marina. So when I put a few pictures of wrecks up, remember that with imagination, TLC and a tidy sum, any of these could be rescued and repurposed. Even the sunken ones can be re-floated as numerous Crete ships were during their lives. Over 90% of The Crete Fleet have gone forever but here's a few that are still in our midst !
During WWII, Cretejoist was commandeered by the German Kriegsmarine to use as transport between Trondheim and Ålesund. In 1943 she was grounded at Fevåg during a storm. It is reported that there have been several attempts to blow up Cretejoist, including the German Army at the time. Today, she is much admired and photographed. There is a fantastic video of her below created by Tommy Strommen https://vimeo.com/tommystr
Cretabode was built in 1918 by Hill, Richards & Co. Ltd of Hamworthy, Dorset. She was used for many purposes until In 1942, during WWII, she was sold to the UK Government as Army stores transport.
In 1952 she was laid up at Wivelscombe Creek with two other Crete ships. In 1955 she was re-floated with great difficulty and towed to her present position at Deadman’s Point on the River Tamar, near Plymouth. There are many stories as to why she is there, and at least some of them are true !
#Creteglass was completed in October 2018 and 'tramped' around the UK's East Coast and across to Europe until 1923 when she was sold to a Norwegian company. In 1970 she was sold again and became part of bunkering quay at Bøvågen, Karmøy. She is at least still visible - many Crete ships have been used in harbour and marina schemes but normally get buried from sight
In 1923, the North Western Algerian port of Oran acquired a number of Crete barges, in particular the 'Collier Barges'. For certain, they bought #Cretecoal and #Cretell because today they lie sunken, together slightly along the coast at Cap Roux. Highly visible from Google Earth, one can see the two Crete barges, sunk, side by side - Cretecoal to the right, Cretetell to the left
#Cretecove was completed on 24th December 1919 at Fiddlers's Ferry
In 1924 she was sold to Dalen Portland Cementfabrikk of Norway along with #Cretelake and #Creteravine
In 1942, she was grounded at Røssøyvågen, again by the German Army who also crashed #Cretejoist. She is clearly very visible on Google Earth today, acting as a breakwater and creating a nice sheltered cove.
Many of the photos that will be used on this website can be found in the public on-line domain and their source and copyright holders are unclear. Where the photos have been used with the explicit permission of their owners then these are acknowledged and accredited below. Any videos that have been linked are very clearly credited to their owners and linked through to their channels / websites.
I am happy for my photos to be used in any form freely. My aim is to highlight the plight of the remaining Crete ships - in particular Creteboom and Cretehawser - and as such I want my photos to be circulated far and wide
David has kindly allowed me to display his fabulous photographs of #Creteboom that can also be found @myirishdrone on Instagram and Facebook. They are watermarked and must only be used with the permission of their owner
The drone shots of Carlingford Marina were produced by @wearetwowaydigitalmedia (on Instagram), Two-Way Digital Media on Facebook, www.twowaydigitalmedia.com for @onyerbikecarlingford. If the video is re-used, please credit @onyerbikecarlingford and Two-Way. www.onyerbike.ie
The photos of Cretetree on Scalpay are the property of March Calhoun who writes a blog "Exploring the Isles of the West' and wrote a blog https://marccalhoun.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-cretetree-hulk.html in 2015
Andrew Morrell has kindly allowed me to present some of his photographs of Cretehawser taken in 2020. These are his photos and may only be used with his express permission
A big thanks to those that have contributed photos from their personal albums, recollections and even poetry. I believe all are accurately and properly accredited. The list will grow and if you are not mentioned but your contribution is used, I will add you on my next update. But so far :-
Pascal J M Murray - 'The Lady Boyne Crew'
Andrew Cassidy - 'Bows will be boys' and 'Junior Matthews jumping from the Black Boat'
Stephen Swinhoe - 'Cretehawser 2015'
John MacSharry - for his poem about The Lady Boyne
I sincerely apologise if I have unknowingly used a photo that belongs to you. It is often unclear as to the providence and copyright of a photograph found on the internet. This is particularly true of historic photos. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you discover your work presented here without appropriate credits and copyright acknowledgment. One hope that I have is that by publishing this website in advance of my book, I will be able to discover stories, photos, poems, facts that are not known today and that help tell the story of the Life and Times of The Crete Fleet #thecretefleet.
Very nice video of #Cretejoist Barge still laid up on a beach in Norway
Video credit https://vimeo.com/tommystr
Diving on the wreck of #Creteland in Greece. It's a must do for me !
Her name is etched in concrete between 1 min/secs and 1.42
Marie Gardiner - Photographer/Writer
produced this interesting video about #cretehawser that I am delighted to share here. Marie has written an excellent book called 'Secret Sunderland' in which #Cretehawser and the other Wear Concrete Shipbuilding Co. Ltd Crete ships appear
Great drone video by
Owen Gardiner about #Cretehawser with a potted history to go with. This video appears on the North Mayo Tourism site as well. You can follow Owen's work on Instagram @mastergardiner and on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/user/owengardiner17/
If you follow this link, you can watch for free a newsreel that shows the construction of #Cretepath at British Concrete Construction at Barnstaple. It doesn't actually show the destruction of Cretepath at launch in 1918. She was never registered because she had to be forcibly removed and 'dispersed' in order to enable the launch of Cretepond. I love this 'video'