Maureen Shaw - Middlewich, UK - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

Memories of a Boat Woman

Welcome to Wardle Lock, known by many as 'Maureen's Lock'.

This remarkable lady had an uncertain start in life before being taken in by Danny and Nellie Jinks, boat people, who treated her as one of their own. She lived the latter part of her life

in the lock cottage behind you, acting as the unofficial    lock keeper and helping many in her own, inimitable    way. Maureen's amazing story is told below;    in her own words.

"I never Learnt to read or write but was taught important principles as to never tell a lie and not to borrow from others. As a young girl I was taught to steer the boat and drive the horse using a piece of cheese in one hand and a piece of bread in, the other. Of course, when it came to turn the horse in I couldn't because I had already eaten the bread and cheese! We and another boat would breast up at Ellesmere Port and be towed be a tug picking up oil at Stanlow along the Ship canal. Once back on the canal with the horse we would head down the Shroppie to Wolverhampton. and beyond, calling at gas stations in Banbury, Leamington. I remember getting frozen in at Napton once along with other boats for 6 weeks. Danny went and worked on the land and I helped the farmer to collect eggs and feed the animals. They paid me in bacon and eggs for that and we managed to get chocolate crumb front the Cadbury's boats to make hot drinks. Mr Thomas Clayton came out to see us near the end to make sure that the horse was all right, being a valuable company asset you see."

‘‘the horse boat was changed for 'Spey', another oil boat but having a man named Harry Powell. I got married, at 16 to John (Jack) Shaw. Then the captain of the Fellows Moreton and Clayton boat "Paxce". The work was much harder than the flat oil boat and I wasn't too keen. I had to run along the top plank and 'cloth up' which was not easy and I nearly fell in. We picked up cargoes from the docks at Liverpool, Manchester and Weston Point. Instead of gas oil we carried sugar from Tate and Lyle in Ellesmere Port, flour from Sun Mills, cocoa beans, and metal tubes and spelter (zinc alloy) went the other way. While Jack went away to do his National Service, I helped my parents out on 'Spey'. When Jack returned he went to work for the recently nationalised British Waterways on the Weaver at Northwich on a 'spoon dredger' and we left the canals for a life 'on the bank'. The carrying days were almost over."

Maureen made hundreds of friends from all over the world
and it was her wish that her story should not be forgotten.