| Ddisgrifiad / Description | By the spaces between the foremast and the funnels (between 1904 and 1910) it is known that the ship is the 'La Marguerite'. It was launched by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited of Govan on the Clyde in 1894 for the Palace Steamers regular Summer Service, London to Boulogne (returning the same day).
Built of steel, gross tonnage 2,205 tons, 1,092 net., length 330 feet, 341 feet 6 inches overall, breadth of hull 40 feet and 73 feet over the sponsons, depth 13 feet 6 inches, diagonal compound engine with two cylinders, diameter 56 inches and 110 inches with a 6 feet stroke produced 7,500 I.H.P. and gave a speed of 20 knots.
For years there was no other excursion paddle steamer on the British coast that could approach her for size, speed, luxury and seaworthiness. In 1904 she was bought by the Liverpool and North Wales Steamship Company making her first run on May 12 from Liverpool to Menai Bridge, calling at Llandudno, Beaumaris and Bangor and was back in Liverpool by 7.30 p.m.
Early in 1915 she was requisitioned as a Cross-Channel Troopship with the ability to carry 1,800 men and their equipment. Throughout the War she only had one mishap when one of her boilers exploded in 1917. By the time she was released in April 1919, she had taken across the Channel, 360,000 troops and covered 5,200 miles.
After a quick refit she was chartered by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and had her funnels painted red with a black top, which were the Isle of Man colours. By 1923 she began to show here age and by 1925 the repair bills were getting too heavy and the company had to take her out of service. She was sold to Thomas W. Ward Limited for £5,000 and was later broken up.
In 1927 her bell was given to the First Battalion of the 6th Regiment of the City of London Rifles, the first troops that she carried during the War.
Original Index No. D0826. |