YET ANOTHER MEECHING
Found at last - or is it?
By Andy Gilbert
Builder's model of Meeching
Gorringes Auctions, Lewes
When researching the history of the tug Meeching, I looked at all the models that had been made of her. Until now I had details and photos of the following:
1) The Bassett-Lowke waterline model, now held at Newhaven Museum.
2) The radio controlled one that I have
3) The radio controlled one built by George Boyd of Gravesend
4) The radio controlled one built by James Power in Ireland
5) The small waterline model built by Rita Goretti Murphy in Ireland
I knew that there was at least one more - an original builder's model - and knew that it was probably somewhere in Sussex but had not been able to find it.
So I was very surprised to see that this one had been sold in a Lewes auction! It's a builder's model and the style is very much that of Bassett-Lowke. There's a clear resemblance to the one at the Museum. It sold for just £110. If I'd known, I'd have bid more than that!
However, I'm not sure that this is the builder's model I was thinking of, as I understood that it was made in her original 1960 livery, rather than the blue 1965 livery. So perhaps there's one more to be found!