Name Forget Me Not

FORGET ME NOT was built in 1927 at Lees & Atkins Boatyard in Polesworth, Staffordshire, for number one (owner boatman) Henry Grantham. A horse drawn narrow boat, she mostly traded between the Coventry coalfield and paper mills around Hemel Hempstead, supplying fuel for their boilers.

In 1929 she had a semi diesel Bolinder engine fitted at Nurser Brothers boatyard at Braunston. The original motorisation retained the horse boat stern and was unsatisfactory., so in 1931 she returned to Braunston to have a counter stern fitted. In 1933 Lees and Atkins built a new butty for her, SARAH JANE, replacing one of the same name.

In 1938 the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company signed a contract with Dickensons paper mill which took away much of Henry Grantham’s regular work. He carried on, getting jobs where he could.  In 1941 Henry Grantham retired and sold his boats to the Samuel Barlow Coal Co. They already had a boat of the same name, so they divided up the butty’s name, calling the motor SARAH and the butty JANE. The boats continued to work on similar traffic, supplying coal to industrial premises down the Grand Union Canal.

In 1959 her working days came to an end and she was sold to Dick Evans who converted her to a live aboard vessel. The Bolinder was replaced by a Kelvin petrol/paraffin engine. She was based at Burghfield on the River Kennet until 1971. There was a gap in her history until 1977 when she was to be found at David Jones Boatyard in Chester. She was purchase for £25 by someone who later helped to found the Wooden Canal Craft Trust (now the Wooden Canal Boat Society).

In 1987 she was donated to the newly formed Trust and slipped at the Ashton Packet Boat Co boatyard in Tameside for restoration by volunteers. She was launched in 1994 and the following year a Perkins 4108 engine was installed. On her first trip, post restoration, she carried 10 tons of granite setts to Braunston. 

From 1986 to 2020 FORGET ME NOT worked with LILITH on the recycling project. From 2015 to the present she has been employed towing HAZEL on wellbeing trips. She is now powered by an Albin AD2 diesel engine.  FORGET ME NOT is now owned by the Wooden Canal Boat Society, a registered charity.

In 2026 she had a much overdue docking  for recaulking and shoeing renewal etc. Much work has been carried out on her cabin in recent years. It being over 30 years since her restoration, a major overhaul, including some plank renewal, is now planned.