Francis Charles Morgan-Giles (1883 – 19 March 1964) was a boat designer and builder from Devon, England.
He built rowing boats, dinghies, yachts and large motor cruisers.
His boats were known for their high quality, elegance and craftsmanship.
Early years
Francis Charles Morgan-Giles was born 29 October 1882 in Kingston, Surrey.(Birth Certificate)
As a boy he was interested in sailing, particularly in dinghies.
In 1896, when aged 14, he began a fee-paying apprenticeship with the boat builders Pengelly and Gore of
Ringmore
Ringmore is a village and a civil parish located on the coast of Devon, England.The population taken at the 2011 census was 208.
History
Ringmore was first mentioned in the Domesday Book, in which it was referred to as "Reimore". Until 1908, ...
.
He then joined Gann and Palmer of
Teignmouth
Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at th ...
.
He had private tuition in science and mathematics.
In 1901 Morgan-Giles moved to London and started a business in
Hammersmith designing small wooden boats for cruising and racing.
Harry May joined him in 1909, and they formed Morgan Giles and May, Naval Architects and Yacht Builders.
The partners had an office off the
Strand
Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
* Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
* Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* Strand Street ...
and a boat building yard in Hammersmith beside the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
.
In 1908–09 Morgan-Giles's future wife, Ivy Carus-Wilson, ordered a racing dinghy named ''Myosotis'' from the company, in which she competed with great success.
Their first son, Morgan Charles Morgan-Giles, was born on 19 June 1914.
Morgan-Giles and May took over the former Popham yard at
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
in 1911.
In 1914 they dissolved their partnership and Morgan-Giles continued as a designer on his own.
After the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(1914–18) Morgan-Giles commanded coastal patrol boats in the Royal Naval Volunteer Auxiliary Patrol Service.
He became a Lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
Morgan-Giles Limited
Morgan-Giles left the service in 1920 and bought the former Gann and Palmer shipyard in Teignmouth, naming it Morgan-Giles Limited.
The shipyard was derelict and required repairs before it could start operation.
The yard designed and built boats for racing and leisure, including rowing boats, dinghies, motor launches and small cabin cruisers.
It built more than 1,000 yachts.
The boat yard became famous internationally for its elegant and high-quality boats built by skilled craftsmen, shipwrights, engineers, joiners and riggers.
The ''Lady Cable'', a pleasure boat built in 1923, later helped in the
Dunkirk evacuation in May–June 1940 and seems to have been the last small boat to depart from the beach.
His eldest son,
Morgan Morgan-Giles, joined the navy in 1932 at the age of 18, served with distinction in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(1939–45), and later rose to the rank of rear-admiral.
With the outbreak of World War II the boatyard was expanded and selected by the Admiralty for repair and construction of naval vessels.
Up to 150 men and women worked at the yard, and built pinnaces, motor launches and motor torpedo boats.
After the return of peace the yard resumed construction of pleasure boats, including motor launches and canal cruisers.
The yard also continued to do some work for the Admiralty including patrol boats, minesweepers and sailing boats for Royal Naval College at Dartmouth.
The six sailing boats built for naval training were the ''Pegasus'', ''Wyvern'', ''Gryphis'', ''Martlet'', ''Leopard'' and ''Galahad''.
Morgan-Giles refused to work with fibreglass, saying "God made man so he could float upon a piece of wood".
Francis Charles Morgan-Giles died on 19 March 1964, aged 81.
Several of his wooden or galvanised steel yachts are still in use today, such as the ''Hispania VI'', built for King
Alfonso XIII of Spain.
The yard was bought by John Roberts. Francis' son, Michael Morgan-Giles, directed the yard for a few more years under the Morgan Giles name.
After Roberts died the yard was used by other companies.
It was completely demolished by 1984 and is now occupied by apartment blocks.
The old slipways have survived.
Designs
The boat designs of F. Morgan-Giles were all provided with chronological numbers.
The classes designed by Francis Morgan-Giles include:
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan-Giles, Francis Charles
1883 births
1964 deaths
British boat builders
People from Teignmouth