Ancestors At Work
Alex Ombler explains how the British shipbuilding industry changed for our forebears over the 19th and 20th centuries
The lives of the shipbuilders who kept the world afloat
During the 19th century the largescale growth of Britain’s maritime trade created a huge demand for ships, which were increasingly built from iron and later steel. Indeed, between 1890 and 1914 the country was the world’s greatest shipbuilding nation. Just before the First World War 60 per cent of the world fleet was built in British shipyards, where some 300,000 workers were employed. It is therefore not surprising that many of us find shipbuilding ancestors during the course of our research.
The largest metal shipbuilding centres were located in the north-east of England on the Tyne, Tees and Wear Estuaries, and on the River Clyde in Scotland. Together these areas employed over half of the country’s shipbuilding labour force. Elsewhere, there were major shipbuilding companies including Vickers at Barrowin-Furness, Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, and Vosper and Thornycroft at Southampton. In Scotland, Leith, Dundee, Grangemouth and Aberdeen were also important places in the industry, while Belfast was home to Harland and Wolff, where the ill-fated RMS Titanic was constructed.
Shipbuilding was a highly skilled and labour-intensive business, with much of the work completed by hand well into the 20th century. While shipyards
across the country varied in size from huge companies to smaller family-owned firms, the labour force at each one was generally organised along the same lines.
The Boilermarkers
Those in the hull trades were known as ‘boilermakers’, a term used to refer to general metalworkers, not just those who manufactured boilers.
Among the workers who built the hull together were platers, riveters and caulkers. The highly skilled platers worked in squads with platers’ helpers hanging and bolting the iron and later steel plates to the ship’s frame. Riveters also worked in squads, and – renowned for their strength rather than skill – joined or ‘riveted’ the metal plates together using hammers and hot rivets. A ‘rivet heater’ heated up a rivet then passed it to the ‘catch-boy’, who passed it to the ‘holder-up’ who held it in the correct position. A left-handed and righthanded riveter each stood on either side of the rivet, striking it rhythmically into place. Their work was followed by that of the caulkers who sealed or ‘caulked’ any gaps in the hull to make it watertight.
Shipwrights, who had been at the top of the shipyard trades during the days of wooden ships, were responsible for the carpentry work on iron and steel ships, including the laying of wooden decks. Shipwrights also prepared vessels for launching. A variety of other, more general craftsmen were also employed in the yards. For example, blacksmiths produced the metal that went into a vessel including rings, bolts and railings, while ‘fitting-out’ trades included joiners, plumbers, and later, electricians.
Labour in the yards was strictly divided between all of the different crafts. For example, a plater was not allowed to do the work of a riveter or a shipwright that of a caulker, even if the person was capable. This was often a cause of conflict between
‘Labour in the yards was strictly divided between all of the different crafts’
sections of the workforce, with disputes about which craftsmen should undertake a particular part of the process.
Unrest Over Pay
Further unrest was created by the different levels and payment methods associated with the different crafts, each being paid according to a complex variety of time rates, piecework, contracts and bonuses. The highest earners were the platers, who were paid by the number of plates they could hang. Similarly, riveters’ pay was determined by the number of rivets that they hammered.
The various trades also belonged to different craft unions. In 1912 there were 27 unions in the shipbuilding industry. Founded in Manchester in 1834, the United Society of Boilermakers, Shipbuilders and Structural Workers represented the platers, riveters and caulkers. The shipwrights belonged to the Shipconstructors’ and
Shipwrights’ Association, which was formed in 1882 when 11 local unions in Scotland and north-east England merged.
One of the key functions of the unions was to ensure that entry into the industry remained a closed shop, with work in the yards only open to union members. There was also a longstanding culture of ‘occupational inheritance’ in the industry, with preference given to those with fathers or other relations already in employment. Often entire families worked alongside each
other on the yards’ slipways and in the workshops.
The working life of a shipbuilder was one of hardship. Conditions across the yards varied, but were generally harsh and dangerous compared with many other industries. Riveting was particularly tough work, with riveters’ hands calloused and cracked from swinging their hammers. They were also frequently deafened by the constant clattering of metal on metal. It was often said that the shipyard workers’ pubs could easily be identified by the loud voices of the deaf patrons within. Accidents and fatalities were common, mostly caused by falls from heights. Amenities such as canteens and toilets were usually basic and insanitary, too.
Privation And Uncertainty
A shipbuilder’s life outside of work was also marked by privation and uncertainty. Employment was essentially on a casual basis, and was determined by the rise and fall in the demand for ships. Indeed, the owner of a shipyard could cut wages or lay a worker off at a single day’s notice when work was scarce.
In addition, during the Second World War shipbuilding towns and cities were persistently targeted by the Luftwaffe, with many bombs intended for the shipyards missing their target and landing on the nearby terrace streets inhabited by tight-knit shipbuilding communities.
The 20th century as a whole saw the gradual transformation of the industry. The manual work of platers, riveters and caulkers was replaced by hydraulic and later pneumatic equipment. The role of the riveters was made obsolete when the laborious practice of riveting to join metal plates was replaced by welding; medical officers were appointed; safety equipment was introduced; and the divisions between the crafts loosened. In 1963 the boilermakers’ and shipwrights’ unions merged to form the Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers (ASB).
Sadly, Britain declined as a shipbuilding power during the same period. During the interwar years British shipyards struggled to keep up with foreign competition, and after 1945 the industry entered a sharp decline. By the end of the 1960s Britain was building just 5 per cent of the world fleet, behind Japan, Sweden and West Germany. The closure of yards created large-scale unemployment among shipyard workers, and hit shipbuilding communities hard. Joiners, plumbers and electricians could find work in other industries, but traditional shipyard craftsmen were consigned to history.