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PS MEDWAY QUEEN
FOOD ON BOARD HALL FOUR - MQ CLUB |
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From 1966 the paddle steamer Medway Queen served as a marina clubhouse and nightclub at Island Harbour on the Isle of Wight. The club opened for business on Saturday 14th May 1966 and annual membership was 3 guineas (£3.15) for one person or 4 guineas (£4.20) for a married couple. Temporary membership, presumably aimed at holiday makers, was 5 shillings (25p) per week.
In an interesting link back to an earlier era, Thomas Russell visited the club in its first year of opening. His record of the event reads “In 1966, with my brother and our wives, we celebrated my retirement after 40 years of seafaring once more in the Medway Queen. This time I enjoyed a superb meal in leisurely, luxurious style. ……She was now a very beautiful lady indeed, with first class amenities for wining, dining and dancing. She was still a paddle steamer but moored by the shore of the river Medina near Cowes. My galley was a storage cupboard. She carried a brass plaque commemorating her great effort during those historic days, and it was with a deep feeling of pride, when asked to sign her visitor’s book, that I saw added carefully in red letters beside my name, Ship’s cook during Dunkirk”
In an interesting link back to an earlier era, Thomas Russell visited the club in its first year of opening. His record of the event reads “In 1966, with my brother and our wives, we celebrated my retirement after 40 years of seafaring once more in the Medway Queen. This time I enjoyed a superb meal in leisurely, luxurious style. ……She was now a very beautiful lady indeed, with first class amenities for wining, dining and dancing. She was still a paddle steamer but moored by the shore of the river Medina near Cowes. My galley was a storage cupboard. She carried a brass plaque commemorating her great effort during those historic days, and it was with a deep feeling of pride, when asked to sign her visitor’s book, that I saw added carefully in red letters beside my name, Ship’s cook during Dunkirk”
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Helen Shipman started work on Medway Queen about a week before the opening on 14th May and the first week was mostly spent cleaning and polishing in preparation for the big day. After that she worked as a waitress through the summer of 1966. The restaurant and galley were in the lower forward saloon which must have made for a “cosy” atmosphere but on occasion barbeques and other events were held, possibly on shore.
The ship’s restaurant enjoyed a good reputation through the 1960s and early ‘70s. A succession of chefs were employed and the menu changed to reflect their specialisations. The “Dining Saloon” was open for lunch and evening dinner from the start and from the newspaper advertisements placed by the club we can ascertain that in 1966 the chef was “Manuel Gonzalez”. In 1968 the advertising made a feature of delicacies such as “Scampi in the basket” and “Chicken in the basket”. In addition to the restaurant meals service many evening events featured a buffet. In 1970 Italian food was advertised with the chef being Signor Carlos Barletta. At Christmas 1971 the club was closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day but the advertisement for the Christmas Season reads “The ship’s restaurant will be in full swing every evening with a full Christmas menu at £1-25 per head. 
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Wedding Receptions were catered for in the early days, for which the ship provided an interesting and unusual venue. By today's standards and expectations the price charged sounds very reasonable! We have a record of a reception for 83 adults and 7 children charged at £102 6s 6d including service and hire of cake stand. A souvenir cake knife was provided, engraved with the ship's name.
The restaurant business transferred to another larger ship, PS Ryde Queen, in 1972 and the Medway Queen Club became a disco which closed for the last time at the end of the 1974 season.
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