THE name, John I. Thornycroft, is one of the most respected in the history of shipping and his Southampton company was able to boast of a proud, world-wide reputation.

In 1904 the shipbuilder left his base on the Thames and moved into a much larger site on the banks of the River Itchen at Woolston.

Amongst his bulging, export order book was a contract to build a total of 11 steamer ferries for the Calcutta Port Commissioners in India. A total of seven were produced in 1907 while the other four were completed two years later.

This photograph shows one the ferries, Nalini, in service on the River Ganges, which was typical of the craft built by Thornycroft in Southampton.

With a length of 100 feet and a beam of 20 feet the ferries, which could each accommodate up to 200 passengers, were built of steel with a wooden awning extended over the open deck.

According to the history books these ferries were first completed in Southampton, then taken to pieces, packed and shipped to India where they were re-assembled and completed at Calcutta, now known as Kolkata.

At the time the Southampton built steamers were a popular form of transport on the Ganges, where they were operated from ferry piers, or ghats.