Blog Archives

Merry Christmas

23/12/2020

All of us at Medway Queen - West and the Medway Queen Preservation Society at Gillingham Pier wish all our supporters a very merry Christmas.

It has been a difficult year in most ways and we can only hope that 2021 is better. The Management Committee are looking at fundraising and restoration programmes for next year and Medway Queen - West (aka Reading Support Group) hope to be attending shows again in the latter part of the year.

More will be posted as the plans develop but, in the meantime, stay safe and enjoy the festive season as far as we are allowed to,

Richard Halton

Dunkirk - What was it REALLY like?

13/12/2020

Drawing, above, by Roy Gargett

Dunkirk page

It is impossible to imagine. Falling back towards the coast along roads clogged with military traffic and refugees; under heavy air attack and outnumbered by an enemy close behind. Once on the beaches a wait for, possibly, several days to be evacuated. Still under frequent air attack and, in the later stages, subject to artillery fire.

Once aboard a ship you were still not safe. The Stukas kept coming and many ships were sunk. If you were lucky another ship would pause to pick you up.

A short dramatised video, complied from the memories of a number of men who were there, has been added to our Dunkirk history page courtesy of the producers. It's not directly related to Medway Queen but take a look and if that gets you thinking it's not too late to get a copy of our own "Memories of Dunkirk" book in time for Christmas.

Books for Christmas - Medway Queen

7/12/2020

.With Christmas approaching and Covid restrictions still in place the Medway Queen online shop is proving to be busy. Whether the approach is direct from the website menus or via the "Christmas Market".

The books have always proved to be the most popular of our products, often supplemented with a bookmark or other souvenir items. Modeller's plans too are a frequent choice and we look forward to seeing the results of those projects in due course.

"The Medway Queen" is a comprehensive history of the ship. Published in 2013 and reprinted in 2014 and 2020
"Rebuilding the Hull" is a behind the scenes account of the work done in Bristol
"The Medway Queen Club" celebrated the 50th anniversary in 2016 with memories of the popular club on the Isle of Wight.
"Memories of Dunkirk" was published in 2020 and over half the print run has already been sold.

Christmas Market

Online Shop

The books are competitively priced and all are profusely illustrated but with very detailed text covering their subjects in full. Hopefully of interest to everyone. Each purchase contributes to the restoration fund and, if you give them as presents, they help to spread the word of what we are doing.

Medway, City of Culture bid

1/12/2020

The Trustees of the New Medway Steam Packet Co. (Medway Queen Preservation Society) enthusiastically support the Medway City of Culture 2025 bid and look forward to active cooperation with the bid’s organising team. There is great potential for mutual benefit in our ongoing restoration programmes and the near-future ability to host meetings and events on board Medway’s very own historic steam ship.

Our aim is to build a mutually beneficial relationship with the team preparing Medway's bid for the "City of Culture 2025" title. It will help their profile within Medway and beyond and it will help us, especially if we can link future restoration phases to their activities and timescales. It should be a win-win situation. "Watch this space" as they say although current social restrictions are going to hamper us for a while yet!

2025 Bid Website