Picturing a port city's recent past

In the second of our three books celebrating London as a port city, author Malcolm Batten brings readers a treasure trove of ship pictures taken by his father Reg Batten.

The introduction to Shipping on the Thames explains that Reg Batten came from a seafaring family but was not encouraged to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Instead, he ended up in the printing and photographic trades, yet could never entirely stay away from the maritime world.

The combination of Batten senior's photographic skill and passion for shipping has resulted in a fine collection of images taken over 40 years, now gathered in a book in the popular 'shipspotting' genre we often feature on these pages.

If you sailed on the Thames between the 1940s and 1980s, there's a good chance you'll see some vessels here which you remember as old friends (or indeed as difficult old rustbuckets). The pictures are grouped into Docks Views, Cargo Shipping, Service Vessels, Passenger Shipping, Courtesy Visits, Sail Training Ships and Heritage Shipping – which includes some of the beloved historic Thames barges.

In a postscript on 'Rundown and Renaissance', Batten junior brings the story told by his father's photographs up to date, looking at the decline of the old Port of London in the city centre and the establishment of new container facilities downriver at the likes of London Gateway.

Overall, this is a valuable piece of work, well presented with sharp black-and-white pictures on glossy paper, which brings to light many previously-unpublished photographs. Recommended.

Shipping on the Thames and the Port of London During the 1940s-1980s     
By Malcolm Batten and Reg Batten           
Pen & Sword, £30
ISBN: 978 13990 18401

Books landing page image: London Thames 1943/Wikimedia Commons