23rd February 1948:
Lucy Ashton
On Monday 23rd February 1948 Lucy Ashton became the first of the former LNER fleet to have her red, white and black funnel painted buff with a black top to conform
22nd February 1965:
Caledonia
By Monday 22nd February 1965 Caledonia was on the slipway at Lamont’s Shipyard at Port Glasgow for her annual Board of Trade survey and refit. 1964 was the last season
21st February 1941:
HMS Aristocrat
On Friday 21st February 1941 HMS Aristocrat, the former Clyde paddler Talisman, was given a thorough inspection by Captain E C Cordeaux RN, Senior Officer Thames Local Defence Flotilla, at Sheerness.
20th February 1950:
Aberdare
On Monday 20th February 1950 the 150ft long paddle steamer Aberdare, built for the United Africa Company, was launched at the shipyard of William Denny of Dumbarton on the Clyde. Aberdare
19th February 1966:
Vecta
After a refit by Cosens, Vecta left Weymouth around 10am on Thursday 17th February 1966 bound for Cardiff where she arrived around 8am on Saturday 19th. It had been a windy
18th February 1950:
Monarch
By Saturday 18th February 1950 the news was out that Cosens’s first and twin funnelled Monarch had been sold for scrap. On Tuesday 22nd February she was towed from the
17th February 1966:
Vecta
On Thursday 17th February 1966 Vecta left Weymouth around 10am for the passage down the Dorset, Devon and Cornish Coasts to Lands End and then on up the Bristol Channel to Cardiff
16th February 1962:
Swanage Queen
By Friday 16th February 1962 Captain Stuart M Townsend was the proud owner of the paddle steamer Swanage Queen then lying laid up at Topsham on the River Exe in
15th February 1934:
Jeremiah Dwyer
In February 1934 Mr Jeremiah Dwyer, who ran Rocksavage Engineering in Cork, was looking to buy a paddle steamer to offer short excursions on the River Lee in the south
14th February 1945:
Dresden Paddle Steamers
Around 5.30pm on the evening of Tuesday 13th February 1945 the first of the Lancaster bombers took off from England for the 700 mile flight to Dresden to lead the
13th February 1978:
Lincoln Castle
On Monday 13th February 1978 Lincoln Castle made her last voyage under her own steam. She had been in use on the Hull/New Holland ferry service during the previous weekend starting
12th February 2001:
Kingswear Castle
On Monday 12th February 2001 Alan Beavan OBE, Chris Smith and I drove up in my car from Chatham to the Oldbury factory in the West Midlands of Wellman Robey
12th February 2024:
Plus ça Change?
Browsing through old Paddle Wheels, as I often do, I came across a fascinating spat between the P & A Campbell management and the PSPS in the late 1960s and
11th February 1948:
Tattershall Castle
On Wednesday 11th February 1948 training continued aboard the Humber paddle steamer Tattershall Castle in the use of the new fangled radar set which had been installed on the ship
10th February 1970:
Eppleton Hall (Part 10 of 11)
On Tuesday 10th February 1970 Eppleton Hall was off the western coast of Mexico steaming on a north westerly heading towards Manzanillo. She had left the Panama Canal on 17th January
9th February 1836:
Flamer
On 9th February 1836 the Jersey Argus printed a letter from a passenger recounting his recent experience of sailing on the steam packet paddle steamer Flamer on a voyage from
8th February 1960:
Humber Ferry Service
It was generally the pattern for two of the Humber paddle steamers Tattershall Castle, Wingfield Castle and Lincoln Castle to be engaged on the ferry service between Hull and new
7th February 1957:
Capt Shippick
Regular readers of these posts will need no introduction to Captain Sydney Shippick. For any who don’t know he started off as a mate with Cosens, set up on his
6th February 1961:
Monarch
On Monday 6th February 1961 the tug Salvonia, which had come to Weymouth to tow Monarch to the breaker’s yard in Cork, set off without her. Salvonia had been there for nearly
5th February 1964:
Balmoral
On Thursday 5th February 1964 work commenced on the refit of Red Funnel’s Balmoral berthed outside the workshops of Cosens & Co in Weymouth. She had arrived the previous day
4th February 1965:
Consul
On Thursday 4th February 1965 Consul left Weymouth around 9.30am for her last voyage in steam across Lyme Bay to Dartmouth. In this picture you can see her master Captain Defrates,
3rd February 1963:
Tattershall Castle
From Christmas 1962 through to early March 1963 the whole of the UK was blatted by a ferocious winter freeze up which covered the land with thick layers of snow
2nd February 1964:
Medway Queen
On Sunday 2nd February 1964 Medway Queen was alongside in the Nelson Dock at Rotherhithe having been towed there on Wednesday 29th January from the Medway under the command of
1st February 1953:
Victoria
This picture, provided by Peter Ford, was taken of Victoria in the Southampton scrapyard on Sunday 1st February 1953, just over a week after her arrival under her own steam
31st January 1961:
Monarch
On Tuesday 31st January 1961 Monarch, boarded up for her voyage to the scrapyard in Ireland, was towed away from her berth in the Weymouth Backwater, through the Town Bridge
30th January 1970:
Duchess of Argyll
On Friday 30th January 1970 Duchess of Argyll was in the scrapyard above the bridge in Newhaven Harbour having left Portland, where she had been based during the 1950s and 1960s,
29th January 1962:
Consul
On Monday 29th January 1962 Consul was up on Cosens’s own slipway in Weymouth for her annual survey by the Board of Trade. This was earlier than usual. March was
28th January 1961:
Monarch
With the PSPS trying hard to lobby to save the Monarch, on Saturday 28th January 1961 the Bournemouth Echo published two more letters from enthusiasts in support of the Bournemouth/Swanage
27th January 1967:
Capt J C W Iliffe
At their January 1967 board meeting, Cosens decided to loose from their employ Capt John Iliffe at the end of the month following their decision to withdraw from steamer operations
26th January 1961:
Monarch
On Thursday 26th January 1961 the Bournemouth Echo ran a piece announcing that Monarch had been sold for scrap in Cork, Southern Ireland and that the PSPS was to hold
25th January 1957:
Emperor of India
Cosens’ paddle steamer Emperor of India shifted ship from her berth in the Weymouth Backwater through the Town Bridge on Monday 21st January 1957, was put in charge of a Belgian
24th January 1950:
Britannia
On Tuesday 24th January 1950 P & A Campbell’s Britannia was towed back to drydock in Bristol only eight days after she had left it. The fact that this was
23rd January 1939:
Royal Daffodil
On Monday 23rd January 1939 Royal Daffodil was being prepared for her launch the following day at the yard of Denny of Dumbarton on the Clyde. Although not a paddle