Established in 1976, Trinity Marine was founded by Rodger Jameson.  Originally from Manchester, Rodger fell for a ‘Devon lass’ - Janet - and moved to the South Devon countryside.  He then set up breaking old commercial vehicles evolving a scrap business.

Given his Mancunian work ethic and no-nonsense business approach, his work quickly scaled with him finding a market for the exporting of spares to ‘faraway places.’ Under the business name ‘R W Jameson & Sons', he made a good and fair living for his growing family, which in time included his son Mark.

Several years into his business, Rodger’s ‘head was turned’ as he realised the Ministry of Defence was jettisoning in enormous quantities of Royal Navy spares and running surplus auctions all over the country every six weeks. For the next 20+ years, often with Mark in tow, Rodger went to every surplus sale and with savvy, skill and, at times, some ‘strategic skulduggery’, he became one of the most revered merchants in the surplus game. 

At the time, the quantities of impeccable Royal Navy kit were too vast and too niche for any resale market, so Rodger’s work was purely an at-scale ‘scrap exercise’ with all of the bronze and brass fixtures and fittings heading to the melting pot.  

However, in the 90’s, the Royal Navy dramatically decreased in size and the volume of available fittings likewise downsized, and it occurred to Rodger that it might be worth considering refurbishing and polishing some of the key pieces rather than simply scrapping them all.   An unexpected appreciation for all things ‘old nautical’ was sparked both personally and professionally with a pair of old diving helmets appearing either side of the family fireplace, marking the new business direction.

As the first forays into the purveying of the Royal Navy items paid off, Rodger realised that he had discovered a new market, with major potential, but ironically, this realisation came when these Royal Navy salvage supply options were ever-shrinking.  

In an incidence of perfect serendipity, the news that the Falklands hero SS Canberra was off to the ship-breakers in Pakistan hit the national papers, and with it, Rodger’s entrepreneurial radar.  To go and ‘just have a look’ seemed a win-win - a chance for an ever-curious scrap man to see one of the biggest scrapyards in the world and the opportunity for a ‘general merchant’ to see what might be available on the international breakers’ market.

It was on this trip that Rodger discovered that nigh on all the nautical masterpieces onboard the Canberra, and other numerous vintage ships at the breakers at that time, were heading for the ‘melting pot’. So, he foresaw the opportunity to disconnect many of the original items and to bring them to the Teign Valley yard where they would be cleaned up, reworked them and ‘redeployed’ for new uses on land - within homes and offices as well as on other private boats and yachts. 

In seeing, actioning and investing in this instinct, Roger Jameson pretty-much singlehandedly resurrected the nautical salvaging and marine upcycling process, something not seen since the 1920s when the dockside auctions saw great White Star Line ships being broken-up in the North of England.