Welcome to our Late Spring Newsletter

This edition contains news of Endeavour's return to the water, the emergence of old footage of Endeavour in the 1970 trawler races, a report on her sister ship Letitia, and the announcement of the Summer Reception.

Please drop us a line if you have any comments, or visit us on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/EndeavourTrustLeigh/

Ready for Sea Again!

Endeavour returned to her mooring in time to make the trip to Portsmouth for the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. Her stay in Thames Marina involved quite a bit of work. First of all, inspection of the engine including starter motor and injectors being serviced was carried out by Andy Wood and marine engineer Neil Roulston from Maidstone, Kent who kindly donated his time and labour for which we owe thanks.

Peter Goes Trawler Racing

Back in 1970, when Peter Wexham and Dave Spurgeon owned Endeavour, they entered the Round the Pier Trawler Race competing against boats from as far away as Rye to the south and Harwich from the north as well as other ports in between.

Back to Skool

Various members of the Management Committee have been busy giving talks to clubs and schools around the borough. The Trust has an obligation to explain Endeavour's place in history.

Our treasurer, Chris Bailey, has spoken to Rotary Club members and Finlay Marshall has been to two primary schools this year and we hope to visit others during the year. Students at Our Lady of Lourdes were doing an art project and the top three will sail aboard Endeavour during the summer.

Community Day in Bonchurch Park

The Trust will be taking part in Community Day at Bonchurch Park on Saturday, June 9th. The free event is organised by Leigh Town Council to promote community groups and local charities.

There will be over 30 stalls apart from us including, Leigh Lions, Royal British Legion, the RNLI and Essex County Fire and Rescue Services. To entertain the crowd will be Broadway Belles, Talking Tots, Leigh Starlite Majorettes, Leigh on Sea Theatre train and the Feel Good Choir.

The fun starts at 1pm until 4pm. The Endeavour gazebo will be on site containing our latest merchandise and invitations to join the Trust and take part in preserving an important part of the town's history.

A Proud Leigh Man

An early supporter of Endeavour when she returned to Leigh was David Johnson who had the task of auditing our accounts each year. He died in April.

David grew up in the Old Town when his father took over the former Sutton and Wiggins boatyard. They had moved to Wakering where it is now Sutton's Boatyard. In Leigh, Johnson Sons and Jago was formed with Len Johnson working the yard after Mr Jago was drowned. David learned about boats and took a particular interest in engineering.

Down by the Riverside - Summer Reception Announced

Endeavour will be on show in the Old Town when our summer reception is being held at Osborne's Cockle Shed on Thursday, June 27th when members and friends get together to hear the latest on our cruise to the Solent.

The Hoy Shantymen will be on hand to entertain us while we enjoy fish and chips, beer from the Leigh Brewery and ice cream. Needless to say we shall be holding a raffle during the evening. If anyone is able to donate prizes for the raffle, please contact Chris Bailey or Finlay Marshall.

As mentioned elsewhere we need to have a lot of work done on the boat next winter and your participation in the evening helps defray costs.

A booking form is downloadable from here.

Tickets for this year's event are £16 per person.

Letitia Comes Back to Home Waters

After some years in Lowestoft, the only other Leigh Dunkirk boat is heading to Rochester having been bought by Donald and Linda Spence. The couple, who have been crewing aboard other ADLS boats for some time brought her to St Katherine's Dock, London to join others in the fleet.

Through a Fog Darkly

Going to sea in fog is not the ideal way to earn a living, but in post-war Britain times were tough. Rationing was still in force until the '50s, wages were low and Endeavour and the rest of Leigh's boats had to go to sea. Joe Deal was skipper then and his crew included the late George Cocks whose reminiscences we have touched on in the past, and who wrote the following account: ‘One morning it was very cold, dark and foggy when Bill and I went down to the boat. Other fishermen were moaning about the horrible weather with quite few wanting to go back home. Dawn was trying to cut through the fog and I said to Bill, "Are we going out?" He replied, "We shall go when the trees come clear on Two Tree Island.”’

Dunkirk Memorial Service at St Clements

St Clements Church is holding a memorial service to remember and commemorate the fisherman of Leigh who went to Dunkirk on June 1st 1940 to help rescue the British forces trapped there. 

Prayers will be said for the crew of Renown, Frank Osborne, Harry Osborne, Harry Noakes and Harold Graham Porter who gave their lives in the service of their countrymen.

The simple service will be a mixture of remembrance, music, readings and prayer, including two minutes silence and a recitation of The Losing of the Renown.

A chance to remember, with thanks, the role of Leigh in the history of this nation.

All are welcome.