# In Memorial od Tommy and Beryl Cockow. R.I.P.



## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

Over twenty years ago, I wore my full blue captain's uniform when I attended my Uncle Tommy Cuckow's funeral at the All Hallows Church on Landseer Road, Ipswich. This was a year after I'd 'previously attended his son's, Tommy, funeral at the same church. Last Saturday I attended his wife's, my Auntie Beryl, funeral at the new crematorium chapel in Ipswich, after she had 88 years of active life.
My uncle served in the Royal Navy during The Second World, then the British Merchant Navy afterwards. He manned one of the cross-channel ferries from Dover to Calais for the rest of his seafaring career. 
Their son, John, did a study of the family tree of the Cuckow family, and discovered that more than 200 years ago, the family were the largest ship owners in Ipswich. They owned or part owned some twenty five sailing ships, both on the home trade and deep sea trade throughout the world.
James Cuckow had his shipping office down by the Ipswich Wet Dock at Number 8 Key Street, and lived nearby the local church down by the docks. The ships he owned were :- Alert, of 99 tons, Alert, of 103 tons, Amphitrite, at 140 tons, Amy, of 106, Argo, of 66 tons, Arno, at 119 tons, Atalanta, of 184 tons, Brisk, and Competitor, of 140 tons, Dispatch, Esther, of 199 tons, Fortitude, of 92 tons, Friends Goodwill, of 63 tons, Hypothesis, of 85 tons, James Cuckow, of 139 tons, Jane, Jane Hughes, of 99 tons, Kate and Jane, of 89 tons, Larch of the Morrell, of 29 tons, Majestic, of 345 tons, Orwell, of 305 tons, Panther, Queen Adelaide of 94 tons, The Fairy Queen, and The William Fraser.
John Cobbold, who was building the new brewery on what is now Cliff Quay some 200 years ago, contracted James Cuckow to supply him with malted barley for his new brewery. He bought the 346 ton three-masted square-rigger, Majestic, for this contract... the largest sailing ship working out of Ipswich at the time. 
In 1832, they went into partnership in having the three-masted square-rigger, Orwell, built in one of the three ship-building yards in Ipswich. There was the Halifax Shipyard, off Wherstead Road, the St. Clément's Shipyard nearby the lock-gates... which is the only one still in existence... and the Cliff Shipyard, where the coal-fired Power Station was built near Cliff Quay. The Cobbold Brewery later became the Tolley - Cobbold Brewery that still stands there today... sadly as a museum to the production of beer, not as a brewery.
The Orwell was sold to Sydney, in Australia, on 11th February, 1843, and was later wrecked when entering Manakau Harbour, in New Zealand, on 2nd February, 1848. 
Many of my young nieces and nephews came over to see me during the wake at the California Club to enquire of my adventures throughout the world, and several of them told me that they were also pursuing a career at sea themselves. One nephew, Daniel, was working on one of the Trinity House maintenance ships, and my niece, Lacey-Jane, was at the officer-training college of the merchant navy. She had just finished a voyage of instruction on a five-master sail-training ship.
My own history, of how I became interested in a life at sea, will shortly be published in my next and last book, From Beat to Open Deck. I emailed the manuscript to my literary agent, Colin Timms, of The Electronic Book Company, only this morning. When I have the details of the publication of this book, I will post the thread in the Books forum with details of how to access the book. All the best, Cps Dick Brooks.


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## lakercapt (Jul 19, 2005)

That shoulld be another interesting story!!!!


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For lakercapt.*

Hi, lakercapt, good to hear from you, and thank you for your reply. How each and every one of us ended up spending a large part of our lives at sea is a story in its own right. When my next book, 'From Beat to Open Deck', is published... hopefully within the next six weeks... I'll post a thread in the Books forum with the Kindle code, so that you all may share in my story. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


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## Bill.B (Oct 19, 2013)

Glad to hear that Ipswich hasn't quite turned its back on the sea. That area of Stoke and Wherstead road housed a lot of old seafaring families. Polleys, Lings, Potters, Ruffles to mention just a few. So sad to see the wet dock full of flotsam now. I remember we'll the Gulf boats as a teenager and what a mess they always looked. I wish your seagoing family all the best in their choices. I sailed many years on sailing barge Vigilant built you Orvis and Fullers yard in Ipswich. Roy Orvis was Pauls barge manager when I was looking for a berth in the late 60s on a motor barge. People say the docks are now alive with all the hotels and bars but in the 60s to me it was really alive.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Bill B.*

Hi, Bill, good to hear from you. If you haven't been to Ipswich lately, you wouldn't even recognise the place. When I came back in 1990, the whole town centre had gone pedestrian after the Orwell Bridge was opened and all the thru traffic was diverted over it. I always think of it as my bridge, as I towed the Wimpy drilling rig down the river from the Wet Dock with my second ship, Biche.
The Wet Dock is now chocker with yachts of every shape and size, even some of those big, fancy motor yachts of two or three million each. But at least the water is free from pollution, with fish swimming about. If you fell in back in the 1960's, it was a trip straight to Anglsea Road Hospital for half a dozen jabs in your backside.
The north side of the Wet Dock is now all bars, bistros and hotels. It's all been paved over for pedestrians, with fancy Georgian type electric gas lights, even with the crossbar for the lamp-lighter's ladder. Even the Old Stoke Village along the New Cut West is now all high-rise apartment buildings.
But at least all this development has brought a lot of money into the town, bringing with it more employment. The River Orwell by Stoke Bridge was like a sewer, running red from the washing-out water from Burtons jam factory and covered in large rafts of white bubbles from the Yeast Factory. That is now a kiddies skate park. 
Once the effect of the 2008 Stock Market crash finally eases off, the Wet Dock area will be buzzing. Whitmore's is now a fancy hotel, and Isaac Lloyds is a really fancy bar overlooking the yachts in the marinas from an upper floor open lounge.
Good to hear from you. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Bill B.*

Hi, Bill, good to hear from you. If you haven't been to Ipswich lately, you wouldn't even recognise the place. When I came back in 1990, the whole town centre had gone pedestrian after the Orwell Bridge was opened and all the thru traffic was diverted over it. I always think of it as my bridge, as I towed the Wimpy drilling rig down the river from the Wet Dock with my second ship, Biche.
The Wet Dock is now chocker with yachts of every shape and size, even some of those big, fancy motor yachts of two or three million each. But at least the water is free from pollution, with fish swimming about. If you fell in back in the 1960's, it was a trip straight to Anglsea Road Hospital for half a dozen jabs in your backside.
The north side of the Wet Dock is now all bars, bistros and hotels. It's all been paved over for pedestrians, with fancy Georgian type electric gas lights, even with the crossbar for the lamp-lighter's ladder. Even the Old Stoke Village along the New Cut West is now all high-rise apartment buildings.
But at least all this development has brought a lot of money into the town, bringing with it more employment. The River Orwell by Stoke Bridge was like a sewer, running red from the washing-out water from Burtons jam factory and covered in large rafts of white bubbles from the Yeast Factory. That is now a kiddies skate park. 
Once the effect of the 2008 Stock Market crash finally eases off, the Wet Dock area will be buzzing. Whitmore's is now a fancy hotel, and Isaac Lloyds is a really fancy bar overlooking the yachts in the marinas from an upper floor open lounge.
Good to hear from you. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


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## Bill.B (Oct 19, 2013)

Hi Dick. I go home every year and catch up on good beer and barge sailing. Have been down the docks many times recently. Cranfields stalled development is a mess. After being mate of their motor barge one summer they put me in the mill. In 6 weeks I went from mate of Gladys to assistant mill manager. Not bad at 17 years old. It was a great place to work. Lots of old boys from the Shotley peninsular and around who taught me a lot. I almost went back the next summer but got a job with Silvertown Services on Cranfields old barge "Ethel" and did the round Uk Gestetner trip. Cranfields was hard work for a very fit , but physically weak, teenager. First time they tried to get me to lift a 180lb bag of Semolina I ended up underneath it on the floor. After three weeks I could throw it on a stack above my head. Don't think I was ever so fit. I see all this when down the dock and see all the new developement and such and feel we have lost more than we have gained. You can hardly see that lovely expanse of water as it was. My barging mate works on the lock gates and keeps me up to date on the going and froing. I know there was a lot of pollution in the 60s but we were all pretty ignorant of it then. Growing up at the Dooley, which was my paradise, in the 50s and now knowing it is buried under Felixstowe fills me with a sadness. I am just not a progress at all costs person. A bit like London River. All seems rather dead now and lifeless. Time for a cuppa so will get of the soap box. I was lucky to see Suffolk as it was then.


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