23rd May 1935:
Royal Eagle
Thursday 23rd May was the second day of the 1935 season for he General Steam Navigation Company’s paddle steamer Royal Eagle for which she was scheduled for a departure from
22nd May 1953:
Maid of the Loch
On Friday 22nd May 1953 Maid of the Loch was named alongside at Balloch Pier by Lady Watson, wife of one of the senior members of the Railway Executive, before the
21st May 1961:
Consul
Whit Sunday 21st May 1961 was Consul’s second day in service of the 1961 season and the second day running a shuttle between the Pleasure Pier at Weymouth and the
20th May 1901:
Captain Albert Symes
On Monday 20th May 1901 there was a little bit of a kerfuffle in the offing in Weymouth with the focus falling on Cosens’s Albert Victor. Some money was stolen
19th May 1961:
Princess Elizabeth
Having arrived in Torquay from Plymouth the previous day, Princess Elizabeth backed out of Torquay Harbour at 10am on Friday 19th May 1961 for swinging the compass in Torbay and obtaining
18th May 1961:
Princess Elizabeth
Princess Elizabeth left Plymouth, where she had arrived for dry-docking from Dartmouth on Thursday 20th April, at 8.50am on Thursday 18th May 1961 bound for Torquay where she arrived at
17th May 1923:
Devonia
On Thursday 17th May 1923 P & A Campbell’s Devonia arrived at Brighton having left Bristol at 8am and Cardiff at 9.45am the previous day for the positioning run round
16th May 1949:
Lorna Doone
Red Funnel’s second Lorna Doone made her inaugural trip from Bournemouth on Monday 16th May 1949 with a party of distinguished guests entertained to lunch aboard including senior representatives from
15th May 1964:
Consul and Princess Elizabeth
On Friday 15th May 1964 both Consul and Princess Elizabeth were undergoing the final preparations for starting their seasons running in competition with each from the Weymouth Pleasure Pier the following day.
14th May 1985:
Kingswear Castle
At 2pm on the afternoon of Tuesday 14th May 1985 surveyor Mr Ahmed arrived to conduct the final running trials for KC which if they went well would lead to
13th May 1955:
Lord Elgin
Lord Elgin made her last crossing on the cargo service between Southampton and Cowes on Wednesday 11th May 1955 and moved under her own steam to the scapyard of Pollock,
12th May 1949:
Consul
Consul was the last of Cosens’s paddle steamers to be returned to service after the Second World War. Indeed given the state of her structure there was some doubt as
11th May 1916:
Captain Rawle
On Saturday 11th May 1916 at Holy Trinity Church Weymouth the funeral took pace of Cosens’s master Captain Philip St Barbe Rawle who had lost his life at Newhaven Harbour
10th May 1937:
Glen Gower & Waverley
On Monday 10th May 1937 P & A Campbell’s Waverley left Cardiff at 8am bound for Newhaven. She was followed at 10.15am by Glen Gower for Brighton. This long positioning run
9th May 1964:
Jeanie Deans
After her refit at Lamont’s Shipyard at Port Glasgow in March and through to mid April 1964, Jeanie Deans returned to service on Saturday 9th May with a charter to
8th May 1934:
Mercury & Caledonia
On Tuesday 8th May 1934 a press cruise was organised to show off the brand new paddle steamers Mercury and Caledonia which had been built for the London, Midland and
7th May 2011:
Kingswear Castle
On Saturday 11th May 2011 Kingswear Castle ran a Thames Estuary cruise from her base at the Historic Dockyard Chatham. We were away at 11.05 with bacon rolls for sale on
6th May 1960:
Princess Elizabeth
With the arrival of the new purpose built car ferry Carisbrooke Castle for the Southampton to Cowes ferry service in May 1959, Red Funnel withdrew Princess Elizabeth and put her up for
5th May 2025:
VE Day Unlocks Doors
VE Day on 8th May 1945 started to unlock the doors and focus minds on a return to peace time excursions. With their Gracie Fields sunk in the war and
5th May 2025:
Unslipping a Dresden Paddle Steamer
Ever wondered how the Dresden paddle steamers are slipped? Then take a look at this video filmed last week as PS Krippen was put back in the water ready for