Blog Archives

Model Ships for Sale

28/9/2020

A Medway Queen member has generously donated a collection of 1/1250 scale model warships for sale in aid of Medway Queen's restoration.

Medway Queen West have 29 of these beautifully detailed Atlas Editions models for sale. Each is a full hull model mounted on a named display stand. They include warships from the Royal Navy, United States Navy, Kriegsmarine and Imperial Japanese Navy. Each comes securely boxed in its original packaging.

Condition: Ships and models are in good secondhand condition. Those that I have looked at appear undamaged. A few of the boxes have the ship name hand written on them.

Price: A well known online auction shows them on offer at up to £40 each with P&P although many are cheaper. A reasonable start point is to ask for offers of at least £10 per model plus postage at cost. All proceeds will go to Medway Queen as usual.

Models Available:
RN: Repulse, Ramilies, Rodney, Barham, Anson, Warspite, Prince of Wales, Hood, Vanguard, Exeter, Duke of York, Ark Royal,King George V.
USN: Lexington, Hornet, Massachusetts, Arizona, Missouri.
IJN: Kirishima, Yamato.
KM: Tirpitz, Graf Spee, Scharnhorst, Lutzow, Admiral Scheer, Prinz Eugen, Bismark, Gneisenau.
RM: Roma

Details: Email richardhalton1502@gmail.com for more information. All sales on a "first come, first served" basis as we only have one of each model available. Inspection and collection from us in the Wootton Bassett/Swindon area is possible, they can be left at Gillingham Pier for collection on a Saturday or we'll make other arrangements where convenient.

Medway Queen Update

25/9/2020

Medway Queen re-opened to the public on Saturday 5th September with the Medway Queen Visitor Centre and ship tours conducted under Covid-19 restrictions. The aim of course being to offer as normal a service as possible whilst keeping visitors and our volunteers safe.

On the following two Saturdays (12th and 19th) we took part in the Heritage Open Days Festival when ship tours are free of charge and we rely on the shop and donation boxes for income.

Despite a relatively short notice return to near normal service and with little advance publicity visitor numbers were encouraging, although not so high as to strain the necessary restrictive measures in place. The newly restored aft saloon is, naturally, a highlight of any visit at this time.

Link to Odd Stuff

Buy Dunkirk Book

In parallel with the physical Heritage Open Days presence we ran a daily blog on the website and FaceBook entitled “MQ Odd Stuff” with pictures of unusual items from the society’s and individual members’ collections. Each was presented with a brief description of its historical context. This material has now been collected into a single web page accessible from the History section of our website.

Mail order sales have been busy throughout the summer with our Dunkirk promotional products proving very popular. The 00 gauge wagons are now almost all gone, N gauge wagons have sold about half the number produced in a very short time and we are about to open box 4 (of 7 boxes total) of the Dunkirk book. If you haven’t got yours yet don’t delay!

So, what now? We will remain open on Saturdays for the remainder of the 2020 season – with the usual caveats about “circumstances beyond our control”. The board are looking at future restoration projects and their funding needs and the workshop volunteers are putting the final touches to a reconstructed Purser’s Cabin. In addition to all this the deck over-plating is complete and hull painting above the waterline by EAP Ltd. of Chatham is about to start. Despite the lockdown it has been a very busy year and 2021 promises to be equally so. As always more help is needed and anyone interested should come along on a Saturday and talk to the team.

PS Medway Queen is open to visitors on Saturdays from 11am to 4pm with last admission strictly at 3pm. The site closes after 3pm if no visitors are present.

Visit Details

MQ Odd Stuff - Day 10

20/9/2020

The last day of the Heritage Open days Festival and our last "Odd Stuff" post.

Artist Harley Crossley allowed himself to be talked into producing his first Medway Queen painting, to be raffled in aid of society funds, many years ago now. Harley developed an interest in the ship and painted her again when the hull was being rebuilt in the Albion Dock in Bristol.

Sadly, Harley is no longer with us, otherwise I'm sure he would be busy painting another masterpiece in the newly restored aft saloon.

Originals in private collections.

MQ Odd Stuff - Day 9

19/9/2020

Over the years we have used every possible route in fund raising. Before the Bristol rebuild when the old mast was found to be unusable in the rebuilt ship it was transformed into souvenir bowls to be sold in aid of the restoration.

The bowls and other souvenirs were created for us in 2007 by the Kent Branch of the Association of Wood Turners of Great Britain.

Private Collection

DON'T FORGET
SHIP OPEN TODAY UNDER HERITAGE OPEN DAYS BANNER.

The society has always gone to great pains to raise funds through sales and donations and that, of course, continues. Preserving and spreading the ship's story is one of our aims and that has been combined with fund-raising over the years by commissioning of souvenirs and publication of books about the ship. The current selection is available from the Medway Queen Visitor Centre and through this website.

Online Shop

Dunkirk Book

MQ Odd Stuff - Day 8

18/9/2020

Another souvenir from Medway Queen’s time on the Isle of Wight.

These sterling silver bracelet charms were one of the branded souvenir items sold on board. This one, a lucky find on an online auction site. The club also sold postcards, pin badges and collectable tea spoons. In the '70s the china in the restaurants was branded with an image of the two ships (Medway Queen and Ryde Queen). Couples holding their wedding reception on board were presented with an engraved souvenir cake knife.

Private Collection

Medway Queen's time on the Isle of Wight is documented in "The Medway Queen" by Richard Halton and in the "Medway Queen Club" 50th anniversary book published in 2016.

On Line Book Sales

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