In the Significance Statement of the National Maritime Museum, Small Boat Register, says about Peggy, one of the oldest cobles still sailing:-
As a fishing coble she worked long lines, salmon nets and pots for crab and lobster. Upon leaving the fishing industry Peggy was used as a pleasure boat at Hartlepool, before being bought in poor condition by an NFHT enthusiast in 2007. Restoration was undertaken in 2008 at the boatyard then owned by Fred Crowell, at South Shields. Further comprehensive restoration led by Dave Parker was completed in 2017 by NFHT and NEMT volunteers at the same boatyard. Now kept on the river Tyne and in almost original condition she is in the ownership of Northumbrian Fishing Heritage Trust.
Peggy was actually bought by me, one of the earliest members of NEMT in 2004 and she was in such a reasonable condition that he was able to bring her from Hartlepool and put her on some moorings in South Shields under guidance the South Shields Boat Angling Club’s members.
It was not long before I was able to get her onshore at the Angling Club, to make some repairs and I took the opportunity of giving her back her original name of Peggy. She was Glad Tidings when she arrived in the Tyne and she was renamed to distinguish her from many of the other Glad Tidings on the North East Coast and a local signwriter, Paul Robinson was commissioned put a new name on her, along with the Port of Tyne registration number and her home port, South Shields.
She was occasionally used for river trips for a few years and at least one excursion to Cullercoats until I was able to get her restored by Fred Crowell in 2008. and it was about two years later that I joined the NFHT. It was about the time it became a registered Charity in 2010, so I could hardly have been an NFHT enthusiast in 2007 but more significantly, it was I who spent over £10k of my retirement gratuity, on getting her restored and put back into sail with Fred’s help in 2008 and it was Fred who made the masts for both Peggy and the Royal Diadem II during that time.
That makes two pieces of misinformation about the person who actually brought Peggy to the Tyne and got her restored in 2008 on the slipway, off Wapping St, so that Mr David Parker could complete his comprehensive restoration, on the same slipway, nine years later.
Why had the author of the article lied about Peggy, being bought in poor condition by an NFHT enthusiast in 2007, if it was not an attempt to ‘airbrush’ me from the history of the North East Maritime Trust, for the first time. Please see Northumbrian Coble – Peggy 2 for the second attempt.
M. Dawson
12-May-25