Another historic vessel moved in to a berth next to Medway Queen on Thursday July 27th. The ex-minesweeper, Tongham (ham class of 1957), has taken the place of LV21 alongside Gillingham Pier. This required Medway Queen and the Sailing Barge Cambria to be moved out while the Tongham came in and then, of course, to be moved back to their moorings. All movements were carried out by A J Pratt and Son's tugs Christine and Nippashore. Removal of the visitors’ gangway was necessary to allow the movement which means that public access to the ship on the following Saturday (29th) is not possible. It is expected that public access will be reinstated next week in time for normal opening on the 5th August.

,On Sunday 23rd July the ship hosted a wedding reception for Richard and Lucy Sissons. The couple were married recently in Cyprus and arranged a reception locally for those who were unable to travel with them for their big day in the sun. This is the first wedding reception on board since the hull was rebuilt and I think the first since the very early 1970s on the Isle of Wight. Richard and Lucy put a great deal of effort into preparing the ship for the event and that effort paid off handsomely – it just shows what can be done with a bit of effort and imagination! With the upper aft saloon looking amazingly smart, afternoon tea followed the formal ceremonies on the promenade deck where a blessing of their marriage was conducted by the Rev. Peter Jacobs. 

Lucy is a granddaughter of Brian Goodhew, our trustee with responsibility for PR, and therefore has a family connection with the ship stretching back to the 1920s and Brian’s father. We wish Richard and Lucy every happiness together.

If you want to use the ship to celebrate a special occasion get in touch.

​Photos: Joe Stokes

Medway Queen features in the current online version of the Smithsonian Magazine. A contact out of the blue requesting information on MQ's part in Operation Dynamo was responded to in quick time to meet a tight timescale and the article appeared online last week. Going from first contact to "in print" within just 3 days!

Read it for yourself at: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-dunkirk-told-through-heroism-medway-queen-180964105/
 
The article contains details of Medway Queen's part in the operation with many links to other information including our own website. Appearances in magazines such as this are always very welcome as they put us before a new audience that may not already be familiar with the ship, her story and our efforts to restore her.

Good results are already apparent with a noticeable surge in website hits.