12 Days of Radar – Day Seven

The first ferry across the River Deben from Bawdsey to the Felixstowe side was a steam-driven Chain Ferry, built by Cuthbert Quilter in 1894, which ran till 1930s.

The ferry was then operated by Charlie Brinkley who’d lost his hand in an accident, replaced by a hook. The Brinkley Hook, a gadget that was designed to discharge high voltage circuits was named for Charlie – you can see why.

Stories of the Ferry and Charlie feature heavily in people’s recollections of their time at Bawdsey. Terry Bunce, who served at RAF Bawdsey, remembered the Ferry fondly, although he was, at first, shocked by its small size. More of Terry’s memories can be found here: https://www.bawdseyradar.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/terry-bunce-factsheet.pdf

Charlie Brinkley, who had a radar gadget named after him

Looking across to Bawdsey from the Felixstowe side