Reading List
Some books of local interest you may find of use:
NEWBURGH IN PAST TIMES by J.A Perkins, ISBN 0 86157 076 6.
NEWBURGH VILLAGE TRAIL by The Newburgh Association.
NEWBURGH A Short History by John Whitehead, The Newburgh Association.
THE LEEDS and LIVERPOOL CANAL, A History and Guide by Mike Clarke. ISBN 0-948789-40-9.
THE CANAL BOATMEN 1760-1914 by Harry Hanson. ISBN 0 7190 0575 2.
BURSCOUGH BOATMEN Their marriages and their boats by Robert Cheetham-Houghton. ISBN 1-901231-127
A SHORT HISTORY of LATHOM by Pilkington Brothers P.L.C.
IDLE WOMEN by Susan Woolfit - an excellent account of her experiences as a working boatwoman during WW2 whilst serving for The Inland Waterways (IW) on the canal network.
MAIDENS' TRIP by Emma Smith - this was the first of 2 books by Emma Smith which brought her fame and fortune soon after the second world war ended. A companion of Susan Woolfit above this is another excellent account of life as a working boatwoman for the IW. This was the first account written afer the war ended and is my personal favourite.
TROUBLED WATERS by Margaret Cornish - friend and fellow boatwoman of Susan and Emma, Margaret also took to the waterways during WW2. Another wonderful account of her life and experiences on the canals.
THE AMATEUR BOATWOMEN by Eily (Kit) Gayford - This is in the same genre and time period as the previous three books. Kit was a trainer on the waterways responsible for the IW training scheme which advertised for women to crew working canal boats to allow men to leave the canal and serve in the armed forces. Kit was loved and highly respected by her trainees and the boating people. She was awarded the MBE for her contributuions to the Training scheme and war effort. This was written from the heart and not as academic as the other books but equally as informative and enjoyable a read.
HOLD ON A MINUTE by Tim Wilkinson - a throughly wonderful book about the life and experiences of a married couple who left their well paid occupations to work on the canal's shortly after the end of WW2. This was a good read from beginning to end, warm-hearted, humerous and very informative.
I can highly recommend all the last 5 books.
Other canal related books of interest:
A CANAL PEOPLE - by Sonia Rolt - some excellent photo's taken in the later years when commercial traffic was still busy on the canal network. This is a wonderful book to look through with some haunting images.
RAMLIN ROSE by Sheila Stewart - a fictional story based on many actual interviews with canal boatwomen. This was an excellent book which through these true accounts gave the reader a glimpse of life as a boatwoman/boating family working the canals to make a living. It was a tough life with many hardships but they lived a life with many qualities lacking in our hectic modern lives today. Well worth a read.
THE WATER ROAD : An Odyssey by Narrowboat Through England's Waterways by Paul Gogarty.
JOURNEY WITHOUT END by David Bolton.
BREAD UPON THE WATERS by David Blagrove.
All the above are available on loan from local libraries.
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