They Brought the Sea to Manchester A BBC Radio Programme (1969) This 'lost' Radio Ballad-type documentary, which was broadcast to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, has been found, thanks to the efforts of Chris J Brady, languishing on an old domestic reel-reel tape and it sounds as good as when it was first aired. It features interviews from some men in their 90s who actually worked on the canal's construction and describes the massive flood created when the sluices gates were first opened to fill the canal. The programme was recorded in the BBC Manchester studios and broadcast in 1969. It features a song (Ship Canal Song) written at the time of the construction of the canal and sung in part by Harry Boardman (1930-1987) who was a mainstay of the folk scene in his native Lancashire and a singer of great vitality. His extensive repertoire focused on local songs. In January 1894 Queen Victoria declared the canal open without leaving her carriage which was par for the course for her. Chris J Brady is also responsible for bringing to my attention a newspaper article which appeared in Evening News and Chronicle (Manchester) on 14 May 1969. The article features an interview with some of the men interviewed in the radio programme, including Jack Dobson then aged 93. A larger version of the newspaper article or a text file of the article can be loaded in a new window by clicking on the appropriate image below.