Click on the small pictures to see the full sized original photos, previously unpublished, of Clacton Belle being broken up
Bow view of Clacton Belle partially dismantled
Starboard view (note the distinctive Thames Barges in the background)
Looking forward
Looking aft
(In the background you can see London Belle, who was sent to Wards, for breaking, at the same time)
Ted Groom standing beside the remains of the inside of Clacton Belle's paddle box
These pictures have been chosen and supplied by Ted Groom's Grand daughter Victoria, who still has several artifacts that Ted Groom rescued from the Ward's yard. They include the large brass ships bell and brass nameplate showing the builders (Dennys of Dumbarton) number 434. It is obvious that Ted was on good terms with the breakers as they not only let him salvage items from the Clacton Belle, but they also allowed him to take photographs of his beloved steamer. Clearly the pictures were taken over more than just a day as the weather conditions are different and the scenery in the Thames background changes between pictures.
It was on a trip from Fresh Wharf, London, to Clacton on Sea on 1 August 1903 on this ship that Ted proposed to his future wife, Victoria's Grandmother. Hence his special interest in Clacton Belle, as there are no pictures of London Belle being broken up.