Charles Edward Dixon, RI,
British 1872-1934-

A Vokins' tug towing a three-masted merchantman up the Thames estuary past the old training ship 'Worcester' lying off Greenhithe;

watercolour heightened with white on paper, signed 'Charles Dixon' (lower left), 26 x 75 cm.

Provenance:
Anon. sale, Bonhams, London, 14 September 2004, lot 120 (£4,541);
where purchased by the present owner.

Note:
The decade after the end of the Crimean War (in 1856) saw the introduction of a number of boys' training ships, the purpose of which was to prepare young men for careers in both the Royal Navy as well as the Merchant Service. One such vessel was the old 52-gun frigate 'H.M.S. Worcester' which became the Thames Marine Officers Training Ship in October 1861 under the sponsorship of some of the most notable shipowners of the day. Officially handed over in May 1862, the ship was initially moored in Blackwall Reach but was soon moved to Erith and then Southend before finding a permanent berth at Greenhithe. The original 'Worcester' (launched in 1843) was replaced by the much larger 'H.M.S. Frederick William' (a 110-gun 1st rate of 1860) in 1876 and, renamed 'Worcester' for continuity, she survived until superseded by the re-christened 'H.M.S. Exmouth' in 1946. This second 'Worcester', the ship Dixon would have known early in the 20th century, was sold for scrapping in 1948 but foundered in the Thames whilst on tow to the breakers; subsequently raised, she was finally broken up in 1953.