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Harry King



Photograph from the King Family Collection by kind permission of Chris Jones


Harry King with his wife Mary Jane.  

Harry was Edward's eldest surviving son and was born at Berkhamstead in 1868.  He married Mary Jane Atkins, daughter of the lock keeper at Cassio Park Watford in 1889.  They had 10 children including TW King who later worked on the BCN as toll clerk and left a significant canal collection including photos. 

Harry followed his father as an owner boatman and had narrow and wide boats. He eventually got a Dickinsons paper mills contract from 1907 and work it to 1923.  He sold his horse boats in 1923 and became a day boatman for Barlows companies living at Glascote near Tamworth 

Harry worked until 1939 on boats and at local coal mines loading boats.  He died at Glascote in 1945 two days after his wife.  Harry was also a devout Methodist.  Quite reserved, there are few photographs of him.  Like his father, he was an owner-boatman.  Harry docked his boats at a variety of docks and would have had more contact with the Nursers as he held one of the Dickinson’s contracts from 1907 which meant he passed Braunston every week.

Harry’s youngest son married in to the Barlow family, who bought the yard from the Nursers in 1941.

I am indebted to Chris Jones for this information.



     © Graham Nurser 2012