This history of Dawncraft Cruisers makes frequent
reference to advertisements placed by the Company in the magazine Motor
Boat & Yachting. They form a useful structure with which to tell the
story and I am grateful to the Editor for permission to use the
contents. There are also several quotes from the interview that John
Foale and I conducted last year with the Wilson family, Ralph, Dorothy
and their sons Ian and Keith and their long term employee and family
friend Roy Robins.
John and I wish to thank them on behalf of the
Dawncraft Owners Club for their kindness and help on the day and with
the project.
Alan Peacock 2007
The Dawncraft Company story began in 1954 when
George Wilson purchased a Thames launch at Worcester. The launch was
called Laughing Waters and it was in a very dilapidated state, being
made of Honduras mahogany which had been unvarnished for years. It
required a great deal of work before it was finally completed and
refloated. Ralph and Dorothy Wilson remember spending months of their
courtship scraping and sanding down the hull to prepare the boat. for
renovation.
Laughing Waters was finally launched in 1957 with a
maiden trip to Llangollen. The journey appears to have gone well,
although with a beam of 7'.2” there were probably some interesting
moments in the Llangollen's 6' 10” locks. Dorothy certainly recalls
ramming the bank on her first attempt at steerage.
As a result of the Llangollen trip, George and Ralph
realised that there was a possible business opportunity to enable other
people to enjoy the Canals in the same way. A site on the navigable
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Kinver became available and
was leased from British Waterways. The next step was to source a supply
of marine ply shells, from Crescent Boat Builders of Taunton, Somerset,
that the newly established Dawncraft Pleasure Cruisers could fit out.
The Crescent company produced a range of small
dinghy's until 1959 when they introduced the 18' Adventurer motor
cruiser at the Earls Court International Boat Show. This boat had
recently set up a new record run from Manchester to London by Inland
waterways. The boat was supplied in part built form to the DIY market
and was adopted by several hire fleets on the canals.
It was followed in 1962 by a 20' four berth version
with standing head room and a double cabin created with a “Marley Space
Saver” door. A 22' boat and a 25' were introduced in May 1963 which is
also the date that Dawncraft first began to advertise “the whole
exciting Crescent range of craft at our boating station”. The boats were
of wooden construction and they formed the basis of Dawncraft`s hire
and sales activities until they began to manufacture their own glass
fibre shells in 1966.
This growing business was one factor in the rejection
of a British Waterway's attempt to close the Staffs and Worcester Canal
in 1961/62. Other factors included determined efforts by the Staffs and
Worcester Canal Society to dredge and restore the canal around
Stourbridge and the deliberate staging of the 1962 Inland Waterways
National Festival at Stourport, attended by 118 boats from all over the
country. This Rally really kick-started the whole Canal restoration
movement. During the early sixties the hire fleet grew steadily from one
14' camper which cost £14 per week to the larger 40' boats which cost
£88 per week. Mooring space at Kinver was also offered at 1d a foot per
week.
An advertisement in March 1964 lists 18' to 28'
Crescent cruisers for sale and a range of hire cruisers available from
two berth @ £21 per week to eight berth @ £42 per week. It also says
that “No cruiser in our fleet is more than three years old”.
In July 1964 an advertisement appeared which shows
Dawncraft Cruisers for the first time advertising Dawncraft boats in
their own right This consists of line drawings of Dawncraft from 19'
to 25' with prices of £585 to £1085 quoted for the whole six boat
range. This is said to be “Britain's biggest range of inland cruisers
“.
Dawncraft continued to market this wide range of
wooden cruisers until 1966. All of the boats were of 6'10” beam with a
generous 5' 10” headroom but the lengths and designs varied considerably
over the years. They included a 19' two or four berth cruiser supplied
either unpainted or fully fitted; two 22' four to six berth cruisers,
one a Centre cockpit and the other a Deluxe Rear cockpit version. There
were also two 25' craft, one with a Centre cockpit and the other a four
berth Dinette version. A 28' 6” 6 berth Rear cockpit and two 30'
boats, one a Centre cockpit and the other a Rear cockpit also featured
during this period.
All boats were available fully fitted but the buyer
was left with a choice of engine, either inboard or outboard, at extra
cost. Boats from 1965 onwards were advertised as now having a built-in
propeller tunnel which allowed the propeller to work inside the hull and
not below it. Various combinations of these boats were shown regularly
at the annual Birmingham Bingley Hall Boat shows and finally in 1966
Dawncraft showed the 25' and the 30' for the first time at the Earls
Court International Boat show. In 1967 they had a larger stand and
presented the 19', the trailable 22', a 25' and the 30' Centre
cockpit; prices from £650 to £1885.
In 1966 Dawncraft had begun to make their own shells
and started to use glass fibre for their boats. At first this was
confined to the cabin and side decks, the boats being advertised as
offering “the unbeatable combination of a timber hull and glass fibre
cabin”. Although this style of building was questioned by some, it was
pointed out that many Dawncraft had already survived seven years of hard
canal hire use.
This build also featured on the new 36' Centre
cockpit. It was announced for the 1968 Boat Show as being the
first-ever canal cruiser to offer an Owner's state room complete with a
full double bed, wardrobe, dressing table and adjoining bathroom with
bath, toilet and hot and cold running water. The 36' six or eight berth
retailed at £3350 including a choice of engine.
The 1968 boat show was a very successful because
Dawncraft showed 11 boats on their stand and the resultant excellent
sales fully justified Ralph's decision to build their own hulls.
Up to 1967 the hulls had been made at Stewponey near
Stourton and then transferred to Kinver for fitting. The booming sales
meant that new premises were acquired at Stourport Basin and the whole
business was moved there in 1967. The firm gradually grew to a point
where it was employing 60 staff producing up to six to eight boats a
week many of which were exported to France and Holland with four a
month going to East Germany.
Having decided on the change to glass fibre it was
necessary to obtain Spray Roving Guns which were specialist equipment at
the time unavailable in the UK because nobody used that much GRP. George
and Ralph had to travel to East Germany to buy the Spray Guns and
although Ian Wilson says that “the guns were a problem to keep clean
because they fouled up quickly, they did turn Dawncraft into a full-on
mass manufacturing entity.”
Ian told a story about a visit to a boat builder two
decades later and being shown the exciting new production technique that
the firm were going to import and use for boat building. He very gently
pointed out that Dawncraft had first used the Spray Roving Guns in the
late Sixties!
The first results of the new process were announced
in an October 1968 advertisement that said “The choice is yours Glass
fibre or Timber? We are proud to offer a whole range of Dawncraft
cruisers in either glass fibre throughout or a combination of timber
hull and glassfibre cabin tops”. The boats listed include a 22' Rear
cockpit, 25' Rear cockpit and a 25' Centre cockpit; there were also
three other Centre cockpits shown at 30',36',38'. Prices range from
£1140 to £3,500 all prices excluded an engine but there was a choice of
outboard or inboard, petrol or diesel available.
May 1969 saw the next significant boat introduced by
Dawncraft, the new 27' Sunseeker which featured a larger rear cockpit
aimed at fisherman and sunbathers The boat was described as “the Inland
cruiser which actually ALLOWS you to sunbathe in the cockpit”. Dawncraft
were now being marketed by Main Agents; Blue Line Cruisers, Braunston,
Deans Marina, Chester, Ladyline Cruisers, Market Drayton and Sawley
Bridge Marina, Nottingham.
The 1970 Earls Court Boat Show marks the end of the
timber hulled Dawncraft. The 22' 25' 30' and the 27' Sunseeker on
the stand were all made from Glass fibre throughout. This same range
plus the 36' Centre cockpit continued to be advertised through 1970-71
but with greater emphasis on the interior features and equipment on the
boats.
January 1972 saw the introduction of the Dandy, a
small 19' boat with a cathedral hull. Internal equipment included four
berths, a stove, oven, sink and a toilet. Priced at £975 excluding
engine this boat was a great hit at the 1972 Boat Show.
The rumour, that this boat was designed by Ralph
Wilson getting Dorothy and the boys to lie down on the sitting room
floor whilst he drew a chalk line around them around them in order to
work out the best shape to accommodate four berths, is true. However,
when we interviewed them last year there was a mild family argument
about the location of the actual sitting room. Dorothy and Ralph, who
really should know, insisted that we were standing on the actual site
although the carpet had been renewed several times since 1971!
1972 also saw the relocation of the business to
Whitehouse Road, Kidderminster so that the whole boat building
process, moulding, fit out, windows etc could be carried out at one
premises.
Dawncraft continued to show successfully at the Boat
Shows and in 1973 showed a complete range from 19' to 36' with all
boats now completely GRP including interior mouldings and very few wood
fittings.
In 1974 they showed the complete range 19 to 38'
which included an improved Dandy and revised 22' with the new GRP
interior. The 38' Centre cockpit was produced exclusively for the hire
industry and this was reported as “showing confidence in Dawncraft.”
The Rover was introduced in 1975 with a revision in
1976. This was a 29' 6 berth cruiser fitted with two steering
positions, one on the stern deck and the other right forward in the main
saloon. The boat had the usual Dawncraft features, convertible dinette
and forward bunks, a fully equipped galley and a big wc/shower
compartment. Price of the 1975 version was £3076 including VAT but
excluding an engine.
One important innovation in May 1975 was the
introduction of a new cabin roof for the 22 which could also be used on
the 25' and 27' Centre cockpits. The profile of the underside of the
forepeak on this “Mark 2” roof was changed to a slope rather than the
rectangular shape of the previous “Mark 1” boats. The reason for the
change was that it made for an easier lamination process and also
removed the possibility of breakages which often occurred when
extracting the original rectangular forepeak from the moulds.
This period 1971-76 was probably one of the Company's
most successful; by 1975 there were some 60 staff working on five
sites. Ian Wilson recalls, as a young boy, cycling all day around the
sites and playing on the “statics”. The main Dawncraft production was
going on at Whitehouse Road and the upholstery was made at Fairfield
Drive, Kinver. Repairs and boat sales were located at The Paddocks,
Kinver. They had also stripped down Stewponey and rebuilt the sales room
and turned that into the Sports boats and Chandlery site. This latter
did however cause a minor spat, with the local planning department,
over planning permission.
The 1975 list of Main Agents now contained a further
17 sites marketing Dawncraft. These included all 13 Ladyline and Deans
Marina site, Red Line, Abergavenny, Venetian and Whilton Marinas. The
range of boat designs also produced sales and large export orders to
Europe.
At the Hamburg Boat Show in October 1975 they took
orders for 128 cruisers totalling £350,000.Fifty-one of these boats went
to Holland, 35 to France and 42 to Germany; all of the orders were to
be delivered within four months.
Ralph Wilson said that “We received a tumultuous
welcome in Hamburg. Now we hope to push production up to 400 Cruisers a
year. Over 60% of our production this year will be exported”. In
mid-November 1975 Ralph was photographed planning the journey for the
first two boats, a 22' and a Dandy, heading to dealers in West Berlin
and Frankfurt.
Dawncraft also had a 22' and a Dandy in a Group Test
run by Motor Boat & Yachting in January 1975 which also included boats
from Buckingham, Freeman and Birchwood. The Dawncraft were seen as good
value for money but were criticised for their handling in wind and at
low speed and also for their standard of finish.
Other publications featured Dawncraft in 1975/6.
Boat hire brochures included the 1976 Blakes hire catalogue and one for
Boat Enquiries Ltd of Oxford, all of which offered the boats for hire.
Some excellent photographs and descriptions of the 19' 22' 25' and 38'
appeared in Boat World Guide to Motor Cruisers 1976.
The Company continued into the mid-Seventies listing
full displays of the complete range of boats at the Earls Court Boat
Shows 1976/77. However, they appear to have stopped advertising in the
press and this may have been the first indication of the troubles to
come.
Unfortunately, this period of expansion coincided
with the 1973 Middle East war and the resultant “Oil Crisis” which was
followed by the imposition of the three-day week by the Heath government
in 1974. The price of oil rose rapidly and this had an effect on its
by-products such as the resins used in the fibreglass industry. Roy
Robins, who worked on all of the Dawncraft from 1972 onwards, remembers
the price of the resin going up 100% per month forcing the company to
gradually reduce the quantities used in the boats.
Eventually they had to look for other cost-cutting
measures such as reducing the quality of the wood used for the boat
interiors. This went from “the very best melamine veneered plywood
1972-73” to Chipboard and finally to some very poor material around
1975 which “had the density of tissue paper and had to be handled very
carefully”.
Dorothy Wilson also remembers regular huge price
rises for the foam used in the upholstery. They all agreed that the
reduction in quality was not something that anyone was proud to actually
do, but at the time it was a question of what materials were available,
“otherwise you just couldn't produce the boats”.
Although these problems occurred gradually over a
number of years, when the oil price finally stabilised around 1976 the
damage had been done and by the end of 1977 Dawncraft was in the hands
of the liquidator.
At this point Bob Smith, who was responsible within
Dawncraft for the production of the Rover, purchased the Rover moulds
from the liquidator and having made some alterations to the backend of
the boat produced the Highbridge line of canal cruisers. He marketed
the 23' Highbridge Cadet, 27' Highbridge Cavalier and the 32' Crusader
from 1988 until finally ending production in 1991.
The premises at Whitehouse Road were sold and all
Dawncraft manufacture was moved to Bridgnorth in Shropshire. In August
1978 an advertisement appeared from Dawncraft of Kinver which announced
that “They are still the best value for your money”. The
advertisement pictured a Dawncraft 22 and listed the Dandy, 22', 25'
27', 27' Centre cockpit and a 30' 6 berth available from their Main
agents; Deans Marina's, The Ladyline Group, Whilton Marina and Kinver.
Business as usual seems to have resumed and Ian
Wilson said that “We went straight back to ply. It was genuine Teak
veneered ply from then on and they got better and better after that”.
The headlinings were also changed for the better according to Roy
Robins.
The improvement appears to have continued into 1979
with a repeat of the 1978 advertisement which now included the message
“See us on Stands 112 to 114 at the NEC” A new advertisement in
January 1980 “Invites you to meet the family right through from the
baby 19' Dandy to the head of the household the big 30'. And they are
still the best value on the market with 22 years of development in their
wake”.
This advertisement used an earlier 1972 picture which
showed six craft moored in a canalside lay-by. Four of the boats, the
19' Dandy, 22', 25' Rear cockpits and the 27' Centre cockpit are all now
called “The Dawncraft Dandy .......”. The remaining 27' Rear cockpit
and the 30' Centre cockpit are both called “The Dawncraft Sunseeker.......”.
This brief one-off change was confirmed in 2006 with the listing on eBay
of a Dawncraft Dandy 25.
February 1980 featured an advertisement with the
message “Don't buy a Dawncraft!!! If you want something spectacular
and highflying. But if you want a comfortable Inland cruiser with 23
years development in its wake then- ” the Dawncraft 22' is pictured.
Prices had risen and range from the 19' at £3000 to the 30' at £5950
excluding engines and VAT. The Main dealer list numbered eight and
included a dealer in Holland and one in France. The Company address was
now Dawncraft Cruisers, Stourton Staffs.
March of the same year brought a major new
development with a line drawing of the first of the new Widebeam
series. “The Dawncraft 900 28' x 9' 6”on view for the first time at
the Birmingham Boat Show 16th-24th of February. Also on show the New
Inboard Dandy priced at £3600 plus all our well tried favourites” The
Dealer list had now expanded to 10 and still included the two foreign
bases.
A new 32' Centre cockpit was added to the range at
the 1981 Earls Court Show as “the boat for the man with style and taste,
who loves the canals and rivers”. The Dandy was described as “an ideal
boat for beginners”. The 22 as “the boat for the weekend man and his
family”. The 25 as “fitting the young family like a glove” and the 27'
Centre cockpit as “the boat for the grown-up family”.
All were described as the Stars of the Inland Cruiser
Show. The boats were actually now being marketed by the Ladyline Group
and were all on the Ladyline stand at the show.
1981-82 also saw a design change with the
introduction of a nine inch coloured strip, which matched the roof
colour, moulded into the hull just below the gunwale. A 10ml. toe-rail
was moulded into the side deck above the gunwale and the side strakes
changed to a moulding, later on two additional wooden full length
strakes were fitted. These boats can be classified as “Mark 3”.
The Dealer link-up continued to the end of 1981 with
Ladyline advertising the full 1982 Dawncraft range alongside their
Buckingham and Microplus stock. The 1982 Earls Court Show display
included a new 27' Centre cockpit which was designed as a luxury cruiser
with two berths, a double wardrobe, shower and toilet in the rear
cabin. The front cabin contained a settee, cocktail cabinet as well as
the usual seating and kitchen fittings. Priced at £6250 excluding VAT
and engine.
The first of the new Widebeams was introduced at this
show, the 320, a 6/8 berth with the same equipment as the new 27
above. The new 250 and 270 would follow at the Birmingham Boat Show in
February. A Motor Boat & Cruiser Review 18'-50' April 1982 lists
detailed specifications for the largest Dawncraft range so far. The
eight boats include; Dandy, 22, 25, 250, 27, 32, 320, 900.
Earl's Court was generally very successful for the
Company as they often sold up to eight boats a day. Ian Wilson said
that in 1982-83 they would compare notes with Ladyline “how many you
sold today"? By the end of the Show they had sold enough to place boats
nose to tail all around the Main exhibition hall. All Dandy's and 25's.
January 1983 advertised that “ this year you have the chance to see
Dawncraft at three boat shows".
Earls Court Stand A10, NEC Stand 276 and our own
permanent boat show at Stourport on Severn.
The advertisement pictures the Dandy; 22', 25' both
Rear cockpits, 27' and 32' Centre cockpits and the 250 Rear cockpit.
It also says that the 320 will be at the show. This was possibly the
last advert for the full Dawncraft range and it uses the Dawncraft
address at Sandy Lane, Stourport which was the last Dawncraft
manufacturing base.
Waterways World printed a short review of Dawncraft
in September. The company was now selling direct to the public,
including part exchanges, from their own exhibition hall in a converted
grain warehouse at Stourport. The boat building operation next door
was offering a range of boats from the Dandy in kit form at £2990
including VAT up to the 32' 320 which was priced at £12,650 without
engine. The Wilson family concern now consisted of Ralph and Ian on
sales, Keith building boats and Dorothy running the upholstery and
canopy shop.
The final Dawncraft advertisement dated September
1985 pictured the 250 and said ” See us at the Southampton Boat Show
where we will be showing the Dawncraft 250 and 25'”. “Don't forget the
Dawncraft Open weekend October 5th and 6th”
Presumably these events did not take place because
with sales falling dramatically to one a week, along with Buckingham,
Norman and others that year, the renamed Dawncraft Cruisers (Stourport)
Ltd finally closed it's doors and went into receivership on September
8th 1985.
However, all the best stories have a Phoenix rising
from the ashes and the Dawncraft story has three. When Ian Wilson
finally left Dawncraft on the 15th of August 1985 he purchased the
Dawncraft moulds from the administrator and set up Stourvale Cruisers
at Dixon Street, Kidderminster.
Ian went on to produce 25 boats between 1985 and 1988
mostly for Galleon Marine who were setting up a hire fleet on the newly
restored Basingstoke Canal. The boats were all called Romero and
included one Dandy, and one 34' aft cockpit which used extended standard
Dawncraft moulds. Ian said that it was made by "adding pieces together
to make this monster great boat". This was the only one of that size
built by Stourvale Cruisers and it went to Galleon Marine. The rest of
the boats were mostly 25 and 27' Centre cockpits.
When Ian had delivered the last boat, Galleon decided
that they wanted to become boat builders.
Ian replied " that's funny because I've about had
enough of it". So in 1988 he sold Galleon all the tools and equipment
including the only set of plans ever made for Dawncraft, which had been
produced for the Department of Transport when new legislation was
enacted in the mid-80s.
Galleon Marine then set up as Dawncraft Designs and
moved all their activities to the Pant Glass Industrial Estate near
Caerphilly in South Wales. Canal and Riverboat magazine tested the new
Dawncraft 25 supplied by the company and found it to be constructed to a
very high standard.
"A good deal of thought had been put into the new
interior taking the boat and notch or two upwards in the marketplace"
Whilst the basic design was similar to the original, the fabrics and
fittings were superior to previous models. The boat was seen as "a good
practical cruiser for the family or a luxury one for a couple on their
own".
There was a joint Galleon/Stourvale stand at the NEC
1989 Boat, Caravan and Leisure Show and Motor Boat & Yachting reviews of
current motor cruisers between 1988 and 1989 listed Romero 22', 25'
28', 32' Centre cockpits from Stourvale Cruisers. However, by 1990
Galleon Marine and Dawncraft Designs had disappeared from the market and
all of the plans and moulds were rumoured to have been destroyed.
Additionally the Widebeam moulds, which had remained at Stourport after
the liquidation, were later taken to France and subsequently also
disappeared.
The second Phoenix came about due to the perseverance
of one Bill Parkes who was running a boat transport business and also
had some experience of making and repairing boats. Around 1989, he was
looking for a second-hand Dandy for his family but had been unable to
find a suitable boat until he chanced on the original moulds in Roy
Robins's boatyard in Stourport.
Using these moulds he produced a new Dandy which,
like the Galleon boats, had a much higher quality finish and
specification whilst maintaining the original dimensions. This boat,
which was for his own use, became the prototype for the new Dandycraft
19 that he began to produce from March 1991 at a price of £7,000 plus
VAT. He also intended to provide shells for DIY fit-outs.
The Dandycraft 19 was reviewed favourably by both
Canal and Riverboat and Waterways World in April 1991.
According to Roy Robins, who is a personal friend of
Bill Parkes, a number of boats were actually produced and sold. The
moulds eventually passed back to Roy and in 2006 they were sold to
another boat builder who used them to create a new Dandy with an altered
Rear cockpit. The moulds have now been returned to Roy.
The third Phoenix returns full circle to the Wilson
family. Having closed down the boat building business in 1986,
retirement sat uneasy on Ralph's shoulders. Within a few weeks Dorothy
suggested that perhaps they could start making boat covers. Ralph
agreed that it was a good idea soon began to make appointments to go
out to boats and measure up the covers. Dorothy who was very
experienced with sewing machine and scissors then cut out and made the
covers.
The business grew very successfully and they were
soon able to move to new premises beside the canal at Kinver where they
currently employ 14 staff making up to 2000 covers a year.
At around the time of the move, Dorothy began to make
a number of soft furnishings such as seat covers which became very
popular with boaters. Customers also began to ask for other items such
as chair beds so Ralph designed and developed a prototype. This led to
yet another successful business line which eventually included the
importation of leather chairs from Denmark.
Finally, the day-to-day running of the business
passed to their two sons Ian and Keith so Dorothy and Ralph were able to
take things a little easier. Ralph has a unique record of having
attended every NEC Boat show and some 23 Earls Court shows. Both
Dorothy and Ralph enjoy the shows and usually find time, between sales,
to enjoy a laugh and a joke with customers.
Now in 2007 it is time to celebrate 50 years of the
Wilson family's involvement in the boat business. Ralph and Ian Wilson
estimate that between 1967 and 1985 the Dawncraft company built
approximately 2864 fibreglass boats. This figure does not include the
Crescent based wooden boats or the timber hulled/GRP topped boats
referred to by Dorothy as “the half and halfs”.
The company was instrumental in introducing many
people to the canals and waterways as well as producing a wide range of
reasonably priced family motor cruisers. They used some innovative new
techniques in production and were also responsible for training-up a
number of staff who then went on to make careers within the boat
building industry. These include the founders of the Highbridge and
Sealine ranges.
The family has gone on to create several successful
businesses which continue to flourish and the evidence of their
activities is still afloat on many canals and waterways today.
Including incidentally, Laughing Waters, the boat
that started it all.
Some time around 2000 Ralph went out to measure up a
boat cover at Henley on Thames. As he approached the client's boat he
saw, tied up alongside, the boat that he understood had long ago been
abandoned near Stratford on Avon. In a second, the immaculate Laughing
Waters brought Ralph's career in boating full circle.
SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Ralph, Dorothy, Ian, Keith Wilson and their family
friend Roy Robins
The Motor Boat Museum, Basildon especially Julie
Graham, the Curator.
Motor Boat & Yachting 1954-1993
Ralph Wilson, A Waterway of life by Dennis Needham,
Waterways World September 2002
Character sketch of Dorothy Wilson, Canal & Rivers
March 2006
British Library British Waterways Archive Services
Canal & Rivers Canal Boat
Ellesmere Port Boat Museum Inland Waterways
Association
National Waterways Museum, Gloucester taffordshire &
Worcestershire Canal Society
Staffordshire Record Office Stoke Bruerne Canal
Museum
Waterways World Worcestershire Record Office
The Dawncraft Owners Club, which was formed in 2003
by Wayne Herring, originally called Wayne's Dawncraft, has grown from
strength to strength and through its website and meetings provides
information and support for many existing owners and the new generation
of Dawncraft first timers.
I am indebted to it's members for their help, in
particular Alan and Nicky Law, John and Jackie Foale, and Roger Guest,
who as the “Committee” asked me to update the Club's original history
page and opened a mineshaft into which I promptly fell!
And finally to my wife Marilyn for her support,
patience and ever helpful critical eye.
Alan
Peacock May 2007
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