 Although the southern section of the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal was closed, the northern section did not officially do so, although there was little traffic after 1939, and Lifford Bridge, shortly after the stop lock, could no longer be swung after 1942, when the Great Western Railway repaired it in a way which prevented its movement.It was the scene of one of the first campaigns by the fledgling Inland Waterways Association, when Tom Rolt announced in 1947 that he intended to navigate through the junction and along the canal.The Railway company had to jack the bridge up, to allow his boat to pass, and the event was widely reported in newspapers, gaining useful publicity.