Blog Archives

Back to the Island again

22/4/2023

Sadly, we are still a long way from being able to take the ship to revisit her old home on the Isle of Wight, but the next best thing is for her representatives to take part in events on the Island. Over the years we have tried to do that from time to time, to look up old friends of the ship and to bring the latest news of her restoration, but it is a few years now since we were last able to do that. Medway Queen served as a clubhouse, restaurant and nightclub at what is now Island Harbour Marina from 1966 to 1974.

Photo: Medway Queen Club direction sign.

This time "Medway Queen West" will take part in the model railway exhibition at Havenstreet on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway on Saturday and Sunday 13/14th May. Author Richard Halton will be on hand to sell signed copies of his “PS Ryde” book and his four “Medway Queen” books, including “The Medway Queen Club” published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the club. This book contains first-hand accounts with illustrations of that period in the ship’s history. Richard is also interested in talking to anyone with information or memories of the two paddle excursion steamers purchased by Red Funnel from the Medway company in 1949. They started life as minesweepers in World War One, served as excursion ships between the wars, swept the seas again in the Second War and returned to excursion service afterwards. Red Funnel used them for a few years from 1949 as PS Lorna Doone and PS Solent Queen. In both cases they replaced older ships of the same names. If you are unable to attend the event Richard can be contacted by email: [email protected].

The Medway Queen stand at the exhibition will be accompanied by “The Garden Railway” using N gauge trains and large scale figures to depict a 7¼ inch gauge miniature railway. The stand will have details of work being undertaken on the ship, full details of society membership (of course) and ranges of railway books and model accessories for sale to raise funds towards the continuing work on the ship. If you remember the “Medway Queen Club” stop by for a chat, if you don’t remember it, we’ll happily fill that gap in your knowledge of Island history.

The Big Help Out

2/4/2023

The Medway Queen Preservation Society is taking part in this recently announced feature of King Charles’ Coronation in May. The scheme’s website is still evolving, but the thinking behind it is that The Big Help Out will give everyone an opportunity to join in as a volunteer.

the big help out website

The official introduction states:
"To mark His Majesty The King’s Coronation thousands of organisations across the country are getting together to give us all the chance to help out in our own local communities. Starting on Monday 8th May there will be opportunities for everyone to join in. No matter what you are good at, there’ll be something to suit helping hands of all shapes and sizes! From checking in on someone who’d like a bit of company or volunteering for a charity the more of us who join in, the bigger help we will be."

Medway Queen and the Medway Queen Visitor Centre will be open for visits and tours on Monday May 8th (usual opening times) with an additional emphasis on recruiting new volunteers to help with the project. Come along and have a chat with existing team members. We'll do our best to find something that interests you and fits with your existing life schedule.

Visit details

Photo, top shows some of our volunteers at the launch of our children's book last year.
Courtesy of Martin Goodhew.