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 their Balmoral, Lorna Doone and Princess Elizabeth still away on war service Red Funnel were thinking how best they could resume at least some opportunities for passengers to get afloat once again at the first opportunity after the rigours of five years of war.
On February 12th 1945 they appointed Capt Clarke as their new general manager. He had a vision for acquiring new second hand tonnage to fill the gaps and so expand the fleet. First to arrive was Upton which had been built in 1925 for the ferry service between Liverpool and Birkenhead.
Upton on the left with her bridge covered in a tarpaulin with PS Balmoral in the foreground in rather less than poor condition after her war service. She would not sail again. Upton arrived in Southampton for upgrading around VE Day in May 1945 and was ready for service running between Southampton and Ryde by September 1945.
Red Funnel’s Duchess of Cornwall made the national press with her first excursion trip post VE Day in the early summer of 1945 from Southampton to Ryde.
Capt Clarke continued to add second hand tonnage to the Red Funnel fleet. The car ferry Norris Castle of 1947 and the brand new Balmoral of 1949 must be counted as real successes. However other post VE Day acquisitions like Upton, Robina, (pictured above) Lorna Doone ex Queen of Kent and Solent Queen ex Queen of Thanet rather less so. They had all seen better days and really needed major capital expenditure on structural work to keep them more reliable.
With the exception of Norris Castle and Balmoral all had gone by 1952. And so had Capt Clarke who tendered his resignation as general manager in November 1951.
However that was all some way in the future. There was much optimism in the air for the return of excursions on VE Day in 1945.
Kingswear Castle returned to service in 2023 after the first part of a major rebuild which is designed to set her up for the next 25 years running on the River Dart. The Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust is now fund raising for the second phase of the rebuild. You can read more about the rebuilds and how you can help if you can here.
John Megoran
This article was first published on 5th May 2025.
