The last three ships commissioned for the Woolwich ferry were motor ships, these replaced the old paddle steamers.
The ships are:
John Burns
Built in 1963 and named after John Elliot Burns (1858-1943) who was an enthusiastic student of London’s history and its river. He called the Thames ’liquid history’ and he would have appreciated being linked with it in this way.
He represented Battersea on the London County Council from its creation in 1889 until 1907.
He lead the great dock strike of 1880 and was one of the first three independent Labour Members of Parliament to reach cabinet rank when he became President of the Local Government Board in 1905.
Ernest Bevin
Built in 1963 and named after Ernest Bevin who was the son of an agriculture labourer.
He worked as a farm hand and truck driver before his keenness in trade union matters led to his becoming a trade union official in Bristol in 1911.
In 1921 Bevin formed the Transport and General Workers Union from 32 separate unions.
In 1945 he became Foreign Secretary and represented Woolwich in 1950 until ill health forced him to retire in 1951.
James Newman
Built in 1963 and named after James Newman who was a distinguished citizen of Woolwich and an important worker in the field of local government.
A school teacher by profession, he was Mayor of Woolwich from 1923 until 1925 and again in 1952 to 1953.
He served on many local and national organisations, including the metropolitan borough’s standing joint committee. He was the co-founder and vice president of the Woolwich Council of Social Service. In 1948 he was appointed an officer of the order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to local government.