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Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
Thames Queen (ex - Queen of Southend, ex -Yarmouth
Belle)
Launched on April 7th,
1898 by Wm Denny & Bros at Dumbarton
Engines : Triple Expansion diagonal, 20.5, 30 and 43 in x 60 in
Dimensions : 240 ft x 28 ft
522 Gross Registered Tons
Built for the Coast Development Company, as Yarmouth Belle, being
placed on their Great Yarmouth service.
Requisitioned for Admiralty service in August 1915 and converted for
minesweeping duties.
Assigned to the flotilla based at Sheerness.
Released in 1920 into the hands of Coast Development Corporation’s
liquidators.
Ownership passed to Mr Kingsman, then the PSM Syndicate
Sold in 1929 to the New Medway Steam Packet Co and renamed Queen
of Southend
Ran primarily on the Chatham-Sothend-Clacton-Walton-Felixstowe
service
Converted to oil fuel during the winter of 1930-1931.
Renamed Thames Queen when assigned to London Dock
sightseeing cruises from Tower Pier in the 1938 season.
Pressed into the evacuation of civilians from London in the early
days of World War II
Converted for use as a minesweeper and assigned to Dover.
Made one crossing to Dunkirk during the early stages of the
evacuation
Reassigned to a flotilla based at South Shields
Re-equipped as an anti-aircraft vessel in 1942, based on the Thames
estuary and Essex coast.
Finished the war on the South coast as an accommodation vessel
Laid up at Southampton after release by the Admiralty, then sold for
scrapping at Dover in 1948.
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