CONGRATULATIONS on the superb photographs of old Worcester you have been publishing lately.
Your picture of the Severn Bridge at Pitchcroft was taken in 1904 when the Great Western Railway decided to replace the weak arched bridge with straight girders.
On the nearside, the huge girder has been raised into position while the far side one is halfway up. This was a considerable engineering achievement.
Regarding the steam launch Belle, I would suggest your photograph of this lovely vessel was taken in the 1940s when varnish was not readily available because of the Second World War and white lead paint had to be used.
By the 1950s this was stripped off and the wood was varnished as seen in my 1963 picture when she was frozen in two-foot thick ice in Diglis Basin.
By the late 1970s she was taken to Harris's yard at Kew, London, to be rebuilt and have her steam engines reinstalled. She is now on Thames at Maidenhead Steam Co. This photograph in my collection shows the steam launch Belle trapped in the ice during the bitter winter of 1962-1963.
MAX SINCLAIR,
Worcester.
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