Daily archives: May 1, 2026

Late in the afternoon of 9th December 1929 two canal barges belonging to Kempson and Co. of Pye Bridge, Somercotes were proceeding from Loughborough to Pye Bridge, laden with chemicals.  They were operated by William White (62) and his son Jack.  They were from a long-established family of bargemen and William’s grandfather had transported cannonballs from Alfreton Ironworks for use in the Crimean War. The lead boat, which had an engine, had towed the other one down the Soar.  After Red Hill lock, they lashed the boats together, ready to cross the Trent and enter the Erewash Canal at Trent Lock.  But the flow of the flooded Trent, plus the wind, was too strong for the engine and they were pulled towards the weir, stern first, in the gathering dark. A man called Herbert Rowley was on the bank nearby and threw them a rope which they tied to a pier of the railway bridge with the help of William Challis and other members of the Trent Valley Sailing Club.  But the 2nd boat became loose and was swept over the weir.  Although, with the river so high, the drop would have only been a few inches, William White is […]