Medway Queen - West
(Formerly Reading Support Group)
Medway Queen West is regretfully closing down. Increasing age and geographical scatter of the volunteers makes event attendance more problematic and the decision has been taken. Through 2024 the sales stock has been reduced and a tidy end to the operation is in sight. We thank all those customers and event organisers who have supported us over the years and enabled us to raise a considerable sum towards Medway Queen's restoration.
The group was started as Reading Support Group in 1997 as a result of a committee initiative to persuade a number of members to raise £1000 each towards the restoration of PS Medway Queen. A small group of family and friends was mobilized to undertake this task. The £1000 target was passed within a year and we saw no reason to stop so the group carried on attending events and raising money. By 2007 the annual donation to the society had reached £5000 and by the end of 2021 a grand total over £111,777 had been paid into the funds! Over £12000 of that through the railway wagons. The "Wagon Project" started in 2003 with a "New Medway Steam Packet Co. coal wagon based on a Dapol 00 gauge model. Further vehicles with that theme followed, with our first N gauge subject in 2006. From 2009 to 2012 various "Albion Dockyard" wagons were produced while the ship was being rebuilt in Bristol and then we switched to a "Gillingham Pier" theme when the ship arrived there. 2020 saw Dunkirk commemorative issues and in 2021 we switched to "General Steam Navigation in conjunction with the spcoety preserving the railway locomotive of that name.
The group is entirely voluntary; it buys it's own sales stock direct from a number of wholesale suppliers and pays all profits over to the society. Medway Queen promotional items are sold on behalf of the society's "official" sales team and the group commissions its own promotional sales lines as well. Some are available through the online shop and some direct from Richard Halton by mail order.
After the group coordinator's house move the "Reading" name seemed inappropriate and "Medway Queen - West" was adopted instead.
The group is entirely voluntary; it buys it's own sales stock direct from a number of wholesale suppliers and pays all profits over to the society. Medway Queen promotional items are sold on behalf of the society's "official" sales team and the group commissions its own promotional sales lines as well. Some are available through the online shop and some direct from Richard Halton by mail order.
After the group coordinator's house move the "Reading" name seemed inappropriate and "Medway Queen - West" was adopted instead.
Contact |
For more details of the group - especially if you would like to help us or if you organise an event that might interest us - contact Richard Halton: [email protected]
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Over the years our priorities changed to include publicity as well as sales and a wide variety of events have been attended by the group; usually around 20 event-days per year. The events range from relatively small "village hall" sized events to others with a "national" significance. Most now have a boat or model railway theme but the group is aware of the need to reach as wide an audience as possible so other types of event are included when possible. The balance between photo displays and a sales/information table is adjusted to suit the event and the stand is often supplemented by a display of models of one sort or another as part of a "package" for exhibition organisers. Details of our forthcoming bookings will be found on the events pages.
In terms of "society profile" the most effective events are the larger ones and to this end the group took part in the International Festival of the Sea at Portsmouth in 2005 and has attended the Bristol Harbour Festival on several occasions. We are regular exhibitors at the International N Gauge Show (TINGS) at the Warwickshire Event Centre and have previously attended The London Festival of Railway Modelling, Brighton Model World and the Henley Traditional Boat Festival. We try to include visits to the Isle of Wight from time to time, where the ship was a well known nightclub. In 2016 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Medway Queen club at Island Harbour Marina. The coordinator's house move to Wiltshire in 2018 has caused a shift westward in our operations and we are always on the lookout for new events to add to the diary.
In terms of "society profile" the most effective events are the larger ones and to this end the group took part in the International Festival of the Sea at Portsmouth in 2005 and has attended the Bristol Harbour Festival on several occasions. We are regular exhibitors at the International N Gauge Show (TINGS) at the Warwickshire Event Centre and have previously attended The London Festival of Railway Modelling, Brighton Model World and the Henley Traditional Boat Festival. We try to include visits to the Isle of Wight from time to time, where the ship was a well known nightclub. In 2016 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Medway Queen club at Island Harbour Marina. The coordinator's house move to Wiltshire in 2018 has caused a shift westward in our operations and we are always on the lookout for new events to add to the diary.
