For obvious reasons, the great battleships of the Royal Navy were not built by Maldon shipbuilders.

The size of these ships required major seaports like Portsmouth or deep estuaries like the Medway. This hasn't stopped Maldon from contributing to the vital smaller ships that the Royal Navy has needed.

In World War 2, John Sadd and Sons built motor launches, torpedo boats, gunboats and landing craft for the Royal Navy. This linked them to a tradition going back 900 years. The town was listed as being responsible for supplying the King with one ship as far back as the Domesday Book. Henry II was entitled to one ship for forty days in return for Maldon's Royal Charter in 1171.

A previous article has described how shipbuilder James Starling built the Fourth Rate Frigate 'Jersey' of 48 guns in 1652.

John Sadd & Sons was a Maldon institution from 1729 to 1994. From a small carpentry business the family concern became a major timber merchant and builder. In World War 2 the firm was among hundreds of contractors up and down the country who were asked to produce small vessels for the Royal Navy.

While the big battleships and aircraft carriers had all the glamour, the war was really won by the multitude of small escort vessels and coastal boats which carried out the bulk of the day-to-day fighting.

To enable the massive growth needed in these vessels, prefabrication techniques were developed so that the different components could be contracted out to small firms. Wooden panels were even made by furniture companies and piano makers.

A substantial yard like John Sadd could do the bulk of the wooden construction, and they produced a number of the famous Fairmile B, D and H Motor Torpedo Boats, as well as small landing craft, rescue launches and naval trawlers.

The best way to appreciate this history is to visit the John Sadd Room at Maldon's Museum in the Park. As well as having displays of the history of the timber merchants, it has several models, including the magnificent one of Fairmile MTB 796, made at Sadds by Aubrey Pettican.

The original boat was built in 1944, and its crew joined it at Brightlingsea in October of that year. It did sea trials off Holyhead, rescuing some stranded seamen in the process. Then, based at Great Yarmouth, MTB 796 patrolled the North Sea. It took part in an action against German E-Boats in March 1945.

Diligent researchers from the Museum have been in touch with veterans who supplied these memories, and they are written up in the Museum 'Penny Farthing' newsletter.

Another model in the museum is of LCA (Landing Craft Assault) 1128. The LCA was built of hardwood but with some light armour plating which made it popular with soldiers. It could carry a full infantry platoon of 31 and was used to ferry them from ships offshore to beaches under enemy fire.

The boats were built in their thousands and served throughout the war, but from the numbering of the model in the museum I assume it was produced, like MTB 796, later in the war.

These humble boats were built across the country by small local manufacturers, and often crewed by part-time sailors in the Volunteer Reserve. It was a true popular national effort unprecedented in our history.