Fine view from Bill Quay sent to me by Kevin, but what ships and what date?

Best I can come up with for the tug would be ULYSSES, see: http://www.tynetugs.co.uk/ulysses1874.html

and as for that flag on the ship ahead, is that Greek?

Dave, I assume that's the Armstrong Whitworth yard opposite (given the likely date range), in which case from your list I think the rear vessel with the tall funnel could be MONGOLIA of P&O, launched 08/1922 and completed 04/1923 so this could be early 1923. But can't pin down the 2 ahead of her to the AW list, they may all be visitors of course. The grey hull with white riband suggests Hall Bros or J. & C. Harrison but could be other fleets of course.
Of the 5 on the south side, the inboard one might have a Swedish Lloyd funnel but the others are not identifiable to me, pity the visible names are not a bit sharper!
The mid-stream vessel is a very unusual build and maybe the flag could even be USA, as there are 3 lines of lettering and US ships sometimes have the state name below the port name?

p.s. having 2nd thoughts re MONGOLIA as she didn't have the 2 prominent ventilators forward, neither do AUSONIA/ASCANIA match. Could be a liner having a post-war refit?

A further look through photos leads to the possibility that the liner could be CARINTHIA of 1925, built by Vickers at Barrow but in 1931 her passenger accommodation was altered to better suit her then use as a cruise ship. There's a hint of a ring on her funnel and the two prominent ventilators forward are right. Dave's site tells us the recently acquired Walker yard was not building ships at that time so maybe Vickers chose to allocate CARINTHIA for the work in the Tyne instead of at Barrow?

http://shippingandshipbuilding.uk/view. ... =CARINTHIA

Thanks George, but I can't see any sign of CARINTHIA in the local papers for that period.

I've just seen a photo of AQUITANIA at Walker supposedly around 1921. Looks a decent match. Could this be her?

Update on that date from the Shields Daily News - Friday 25 June 1920

If the above assumptions are OK then the inboard ship ahead of "AQUITANIA" could be TAIOA see:

http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/T-Ships/tairoa1920.html

Again, if so, this would date the photo as April/May 1920.

Just by chance I came across this photo of the High Walker Yard lurking in my files.
I think it shows the main photo again but from a slightly different angle and if it is it confirms the liner in the photo to be a 4 stacker.

Kevin has sent me another view from Bill Quay, but this one a bit further round the bend. Also I think it is about 15-20 years earlier.
I think that works on the left could be the Walker Iron Works that was disused by 1912 and more or less disappeared under the new Naval Yard at High Walker. A very strange looking ship berthed alongside the works, almost looks like half a ship. As for the ship in mid river the name looks like ETHELWEDA but the nearest I can find is ETHELWALDA, just happens to be Tyne built, by Readheads in 1890. If so she was wrecked in 1911 so this would date the photo before then, might also explain the number of sailing ships in the river. The photo of ETHELWALDA looks a good match and I can only assume that the name is one character longer than it looks.

See http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/E-Ships ... a1890.html

Down river would be William Dobson’s yard at Wincomblee and then Armstrong Whitworth at Low Walker. All a bit of supposition, but great photo whatever.