No, not my Father, but a large number of abandoned boats and ships which were deliberately beached beside the River Severn near Purton in Gloucestershire. In 1909 there were concerns that the barrier between the Severn and the Sharpness Canal (only yards apart) would be breached. To reinforce the river banks, a call went out to run aground old vessels and these soon filled with water and silt to create a tidal erosion barrier. Many were beached up to as late as 1974 and are now in a state of considerable decay. Some 65 vessels have been identified and the site forms the largest ship graveyard in mainland Britain.
