About the films

The films you see here are the result of a commission by electricpavilion.org. We have used Port of Bristol Authority photographs to make two short films about the Bristol city docks. Having lived in Bristol for eight years now, we have seen the city change dramatically during that short time and become in it's history. We focused on the story of the 'tin gods' and during our research we came across wonderful photographs and people. Some of what we found is presented here. A small selection of photographs can be viewed in the gallery section.

The City Docks

During the period we looked at (1940’s-60) the city docks would have looked very different from today. Large ships were berthed in the middle of the city. Forty two cranes, of different kinds, served the ships, moving their cargo as fast as they could onto the dockside, into warehouses or straight onto rail road or barge transport to be taken all over the country. Cargoes from all over the world arrived in Bristol; timber, coffee, cocoa, bananas, oranges, figs, pineapples, nuts, beer, spirits, tobacco, tea, coal, and frozen meat to name but a few.

The docks were a no-go area for many of the people of Bristol. It was virtually an all male environment. The language was rough and ready and there was much joking and camaraderie. The men worked without much of the safety wear or equipment required today and accidents were frequent.

A Working Day

Apart from the permanent staff the port employed, the unskilled work of the Dockers was allocated on a casual basis. Dockers wanting work would turn up every morning at the call stand or ‘pen’ where work was allocated and men selected. The dockers were mostly paid by piecework, that is they were paid per ton of cargo they moved. A tallyman was responsible for recording the amount moved. There would usually be three gangs of six dockers for each hatch. This meant that at least eighteen dockworkers were reliant on the speed of their crane driver for their pay.

It was much easier to allocate work to the crane drivers, as only one was needed per crew of men. It was a fair system based on pay; if one crane driver had moved an ‘easier’ cargo the day before, therefore earning more, he would be allocated a cargo that was more difficult to move the next day and so on.

Tin Gods

The men that drove the cranes were known as 'tin gods' and were said to rule the docks. They were also trusted with the safety of the men below them.

Because most of the dockworkers were paid by ton of cargo they moved, it followed that if they were allocated a new or slow driver they would move less cargo and therefore be paid less at the end of the day, so they were treated with respect.

It could also work the other way, if the men or the driver wanted overtime then the driver could slow down in order to lengthen the time spent on one cargo.

The Banksman

Often the driver couldn’t see where he was lowering the cargo to so he completely relied on a banksman (on the shore) or a hatchman (on the ship) to relay how to manoeuvre with hand signals. The drivers had to obey the signals. Although there were set signals, every banksman would do them slightly differently and some in a very subtle manner, so a driver had to be able to interpret them well.

Accidents

Both the drivers and the dockworkers were very aware that any mistakes made could result in serious injury or death. If timber wasn’t balanced properly then the load would fall out as it was lifted. Barrels were also difficult as the hooks had to be positioned correctly to avoid them crashing down when lifted up. Some loads, such as live animals, were extremely difficult to control and often took a long time to load or unload.

The crane driver had to be very aware of the momentum of the load as sometimes it could swing back in towards the crane driver’s cab. In such a case the only thing a crane driver could do was rush into the small engine room behind the controls. If there were breakages, what was left of the cargo could occasionally be transferred to the dockers pockets.

Cranes at the City Docks

Cranes were a significant part of the docks, they enabled much faster loading and off loading and when they could be used, they were. They had different strengths and some were highly specialised. They ranged in age from the hydraulic and steam powered cranes built in the 1880’s to electric cranes built after the 1920’s, to the cranes that have survived today, built in 1951.

The four cranes we see today outside the Industrial Museum are the only survivors from around 42 cranes that used to operate in the city docks, many were very close together. Most of the cranes were dismantled and sold for scrap.

The four we have left are electric cranes built by Stothert and Pitt of Bath and they can carry up to three tons (except for crane 32, which can carry up to ten tons).

They can hoist (bring the hook up and down), slew (turn the cab and jib (the top of the crane from where the hook descends) round 360 degrees) and luff (the jib is moved up or down which moves the hook further or nearer the driver). They could also ‘travel’ forwards or backwards along rails to align with a ship. They are level luffing cranes which means the hook remains at the same height regardless of how far out the jib head is.

Two of the cranes were purchased by 'City Dock Ventures' and two by the city council. All four were put into the museums care in 1989. Although the electricity supply to them was cut in 1974, one has been restored and another is in the process of being restored by a dedicated team of volunteers, led by Dave ‘The Crane’ Cole, one of our sources for the films.

One crane is now fully working and sometimes open for the public to go up to the cab and see it in action. It has also been used for TV programmes and plays. They remain the only partially or fully working old city dockside cranes in the country.