MV ''Edmund Gardner'' is a retired pilot cutter built for the Liverpool Pilot Service after the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. She was decommissioned after nearly 30 years service converted to a museum ship as part of the

Merseyside Maritime Museum The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a museum based in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of National Museums Liverpool and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. It opened for a trial season in 19 ...

Service career

''Edmund Gardner'' was ordered by the

Mersey Docks and Harbour Board The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. These include the operation of the enclosed north ...

in July 1951 as a replacement for the pre-war steam powered cutters which were nearing the end of their usefulness. ''Edmund Gardner'' (cutter no.2) was one of three such vessels, and was/each being named for a past chairman of the board. Her sister-ships were ''Thomas Brocklebank'' (cutter no.1) and ''Arnet Robinson'' (cutter no.3) ''Edmund Gardner'' was built by Philip and Son, of Dartmouth, and was launched on 9 July 1953. She was completed and entered service on the Mersey on 2 December 1953. Her function was to serve as a floating base for pilots guiding ships into and out of the Mersey. She would remain one week at the Liverpool Bar, followed by one week at

Point Lynas Point Lynas Lighthouse ( cy, Goleudy Trwyn y Balog) is located on a headland in Llaneilian Community, on the north-east corner of Anglesey in North Wales (at ). A pilot station was established on the point in 1766, to guide ships entering and l ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, and then serve one week as supply ship to the other two. While on station her function was to meet ships entering the Mersey en route to the

Liverpool Docks The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the r ...

or the Manchester Ship Canal, and transfer the pilot for the transit of the waterway, or to collect pilots from outgoing vessels. During that period the Mersey was still a busy waterway; On an average day, such as 15 April 1960, ''Edmund Gardner'' met and transferred pilots for 16 ships (10 inbound and 6 outbound) in one 8-hour period. During her 28 years of successful service ''Edmund Gardner'' suffered only one incident; in 1963 she was involved in a mild collision with ore carrier ''Iron Horse'', but suffered no serious damage.''Edmund Gardner'': History
at Merseyside Maritime Museum

Later history

In April 1981 ''Edmund Gardner'' was de-commissioned; in 1982 she was purchased for the museum, one of only two such ships in preservation. Today she is located in the Canning Graving Dock, across the dock from the Maritime Museum and adjacent to the

Museum of Liverpool Life The Museum of Liverpool Life was a Museum in Liverpool, England, part of National Museums Liverpool, that focused on the contribution that the people of Liverpool made to national life. It closed in 2005 and was replaced by the Museum of Liver ...

. In 2014 ''Edmund Gardner'' was selected for use as a " dazzle ship", an art installation organized by the Imperial War Museum's 14-18 NOW project. In conjunction with

Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Every two years, the city of Liverpool hosts an extensive range of artworks, projects, and a programme of events. The biennial commissions leading ...

and

Tate Liverpool Tate Liverpool is an art gallery and museum in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The museum was an initiative of the Merseyside Development C ...

, ''Edmund Gardner'' was re-painted with a design by artist

Carlos Cruz-Diez Carlos Cruz-Diez (17 August 1923 – 27 July 2019) was a Venezuelan artist said by some scholars to have been "one of the greatest artistic innovators of the 20th century." Exhibitions * ''Physichromies de Cruz-Diez: Oeuvres de 1954 à 1965' ...

entitled ''Induction Chromatique à Double Fréquence'', and inspired by the dazzle camouflage developed and used during the

First World War 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 ...

.''Edmund Gardner''
at

; retrieved 12 October 2016

References

External links

''Edmund Gardner''
at

''Edmund Gardner''
at National Historic Ships UK {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmund Gardner, MV River Mersey Ships built in Dartmouth 1953 ships Museum ships in the United Kingdom Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet