Return of the Medway Queen

The Medway Queen is back at her home berth, Gillingham Pier on Kent’s River Medway, after some months at Ramsgate, where she was hauled out for various works to be undertaken, including to her paddle wheels. Work continues to restore the magnificent, 180ft (54.8m) paddle steamer, known as ‘the heroine of Dunkirk’ for her rescue of some 7,000 soldiers during Operation Dynamo in 1940. The Medway Queen Preservation Society was set up in 1985, two years before the founding of this magazine, and it seems as though the end of the almighty restoration is in sight. The aim is to restore the vessel to seagoing condition, using her original steam engines. Learn more at medwayqueen.co.uk.