Francis Charles Morgan Giles was born in 1883. He became a keen and competent sailor, a boat designer and builder of note.
F.C. Morgan Giles, CBE, M.I.N.A (1883-1964)Francis Charles Morgan-Giles was born in Surbiton in October 1882. The name Morgan was a Christian name but came into use in later life to become the renowned Morgan Giles Ltd. His father, Harry Giles, was a very competent civil engineer who worked on the design of railways, specifically at the time when the change from broad gauge to the standard gauge came about in the South West. The sea was in his blood though, his Grandfather, Alfred Giles was for many years Chairman of the Union Steam Ship Company, later the Union Castle Line, and a nephew of Mr C Tyrrell Giles K.C. a director of the company.
In 1893 Francis was sent to Blundell's School in Tiverton and during this time some of the family holidays were spent in Shaldon and Ringmore which was his introduction to rowing and sailing on the River Teign. This no doubt instigated a lifelong interest in the design and manufacture of boats. By 1896 Francis had left Blundell's and the family had moved to Shaldon where he started work with one of the best boat-builders of the time, Abraham Pengelly.
Pengelly was in partnership with Harry Gore building small craft on the banks of the River Teign with the company, Pengelly and Gore. At 14 Francis became a fee paying pupil with the company and his mathematical skills were enhanced by tuition from William Pridham, a local mathematician. Francis's parents made sure that he had the skills, technical knowledge and flair to not just build boats but also to design them. Abraham Pengelly taught him the important skills of boat-building using the drawknife and the spokeshave to fashion oars and paddles to a perfect finish with little need for sandpapering.
During Francis time at the yard he was involved in building some of the dinghies that formed the Teign Restricted Class, this was a forerunner of the West of England 14 foot dinghy class. The restricted class dinghies varied in length and sail area and were raced by the Shaldon Sailing Club and the Teign Corinthian Sailing Club, each to their own rules. Pengelly used to race in both clubs.
When the partnership of Abraham Pengelly and Harry Gore ended Francis joined the Teignmouth-based company of Gann and Palmer, whose shipyard operated on the site on which the future Morgan Giles shipyard would also operate during the years 1920 to 1969.
In 1901, after some years of practical experience in the yachting world, Francis moved to London where he established a small design business in Hammersmith which specialised in small wooden cruising and racing craft. In 1909 he was joined by Harry May and together they ran Morgan Giles and May, Naval Architects and Yacht Builders, from their offices off the Strand in London and a boat building yard by the Thames at Hammersmith. The latter was known as City Yard. In 1911 the partners took over the old Popham yard at Hythe. The partnership was dissolved in 1914 and once again Morgan-Giles became an independent yacht designer.
It was in Teignmouth around 1904 that Francis first met his future wife, Ivy Carus-Wilson of Shaldon. Ivy ordered a 14 foot racing dinghy from Morgan Giles and May who together delivered the boat in 1908. Ivy was a very able sailor and she and the dinghy, Myosotis, were a very successful team in their class. It was in May 1913 that Francis and Ivy were married but the 1914-18 war effectively put a halt to pleasure sailing and he volunteered for the Royal Naval Volunteer Auxiliary Patrol Service where he commanded coastal patrol craft. He eventually volunteered to go to Ireland where he was involved with anti-gun running to prevent German arms being supplied to Ireland. During the war he continued to trade through his yacht brokerage business and design craft when he was off duty, even selling yachts in Ireland. Francis and Ivy continued to live in Devon and when he suffered from kerosene poisoning from working on the engines of his coastal patrol boat he recuperated in Shaldon and Teignmouth.
He left the service a Lieutenant RNVR in 1920. By this time he had become a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights and had established himself in the yachting world. At this time Francis looked to start up his own boat-building business and decided to take over the Strand Shipyard that was once owned by Gann and Palmer. It was with the purchase of the yard, which became known as Morgan Giles Ltd., that his name and the boats he built gained worldwide repute.
Over the years the yard, under the direction of Francis, successfully produced a great number of boats of different designs but by the 1960's times were changing for the company. Francis Charles Morgan-Giles, OBE, MRINA, died on the 19th March 1964, at the age of 81. He had remained an active director of the firm until his death. Below is an apt quote taken from his obituary in the Times newspaper:
"With the death of Morgan-Giles, the world of yachting has lost one of its best known characters. He was perhaps the last survivor of the almost legendary band of great English yacht designers from the early years of this century - from the days of Fife, Nicholson and Mylne."
His son, Captain Michael Morgan-Giles, became Managing Director on his father's death and the yard was run by him for a few more years. The yard closed in 1969. The name of Morgan Giles however, lives on in the many superbly crafted boats which he and his highly skilled staff designed and built.
