Name Joseph Wilkes

JOSEPH WILKES was built in 1908 by Eli Aston of Tipton, West Midlands, as a station day boat. At the time, she was 70’ 10” and was towed by a horse or tugboat pair. Originally, she was owned by A Griffith of Harts Hill, West Midlands, and called NO. 5 out of a fleet of eight or more vessels hired to the Harts Hill Iron Company in the transport of pipes, explaining her three beams and internal struts fitted to improve her pipe carrying quality. In 1918, she was acquired by the Harts Hill Iron Company after the passing of A Griffith and renamed NO. 19, being paired with BESSIE.

In 1932, JOSEPH WILKES was transferred to Stewart and Lloyds’ fleet alongside BESSIE, and they operated out of Coombs Wood, Halesowen, West Midlands. At this time, she was renamed NO. 113, and continued carrying pipes all the way until 1976, when she was purchased by Rev. T Boston of Cadeby, Leicestershire, who split NO. 113 along with J Vernon. This created two new vessels, BODGER as the rear half, and THE BODGER as the front half, which belonged to Rev. T Boston and would become JOSEPH WILKES. The conversion of the day boat into two canal cruisers took four years to complete, and afterwards THE BODGER was fitted with a 1.5 Leyland B Series diesel engine.

In 1999, THE BODGER was purchased by the Ashby Canal Trust from A Boston, Rev. T Boston’s widow, and she was refitted by Canal and River Services as a Stewart and Lloyd Tug of the 1950’s. Much of the cabin superstructure built by Rev. T Boston was removed and the remaining section repurposed to show life on a canal tugboat. She was renamed JOSEPH WILKES in 2000 and the paintwork shows her Stewart and Lloyd number of 113. In 2002, she was donated to the Moira Furnace Museum Trust, who operate and maintain her.