A blue plaque has been unveiled at the site of the former Morgan Giles shipyard in Teignmouth to commemorate the town’s maritime heritage.

Descendants of Francis Morgan Giles, who is thought to be one of the greatest maritime designers of the 20th century, gathered at Leander Court in Teignmouth, on Monday (July 22) for the unveiling ceremony.

Blue Plaque marks the site of the Morgan Giles shipyard in Teignmouth
The blue plaque marks the site of the Morgan Giles shipyard in Teignmouth (Contributed)

The auspicious date marked exactly 104 years since Francis Morgan Giles bought the site to relocate his successful yacht design and building business to the southwest coast.

Speaking at the event, Jane Shaddick, one of Francis Morgan Giles’ granddaughters and director and archivist of the Morgan Giles Heritage Project questioned whether the people of Teignmouth had largely forgotten the huge role the shipyard played in the heritage of the town.

‘We are here today to commemorate the Morgan Giles shipyard, the founder, the workers and the boats,’ Jane said. ‘We are now trying to ensure that Teignmouth does not forget these people,’ she added.

Jane Shaddick, granddaughter of Francis Morgan Giles and director and archivist of the Morgan Giles Heritage Project, speaks at the unveiling of the blue plaque
Jane Shaddick, granddaughter of Francis Morgan Giles and director and archivist of the Morgan Giles Heritage Project, speaks at the unveiling of the blue plaque (Contributed)

The Morgan Giles Teignmouth shipyard operated from 1920 to 1968. It produced over 1000 vessels including: racing dinghies; racing yachts that were raced in Riviera regattas by the Kings of Spain and Denmark; motor launches, including one that rescued 600 soldiers off the beaches of Dunkirk; training yachts for Dartmouth Naval officers; luxury Monaco cruisers; and100 small fighting ships for the Admiralty during the War. The vessels were sold all over the world and many are still sailed today.

‘I can assure you the name of Morgan Giles has not been forgotten in the yachting fraternity,’ Jane said, adding that remaining boats are owned with pride.

Descendents of Francis Morgan Giles gather as the blue plaque at the site of his shipyard is unveiled
Descendents of Francis Morgan Giles gather as the blue plaque at the site of his shipyard is unveiled (Contributed)

Jane recalled her grandfather being ‘a hard taskmaster’ but she said he was proud of his workers. ‘It was the skills of the entire workforce of over 100 men and women, during the war, that made this firm famous worldwide,’ she noted.

The honour of unveiling the plaque fell to Trevor Jackson who worked at the shipyard as a youngster in 1948.

The shipyard site was redeveloped in the 1980s into two apartment blocks, Morgans Quay and Leander Quay and is now owned by Firstport Retirement Property Services Ltd.