''Massey Shaw'' is a former London Fire Brigade fireboat, named after the first Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, Captain Sir Eyre Massey Shaw. Built in 1935 and decommissioned in 1971, the vessel was restored in the early 21st century and is moored in London's

West India Docks The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides and warehouses built to import goods from and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which opened in 1802. Follow ...

Ship history

''Massey Shaw'' was built in 1935 by the

J. Samuel White J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915). It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the ...

company at Cowes,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. She was built to a

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

design, and cost around £18,000 to build. The vessel was named after Eyre Massey Shaw, a former chief of the London Fire Brigade. During 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 ...

, ''Massey Shaw'', along with a volunteer crew of

firemen A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

, formed part of the flotilla of small vessels which were sent to Dunkirk to help evacuate British troops from the beaches. ''Massey Shaw'' made three trips to the beaches and rescued over 500 troops, most by ferrying them to a larger ship standing offshore. She also rescued some 30 men from a French ship mined off Margate. ''Massey Shaw'' served throughout the remainder of the War as a fireboat on the

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 ...

. During the

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

, the vessel pumped vast quantities of water from the Thames to fight fires all along the Thames waterfront. She can be seen in the 1958 film 'Dunkirk' starring John Mills and Richard Attenborough. ''Massey Shaw'' remained in service as a Thames fireboat until 1971 when she was decommissioned. In 1980 Philip Wray, Dick Helyer, and several other concerned individuals found the Massey Shaw abandoned in

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

. They founded "The Massey Shaw Fireboat Society" and began to lobby the Fire Authority to save this historic vessel, eventually being granted a 50-year lease.

Restoration

The historic vessel was saved from dereliction by a group of enthusiasts who restored her and a successful Heritage Lottery Grant in 2008. The vessel has been completely restored in Gloucester dock by a professional team of boat builders. The society had planned to return Massey to the River Thames in May 2013 by sailing her around the south coast of the UK, stopping off at various ports on the way, including Cowes,

where the vessel was built in 1935. However, she returned to London by road in 2013 where final stages of the restoration were completed. As of 2021, ''Massey Shaw'' is moored at the eastern end of the

South Dock on the Isle of Dogs in London.

References

External links

Massey Shaw Education Trust

National Historic Ships Register

A London Inheritance
{{coord, 51.501088, -0.011559, display=title Fireboats of the United Kingdom Ships built on the Isle of Wight Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet 1935 ships Museum ships in the United Kingdom

Ship history

Restoration

See also

References

External links