STEAM WHISTLE THERMOMETER
Barry's thermometer
Andy Gilbert
A Family Heirloom
By Andy Gilbert
At the weekend I was given some of my late brother Barry Gilbert's possessions by his son, Greg Gilbert.
They included a large Red Ensign, given to him by our Dad, Captain Frank Gilbert. Apparently, Dad 'borrowed' it as a memento during VJ Day in 1945! It's been in the family ever since.
And there was this item, which intrigues me. It's a thermometer made in the style of a ship's whistle. I wonder if it's something that Barry would have made as an apprentice marine engineer at the Marine Shops on the Railway Quay. That would have been in the mid to late 1950s as his apprenticeship started in 1954. Are there any other marine apprentices on here? Did you make something similar?