Wednesday 16 October 2013

‘CANALS MUST NOT DIE’ 1955.

P1010164

Everybody’s Magazine. 1955.

 

In the mid 1950’s the British Transport Commission were trying to abandon over 700 miles of the canal network including some of todays most popular canals e.g the Oxford & Peak Forest canals. The IWA were of course opposed to this and Sir John Betjeman, Britain’s most popular poet & a member of this organization published the above article in September 1955.

Interestingly the photographs caption reads ‘ Alfred Best has worked on Britain’s canals for  forty – seven years. Now he wonders if the future holds for them only stagnation.’

Myself and many others of a certain age will remember Alf Best on the local B W maintenance gang at Braunston and later he could often be seen in his retirement around the village.

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