Day
Trips to France on the Royal Daffodil
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If
you wanted a day at Calais or Boulogne
in 1965 then the best way to get there
was aboard the famous and well-loved
Royal Daffodil!
This poster has recently been acquired
by the PSPS Collection and we believe
it to be very rare. It originally
came from the head office of GSNC
in London. The poster (shown opposite)
was a sample of a new design for the
company and its likely that the poster
was never printed.
The evocative design is a wonderful
reminder of the wonderful pleasure
steamers of the Eagle Steamer fleet
and the vast array of cruises that
they offered to holidaymakers in post-war
years. Just over a year after this
poster was printed services had sadly
ceased. |
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Skegness
Paddle Steamers & Bamoral Model Plans
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Does
anyone know whether there was ever
a paddle steamer service between Skegness
and Hunstanton? It's probable that
any service was operational during
the late nineteenth century. Any information
would be appreciated!
Also, does anybody know whether any
modelmakers plans have ever been produced
of Balmoral? If you have an
answer to the above we would be pleased
to hear from you!
Please email any information to andrew.gladwell@yahoo.com
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Charters
on the Firth of Clyde
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If you
wanted to charter a steamer on the
Firth of Clyde during the late 1950s
or early 1960s, you were spoilt for
choice. No less than eleven ships
were available with the Waverley,
Jeanie Deans, Caledonia,
Queen Mary II, Duchess of
Hamilton and Duchess of Montrose
being the largest and capable of carrying
parties of over 500.
This was the heyday of the works or
old folks outing "Doon the Watter"
to such popular resorts of Rothesay
and Dunoon. Parties were also encouraged
to cruise aboard the Maid of the
Loch which was capable of carrying
between 400 to 1,000 passengers. Do
you remember being a passenger on
such a charter or do you have any
photographs or film of such a cruise? |
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River
Dart Memories
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| This
postcard was recently acquired for the PSPS
Collection. It shows the great beauty of
the River Dart in Devon where a famous fleet
of traditional paddle steamers existed until
the mid 1960s. The positive thing about
this postcard is that the Kingswear Castle
was acquired for preservation and operation
by the PSPS in 1965. Kingswear Castle
has since found an exciting new life on
the River Medway in Kent. On a lovely sunny
day she can be seen cruising past the dense
woods of Upnor - a scene quite evocative
of the postcard above showing a view of
Sharpham Woods. |
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Souvenirs
of the Prince Ivanhoe
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Prince Ivanhoe had a very short career
as the consort to Waverley. During
those brief months in 1981 she was marketed
along the lines of Waverley and was
featured on a range of souvenirs as well
as timetables and publicity material. We
have in the PSPS Collection a number of
these souvenirs and handbills and they remind
us of a popular steamer. Do you have any
souvenirs or photographs of the Prince
Ivanhoe? |
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Lincoln
Castle Plans
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Every
week we receive requests from modelmakers all
over the world looking for plans to build a model
of their favourite pleasure steamer. Sometimes
the PSPS can help but at other times we can offer
no assistance.
Recently, a UK modelmaker was looking for plans
to make a model of the Lincoln Castle.
Does anyone know where such plans could be obtained?
Also, does anyone know of a specialist stockist
of modelmakers plans? |
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"Eyes
Down" on the Royal Daffodil!
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| It was "eyes
down" aboard the Royal Daffodil
during the early 1960s when the well-loved
Thames steamer became the world's first
Bingo Ship! Passengers were entertained
during the cruise by Humprey Lyttleton &
his band as well as Sid Shillips & his
orchestra. Other contests were held including
one for a bathing beauty. Hopefully, the
weather was good for this! General Steam
Navigation planned to have the extravaganza
televised. It was one of the final attempts
to attract crowds back to the once busy
Thames steamer fleet but alas it failed.
Were you aboard this cruise and better still
did you win bingo or were you the bathing
beauty winner? |
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A
Look Back at Cosens in 1905
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The
PSPS has just acquired this history of
the well-loved operator of paddle steamers
- Cosens of Weymouth.
The guide dates from 1905 and gives us
a fascinating insight into the company
at the time. As well as showing directors,
it shows us amazing images of the company
premises. It also gives us some interesting
facts such as the fare from Weymouth to
Southampton aboard the first steamer Rose
in 1845 was 10 shillings for saloon and
2/6 for deck passengers!
This wonderful early history of Cosens
is a fine addition to our growing collection
of Cosens material.
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Coronation
Year 1953
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The
1953 Coronation Naval Review at Spithead
witnessed the final great meeting of pleasure
steamers in the UK. Fondly remembered
steamers such as Royal Daffodil,
Consul, Ryde, Emperor
of India, Royal Sovereign and
Cardiff Queen took part in the
review on 15th June.
The splendid souvenir programme shown
opposite was recently acquired by the
collection. As well as giving details
of the ships taking part, it includes
a map showing the position of ships as
well as an outline of events aboard the
General Steam Navigation steamers. Diners
aboard the Royal Daffodil enjoyed
a special dinner of lobster, salmon, roast
chicken and strawberries and ice cream.
Were you there at the event? Did you take
any cine film or photographs?
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A
Look Back in Time Through Unique Film
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Some fascinating
heritage cine films from the PSPS Collection
have been placed online recently.
These unique films show us a large array
of paddle steamers during the years after
the Second World War. Of particular note
are a series of films taken on the Firth
of Clyde during the 1960s. These show
steamers such as Caledonia, Duchess
of Hamilton and the legendary Waverley.
These are from the new DVD 'Dad on the
Clyde' produced by the PSPS Film Unit.
The Lincoln Castle can also
be seen in happier days on the Humber
undertaking a PSPS charter cruise. Latest
news is that dismantling has started aboard
her at Grimsby. At the moment this is
internal only.
The PSPS Heritage
Film Unit has been active for over twenty
years now and has done an amazing job
in rescuing and restoring old cine film.
The DVD's produced have raised a great
deal of money for the surviving steamers.
The unit is always on the look out for
more material. So, if you would like to
help us to achieve our educational role
and to preserve some priceless memories
of the past just contact us on the new
PSPS Heritage Film Unit page!
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Do
You Know This Man?
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| A common sight at
many seaside resorts after the Second World War
was that of the silhouette artist. Do you remember
walking on a pier and seeing such an artist who
magically cut the silhouette of your head from
a piece of black paper? The unique item above
was cut aboard the famous PS Royal Eagle
on the River Thames during the 1930s by an artist
named Leon. It is the first silhouette that has
been seen that was cut aboard a paddle steamer.
Do you remember 'Leon' or other artists aboard
the 'Eagle Steamers'? |
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What
happened to the Caledonia?
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These two sad
photographs show the former Firth of Clyde
paddle steamer Caledonia immediately
after the fire that destroyed her. She's
shown on the Thames Embankment in London.
Her place was later taken by the Clyde favourite
Queen Mary II.
Does anybody know what happend to the Caledonia
after the fire? Where was she scrapped and
were any fittings saved from her.
If you have an answer email andrew.gladwell@yahoo.com |
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'Wight
Marina' Coffee Pot
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The PSPS Collection
has just acquired a coffee pot that was
used at the 'Wight Marina' on the Isle
of Wight around 1970. The coffee pot shows
profiles of both the Ryde and Medway
Queen. Both paddle steamers were moored
at the time as floating restaurants and
clubs and the pot is a rare souvenir of
those days.
In the years that followed, both paddle
steamers experienced more challenging
times as the venture failed. Medway
Queen returned to the River Medway
during the 1980s for restoration but the
Ryde sadly experienced a less postive
future.
The PSPS Collection has several other
items relating to the 'Wight Marina'.
These include several postcards, some
flyers as well as one other piece of china.
In addition, it also has several images
of the Kingswear Castle when she
was briefly moored at the Isle of Wight
during the late 1960s. If you would like
to make a donation of other 'Wight Marina'
material please contact andrew.gladwell@yahoo.com
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What
Badge Should I Wear Today?
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Six badges have recently been donated
to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society
Collection. They show six paddle steamers
of the P&A Campbell fleet during the
1930s.
They were bought for the little girl shown
at the centre of the above photograph.
The little girl named Mary Morgan frequently
travelled aboard the Campbell paddlers
and would wait in excitement on the end
of Penarth Pier to see which steamer was
approaching. When she recognised the ship
she put on their badge and then placed
the rest back into their box. Mary is
pictured with her mother Dorothy of Penarth
and her grandfather Captain Arthur Williams
who lived at Weston. He is seen carrying
their luggage on the Birnbeck Pier in
1936. Mary clearly remembers some 74 years
later that the coat in the photograph
was green tweed and that she was wearing
a dark green beret. Mary's mother is wearing
her fox fur, hat and heels for the journey
from Penarth.
The
PSPS Collection is grateful to Mary for
donating these lovely badges. The story
behind then as well as the photographs
certainly tell us a lot about the well-loved
Campbell paddle steamers during the 1930s.
They also tell us that people and their
stories aboatd the paddle steamers are
as important as the steamers themselves.
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Views
of Kingswear Castle
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The images shown
here are a few more examples of recent
donations to the PSPS Collection of
material relating to the restoration
and preservation of Kingswear Castle.
The plaque below was painted on slate
by a maritime artist and the other
images show Kingswear Castle
at Borstal during her lengthy restoration.
The PSPS Collection badly needs material
relating to Kingswear Castle
during her days on the River Dart.
We would paticularly like to acquire
more photographs, cine film and ephemera.
If you have anything please contact
andrew.gladwell@yahoo.com |
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The Restoration
of Kingswear Castle
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The PSPS Collection has
just acquired a number of interesting images
showing the restoration of Kingswear Castle
during the 1970s. They give us a unique glimpse
into the past and show how much Kingswear
Castle had deteriorated in the few years
since her withdrawal from service in 1965.
These two images show PSPS founder members
Patrick Taylor and Laurie Beale working aboard
KC in 1973. The mud in the photograph
below shows how difficult and challenging
the restoration could be at times. The photo
opposite shows Patrick working in the forward
saloon.
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Ryde
and Medway Queen on the Isle of Wight
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The PSPS Collection
has just acquired this rare saucer that was once
used at the Wight Marina on the Isle of Wight.
It shows two paddle steamers that once shared
a home. They are the Ryde and Medway
Queen. The saucer dates from around the late
1960s and gives us a glimpse at a time when the
two steamers were experiencing a new life after
being withdrawn from service.
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 Heritagesteamers
News Archive
Have a look at some of our past articles.
Click on the image to see our latest acquisitions
and paddle steamer heritage news since 2008. |
