In 2006 I visited the wreck of the old Gull lightship, No. 38. laying in the silt and mud gently rotting at the side of the River Thames where she has lain for the past 60 years. I was so taken aback by this sorry sight that I made a 30 minute DVD Video to record her for posterity before she is gone for ever.
She is often mistakenly referred to as the Gull light ship because of her term of duty marking the Gull Stream on the Goodwin sands. However she was only here from 1929 to 1930. After a collision which sank her and in which the Master perished she was re floated and renamed 'Brake' and she was now placed at Brake Sand on the Goodwin Sands.
She was built in 1860 and served on previous stations including Lyn Well at the Wash. After another collision in 1940 at Brake Sand she was removed, repaired again, and sent to Mouse Station in the mouth of the river Thames and renamed 'Mouse'. She was attacked by enemy air fire in 1941 and then withdrawn to spend the remainder of the war laid up.
In 1947 Thurrock Yacht Club bought her to use as a club house. She was transferred and given a berth at Grays, Thurrock on the Thames. She remained as a club house until the 1970s when a more permanent club house was built and she became redundant yet again. Since then she has fallen into disrepair and vandalism and arson has speeded up her deterioration. It is only a matter of time before this wreck is removed as a danger to the public.
That is the end of the photos that I took. I understand that in May 2009 the mast and lantern were removed in the hope that they could be preserved. The following photographs were taken and placed on the internet. Unfortunately I have lost the name of the person who took them - if it was you then I will gladly add your name as the owner of them.
I like these shots taken on board and inside. The photographer had far more courage than me and I thank him (or her) for them. The photo on the right is the first I have seen of the Gull demasted.
These are exceptional photos of the the lantern and mast. If there is enough local support and finance then they may be restored and place locally as a memorial.
Once again, if you took these photos then please let me know so that you may be duly credited for your effort. They are a fantastic set of close ups of a split second in history.
Dave Brown lived in Grays until about 1983, and knew the Gull very well as his parents had a boat in the Yacht Club. He recently started scanning his photos of the Gull from about 1975 or so. He was sad to see how much it had deteriorated in 35 years: but never the less, his photos are are welcome archive and very good for a young lad at the time. His best one is from 1965, from a selection of slides his parents took of the yacht club when he was four years old.
The first seven photos are the 1975 ones; next is the 1965 one and for good measure I have added a May 1974 one found on the internet.
My old friend, John Mobbs, ex Trinity House lighthouse keeper, supplied the following images.
Lightship No. 38 is believed to be the second oldest lightship in European waters - but unfortunately not for long. Below are a couple of pictures taken in her prime.
The old black and white photo on the left was taken at Ramsgate after she was sunk in 1929, next is in 1935 after returning rescued ship passengers to Ramsgate. The middle photo shows her in her prime with 'Gull' emblazoned on her side, and the one on the right shows her in the 1970s in her present berth.
And what happens now - nothing !. Sooner or later she will rot even further and vandals will burn a little more of her. She cannot be salvaged and her remains will be be swept up by which ever authority is responsible and dumped into a land fill site. As far as I am aware this is the only complete record of her last days.