digital:works Podcast

The Weekend Millionaires - Episode 2

August 10, 2020 digital:works Season 3 Episode 2
digital:works Podcast
The Weekend Millionaires - Episode 2
Show Notes

An Oral History of the Thames Lightermen

 

Episode 2 follows the lightermen as they become freemen of the River Thames and of the skills, joy, trials and tribulations of their working lives.

The profession has employed generations of Londoners with the lightermen carrying cargo and the watermen carrying passengers. Whilst the trade for watermen dwindled with the construction of bridges, the lightermen continued to grow with London's trade up until the 1960s when containerisation and then the closure of London's dockyards led to a decline in the trade. 

Today far fewer people work on the Thames but for those who do, or who have retired in the past 30-40 years, there remain vivid memories and important stories to tell. This film aims to share some of these. 

Funded by
Heritage Lottery Fund, Unite the Union and The Company of Watermen and Lightermen 

Visit the project website