The Story of Southampton Docks

This book contains 250 photographs and illustrations, including many published for the first time.

Interviews from management, unions, 'dockies' and other involved sources give interesting, enlightening and often humorous first-hand accounts of life in and around the docks during this time.

Southampton has a long maritime history that can be traced from the invasion of Britain by the Romans in AD43, but the construction of the docks really began in earnest in 1803, when an Act of Parliament made it possible to develop quays and warehouses. "The Story of Southampton Docks" traces the history and development of the docks over the last two centuries.

It looks at dock management and the construction of both the Old and New Docks during the period when the docks were known as 'railway docks', managed by London & South Western Railway and later the Southern Railway.

It was a time when the docks became famous as the 'Gateway to the World' during the period known as the 'Golden Age of Ocean Travel.' With the outbreak of the Second World War the docks came under the control of the War Department, and during hostilities the docks were heavily bombed. From 1945 the docks' management was faced with competition for trade from abroad, the need to reconstruct the docks after the wartime bombing and labour disputes.

The book highlights when the ports were privatised and recalls the introduction of Associated British Ports to manage Southampton Docks.

The huge reduction of the dock labour force through redundancies and the retraining of the remaining workforce compelled the docks to be more competitive in the world market. 21st-century trade is increasing in Southampton Docks, with larger container ships and car carriers visiting, but the biggest change witnessed in Southampton is the development of the cruise industry.