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Special Collections
We all know individuals who have spent their lifetimes delving into the history of Yorkshire’s waterways. Sadly some of them are no longer with us. It is vitally important that what they learnt and recorded should be made easily accessible to new generations of researcher. To that end YWHS is actively seeking to give a digital home to research material as it emerges from the personal collections of waterways enthusiasts. We are calling them “Special Collections” as by their nature they are often extensive and contain results derived from the analysis of many different sources of original material over many years.
Our collection of digital documents relating to Yorkshire’s waterways derived from the research collections of individuals may be accessed by choosing a topic below and clicking the button:
Brian Masterman
Born and bred in Old Goole, Brian Masterman was regarded by many as the go-to person relating to all matters historical to do with Goole and Old Goole. He amassed a significant collection of photographs, documents and knowledge about all his interests but particularly his favourite subjects. Given his career background as mate on canal barges, a spell in the merchant navy and time in the shipyard these included Goole shipbuilding and merchant shipping. He was not only a collector of original material but was not averse to swapping copies of this, that and the other with his many fellow enthusiasts.
YWHS is very pleased to be able to publish Brian’s work, some of it for the first time, and his family tell us that he would have been delighted to have reached a new wide audience.
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Publication permission for copyright images
We acknowledge that copyright images are being shown for which no explicit permission to publish has been given to this Society. Many of the digital images shown had originally been produced with the knowledge and permission of the now defunct Yorkshire Waterways Museum from original photographs deposited there for public display. Following the closure of that organisation in 2019 and the break up of their collection those original photographs have disappeared and have effectively been lost to the public.
Through an incredible stroke of good fortune digital copies of those images were donated to this Society in 2022 allowing our volunteers to finally achieve the wishes of those photographers and collectors who had made the original donations.
If you are the copyright holder and would like to contact the Society please use the form below.
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