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
5th May 1953:
Monarch
On Tuesday 5th May 1953 Cosens’s paddle steamers Monarch and Embassy left Weymouth at the crack of dawn for Southampton where they entered the same drydock shortly after mid-day. This
5th May 1962:
Cardiff Queen
On Saturday 5th May 1962 Cardiff Queen, under the command of Captain Leo Virgo, was rostered to run on the Cardiff/Weston ferry. Having started the day before Good Friday on
4th May 1953:
Maid of the Loch
On Monday 4th May 1953 Maid of the Loch ran trials on Loch Lomond under the command of Captain Donald MacDonald. Ordered from the Clyde shipyard of A & J Inglis
3rd May 1918:
Duchess of Devonshire
On Friday 3rd May 1918 Duchess of Devonshire was at her home port of Exmouth being prepared for her second season running a makeshift Cardiff/Weston ferry service for P & A
2nd May 1934:
Sandown
On Wednesday 2nd May 1934 Sandown was in the fitting out basin at Denny’s yard at Dumbarton having been launched the day before. She had been ordered on 30th November
1st May 2019:
Dresden
On 1st May 2019 there was a paddle steamer parade on the River Elbe setting off from Dresden and sailing up river in consort. There was much blowing of whistles,
30th April 1936:
Kenilworth
At her annual dry-docking in the run up to the 1936 season the Board of Trade started to make noises about the amount of work which would be needed to
May 2025:
Red Funnel 1936/39
The steamer notice from July 5th to September 27th 1936 for Red Funnel’s “Daily Steam Packet Service from Southampton to Cowes, Ryde and Southsea” lists the paddle steamers taking sailings
