John Readhead & Sons - Introduction
John Readhead & Sons - History
John Readhead and Sons - the People
Readhead's Ships
Readheads Ships, including photos
The Technical Offices & Head Office
The Engine Works & Drawing Office
Readhead's Timeline
Local Memories
The Steel Trades
The Outfitting Trades
Other trades
Royal Visits
More photo's
Newspaper & website publicity
The West Docks
The Readhead Family Tree
Readhead's Customers
Local Pubs, social scene, sports, Ashley House & Woodies sho
The Readhead Shipping Line
Readhead's Launch Photos
Photos
Photos 2
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
UNDER CONSTRUCTION 2
UNDER CONSTRUCTION 3
UNDER CONSTRUCTION 4
UNDER CONSTRUCTION 5
Message Board
Guestbook
Mail Form
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John Readhead and Sons - the People
 | The picture shows Ald. John Readhead, founder 1865, in the centre; Sir James Readhead BT on the left and Sir James H. Readhead BT on the right.
John Readhead
b 1819 Earsdon, Northumberland; d March 9th, 1894, South Shields, County Durham
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Sir James Readhead Bart. J.P.
b 22nd October 1852, South Shields, County Durham; d 18th March 1930
First Baronet 1922
First Chairman and Managing Director Limited Company 1909 - 1930.
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John Readhead J.P. of 'Rockcliffe', Westoe, South Shields, son of the late John Readhead of Westoe, shipbuilder. Born at South Shields Nov. 29th, 1849. Educated at private schools. Partner of the firm of John Readhead & Sons, engine and shipbuilder, South Shields. Justice of the Peace for the county borough of South Shields. |
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 | Sir James Halder READHEAD(2nd Baronet)shown above in 1926.
b: 25th February 1879 South Shields; d: 8th May 1940
He attended South Shields High School where it is recorded on their web-site that he was a keen rugby player, who went on to become Chairman and Managing Director of John Readhead & Sons, Ltd, his grandfather's ship-building company.
....................................................................................................Article from The Shields Gazette 9th May 1940;-
The heart of the people of South Shields is sorely touched by the loss of so notable a townsman as Sir James H. Readhead. The suddenness of the call - snatched from us within a few hours, and while seemingly in the best of health - will heighten the sorrow. He was a genuine man, kindly, unpretentious and uniformly courteous in manner and speech, he was one whom to know is not soon to forget. The sad news came first hand to his works, where the hoisting of the flag half mast high and the immediate ordered cessation of work, gave an obvious thrill of dismay and tense grief to everyone, for Sir James was beloved of his men and officials. They left their jobs reluctantly and talked quietly in groups before taking their departure to their homes. They had lost a friend whose place will not be easily filled.
And the town is just as badly hit. Sir James has been a steadfast citizen both in service and benevolence and we shall respect his memory for these and other virtues. |
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 | There is a memorial on the wall of the Engineworks building which reads;-
1914 - 1919
AS A MEMORIAL TO THE EMPLOYEES OF THE
WEST DOCKS WHO GAVE THEIR SERVICES ALSO
TO THE IMMORTAL MEMORY OF THOSE EMPLOYEES
NAMED BELOW WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR.
THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED BY
JAMES READHEAD. ESQ. J.P. CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR. |
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Memorial
| APPLETON, R. |
COLLIER, J. |
GORDON, G. |
JOHNSON, E. |
ROBSON, H. J. |
THOMPSON, T. |
| ARCHER, J. |
DENNIS, C. |
HACKWORTH, J. |
MARTIN, W. |
SCOTT, A. |
TUCKER, L. |
| BAKER, T. |
DOUGLASS, W. |
HALL, T. |
MOORE, W. G. |
SCOTT, D. |
TURNBULL, J. W. |
| BEAUMONT, J. |
DUNN, W. |
HAMPTON, T.M. |
MOUAT, S. |
SCOTT, J. C. |
WARD, A. |
| BLAIR, M. |
EASBY, J. W. |
HAMILTON, C. |
PHINN, O. S. |
SELLARS, W. |
WARD, J. |
| BROOM, J. J. |
FINLAY, J. |
HINCHAN, J. F. |
RAMSHAW, R. |
SMALL, C. |
WOOD, J. R. |
| BROWN, J. |
FLOYD, R. |
HOLLANDS, A. |
REAY, J. B. |
SMITH, J. R. |
YOUNG, H. |
| BROWN, T. |
FORD, W. B. |
LEE, J. W. |
RICHARDSON, N. |
SMITHERS, M. |
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| BROWN, W. H. |
FRAME, C. |
LEGG, W. R. |
RIDDLE, R. |
SWAN, J. |
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| COCKBURN, E. A. |
GILCHRIST, H. |
JENNINGS, F. C. |
ROBSON, G. J. |
TEMPLE, J. W. |
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 | George Harold Readhead TOWERS, J.P.
b 20th November 1910
Director 1936
Managing Director 1940
Chairman & Managing Director 1957
Extract from an article in the Shields Gazette 13 Dec 1973 commenting on his retirement;-
......And, of course, he has always cherished the family spirit of Readhead's; "that has always been important to me. Sons have followed fathers into the yard, the same as I followed my uncle and grandfather. We knew the men, and they knew us. It was as simple as that." |
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Gold and enamel medallions were presented by Readheads to their men who fought in WWI.
John G Atkinson was one of those men. He was in the RNVR but fought on land at the Somme where he was badly injured. He was unable to resume work in the yard because of his injuries. |
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People & Obituaries
From The Bulletin
Of the Institute of Marine Engineers
October 2000
Peter Henry, CEng, FIMarE
Peter, who, in June, died peacefully in hospital at the age of 90, was elected a member of the Institute in 1951 and was an inaugural member of the NE Branch in 1952, serving on the committee. He was elected Fellow in 1973 and presented with his 45-year certificate in 1997.
He followed his father's footsteps, serving his apprenticeship at Readhead's shipyard. He attended night classes at the old Marine School in South Shields during and after his initial training. In 1930, Readhead closed temporarily and Peter managed to finish his time at Swan Hunter Dry Dock.
During his seven years afloat he sailed with Kaye Son & Co, Port Line, and MA NZ Line, obtaining a 1st Class Steam Certificate and the matching Motor Endorsement. He then applied for a position as Assistant Manager at the yard and reckoned he was the last manager to be interviewed by Sir James Readhead (son of the founder) who died three years later.
During the war, one night when Peter was in charge of Air Raid Precautions at the yard, the joiners and carpenter's shop were ablaze from incendiaries. Three high-explosive bombs demolished other shops and the quays, and the `all clear' was eventually sounded at 06:00h. At 09:00h, Peter reported that his ship had left dry-dock on schedule!
In 1941, he was seconded to the War Office to advise on the immobilisation of enemy ships and the training of foreign co-operatives.
He will be greatly missed by his family and friends and is survived by his wife Hilda (who was the first industrial nurse at Readheads), son Peter, and his daughter Elizabeth.
Peter's ashes are to be scattered over his beloved River Tyne. — BM.
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Henderson, Robert (Bob)
Bob was the Outfit Section Leader at Readheads. He became Readheads Yard Manager for a while and later moved on to the Estimating Office at Hebburn Shipyard.
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O'Cain, Ronnie
Ronnie was Outfit Section Leader after Bob Henderson. He was also a part-time Lecturer at Sunderland College.
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Wilson, R.D. (Dougie)
Dougie was an Outfit Draughtsman at Readheads. On the Swan Hunter takeover he moved to the Hebburn yard.
Doug was involved for many years with the South Shields Boys Brigade and Marsden Road Baptist Church were he was Secretary. He loved to watch local football.
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Musgrave, Norman
Norman was an Outfit Draughtsman at Readheads. On the Swan Hunter takeover he moved to the Planning Department at Wallsend.
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Atkins, George
George was the Naval Architect. he moved to the M.O.D. where I heard he was out inspecting a Ships Tank when he was overcome by toxic fumes. I understand two others who tried to rescue him were also overcome and died.
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From website http://www.imarest.org/inews/1999oct/Default.htm
Stokoe, Edward Allan
Allan Stokoe, past Member of Council, died on 8 August 1999 aged 72. His engineering career began with an apprenticeship as a shipbuilding draughtsman with John Readhead & Sons of South Shields. During his apprenticeship he attended evening classes at Sunderland Technical College, and gained a Higher National Certificate in Naval Architecture. Throughout his working life Alan had an eye for detail and coupled with his mathematics skills he spent most of his apprenticeship on design calculations working on dry cargo ships up to 10 000t.
He moved onto a new position with Short Bros of Sunderland as a ships' draughtsman, returning to the Tyne in 1954 as ship designer at Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, where he worked on the structural design of cargo and passenger ships as well as oil tankers. A further move was made to Hawthorn Leslie of Hebburn for a short while working extensively on ship calculations and structures. Finally he joined the staff of South Shields Marine & Technical College in 1954 as a lecturer in Naval Architecture, rising to Principal Lecturer. He was instrumental in setting up a degree for mariners in conjunction with Sunderland Polytechnic and represented the College on many external committees. He maintained his industrial contacts through his consulting work on ship stability for local graving docks. His book, Naval Architecture for marine Engineers, became the bible for certificate students. Alan took early retirement in 1985 and devoted his time to his family and the local Sports council.
He joined the Institute as an Associate Member in 1956, becoming a Member in 1961 and a Fellow in 1973. As a Member of Council he served on various committees and for many years was Honorary Secretary for the NE Branch and in the same post when the Joint Branch was formed. During the Institute's Centenary year Alan was elected Branch Chairman. He was a Fellow of RINA, a member of the NE Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders and a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.
He is survived by his wife Margaret, son Philip and daughter Christine. — BMcD
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Index to the "Civilian War Dead Roll Of Honour"
for Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire.
Section O-R
Priestley, Matthew
(AFS) - 49 yrs - 10 Apr 1941 - Redheads Shipyard, South Shields, DUR - 183
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It was with a great deal of sadness that I read the following in the Shields Gazette Saturday, Mar. 20, 2004 page 5;-
Jim Wood
SAD LOSS OF TYNE JOB CAMPAIGNER by LEAH SHAW
A CRUSADER who worked tirelessly to bring work to Tyneside has died after a 15-month battle with cancer.
South Shields-born Jim Wood was instrumental in bringing big-cash projects and jobs to his native north east..............
Jim was a good friend of mine from when I started at Readheads in 1964 and up until 1975 when he moved with his family to the U.S.A. to work for an oil company Shell. He was just 58 and only 4 years into his retirement when he died on Saturday 13th March. He was a great character, highly intelligent, excellent sense of humour and fun to be with, and we had many great nights out together................................and he still owes me a couple of beers!!!
The picture below was taken by me when I worked in Readhead's Design Office about 1968. Jim Wood is the one who is just about to launch his paper airplane which he has just 'designed'. To the right is Alan Dale and just in the picture are Dennis Maccoy (standing) and Dave Moon.
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 | Doug Wilson
Senior Outfit Draughtsman who was responsible for all of the Ship General Arrangements and Accommodation Layouts. |
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Richard Ibbs
Dick Ibbs rose from trainee plater to yard manager in a 49 year career ending at the yard in 1977. He died in 1983. |
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Shields Gazette 8th Nov 1991;-
An article with a photo of a group of Readheads workers with the names....Bob James, Pat Curry, Bill Jackson and Bob Martin who was head foreman plater. Norman Bowman who started at Readheads in 1936 as a 14 year old marker lad. Norman became foreman welder and was well know for the poems he wrote. |
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William P Heckels M.B.E.
director and shipyard manager. He joined the firm as a junior in 1917 and, with the exception of two years at Hawthorn Leslie's, Hebburn, had been there ever since. Mr.Heckels became chief draughtsman in 1937, naval architect in 1945 and was made shipyard manager in 1948. He was appointed to the board in 1954. |
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