Your memories of Cutty Sark

"I joined HMS Worcester as a cadet in Autumn 1952. My family had sailed our Dutch sailing barge to Greenhithe and anchored near to Worcester so that I could take the entrance exams.

"Cutty Sark was moored next to the Worcester before her departure for Greenwich. During that time various duties had to be performed, including maintaining the oil mooring lights, raising and lowering the ensign and regularly pumping the bilges. Work parties of cadets also gathered on board from time to time to lower dangerously rotting yards and other rigging. 

"Although the removal of Cutty Sark left a void at the time, it was a celebration to know that she would be preserved in her new berth at Greenwich. I can remember the day the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Worcester to inaugurate the transfer of Cutty Sark, and have since visited the ship in her new home and stood at the stern to view her remarkable underwater hull design."

- Ian, Hyth

"I visited Cutty Sark in the early 1980s when I lived in London. Then in the early 2000s my wife became interested in genealogy and began researching our family histories. We discovered that my great great grandfather had been a Master Mariner and had been employed on Cutty Sark as First Mate in 1883-4. I was so glad that I was able to take my father to visit Cutty Sark together in 2012. My father, into his 80s at this point, was like a young boy with excitement."

- James, Barton-upon-Humber

"I can just about remember the Cutty Sark being towed into the dock at Greenwich by what I believe were two Sun Tugs. I was seven years old at the time. One was the Sun V, aboard which I started my Thames career when I was 15 years of age."

- Alan, London

"I remember the very first time I saw the Cutty Sark in person: 14 July 1971. My wife wanted to show me round Greenwich, where she and her friends had spent a lot of time during their teenage years. On that day she took a photo of me at the wheel of the old tea clipper, a photo we still have and treasure. In 2015, I had a second photo made of me at the wheel. After being there for 70 years, it's hard to imagine Greenwich without her."

- Steven, Texas

"My first visit on board was with my friend and mum in the late 1950s. One of the pictures taken was inside the master’s saloon. I also visited in 1971, then again in 1997. My grandfather told stories of his friendship with one of the cabin boys who sailed on the Cutty Sark."

- Peter, London

"I was always fearful of the rigging at Cutty Sark. We used to climb up the masts as part of our training with the Thames Nautical Training College. The rigging was getting very old and would give way at times. We also used to poke around the holds imagining the cargoes that she carried."

- Roger, New Zealand