South Bank (GB)
South Bank is an area in Redcar and Cleveland, in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the south bank of the River Tees, and is 3 miles from Middlesbrough centre. It is seen as a suburb of Middlesbrough due to its proximity to the wider borough of Middlesbrough.
Formerly known as "Tees Tilery", South Bank has a long history of steelmaking in the companies Bolckow Vaughan and Dorman Long, and shipbuilding in the famous Smiths Dock Company. The area was also known by the nickname of "Slaggy Island" as it was surrounded by slag heaps.
It was part of the parish of Eston and formed part of the Middlesbrough constituency from 1867 until 1918.
In 1907, Smiths Dock Company, a firm of shipbuilders from North Shields, set up part of its business on the River Tees at South Bank. Smiths Dock closed its North Shields Yard in 1909 focussing its operations on the River Tees.
Smiths Dock built many ships that served during the Second World War, including trawlers that the Admiralty requisitioned and converted to armed trawlers of the Royal Naval Patrol Service such as HMT Amethyst or HMT Arab, in which Lieutenant Richard Stannard (RNR) won the Victoria Cross. Smiths Dock prepared the design of the Flower-class corvette, an anti-submarine convoy escort of the Second World War.
In 1966 Smith's Dock merged with Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson to form Associated Shipbuilders, later to become Swan Hunter Group.
Postmark Examples
Post Office details for 1908
South Bank details Post, Money Order, and Telegraph Office, Nelson Street. George Brookes, postmaster.
_a.jpg) Local Postcard sent from Guisborough (GB) in 1905 to South Bank Railway Station Office, but likely delivered to South Bank Post Office. |
