PS Medway Queen facts for kids
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The PS Medway Queen is a special kind of steamship that moves using large paddles on its sides. She is the only paddle steamer still able to move in the United Kingdom's estuaries. She became famous as one of the "little ships of Dunkirk" during World War II. She made a record seven trips to Dunkirk and helped rescue 7,000 soldiers during the Dunkirk evacuation.
In 2014, her hull was rebuilt thanks to a large grant from the National Lottery Heritage Memorial Fund. Today, she is docked at Gillingham Pier on the River Medway. She is being restored to become a museum ship.
Contents
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Port of registry |  Rochester |
| Builder | Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, Scotland |
| Yard number | PS 388 |
| Launched | Wednesday 23 April 1924 |
| In service | 1924 |
| Out of service | 1964 |
| Identification |
|
| Nickname(s) | Heroine of Dunkirk |
| Status |
|
| Notes | Sea trials 1924 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Paddle steamer |
| Tonnage | 316 GRT |
| Displacement | 134 tonnes |
| Length | 179 ft 9 in (54.79 m) |
| Beam |
|
| Draught | 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) |
| Installed power | 76 hp (57 kW) Scotch type boiler 11 feet long, fitted with triple furnaces feeding Ailsa built compound diagonal steam engine. Coal fired when built, converted to oil fired by Wallsend Engineering in 1938, built by Ailsa |
| Propulsion | Paddles |
| Speed |
|
| Armament | 1 x 12 pounder gun, 2 x machine guns (HMS Medway Queen) |
The Medway Queen: A Historic Ship's Journey
The PS Medway Queen was built in 1924 by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company in Troon, Scotland. She was made to carry passengers on the River Medway and in the Thames Estuary. After testing on the River Clyde, she joined the "Queen Line" fleet of the New Medway Steam Packet Company in Rochester, Kent. She sailed on routes from Strood and Chatham to towns like Sheerness, Herne Bay, Margate, Clacton, and Southend.
In 1929, the Medway Queen had an accident, hitting Southend Pier and damaging her front part. Later, in 1937, she was changed from using coal to using oil for her engines. This happened after she took part in a special event called the Coronation Fleet Review for King George VI.
Medway Queen in World War II
When World War II began in 1939, the Royal Navy took over the Medway Queen. Her first job was to help move children from Gravesend to a safer place in East Anglia. She was then turned into a minesweeper ship, which means she helped clear dangerous underwater mines. Her back part was changed to hold special mine-sweeping equipment. She was given the number J 48 (later N 48) and spent the war patrolling the Strait of Dover and the English Channel.
The Heroine of Dunkirk
In May 1940, a huge rescue mission called Operation Dynamo began. Its goal was to save thousands of British Army soldiers trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France. The Medway Queen joined a group of small boats known as the little ships of Dunkirk. She was fitted with a 12-pounder gun and two machine guns to protect herself.
On her first trip, she picked up soldiers from lifeboats and took them to Dover. When she arrived, there was an air raid. She even shot down a German aircraft! During this trip, another ship, the Brighton Belle, hit something underwater and started to sink. The Medway Queen bravely rescued all the people from the Brighton Belle, even though she was very full.
For her second trip, she went right up to the beach to pick up soldiers directly. This was faster but needed great skill. On later trips, the Medway Queen went into the damaged Dunkirk port and took men off a concrete pier. She dropped off soldiers at Ramsgate and then got more fuel and supplies.
On June 3, 1940, the order came for all ships to leave Dunkirk by the next morning. This was the Medway Queen's seventh and final trip. While at the pier in Dunkirk, a nearby destroyer was pushed forward by an explosion and crashed into her side, causing a lot of damage. Even so, the Medway Queen managed to limp back to Dover with 400 French soldiers on board.
The Medway Queen was truly a hero. She earned four awards for bravery, shot down three enemy planes, and rescued an amazing 7,000 men in her seven trips. Because of her incredible efforts, she was given the special title "The Heroine of Dunkirk." After the evacuation, she became a training ship for minesweeping until the war ended. She was returned to her owners in January 1946.
After the War: Return to Service and Preservation
After the war, the Medway Queen was rebuilt by Thornycrofts in Southampton in 1946. She went back to carrying passengers in 1947. In 1953, she attended another Coronation Fleet Review for Queen Elizabeth II at Spithead.
Her last sailing trip was on September 8, 1963. She was supposed to be taken apart for scrap in Belgium. However, the Belgian company learned she was "The Heroine of Dunkirk" and refused to destroy such an important ship. The Daily Mail newspaper even started a campaign to save her.
A Nightclub and a New Life
Saved from being scrapped, the Medway Queen was sold and became a nightclub and a clubhouse for a marina on the Isle of Wight. The club opened in 1966. Later, in 1970, a bigger ship, the PS Ryde, also became a nightclub next to her. Eventually, the Medway Queen nightclub closed and the ship started to fall apart.
Efforts to Save a Hero
In 1978, new owners bought the Medway Queen to save her. She was moved, but then she sank in the River Medina because of a leak. She stayed there, getting worse, until 1984. She was then pulled out of the water and towed back to Chatham in Kent. In 1985, the Medway Queen Preservation Society was formed to protect this historic ship.
In 1987, she was moved to Damhead Creek, Kingsnorth. But the society didn't have enough money to fix her up. After several difficult times, in 2006, the National Lottery Heritage Memorial Fund agreed to give £1.8 million to restore her. The society also had to raise £225,000, which they did.
However, experts found that her hull was too weak to be lifted onto a special platform. So, in October 2006, it was decided to carefully take the hull apart. The usable parts were moved to Gillingham Pier and a special warehouse in Chatham Dockyard. This was to prepare for a professional restoration of the hull.
In 2008, a contract was signed with David Abels Shipbuilders to rebuild the hull in Bristol. This work began in April 2009. On July 27, 2013, the ship was rededicated. Plans were made to float her out of the dock and tow her back to Gillingham.
The journey home began on October 24, 2013, but bad weather caused delays. Finally, on November 15, 2013, the Medway Queen started her tow from Bristol. The weather stayed good, and she made the whole journey around Land's End and through the English Channel without stopping. The tugboat and the Medway Queen arrived on the River Medway on November 18, 2013.
The next day, huge crowds gathered as the Medway Queen made her final trip to her new home at Gillingham Pier. She was gently guided into the pier at high tide, a true hero returning home.
Official Identification Numbers
Ships have special numbers to identify them, much like modern IMO Numbers. The Medway Queen had the UK Official Number 148361. From 1944, she also used the Code Letters GGNG.
Images for kids
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The PS Medway Queen in Damhead Creek, Kingsnorth, in 1994.
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The PS Medway Queen in the Albion Dry Dock, Bristol, on July 27, 2013.
