Spithead Naval Review 1953
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on Tuesday 2nd June 1953 and the Naval Review at Spithead followed on Monday 15th, The Medway Queen was to take part in the event, not just as an excursion vessel (as she had done in 1937) but as part of the official fleet to be reviewed. Presumably she was selected as a representative of the Merchant Navy and, perhaps, for her part in the Dunkirk evacuation some 13 years before. She would anchor in line, just off the Isle of Wight near Ryde, and wait her turn for the Royal Party to make their way past the long lines of vessels all dressed overall with their signal flags. Her train had a capacity of 400 passengers in 10 coaches. the train ran from London Waterloo to Southampton Docks where passengers transferred to Medway Queen.
A minor emergency arose on the trip down Southampton Water when a passenger fell ill. The unfortunate lady was taken ashore by the tug Gladstone which was summoned alongside for that purpose. The rest of the journey was completed without further incident and the ship steamed through the assembled fleet with a naval officer on board to give a commentary on the ships. These included the battleship HMS Vanguard and aircraft carriers HMS Eagle, Illustrious, Implacable, Indefatigable, Indomitable, Perseus, Sydney (Royal Australian Navy) and Theseus. Medway Queen’s allotted position was in row “L” just off Ryde Pier. This was not a “front stalls” position by any means but still very much part of the event. The sometimes distant view of proceedings was supplemented by listening to the commentary provided via the BBC “Home Service”.
A minor emergency arose on the trip down Southampton Water when a passenger fell ill. The unfortunate lady was taken ashore by the tug Gladstone which was summoned alongside for that purpose. The rest of the journey was completed without further incident and the ship steamed through the assembled fleet with a naval officer on board to give a commentary on the ships. These included the battleship HMS Vanguard and aircraft carriers HMS Eagle, Illustrious, Implacable, Indefatigable, Indomitable, Perseus, Sydney (Royal Australian Navy) and Theseus. Medway Queen’s allotted position was in row “L” just off Ryde Pier. This was not a “front stalls” position by any means but still very much part of the event. The sometimes distant view of proceedings was supplemented by listening to the commentary provided via the BBC “Home Service”.
After the celebrations, which continued into the evening, Medway Queen returned to Southampton at 2.30am to transfer her passengers to their London bound return train. She then turned for home and steamed non-stop back to the Medway to be ready for the start of her regular tourist season.
The picture left is worth including, despite its low technical quality. It shows Her Majesty boarding what we think is the Norwegian Royal Yacht and there is no mistaking the paddler lurking in the background. |
This page has been adapted from an article published in "The Southern Way No. 15" and in "The Medway Queen" history of our ship.