John Knill's Navy - 5 Years On The Cut

John Knill tells of his entry into the secluded world of the English canals of the post-war years. He bought the steel working boat Columba together with her butty Uranus in 1948 to start a carrying business on the canals of England when many owner/operators were already leaving. Accepting work whenever it was available, he made several epic runs carrying salt from Middlewich to Newbury or Reading. More boats were acquired in the 1950s, and his carrying business grew until they were sold off several years later. The trials and tribulations of these years are related here in vivid detail, together with the story of his involvement with the infant Inland Waterways Association. Sir John Knill wanted to tell this fascinating story for nearly fifty years, and self-published his book in 1998. This second edition is published over 70 years after John Knill started his canal carrying business.