Memorial plaque for renowned boatbuilder to be unveiled in Old Portsmouth
A memorial plaque for a renowned Portsmouth boatbuilder will be unveiled in Old Portsmouth where he is fondly remembered.
A plaque for John Perry will be placed at the former Harry Feltham’s boatbuilding business in Bath Square on April 4 where he started his apprenticeship in January 1951 age 15.
The memorial plaque will be placed on the gates of the yard which is now the home of Portsmouth Victory Class Sailing Club, a few feet from the building where John, who died in 2019, worked.
The Class itself has been in existence since 1934, and behind the gate where John’s memorial will sit are four boats John crafted himself in the 1980s, giving the Class a boost in those years as older boats reached the end of their lives.
John finished his six-year apprenticeship with the magnificent trade title “Yacht, boat and launch builder; hollow spar, oar, skull and block maker; ecclesiastical joiner and pattern maker” and set up his own business, initially in Cosham.
He rapidly gained a reputation as a master craftsman, initially well known for ‘Folkboats’ and other vessels. Moving to Southsea he built his four Victory boats, still advertised as “Perry built” when they change hands today.
John built a boat for local businessman Austin Spraggs, who was organising the commemoration of the bi-centenary of the founding of Australia after the first fleet sailed from Portsmouth. This prompted John to suggest to Austin the idea of the bicentennial gig.
Not only did local sailors benefit from his boatbuilding skills but halfway round the world, in the National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Australia, you will find the gig he built as Portsmouth’s bicentennial gift to Sydney, an immaculate replica of the boat that the first colonists rowed ashore in.
It was ‘Perry built’ to original plans from the 18th century, and it was John who conceived the whole idea. The bicentennial work helped John to move to a workshop in French Street, Old Portsmouth, where he continued to build a variety of wooden craft. He also created other specialist woodwork.
When people visit Portsmouth’s New Theatre Royal and ascend the marble staircase their hands will follow the curve of the elegant wooden handrail, admired by many, and built by John Perry.
John passed in 2019, but many felt that a memorial was needed in Old Portsmouth where he was best known. Family and friends are now grateful to the Victory Class for providing such an appropriate location for the master craftsman’s memory.