The Wide-awake

The Wide-awake was a cargo boat that sailed on Lough Erne which did valiant service during World War II hauling desperately needed timber from islands on the lower lough to a sawmill at Enniskillen.
The Wide-awake began as a barge on the Thames conveying merchandise around London to and from the docks. It is unclear how the boat arrived on Lough Erne, but it was used as a sand barge by Jack Lemon in the 1920s and 1930s. In the later 1930s the boat was kept at Castle Archdale before it was re-commissioned when war broke out in 1939.
The boat made daily voyages, returning with 40-ton cargo of logs 20 and 30 feet long to the Brooke in the town of Enniskillen. Victor Johnston and George Acheson were the men responsible for this unique shipment of native grown timber and at its peak they employed around 40 workers. The boat became a familiar site on Lough Erne for many years.
The boat sank with many ceramic tiles on board. The mast of the boat can still be seen in the water near Cornagrade in Enniskillen today.

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