NEW ---Wallace Tricketts BLOGG SPOT-16-- A feather in the Cap
Monday, 23 June 2008
BLOG SPOT 16 June
23rd 2008.
Another quickie report this week,
but quite a unique one at that!!
How many of LRU members and guests
have bought a Sunday roast from Dewhursts the butchers, or drank a cuppa of
Lipton's tea. As much of these products are imported into Britain from around
the world it was a real surprise when I was asked to contribute to the making of
a book on the British family who ran all these business's
.
A few months ago I was asked
if I would care to allow writer Simon Perry from London to use a few of my
images in his forthcoming book on the history of the Vestey
Family.
The Vesteys built up a world
foundation of companies from the 19th century many well known , buying land,
building farms, meat processing works , cool stores,shipping companies and
distribution networks .
The most well known here in New Zealand was Weddels, but
other brands included Lipton Teas, Fray Bentos, and Dewhursts Butchers. I met
the manager for their shipping company Sir Edmund Vestey in 1976 in
Auckland, I had drawn his cartoon and had to get into full uniform and meet him
in the Captains quarters on board the mv 'Townsville Star'. Little
realising that some 30 years later I would see my artwork in a beautiful book
all about one of Britains most well known families. In effect the Vesteys fed
the population of the UK with overseas meats and dairy produce from New Zealand,
and all other parts of the world for over 90 years. Allied troops were supplied
with food shipped with the Blue Star Line. The company took a heavy toil with
almost three quarters of the fleet being wiped out in World War Two, 646
personnel, including 11 captains, 47 navigating officers and 88 engineering
officers.
The photo shows one of two
paintings they have used in this book . The 'Doric Star' being sunk by the
German battleship 'Graf Spee'. All the crew were captured before the ship
was sunk, but the radio officer managed to send a signal out before being raided
in the South Atlantic. The ship was carrying frozen produce from New Zealand to
the UK. That signal was intercepted by the Royal Navy and alerted the H.M.S.
Exeter, Achilles and Ajax who gave pursuit and after a naval exchange which
became known as the Battle of the River Plate the Graf Spee put into Montevideo
in Uruguay for repairs. Unable to carry them out in time allowed , she was
scuttled and her captain took his own life.
Both the Archilles and Ajax were
Barrow built ships.
Its a real privilege to have my work
published in a book of this calibre.
Recently I learnt of how all the
ships in the Maersk fleet -the worlds largest merchant fleet, are carrying
prints on board each vessel of paintings completed last year for their Hamburg
main office.
The bus and commercial
paintings of Lancashire are slowly building up , with quite a few due out
over the coming months. If you have any old photos of transport companies long
gone that you would like to see painted please let me know. I am particulary
keen to see any photographs of Athersmith Brothers of Barrow or any of the
cleansing department vehicles, they are seldom photograhed yet without them the
streets would never have looked so nice back then.
Take care and trust you all have
good and safe week.
This truly is a great achievement Wallace and well deserved.
Congratulations mate and well done.
Wonder if the Barrow Evening mail would be interested in this ,What a wonderful story of a Barrow Boy made good
Hello Wallace that was a good writeup on the Vestres, i often see the Maersk large container carriers and the Maersk smaller carriers also they are in to gas tankers as well now, they are massive when watching my webcams on the Kiel, Elbe, or the Panama Canal. Regards Doris
Lancashire Re-United offers for sale and exclusive to this website prints of original artwork of Municipal Bus fleets , Railway Locos,Barrow Built ships & Company wagons by WALLACE TRICKETT who has VERY KINDLY given me the selling rights to these prints.Simply click on LANCASHIRE PRINTS to purchase these stunning memories of Lancashire'sroad transport heritage at the AMAZING price of JUST £9.99--each plus P&P -
PLEASE NOTE -due to production costs -These prints will not be sold without MOUNTS OR FRAMES
The LRU prints are COPYRIGHT of LANCASHIRE RE-UNITED & Wallace Trickett any infingement WILL result in LEGAL ACTION being taken
Lancashire Folk 
