Ship building is an industry synonymous with the Tyne. A mere mention of the river is enough to conjure images of a skyline filled with cranes and thousands of men labouring.

Swan Hunter is the pre-eminent name among the shipyards - old black and white images of workers streaming through its famous gates in Wallsend have achieved an iconic status.

The company was founded in 1860 when Yorkeshireman John Wigham Richardson, 23, used some of his father's money to buy a shipyard on the Tyne at Wallsend. Called the Neptune Works, the yard had three berths and a river frontage of 100 yards.

Only 200 men worked at the yard in those days, including manager Charles Christie. Together, the two men built a business which, in 1872, began making marine boilers.

Regular expansion soon meant the Neptune works covered more than 18 acres.

In 1899, the company became a limited company called Wigham Richardson and Company Limited.

At the same time, another company was developing through a series of mergers, takeovers and partnership deals. That company became CS Swan and Hunter, whose managing partner was George Burton Hunter - a successful businessman and one of the founding fathers of shipbuilding on the Tyne.

In June 1903, the two companies merged to create Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, or Swan Hunter for short.

The company continued a policy of acquisitions and mergers to give it a 4,000ft river frontage and 80 acres of land.

It was during the boom time of the early 1900s that the company built one of the most famous ships to leave the Tyne.

The Mauretania held the Blue Riband - for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic - for 22 years.

Other famous ships to come out of the yard over the years include the HMS Ark Royal and HMS Richmond, which maintains links with the region. Huge bulk carriers have also been built there, towering over the yard during their construction.

After the Second World War, the shipbuilding industry was changing and Swans had to change to keep up. Sheds were built so that construction could continue in bad weather, and the berths were changed to accomodate larger vessels.

John Robinson is one of the yard's longest-serving employees. He started work there on August 26, 1957, only weeks after leaving school and aged just 15.

Initially, he worked as an office boy and wanted to train as a carpenter but, when he saw the work of the shipwrights, he was fascinated and signed a five-year apprenticeship.

He recalls the shipyard when it employed 10,000 people and worked on seven ships at a time.

Lunch breaks were quite a sight, with the queue for the canteen reaching out of the building and snaking down the hill.

Mr Robinson has experienced good times and bad at the yard.

He said: "The camaraderie among people was great. Not only did you work with people, you socialised with them as well. There are some very clever people working in the shipyard, very skilled men as well. When you see what comes in through the gate and what goes out from here, you realise that."

The saddest time for people working at Swans was when the company went into receivership in 1993. As a supervisor, Mr Robinson knew who was to be laid off but could not tell the workers concerned.

He said: "I knew a fortnight before who was going, but I wasn't allowed to say. It got to the stage that the lads who were leaving were people you had known all your life.

"I felt it hard when that happened. We were a political pawn and it should never have been."

As payroll manager, Bill Cockroft was the last to leave when the company shut down.

Gradually, the workforce was made redundant and Mr Cockroft was the only one left, dealing with financial queries for those made redundant and working with the official receivers. Finally, he filled in his own P45 and closed the door behind him.

Only weeks later, both men were back at Swans after the yard was bought by Dutch-owned THC in a last-minute deal.

Both men can recall launch days when the yard was filled with dignitaries that included senior members of the royal family.

The wave generated when the ship slid into the river drenched people standing on the opposite bank. As the water was full of debris, there were occasional injuries.

Today's launches are more sedate affairs because homes have been built on the banks opposite and a traditional launch would cause considerable damage.

Today's ships are built in a floating berth, which is towed into the river and then sunk, leaving the ship to float alone - a safer launch method, but not such a spectacle.

For more than 100 years, the story of Swan Hunter has been one of success followed by recession.

At present, the yard is building two fleet auxiliary vessels to carry ships and equipment. One is already in the water being fitted out and the other is near completion.

Work on these is due to be completed next year and the next order, for two aircraft carriers, will not begin until 2008, so the yard is looking for work to bridge the gap.

At one time, workers laid off at one yard would be looking for a job at other shipyards on the river, or perhaps at Sunderland, on the Wear. But the industry has shrunk so much that that is no longer an option. Today, the yard has about 600 employees and another 750 sub-contractors on the site. The numbers change as work moves into different stages.

But despite the changing global economy and the company's many ups and downs, Swan Hunter is still proudly building ships on the Tyne.