The Medway Queen has been restored over the last 40 years, volunteers hope it'll return to the waters soon.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00From the beaches of Dunkirk to becoming a nightclub on the Isle of Wight, the Medway
00:04Queen has quite the story. Now the paddle steamer is celebrating 100 years since it
00:10first sailed the Kent coast in 1924. The Medway Queen Preservation Society has spent decades
00:17restoring the boat to its former glory. The appeal appears to be in its history.
00:23It's a time gone by. It's something that was again unprecedented. It was arguably a
00:31turning point in World War Two and it's just something that you can look back and say well
00:40the ship still lives. But my connection is through my father, my father Brian Goodhue.
00:45He was a galley boy on board the ship in 1953. In fact his first week in service was to attend
00:51the spithead review down in the Solent. So since I was born the Medway Queen has been part of my life.
00:59It's really a sense of how sad a ship that had saved so many lives, that it was deteriorating
01:08the way it was. And I felt yes I want to get involved, I want to help to save her.
01:15Around 7,000 people were rescued aboard the Medway Queen during the evacuation of Dunkirk.
01:23Its return journey saw it come to enemy fire and for some people here today
01:27the evacuation is deeply personal to their family history.
01:32It means everything to us. We're so proud of my grandfather and what he did because to save 7,000
01:40soldiers in seven trips, the immense effort that that took not just for him but his whole crew,
01:47it's just incredible. The sheer amount of lives that were saved, it's incredible to think that
01:52my great-grandfather stood on board that ship and sailed it seven times, not only across the
01:58channel but also back across the channel under heavy gunfire. You've got to remember that the
02:04people nowadays, the volunteers who have saved this ship are every bit as brave and strong and
02:11stoical as he was in what he did because he might have saved the lives and brought the ship back
02:16safely but they have done exactly the same, bringing it back from virtually irreparable.
02:24But some say the future for historical preservation in Kent isn't guaranteed.
02:30The older people that come here who are part of our history and the visitors that come know
02:35somebody who's been somebody or their fathers and grandfathers have been in the army and
02:43they show an interest but once they're gone who's going to take over? You know, the young people
02:50just don't seem to have the interest. It's a shame, it really is a shame.
02:54From the Medway Mayor to a Dunkirk survivor, many are gathering to celebrate the centenary
02:59in style and plans to buy a new boiler to get the steamer seaborne again.
03:04The Medway Queen's reign is far from over. Oliver Leeds for KMTV in Gillingham.