Founder of South Shields-based UK Docks is formally presented with an MBE

Harry Wilson, the founder of South Shields-based UK Docks, has been formally presented with a Member of the British Empire (MBE) medal by Her Royal Highness, the Princess Anne.

The 82-year-old UK Docks chairman received the MBE during a ceremony held at Windsor Castle, where he was watched on by his wife, Audrey, and three sons, Chris, Gary, and Jonathan - all of who are now directors of the company.

The MBE recognises Harry’s contribution to the marine industry ever since he founded UK Docks on a single slipway back in 1992.

Since then, the company has expanded vastly, with it now having dry docks on Teesside and boat repair yards and marine engineering facilities in South Shields, as well on the south coast at Gosport and Cremyll.

Speaking after the ceremony, Harry stated that he sees the medal as a sign that the marine industry's contribution to the UK does not go unnoticed.

He commented: “Marine services make a very important contribution to our island country, and I think the way the world is going, that importance is only going to increase in the years ahead.

"It was definitely one of the highlights of my life and I enjoyed the chance to have a few minutes talking to Princess Anne.

"Windsor Castle is a fabulous place and it was a fabulous day.”

Having established itself as a leading name in the UK’s ship repair industry, UK Docks has moved increasingly into servicing Ministry of Defence contracts for the Royal Navy.

Those efforts culminated last year with the winning of a £250m contract to service and maintain five Batch 2 Offshore Patrol vessels across the globe.

Since then, UK Docks has added more navy contracts to its order book and been involved in the ambitious regeneration of Gosport under the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

Despite all the recent success for UK Docks, Harry believes that there is still much more to company from the company now it is being run by his three sons.

He added: “I’m very excited about the future because, in many ways, it might be we have just put the foundations in place.

“The three lads are not people who believe in standing still, and the company has a long way to go yet - what has been achieved so far might just be the launch pad for greater things ahead.

“It’s an exciting time for UK Docks and for the marine services industry generally.” 

Now employing more than 200 people, one of the key driving forces behind the growth of UK Docks was Harry’s desire to regenerate areas of industrial decline and give something back to the community, including creating jobs.

In 2014, he saw the opportunity to expand the company’s ship repair facilities to Teesside, an area of high unemployment, and regenerated the dry docks which had been unused for over 20 years and required complete refurbishment.

The Teesside ship repair business has now been brought back to life, creating jobs and attracting ship owners from the UK, Europe and beyond.

Harry stated: "The object of the exercise, after founding UK Docks and being able to make a living out of it, was to genuinely put something back into the ship repair industry.

"I'd had a pretty decent life from it, not necessarily an easy one, but a decent one and I believed in the industry and its potential and wanted to see it do well.

"I'm pleased to see that UK Docks has been able to grow over the years, developing dockyards in the North East and now all around the country, helping the marine industry to survive and flourish and create hundreds of jobs for the company and its supply chain that might not otherwise have been there.

"I've been lucky to have three sons who have all been interested in the business and have been able to take the company from strength to strength over the years and ensured that it has grown from local to regional to national and now, especially with the Ministry of Defence contracts, a global concern.”

Our free email newsletters deliver South Tyneside’s latest news and sport - sign up online here

Jonathan, who is now managing director of the company, has heaped praise on his dad for being awarded an MBE.

He said: "We're obviously immensely proud of him - he's a one-off.

"It was Harry who had this vision of developing ship repair and re-opening yards at a time when so many others were closing and he's been proven right in his decision-making time after time.

"He's got a great reputation in our industry and he's responsible for what this company has grown into today.

"It's also, I think, a recognition of his charity work over the years because he has strongly backed a number of important causes and, in particular, has been a long-time supporter of South Shields Sea Cadets."