PS Princess Elizabeth, River Thames 1977

The PS Princess Elizabeth is a historic paddle steamer built in the early 20th century, with a fascinating career that includes both peacetime service and wartime heroics.

🚢 Overview

• Name: Princess Elizabeth

• Type: Paddle Steamer (PS)

• Built: 1927, by Day, Summers and Company in Southampton

• Operated by: Initially the Southampton, Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (known as Red Funnel)

🛳 Civilian Career

The Princess Elizabeth was primarily used as a pleasure steamer, carrying holidaymakers and day-trippers between Southampton, Ryde, and other ports along the south coast. She offered elegant facilities, including a saloon, and became part of the fleet that served the growing demand for coastal excursions in the interwar years.

⚓ Wartime Service – Dunkirk Evacuation

Her most notable moment came during World War II when she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1940 for Operation Dynamo—the evacuation of Dunkirk.

• The Princess Elizabeth made at least one successful trip to the Dunkirk beaches, rescuing around 1,500 Allied troops.

• Like many of the “Little Ships of Dunkirk,” she demonstrated immense bravery in treacherous conditions.

• Her role earned her the status of a Dunkirk Little Ship, and she is often commemorated in events marking the evacuation.

🧭 Post-War Use and Later Life

After the war, she returned to civilian duties but, like many paddle steamers, was eventually withdrawn from service due to changing transport needs and the decline of the excursion trade.

Over the years, the Princess Elizabeth has had a varied second life:

• Converted into a floating restaurant and function venue in various locations.

• She spent time moored at Weston-super-Mare, and from 1970 to 1987 on the River Thames in London. Early photos show it moored just east of Tower Bridge but later photos (as seen here) show it was moved west of London Bridge. It was eventually moved to Dunkirk, France, where she remains today as a static floating venue.

🌊 Today

As of recent reports, the Princess Elizabeth is moored permanently in Dunkirk, where she serves as a floating restaurant and event space. She remains an enduring symbol of civilian bravery during WWII and is preserved as a tribute to the Little Ships and their role in the Dunkirk evacuation.