Memories of Cutty Sark sought by historians

Seventy years after Cutty Sark made its final voyage, historians are now looking to hear from anyone who remembers the day it was towed into its final location.

The British tea clipper ship was brought by two tugs into dry dock in Greenwich, south-east London on 10 December 1953.

Royal Museums Greenwich said those with recollections of the occasion would be invited to record their memories in a museum project.

Since Cutty Sark's arrival to Greenwich, it is thought that more than 17 million visitors have stepped aboard.

Before it reached Greenwich, it was first towed to East India Docks where its topmasts, deckhouses and rigging were removed to minimise risk to the ship.

A temporary channel had been cut into the Thames wall, and the ship was then carefully manoeuvred into the dock, whilst sitting in just 45cm (18in) of water.

The remaining water drained away with the tide and then the entrance was sealed.

It then underwent three years of restoration before it was opened in 1957 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Alan is one of the first to submit his memories online.

"I can just about remember the Cutty Sark being towed into the dock at Greenwich by what I believe were two Sun Tugs," the Londoner recalls.

"I was seven years old at the time. One was the Sun V, aboard which I started my Thames career when I was 15 years of age."

Louise Macfarlane, senior curator of Maritime Technologies said: "What we've experienced over the years of Cutty Sark being in London is that there's this real emotional connection with the ship and we really wanted to give space for that.

"If you remember the ship arriving 70 years ago, fantastic, please do share that memory with us, but equally if you've got a memory from last week (of the ship) we'd love to hear from you."

She explained that the memories can be uploaded at Cutty Sark, or online.

"The real thing that's really special about the Cutty Sark is that it's the last one left.

"This is the last tea clipper in the world, so it's come to encapsulate lots of things beyond itself, and I think for me that's the special thing."

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