All photos by Elyse Ratcliffe

​The celebrations began on Sunday 21st April with invited guests in Rochester Cathedral, for a service of remembrance to remember anyone who has been involved with the ship over the last 100 years. See the front cover. The service was presided over by the Dean of Rochester - The Very Reverend Philip John Hesketh
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We were honoured to include one remaining Dunkirk veteran, Ron Nabarro, who was rescued by HMS Medway Queen and descendants of other evacuated personnel and the men who saved them. Notable were David Mathias whose Father was drafted into the crew and Alan Cook whoes Grandfather was CO of HMS Medway Queen at Dunkirk. Alan was joined by his son, Robin, on the Tuesday, giving us a Grandson and Great Grandson together! Our President, the Rt. Hon. Lord West of Spithead GCB DSC, was there. Readings were given by Alan Cook and by Brigadier (retd) Trevor Minter OBE DL, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Kent. Two Deputy Lieutenants of Kent were present; Ann West and Rosemary Dymond.

​The ship was open to visitors on Monday 22nd and on Tuesday 23rd a reception was held on board for local dignitaries and invited guests. Besides those at the Cathedral we were joined by Lady Colgrain, Lord Lieutenant of Kent, the Mayor of Medway, Cllr Nina Gurung and her husband, High Sheriff of Kent Dr. Gillian Fargher. Lord West and Philip Hesketh presided over the ceremony. There was a parade of cadets and veterans on the quayside and the Centenary Ensign was hoisted at the ship’s stern by two of the Sea Cadets. A Centenary plaque was presented to Medway Queen by Howard Brooks (Vice Commodore) and Heather Dennett of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships.

 On March 18th. Alan Robinson, his daughter Louise and Phil Hardcastle, came down to Gillingham Pier to donate this model to us for display in the Medway Queen Visitor Centre or onboard the ship.

Alan's model was described in some detail in our members' magazine, Full Ahead, in Spring this year. It weas built built using the plank on frame method and fitted with removable decking using thin plywood covered in individual strips of obeche for planking, sealed and painted. He made the fiddley, the funnel and other deck mounted items, including the bridge, deck houses, companion ways and seating, from scratch.

​Photo: Bob Wilde

Barry and John Slayford will formally present this model of HMS Medway Queen to us at the Medway Queen Visitor Centre on Saturday 3rd June. ​

Photo below: John Slayford

The model has been donated by brothers Barry & John Slayford, who originally purchased it online some time ago. Their father, John Slayford, was rescued by the Medway Queen on the "last rescue journey from Dunkirk". "Last" can actually refer to either of two trips since the crew were originally told that trip 6 would be their last. Trip 7 was added later when it was realised that many men of the French rear guard were still ashore.

Photographic evidence is, perhaps, more readily available now than it was when the model was built and no doubt our “experts” will crawl over it (metaphorically) and suggest improvements to its accuracy. That will have to be assessed carefully and adjustments made where possible without harming the original. You can be sure that best use will be made of the model in promoting the ship’s centenary next year and the Dunkirk anniversary in 2025.

​The Medway Queen Visitor Centre will be open as usual from 11am to 4pm (last admission 3pm) and ship tours will operate as normal.