Medway Paddle Steamer which saved thousands in Dunkirk turns 100

The Medway Queen has been restored over the last 40 years, volunteers hope it'll return to the waters soon.

Transcript

00:00From the beaches of Dunkirk to becoming a nightclub on the Isle of Wight, the Medway

00:04Queen has quite the story. Now the paddle steamer is celebrating 100 years since it

00:10first sailed the Kent coast in 1924. The Medway Queen Preservation Society has spent decades

00:17restoring the boat to its former glory. The appeal appears to be in its history.

00:23It's a time gone by. It's something that was again unprecedented. It was arguably a

00:31turning point in World War Two and it's just something that you can look back and say well

00:40the ship still lives. But my connection is through my father, my father Brian Goodhue.

00:45He was a galley boy on board the ship in 1953. In fact his first week in service was to attend

00:51the spithead review down in the Solent. So since I was born the Medway Queen has been part of my life.

00:59It's really a sense of how sad a ship that had saved so many lives, that it was deteriorating

01:08the way it was. And I felt yes I want to get involved, I want to help to save her.

01:15Around 7,000 people were rescued aboard the Medway Queen during the evacuation of Dunkirk.

01:23Its return journey saw it come to enemy fire and for some people here today

01:27the evacuation is deeply personal to their family history.

01:32It means everything to us. We're so proud of my grandfather and what he did because to save 7,000

01:40soldiers in seven trips, the immense effort that that took not just for him but his whole crew,

01:47it's just incredible. The sheer amount of lives that were saved, it's incredible to think that

01:52my great-grandfather stood on board that ship and sailed it seven times, not only across the

01:58channel but also back across the channel under heavy gunfire. You've got to remember that the

02:04people nowadays, the volunteers who have saved this ship are every bit as brave and strong and

02:11stoical as he was in what he did because he might have saved the lives and brought the ship back

02:16safely but they have done exactly the same, bringing it back from virtually irreparable.

02:24But some say the future for historical preservation in Kent isn't guaranteed.

02:30The older people that come here who are part of our history and the visitors that come know

02:35somebody who's been somebody or their fathers and grandfathers have been in the army and

02:43they show an interest but once they're gone who's going to take over? You know, the young people

02:50just don't seem to have the interest. It's a shame, it really is a shame.

02:54From the Medway Mayor to a Dunkirk survivor, many are gathering to celebrate the centenary

02:59in style and plans to buy a new boiler to get the steamer seaborne again.

03:04The Medway Queen's reign is far from over. Oliver Leeds for KMTV in Gillingham.