Pictures

On Friday 19th January 1940, in heavy weather, the British steamer Kirkpool foundered on Castle Beach in Falmouth. The ship, belonging to Messrs R Ropner & Co., had been anchored out in Falmouth bay but had started to drag her anchor in the bad weather. A dramatic rescue operation ensued. Edward Hayball was on board…

Reuben Chappell (1870-1940) is one of this country’s best known ship portrait painters. An artist who spent his entire working life making portraits of ships for seamen, his work is in the best tradition of pierhead painting – painted not for galleries or art collectors, but for the men whose lives and livelihoods were intimately…

In her long career, HMS Cornwall patrolled the Far East between 1932 and 1933. A photograph album of over 300 photographs was created, recording her travels in the region. Each photograph has been meticulously labelled by hand, showing the date, location and an often amusing title. The photograph here, ‘A Welcome Lift’, was taken between…

This strange craft, L’Egaré II, arrived in Falmouth on 21 August 1956, having crossed the Atlantic from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Falmouth, Cornwall in 88 days, carrying three men and two kittens, who became the first men in history to achieve this particular feat of endurance. The voyage of L’Egaré II began with a mad…

Samuel Riley Valler was born on 15 February 1884 in Falmouth. He had an interesting career rising from seaman to Master, service in two world wars, and mentions in despatches in both. He experienced many exciting developments and changes during his time at sea, which spanned the period from the end of the sailing ship,…

This cartoon is one of a series of eight drawn by Cornish professional surfer, Sam Bleakley. The series follows “A day in the life of Surfer Joe”. During his day, Joe checks the surf forecast, leaves early to catch the best waves before heading to work in a surf shop. After work he heads out…

Like many other British families, the Knight family took their holidays in Cornwall. From the 1920s the family enjoyed the sea and sun in Bude on the north coast. This photograph was taken on a trip in 1957, and Geoffrey Knight is on his old 1920s wooden bodyboard. Geoffrey, his parents and his siblings came…

Falmouth docks have a long and complex history and are as much an integral part of the port now as ever. With the removal of the Packet service in 1850, the port started a steady decline in wealth. This was averted with the opening of the new Falmouth docks just a few years later in…