Medway Queen: Dunkirk ship to return home after latest revamp

The Medway Queen has spent five months in Ramsgate Harbour for repairs

A ship that helped rescue thousands of men from Dunkirk in the Second World War is to return to base following its latest restoration.

The five-month revamp of the Medway Queen took place at Ramsgate Harbour.

Built in 1924, the vessel originally took holidaymakers on trips around Kent before being commissioned by the Navy, in 1939.

It became dubbed the "Heroine of Dunkirk" in 1940 after evacuating British troops.

It was then left to rot in the 1960s before being rebuilt in Bristol.

The former pleasure ship brought 7,000 men back from Dunkirk in 1940

The Medway Queen has been in Ramsgate to have her hull treated and repainted, as part of its latest restoration project overseen by Jim Barrett from Ramsgate Slipways.

He said: "She came in reasonably untidy, putting it politely, and we washed her down, cleaned her all off and then repainted from the deck to the bottom."

The project cost £150,000, with money raised by volunteers. The Medway Queen is expected back at its base in Gillingham on Friday.

Pam Bathurst, of the Medway Queen Preservation Society, said: "I've got a lump in my throat, it's so beautiful. She looks so gorgeous and to see her back in the sea and on her way home, it's just amazing."

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