View report page

The following infringements of the Act were also found:
Certificate of Registration not on board 17
Registration Marks on boat obliterated or illegible 3
20
The Owners and/or Masters were informed of the requirements of the Act in this respect.
No new Registrations were effected during the year.
DANGEROUS DRUGS
During the year fourteen certificates authorising the purchase of scheduled Dangerous Drugs
were issued under the Dangerous Drugs Regulations, 1953, Regulation 13 (2) of which is as
follows:-
(a) The master of a foreign ship which is in a port in Great Britain shall be authorised to
procure such quantity of drugs and preparations as may be certified by the medical
officer of health of the port health authority within whose jurisdiction the ship is or, in
his absence, by the assistant medical officer of health, to be necessary for the equipment
of the ship until it reaches its home port.
(b) A person who supplies a drug or preparation in accordance with a certificate given under
this paragraph shall retain the certificate and mark it with the date on which the drug or
preparation was supplied and keep it on his premises so as to be at all times available
for inspection.
FERTILISERS AND FEEDING STUFFS ACT, 1926
FERTILISERS AND FEEDING STUFFS REGULATIONS, 1955
Eleven samples of Feeding Stuffs were submitted to the Agricultural Analyst.
In each case the sample was found to be within the limits of variation permissible under the
Regulations.
STAFF
Mr. P.J. Wilkins. It is with great regret that I have to record the death on the 29th June, 1959 of
Mr. P.J. Wilkins who had been in the Port Health Service since 1928 and who at the time of his
death was Senior Navigator of the launch "Howard Deighton".
Mr. P.W. Coombe. On the 16th April, 1959 the General Council of the Association of Public
Health Inspectors elected Mr. P.W. Coombe, Senior Port Health Inspector, a Fellow of the
A&sociation. Fellowship of the Association is awarded to members who have given distinctive
service to the Association or have given evidence of special knowledge and ability in the
execution of the duties of a public health inspector.
LAUNCHES
The district of the Port of London Health Authority includes, as well as the dock systems,
approximately seventy miles of the River Thames and Estuary from Teddington to the Nore Light,
and to carry out shipping inspection in this area a complement of four launches is maintained.
Two launches, the "Alfred Robertson" and the "Frederick Whittingham", are stationed at
Woolwich, with moorings and office accommodation at the Port of London Authority Harbour Service
Pier. These launches provide transport for the Port Health Inspector and Rodent Inspection
staff stationed on the upper part of the River Thames from Teddington to Rainham Creek.
The other two launches, the "Howard Deighton" and the "Alfred Roach", are stationed at
Gravesend and are moored alongside the Hulk "Hygeia" which acts as the boarding Station for
arriving ships and which also provides living accommodation for the Boarding Medical Officers
while on duty. The "Howard Deighton", which is manned by three crews and is in the service
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, provides transport for the Boarding Medical Officers.
The "Alfred Roach" is used by the Port Health Inspector on the lower part of the River from
Rainham Creek to the Nore Light at the mouth of the Thames Estuary. The Gravesend launches
and the Hulk "Hygeia" are in radio telephone communication with each other and there is also a
set on the same wave length in the Port of London Authority Thames Navigation Service Building
at Gravesend.
This year the Hulk "Hygeia", which was built in 1914 as an Admiralty lighter and was purchased
by the Port of London Health Authority and converted into a boarding station in 1939, was
taken out of water for a complete overhaul and is now likely to render useful service for many
years to come.
The "Howard Deighton" has been in service since 1934 and is now not really fast enough
for boarding work. Plans are in preparation for replacing her with a rather larger and faster
cutter of improved design including an ambulance room and living accommodation for the Boarding
Medical Officer as well as the crew.
34