FRED MASON
Click on the arrow below to hear Fred's audio track
Recorded by Julian May
00.00 Evacuation 02.39 Ballast trade 02.45 Dragging the anchor 07.35 Gun disposal 08.14 Finding a bomb 08.56 Chalk talk 10.02 Sailing barge skills
11.32 The Cutty Sark steps 13.21 The Kelly Family 14.40 Casual labour at Robinson's Iron Yard 16.18 Robinson's chauffeur and horses 18.35 Work in the Depression
19.50 Lightermen and Sailormen 21.36 Doodlebug alert 23.45 Bomb site playground 24.58 Postwar schooling 30.00 Employment and National Service
32.14 Fred the carpenter 34.05 Port Health Authority 37.02 Local employment 39.38 Dredging for coal 45.15 Reasons for leaving Union Wharf
Recorded by Julian May
00.00 Evacuation 02.39 Ballast trade 02.45 Dragging the anchor 07.35 Gun disposal 08.14 Finding a bomb 08.56 Chalk talk 10.02 Sailing barge skills
11.32 The Cutty Sark steps 13.21 The Kelly Family 14.40 Casual labour at Robinson's Iron Yard 16.18 Robinson's chauffeur and horses 18.35 Work in the Depression
19.50 Lightermen and Sailormen 21.36 Doodlebug alert 23.45 Bomb site playground 24.58 Postwar schooling 30.00 Employment and National Service
32.14 Fred the carpenter 34.05 Port Health Authority 37.02 Local employment 39.38 Dredging for coal 45.15 Reasons for leaving Union Wharf
Click on the images to enlarge
The young Fred during World War 2
Courtesy of Fred Mason |
The beach at Greenwich where Fred played
Courtesy of Greenwich Heritage Centre 
The river wall at Lovell's Wharf
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Local resident Fred Mason reminisces about his life and times and growing up on and around Ballast Quay.
His school days, the Second World War and post war experiences, the local industrial activity and the skilled working life of his father and uncles, plying their trade on barges and sailing boats out of Union Wharf, are all vividly recalled in this personal memoir. |
Barges at Union Wharf with The Harbour-master's Office and the houses of Ballast Quay in the background
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The Kelly family on board their sailing barge Snowdrop - Fred's father Joe Mason is seated on the barrel with Fred's mother, Dolly Kelly, standing behind him.
Courtesy of Fred Mason |
Barges moored at Union Wharf
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