Found on YouTube. Created by "capspread". Recorded on 1959-05-15. Originally published on 2021-01-23.
#LookatLife #London #RiverThames #DownLondonRiver #Shipping
Look at Life - Down London River - 1959
A leisurely journey through London along the River Thames
This documentary made in 1959 in the popular Look at Life series is from Volume 5 - Cultural History and takes a journey along the River Thames passing several famous buildings and monuments such as - County Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Shell Mex House which has the biggest clock face in London. Cleopatra's Needle, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Port of London Authority, Prospect of London Pub, Port of London Docks.
Several Vessels are seen along the way including:
Maid of Kent - Maiden Rose - Petershaw - Captain Scott's Discovery - Wellington - London Belle - Roding - Kristina (Nordlake Line) - Conformity - John Ashley (Mission to Seaman Ship) - Frisian Coast - US Naval Ship - 251 - Oamse (Registered in Oslo) - Leeds City - Darro - Horst - Schelde Lloyd (Registered in Rotterdam) - Oronsay - Royal Launch.
More information about some of the above vessels:
SS Oronsay - this was the second Orient Line ship built after WW2. A sister ship to Orcades, she was named after the island of Oronsay off the west coast of Scotland. She was completed in 1951 at Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow in Furness. She operated the UK to Australasia service via the Suez Canal.
History
Owner - 1951-1966 - Orient Steam Navigation Company
1966-1975 - P & O Steam Navigation Company
Cost £4.23m
Launched 30 June 1950 Out of Service 28 Sep 1975 and Scrapped 1975.
Tonnage - 28136grt
Length - 216m; Beam - 28.5m; Draught - 9.4m
Speed - 22knots
Capacity - - as built - 1551 passengers (668 - 1st class; 883 - Tourist Class)
From 1972 - 1400 passengers also 370,000 cubic feet dry and refrig cargoes
Crew - 622
Kristina - Nordlake Lines - Registered Finland - 1975 gross tons - This had a regular cargo service between London, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Canada and the Great Lakes.
mv John Ashley - This was a former fishing vessel and now a Mission to Seaman's Ship. Built in 1946 and changed to Mission Ship in 1951.
Frisian Coast - Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Co. 1946 - 1967
586grt - 978dwt
History - 1937 - 1946 - Lowick - Built at Scheeps Gidion Koster - Groningen
1946 - 1967 - Frisian Coast
1967 - 1977 - Agia Eleni - Wrecked on 26 Nov 1977 off Mandraki Point, Rhodes.
USS Camp 251 - was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the US Navy during WW2. She served in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
Commissioned - 16 Sep 1943 - Decommissioned 1 May 1946
Reclassified - 21 Oct 1955
13 Feb 1971 - Renamed - RVNS Tran Hung Dao (HQ-1) South Vietnam
5 Apr 1976 - Renamed - RPS (later BRP) Rajah Lakandula
Decommissioned - 1988
Was in service in 1999 as a barracks ship, probably sold as scrap.
Length - 93m - Beam - 11.13m - Draught - 3.15m
Speed - 21 knots
Compliment - 8 officers - 201 enlisted.
Leeds City - British Flag - Built 1955 - General Cargo
8140grt - 10532dwt
Length - 464ft - Beam - 59.5 feet - Depth - 38 feet . Draft - 27 feet.
Other names -
1967 - Ellispontos; 1970 - Georgetta ; 1975 - Irini Chrysolvalandou
1979 - Stelitsa
Broken up 8 August 1985
River Thames
