Kevin Blair sent me this photo of the timber ponds at Jarrow Slake. Unfortunately there is now date on the photo. Looks like a Monmouth Class cruiser moored in the river which may be LANCASTER which was built by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick in 1904. See details at: http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/L-Ships ... r1904.html
A couple of cargo ships are moored astern and to the right of the photo is the isolation hospital.

Another good find by Kevin.
Dave, doesn't look quite like a match to me, this one has the crow's nests on the cross-tree, not between them and also has another attachment lower down on both masts.

The structures under the 'Crows Nest' on both For and Aft Masts could be for For and Aft Gun Controllers?

More likely a Highflyer class cruiser - note the high sides of the after hull.

The 3 Highflyers were all built at Govan. One was a war loss, neither of the other 2 broken up on the Tyne. But the profile looks good!
CHALLENGER's looked similar but again can't see a Tyne connection ... maybe this was a visitor from either class?

Yes Gents, she is Tyne built but not British.

She is Japanese, either the Izumo or sister Iwate, both from Armstrong's Elswick yard, nos 681 and 689
They both had very long careers.

From the photos on Dave's site only IZUMO had the extra lower 'lookout' on the after mast ... though looking a little less substantial than on the Jarrow photo.
HATSUSE is a good match 'up top' and shows that they were emplacements for small guns ... but she had the double hawser opening on port as well as starboard!

Having had another look at the photograph it looks like my Gunnery Control positions appear to be possibly Searchlight positions, the use of Searchlights in more recent times brought to notice by the late Duke of Edinburgh who was mentioned after manning one in the Battle of Matapan.
Fortunately for him after an Italian Shouted "Put that light out" he survived.

Thank you Gents. For some reason known only to my psychiatrist, I had only considered RN vessels in my search for a likely contender. Must be tunnelled thinking or something.

Whickham wrote:Thank you Gents. For some reason known only to my psychiatrist, I had only considered RN vessels in my search for a likely contender. Must be tunnelled thinking or something.

Looks like you might need a bigger shovel David , I am guessing you will be aware of the 114 year old Pre Dreadnought British built (Vickers at Barrow) Japanese "Mikasa" still in existence and main armament by Elswick Ordanance built in the days when the Japanese did not know how to build such vessels and had to come to a British Shipbuilder, how things have changed! Ron@?