Preparing the slipway for a launch, Newcastle, UK, 1961 (b/w photo)

Shipyard workers preparing the slipway for the launch of the passenger ship 'Northern Star' at the Walker Naval Yard, Newcastle upon Tyne, 27 June 1961. This set of images celebrates the achievements of the Naval Yard at High Walker. The Yard was established by Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd as a replacement for the firm's Elswick Shipyard. The size of the Elswick yard and its location above Newcastle Swing Bridge meant that by the early twentieth century it had become unsuitable for building large warships. Shipbuilding operations started at the Naval Yard in 1913 and by the end of the First World War all shipbuilding at Elswick had ceased.