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The history of APCO |
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The birth of APCO resulted from a meeting
held at Penkridge – on the Staffs & Worcester Canal in
Staffordshire – on 6 December 1953, to form the ‘Inland
Waterways Pleasurecraft Operators Association’. Subsequently
changed to the ‘Association of Pleasure Craft Operators on
Inland Waterways’ then shortened. |
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Representatives of seven companies attended:
Canal Pleasurecraft Ltd of Stourport, Inland Waterway
Cruising Company of Leighton Buzzard, Inland Navigators of
Banbury, J.G.J. James of London, Waterborne Tours of
Penkridge, Holidays Afloat of Market Drayton and Canal
Cruising Company of Stone (the latter two are still in
business and APCO members). These, along with Inland
Cruising Association of Chester, Deans of Chester and
Dobsons of Burton-on-Trent, formed the Association at its
outset. |
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The objects of the Association were then
simply “to promote and protect the interest of members” but
have become much wider and more detailed as APCO has
progressed; they now include promoting pleasure boating,
representing the industry, increasing boat safety standards
and actively encouraging people to ‘get on the water’. |
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The chairman of that very first meeting was a
Mr.R.H. Lee, who appeared not to be involved in the canal
business but was a council member of the Inland Waterways
Association and also a very good amateur film-maker - as his
surviving waterway films illustrate. A committee of three
was formed - Tom Whitley of Waterborne Tours, Rendel Wyatt
of Canal Cruising Company and John James – who between them
represented hotel, hire and passenger boat operators. |
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It was agreed that this committee should meet
the board of the Docks & Inland Waterways Executive – which
administered their waterways in separate ‘Divisions’ – to
establish whether APCO should deal with them on a national
basis and about unifying the differing charges for pleasure
boating made by each division. Boat licence charges have
been on APCO agendas ever since! |
 A small leaflet, listing members, was to be
printed and distributed and an advertisement placed in the
holiday page of The Sunday Times inviting “enquiries as to
canal holidays”. The first AGM was held at Braunston on 12
December 1954 when Tom Whitley and Randall Wyatt stood down,
due to pressure of business, and Captain Lionel Munk of Maid
Line Cruisers Ltd was elected as chairman, with Michael
Streat of the Inland Waterway Cruising Company as secretary. |
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APCO has since had a history of elected
officers prominent in the industry and the waterways’ world.
All originally served on a voluntary basis until – with the
expansion of membership – a paid part-time secretary, Harry
Arnold, was appointed in 1970. APCO became an association
within the British Marine Federation in 1990, backed by its
resources; but remains an independent organisation with its
own secretary, currently Samantha Clarke who replaced the
long serving Bob Johnstone. APCO is federal in it's
organisation with regional and special interest branches to
represent the membership and help with local matters.
As an organisation it looks to the future and
the challenges of the next 50 years. |
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