PS Ryde

PS "Ryde" was a paddle steamer commissioned and run by Southern Railway as a passenger ferry between mainland England and the Isle of Wight from 1937 to 1969. She saw wartime service and later became a nightclub. As of 2008 she sits abandoned at moorings on the River Medina.

PS "Ryde" 1937 - 1939

PS "Ryde" was commissioned by Southern Railway in 1936 as a sister ship for PS "Sandown". Costing £46,000 she was built by William Denny and Brothers in Dumbarton on Clydeside. After her launch on 23rd April 1937 she replaced the PS "Duchess of Norfolk" on the Portsmouth to Ryde Pier passenger ferry service.

HMS "Ryde" 1939 - 1945

In 1939 PS "Ryde" and PS "Sandown" were requisitioned by the Royal Navy. She was renamed as HMS "Ryde" and initially both were used as Minesweepers in the Dover Straits. After two years "Ryde" was converted to an anti-aircraft ship and served on the Thames Estuary and at Harwich. In May 1944 she traveled to Portsmouth from where she embarked to the Normandy coast to take part in the naval component of Operation Neptune on D-Day.

PS "Ryde" 1945 - 1970

Reverting to her to her pre-war name on her return to Southern Railway in August 1945 PS "Ryde" worked on her former route and undertook a variety of chartered trips. However the nationalised British Railways begun to commission more modern motor vessels and in 1969 it was decided to retire her.

"Ryde Queen" 1970 - present

Avoiding the scrap yard PS "Ryde" was bought by two Isle of Wight entrepreneurs and in September 1970 she began a new career as a nightclub. Renamed as the "Ryde Queen" she replaced the smaller PS "Medway Queen" in moorings at Binfield Marina on the River Medina near Newport cite web| title=Medway Queen Paddle Steamer |url=http://www.medwayqueen.co.uk/| accessdate=2008-02-24] . In 1977 she caught fire but was repaired. However by the late 1980s her popularity waned and the nightclub was closed. She remained derelict and abandoned on her mooring gradually deteriorating. In August 2006 her funnel collapsed cite web| title= Historic vessels at Risk|url=http://www.maritimebritain.co.uk/risklist.html| accessdate=2008-02-24] and she is now possibly beyond repair. cite web| title=Paddle Steamer Ryde|url=http://www.psryde.co.uk/history/| accessdate=2008-02-24]

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