People of my vintage will remember the halcyon days of the port when salvage tugs such as the Turmoil and tugs from the United Towing Company of Hull anchored in the inner harbour on salvage station. One such tug was the Englishman.

“ The Diary of an Englishman” written by former Falmouth lifeboat mechanic David Proud chronicles the fascinating history of the tug Englishman and her experienced captains.

David said: “ It all started as someone who had grown up overlooking Falmouth harbour and watched the shipping being manoeuvred around the harbour by the local tugs that a deep interest was born.

I started to document my late father’s work diaries which he kept from his time employed as a painter for Silley Cox ship-repairers and later deckhand/fireman for the Falmouth Towage Company. The purpose of his diaries was not to keep a record of shipping movements but being a Yorkshireman was to insure his pay and overtime was correct at the end of the working week.”

With the help of valuable research material in National Maritime Museum Cornwall, which included an electronic database of shipping arrivals in the port from the local shipping agents GC Fox & Co and the original Harbour Masters Journals David began to research various ships.

David said it was whilst researching these records the name of the tug Englishman cropped up regularly. “The seed was sown”.