Archivists turn up fascinating snapshots of docks’ past

PHOTOGRAPHIC memories of life at the Port of Dover over the years are being saved for future generations.

A team of Dover Harbour Board (DHB) staff past and present are currently working to archive thousands of images dating back to the 1880s, with help from experts at Dover Museum, Kent Archives and Canterbury Cathedral.

The mammoth project, which has now entered its third year, is turning up examples of celebrities who have visited the port ,and other documents demonstrating the town of Dover’s role in the history of Britain.

Among the finds are a snap of pop legend Michael Jackson with an unnamed ferry captain, and a picture of Catherine Zeta Jones at the port before she shot to Hollywood fame.

Another discovery was a letter from Prime Minister Winston Churchill written in 1941, thanking the staff of DHB for their good wishes and recognising the sacrifice of the people of Dover during the darkest hours of the Second World War.

The team behind the project, DHB employees Chris Knight, Bob Wainwright, Andy Rintoul and Andy’s retired father Ian, all have a passion for the port and its history and are relishing the task at hand.

Chris said: “The team is photographing the contents of the 42 albums, filing by the year if possible and storing the pictures onto our computer system, while I scan in the loose photographs and any associated copy onto a laptop.

“The aim is that staff will eventually be able to access all the photographs using a subject search to satisfy any enquiries from the public while the originals are stored away in suitable containers.”

There are more than 40 albums of photographs to work through, and although the pictures inside are mostly in excellent condition, Chris and Ian noticed that some of the albums were deteriorating and felt that action should be taken to preserve the photographs for future generations.