Medway Queen is going home

 While work continues in Bristol on rebuilding the hull of PS Medway Queen the Medway Queen preservation Society is also pressing ahead with its plans for the next stage in the restoration. In the Albion dry dock the hull is now well over 50% complete with the galley area taking shape and work progressing on installation of the promenade deck. This work is now being advanced as quickly as possible with the appointment by the society of Bob Stokes as full-time project manager and additional staff joining the workforce for the short term.

The Medway Queen Preservation Society can now announce details of a new home for the ship. With the help and support of the EU Interreg IVA "Heroes of the two seas" project a visitor centre and apprentice training school will be established during the summer of 2011 with a view to having it up and running before the ship returns home to the river Medway. The centre will be located within the Berkeley Group's new "Victory Pier" waterfront housing development in Gillingham. On completion of the hull, which is expected to be towards the end of the year, Medway Queen will be towed from Bristol back to the Medway and the new centre. Please note that this visitor centre is currently under construction and is not yet open for business. The whole area is effectively a construction site and is not yet open to the public. Please wait for further announcements before visiting.

The Interreg IVA "Heroes of the Two Seas" project is a partnership of three volunteer-led maritime preservation organisations in the UK, France and Belgian Flanders. The partnership has obtained funding from the European Union under Interreg IV A, aimed at increasing cross border cooperation in job creation, tourism development and maritime heritage awareness. As well as the Medway Queen Preservation Society in the UK, the partnership consists of the Belgica Society in Belgium and the Association Tourville in France. The Belgica was an Antarctic exploration ship that made several voyages of exploration in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Belgica Society is constructing a replica of the ship and is also looking into the possibility of raising the wreck for display in a museum. The original ship was used for munitions storage during the war and was sunk in Norway in 1940. The Tourville Association are building a full size replica of a 17th century, 84 gun, ship of the line. The design is taken from archive material and information gleaned from wrecks off St. Vaast-la-Houge in Normandy. The ship will be named "The Jean-Bart" after the legendary French captain. An integral part of this scheme is cooperation between the societies and it is expected that each will contribute expertise to the other projects. There will be specific items constructed for other projects, for example the Medway Queen's new mast will be made by the Association Tourville and her lifeboats by the Belgica Society. The Medway Queen project will construct a funnel for the New Belgica.

The Interreg funding will support two groups of apprentices. A "media group" of 3 students from Mid-Kent College will fully record the restoration project under the guidance of Gregg McDonald of Consequential Films. They will be working towards a Level 3 Certificate in Digital Media and Communication. A larger group of 8 craft apprentices will learn their skills under the guidance of instructors employed for that purpose. This programme is also fully supported by Mid-Kent College and the selected trainees will have already undergone initial training in their respective subjects. They will specialise in fabrication/welding, carpentry, electrical and mechanical fitting in equal numbers. They will work towards their trade qualifications, and at the same time, refit the interior of this historic paddle steamer. The 4 instructors for this part of the project have been recruited and, as part of working up the fitting out team, have spent some time with the workforce in Bristol to speed up construction and to find their way around the vessel. An existing building within the development area will be converted to contain workshops and secure storage. The instructors will prepare the workshops etc in time for the apprentices to start training in September. It is planned that the fitting out phase of Medway Queen's restoration will last approximately 2 years but this, like all such projects, is entirely dependent on the availability of funds, some of which are still to be found.

Funding for the hull was provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund with partnership funding from the Medway Queen Preservation Society. Funding for the fitting out phase will come partly from the EU Interreg programme, as described earlier, but will also require substantial additional resources from elsewhere. The society also has to complete fundraising for the main engine restoration and for construction of a new boiler so completion on schedule is by no means guaranteed. Donations and sponsorship towards this unique heritage restoration project are still desperately needed by the society. If you would like to make a donation please send your cheque payable to "Medway Queen Preservation Society" and send it to the society's project office: Office 3, 42 North Street, Rochester. ME2 4SH. The project also offers numerous corporate sponsorship opportunities and support of this nature in large or small amounts would also be very welcome. Please contact the above address in the first instance for details.