Blanchland

Starboard quarter view of the Blanchland, sometime in the 1960s.

This 'Noticeboard' contains snippets of information about the ship drawn from a wide range of personal and documentary sources and is updated as and when new material is received:

From Mr. Stan Lithgo: "Went to Hartlepool on October 31st, 1961. Pilots from the Tees were often sent to nearby ports to save time picking up a Pilot in Tees Bay. In my case, the Blanchland was bound to drydock at Smith's Dock, South Bank. Derrick Southern (my cousin), was the Hartlepool Pilot. The ship was delayed by half an hour because the swing bridge was not opened on account of shift workers crossing. When clear, Derrick stayed on board, but when we reached Smith's it was too late to drydock.
When the Blanchland sailed from Smith's, the Pilot, W. Garthwaite (known as 'Big Bill'), was unable to disembark on account of north-easterly gales and heavy seas. The ship was bound for Dalhousie in Canada and was going north-about, so arrangements were made to land the Pilot by fishing boat at Scrabster in the Pentland Firth. Maybe some of Gray's personnel could have been on board?"

A “Casualties” listing in the January 1986 issue of Marine News states that Ionian Princess  “which arrived at Inchon [South Korea] 20/8/85 with engine damage sustained during a voyage from Shekou [southern China] to Qinhuangdao [northern China] and has meantime been laid up there, has now been sold by the mortgagees to Chinese shipbreakers.”

A group of Apprentices who worked on the Blanchland - the last ship launched by Gray's.
Middle row, 3rd in from the left is William Robinson who was fondly known as 'Flicker' to his mates. He was an apprentice shipwright at the William Gray shipyard. He went on to serve in the Merchant Navy and also work at Blohm & Voss in Germany. In his later years he was part of the Trincomalee restoration team where his shipwright skills were once again required. 

A photograph from the Derek Weller collection showing the Blanchland, light, lying alongside.

The Motor-ship Blanchland leaving port in light condition.

The Motor-ship Blanchland in need of a touch of paint!