TSS St Helier (1925)

Last updated

History
Name:
  • 1925-1940: TSS St Helier
  • 1940-1945: HMS St Helier
  • 1945-1960: TSS St Helier
Operator:
Port of registry: Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
Route:
  • 1925-1939: Weymouth - Channel Islands
  • 1939-1940: Fishguard - Rosslare
  • 1945-1960: Weymouth - Channel Islands
Builder: John Brown and Company, Clydebank
Yard number: 510
Launched: 26 March 1925
Out of service: 29 December 1960
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics
Tonnage: 1,885  gross register tons  (GRT)
Length: 282.2 feet (86.0 m)
Beam: 40 feet (12 m)
Draught: 13 feet (4.0 m)
Propulsion: 4 parsons steam turbines
Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)

TSS St Helier was a passenger vessel built for the Great Western Railway in 1925. [1]

Great Western Railway Former railway company in the United Kingdom

The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest and west of England, the West Midlands, and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft —later slightly widened to 7 ft 1⁄4 in —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892.

History

TSS St Helier was built by John Brown and Company as one of a pair of vessels, with TSS St Julien for the Weymouth to the Channel Islands service. She was launched on 26 March 1925. [2] Initially built with two funnels, one was a dummy and this was removed in 1928.

TSS St Julien was a passenger vessel built for the Great Western Railway in 1925.

In 1939 she was transferred to Fishguard to replace the St Andrew which was already in government service, but she too was requisitioned by November for troop movements from Southampton.

Fishguard Town in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lower Fishguard and the "Main Town". Fishguard and Goodwick are twin towns with a joint Town Council.

TSS St Andrew was a passenger vessel built for the Great Western Railway in 1931.

She took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. In all she made one trip to Calais and seven to Dunkirk rescuing 1,500 refugees and 10,200 allied soldiers. Following which the captain and first and second officers were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, while the quartermaster received the Distinguished Service Medal.

Dunkirk evacuation evacuation of Allied forces in May–June 1940

The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week long Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance".

Calais Subprefecture and commune in Hauts-de-France, France

Calais is a city and major ferry port in northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The population of the metropolitan area at the 2010 census was 126,395. Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km (21 mi) wide here, and is the closest French town to England. The White Cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day from Calais. Calais is a major port for ferries between France and England, and since 1994, the Channel Tunnel has linked nearby Coquelles to Folkestone by rail.

Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) British medal for act of gallantry

The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a third level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 ratings and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy, and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.

After Dunkirk she saw government service between Gourock and the Isle of Man, transporting prisoners-of-war to camps on the island.

Gourock town in Scotland

Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the county of Renfrew in the West of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its principal function today, however, is as a popular residential area, extending contiguously from Greenock, with a railway terminus and ferry services across the Clyde.

Isle of Man British Crown dependency

The Isle of Man, sometimes referred to simply as Mann, is a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. The head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, holds the title of Lord of Mann and is represented by a lieutenant governor. Defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.

She was then taken over by the Royal Navy as HMS St Helier and moved to Dartmouth to support Motor Torpedo Boats before being converted to an assault ship LSI(H) for the D-Day landings.

Royal Navy Maritime warfare branch of the United Kingdoms military

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against the Kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service.

Dartmouth, Devon Town in Devon, England

Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the western bank of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and South Hams district, and had a population of 5,512 in 2001, reducing to 5,064 at the 2011 census There are two electoral wards in the Dartmouth area. Their combined population at the above census was 6,822.

Motor Torpedo Boat Type of fast torpedo boat

Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy. The 'motor' in the formal designation, referring to the use of petrol engines, was to distinguish them from the majority of other naval craft that used steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines.

She then returned to Weymouth for further railway service which lasted until the end of 1960. [3] On 19 December 1960 she arrived in Antwerp for breaking up by Jos de Smedt.

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References

  1. ↑ Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
  2. ↑ "Channel Islands Service" . Gloucester Citizenl. Gloucester. 27 March 1925. Retrieved 15 October 2015– via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ Lucking, J.H. (1971). The Great Western at Weymouth. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN   0-7153-5135-4.
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