Former Tyne tugboat engineer and self-taught artist John Sturmey had been painting for pleasure all his life but it wasn’t until he had to take early retirement that his talents were truly recognised.
Born in 1943 in North Shields, John attended Spring Gardens Junior School then Ralph Gardener Secondary Modern School, where he left at the age of 15. He joined Tyne Tugs Ltd. as an apprentice tugboatman, becoming 2nd Engineer in 1967. John’s interest in ships, the river and the sea began at a young age: “My paternal grandfather, John Septimius Redford, was a boiler smith at Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Co, part Swan Hunter, and would bring home ships’ plans for me to study with him.” John’s father, Reginald Alfred Sturmey, inspired his love of art: “As a very young child he started explaining the weather, stars and sky to me. My father was the light of my life and his knowledge was to prove invaluable and helpful to me both with my art and as part of my life on tugboats.”
John started capturing activity on the river while still at school, such as the launch of the Deerwood cargo ship from John Readhead & Sons’ shipyard at South Shields: “My friend’s uncle was in charge of the coal staiths at Whitehill Point opposite the shipyard. We went and had a perfect view from the top of the coal-pouring tower. My mate John Moore told his uncle that I drew and painted ships and he asked if I could paint a picture of the launch, which I did. He paid me with four books entitled ‘Motor Ship’. These books were published for the shipping industry worldwide and they were invaluable to me. l am happy to say I still have them today.”
John’s passion for history has always informed his artwork and he can talk at length about all the tug boats, steam trawlers, ships and their crew members that have graced the waters of the Tyne: “As a boy in the 1950s I would often see the paddle tug Conqueror, which was built at the North Shields yard of the Hepple Co. in 1884, on my wanders down to the docks or Fish Quay. She was scrapped at Gateshead in 1956 at the incredible age of 72 years. There were no thoughts of restoration in those days. I believe her last Skipper was Tommy Dunn, who became Skipper of the motor tug Ashbooke, and I had the privilege of working with him in this vessel in the 1960s.” John also worked on the old steam screw tug the Cullercoats, built in 1898 at South Shields, with Skipper Jack Bewick and Joe Jones the Engineer: “My mate David Appleby, Joe’s nephew, was Boy in her when I was Boy on the Francis Batey with Skipper Jimmy Elsdon, a real gentleman. He became Skipper of the Quaysider when the Francis Batey was transferred to Blyth around 1961.”
In 1970 John left due to lack of work on the river and began work as a driver and mechanic for The Tynemouth and District Transport Co., now part of the Go Ahead Group: “They treated me well, I got a free bus pass.” Then one morning in 2001 his life changed forever when he had an attack of vertigo during the school run: “The bus hit the curb! When I was told by the doc I had to retire, I thought, ‘Well, I’ve had a good run’.”
Aged 61, John finally decided to indulge his lifelong passion for art and he enrolled to study his A Levels in the subject at Tynemouth Sixth Form College, where he found himself surrounded by youngsters: “A lot of the students thought I was one of the tutors!” When visiting lecturers from Northumbria University spotted John’s artwork, they instantly offered him a place on their degree in Fine Art Practice through Tyne met College: “One of them was John Wight, who is now Head of Art at Kingston, Jamaica. I think he was a distant relation of the American artist, Whistler.” So at the age of 63 John went to university, graduating in 2006 with a specialisation in Concrete Sculptures and Reliefs.
What is remarkable about John’s artwork is the fact that the instantly recognisable river scenes are almost always created from his own imagination: “I’m a creative artist. When I was six years old I remember looking around at everyone else’s drawings and something clicked. I didn’t realise at that age, but it became obvious later that originality and doing things my way was far better than copying from photographs. My work is all original.”
John’s creations are all accompanied by detailed memories and historic information, such as the pencil drawing showing the Lawson Batey Co. Eastsider Tug, Captain Stan Chatter, escorting TIC. Dredger No.8 with Dredging Master Captain Len Mainland up river to the Stella Power Stations at Newburn around 1959, the very last time a bucket dredger went that far up river. With his 1970s drawing ‘Ready for Seven’, John has accurately listed the names of all the crew on the Francis Batey steam tug pictured at the buoys around a decade earlier, including the absent deckhand who had the day off. John’s acrylic painting of the Q.E.2’s grand entrance to the Tyne in 2007 is an impression from his mind – he has in fact never seen it: “I do have the menu of the banquet for that night in North Shields and some of the passengers’ invitations.”
As well as capturing the technical details of tug boats and the drama of imposing ships, John has produced moving river scenes such as the beautiful watercolour ‘Autumn Dawn – An early look at light’ and the atmospheric drawing ‘A Rainy Day in Shields’, set around 1960 and showing the old ferry ‘South Shields’ crossing to North Shields with ships at Smith’s Dock and a Baltic trader bound for Albert Edward Dock with timber. The mood captured in this work becomes apparent as John explains: “This was the day my dad died.”
John’s ability to perfectly preserve specific memories on the page or canvas has helped him create a unique scrapbook of special moments in his life. He created a large painting of the Blackwatch at Oslo after taking a cruise on the Fred Olsen line with his wife Margaret for their 51st wedding anniversary. John doesn’t paint so much nowadays due to issues with his eyes, but he still enjoys observing boats from his home town: “Everything that comes into or out of the River Tyne must pass Shields”.
John Sturmey was a founder member of the North Shields Art Society and has been a member of the Tynemouth Art Group and Preston Grange Art Group for a number of years, participating in many local exhibitions. A selection of his work is currently displayed upstairs in North Shields Library until 1st June.
