There were more than 2,000 sailing barges carrying cargo on the River Thames at the beginning of the 20th century. By the time Jim Lawrence got his first command in 1951, that number was down to around 160. Jim was then 18 and the youngest sailing barge skipper on the Thames. It was a dying trade, however, and when he carried his last cargo in 1963 there were only six barges still working under sail alone. The last sailing cargo-carrier on the Thames, the mighty Cambria, finally packed up in 1970.
A passionate believer in the beauty and importance of traditional sail, Jim, who has died aged 90, switched to charter work, taking punters out on Thames barges and other British working boats around the east coast of England.
