My Queen, Starcross

15/10/08

My Queen was built in 1929, and is a veteran of Dunkirk. She has had a varied career, including wartime with the Navy, to cruising the Thames, and service in Dartmouth Harbour, where President Mitterand of France boarded her for a tour of Dartmouth Harbour in 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day. She is now with M & J Rackley, in Starcross.

During World War II My Queen was requisitioned by the Navy and named GONDOLIER QUEEN. She attended the Dunkirk evacuation. She was next heard of as a pleasure boat at Southend where she remained until the early 1970s. George Wheeler Launches then brought her to the Thames, running a water bus service between Westminster and Greenwich. From there she went to the West Country and was given a new enclosed saloon, top deck and upper wheelhouse. She is well adapted to her work, having a very broad beam for her length and a shallow draft.

MY QUEEN now operates as a passenger vessel harboured at Starcross, Devon running river trips and sea cruises from Dawlish. She has been the RSPB's official Avocet Cruise boat for four years and has featured on 'How to watch wildlife' with Bill Oddie. She is very popular with holiday makers for her Dunkirk connections.

My thanks to http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/ and http://nationalhistoricships.org.uk for this information.