Previous FoWT monthly meeting: A talk by the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society, “The Building of the Manchester Ship Canal”
Our next FoWT monthly meeting will take place on Monday 2nd March 2026 – 7.00 pm (19.00 hrs) via Zoom.
“The Building of the Manchester Ship Canal” by the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society.
Our guest speakers on the night will be the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society, who will tell us about “The Building of the Manchester Ship Canal”.
“The Manchester Ship Canal, often referred to as the Channel Tunnel of the Victorian age, is a magnificent feat of engineering, 36 miles long linking the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Manchester to the Mersey Estuary, allowing direct trade to world markets for both import and export of goods of all kinds loaded on ocean going ships. Today’s talk tells of the history of the building of the canal, the people who worked on it, the ships that sailed up it, some of the incidents that occurred and some strange visitors, all contributing to the fascinating and continuing story of this great North West waterway.
The talk is delivered by two of our volunteers from the Talks Team of the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society, custodians of a restored and fully operational 1903 built former Manchester Ship Canal tug tender. The talk lasts about 45 minutes with an opportunity to ask questions at the end.”
About the Speakers
Bob Cannell was born in Old Trafford within sight and sound of Manchester Docks, with close family connections to the Manchester Ship Canal.
Working in transport he was involved in the last years of the traditional cargo ships working in the Manchester Docks and saw the transition to the modern containerisation and larger ships which eventually meant the end for the upper reaches of the Ship Canal.
Spending the last 30 years in the food manufacturing industry he retained an interest in anything Ship Canal related. and since retirement has been a volunteer with the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society. Bob is the volunteer coordinator as well as a member of the presentation team delivering talks on both the Danny and the Ship Canal.
Stuart is our other guest speaker. He is a retired River Mersey Pilot starting as apprentice in 1960 piloting worldwide as well as on the Mersey and retiring in 2009. During that time, he docked and undocked many ships at Eastham Locks, the River end of the Manchester Ship Canal. He is well known to the local Radio Merseyside listeners, where until last year he used to be on every Saturday morning giving news about the River Mersey.
He was our Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society and until his retirement last year, a volunteer Skipper on the Danny.
Bob and Stuart will be happy to answer any questions your members may have at the end of the presentation.
More information on the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society, can be found on their website:www.thedanny.co.uk
If you would like to take part in this, or any of FoWT’s future monthly meetings, you will need to register your interest. Once registered, we will e-mail you the details you will need to join the meeting on the night.
To register, Fill in the form on our FoWT Monthly Meeting page and we will do the rest. Once you are on our mailing list to take part in our monthly meetings, look out for our e-mail a few days before the meeting, which will give you all the details you will need to join the meeting.
