THOMAS DOGGETT COAT AND BADGE 1716-2025: 300 HUNDRED YEARS OF HISTORY

THE THOMAS DOGGETT COAT & BADGE RECORDS is a newly enlarged addition to the various reference works from Rob Cottrell. If you are lucky enough to have Watermen or Lightermen ancestors then by the very nature of the profession, and the wealth of extant records it will mean you can trace your relatives back over many generations. The Company of Watermen and Lightermen were somewhat of a closed shop where membership was usually by form of servitude and they worked hard to preserve restrictive practices for their members. That meant that other occupations were dependant on time served men, the river was the main trade route of the country and vessels moving up the Thames from Gravesend were required to take the services of a freeman. Furthermore, a barge coming up and going through the bridges was compelled, if it needed a third hand, to take a waterman. Charles Dickens Jnr. said in 1887 “… vested interests are indeed wonderful institutions, and singularly tenacious of life!”The annual Doggett’s race became a tradition of the watermen and lightermen since its inception in 1715 but the published literature has usually only listed the winner of the race. Of course, every Watermen and Lightermen family has a story of how their ancestor won or narrowly lost the race and now for the first time many of us will be able to confirm or refute that long told tale.Mike Dawsonwww.bargemen.co.uk Read more