TSS St Julien (1925)

History
Name	1925–1960: TSS St Julien
Operator	1925–1948: Great Western Railway 1948–1960: British Railways
Port of registry
Route	1925–1939: Weymouth - Channel Isles 1945–1960: Weymouth - Channel Isles
Builder	John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number	509
Launched	23 February 1925
Out of service	12 April 1961
Fate	Scrapped 1961
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 CA Parsons & Company steam turbines
Speed	18 knots

TSS St Julien was a passenger vessel operated by the Great Western Railway from 1925 until 1948 and British Railways from 1948 until 1960. ^[1]

History

St Julien was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank as one of a pair of vessels, with the St Helier for the Weymouth to Channel Islands service. She arrived in Weymouth on 4 May 1925. ^[2]

The captain, Charles Hamon Langdon, was found dead in his cabin during a voyage from the Channel Islands to Weymouth in September 1927. ^[3] She had two funnels but one was a dummy and was removed in 1928.

On 1 October 1937 she went to the assistance of the French steamer Briseis which had struck the rocks near Grand Roccque, Guernsey. ^[4]

After World War II broke out in 1939, she was put to use ferrying troops but very quickly converted into a hospital ship. She took part in the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk and Cherbourg in 1940. She spent the remainder of the war as a hospital ship, including a period operating in the Mediterranean and supporting the D-Day landings. She was damaged by a mine on 7 June 1944 but repaired and resumed service on 24 June 1944.

Afterwards she returned to Weymouth for further railway service which lasted until 27 September 1960. ^[5] She was sent to Van Heyghen Freres, Ghent in March 1961 for scrapping.

References

1. Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
2. "New Great Western Steamer" . Derby Telegraph . Derby. 5 May 1925. Retrieved 15 October 2015– via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "Captain dies on duty" . Aberdeen Journal . Aberdeen. 24 September 1927. Retrieved 15 October 2015– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "French Crew Escape in Own Boats" . Western Daily Press . England. 2 October 1937. Retrieved 15 October 2015– via British Newspaper Archive.
5. Lucking, J.H. (1971). The Great Western at Weymouth. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   0-7153-5135-4.