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1851 Built as "Friend To All Nations" for Thomas Petley. 1868 Acquired by Watkins renamed Albion. 1868 New 30psi boiler and 80nhp, 400ihp engine giving 13 knots. 1869 Sold to owners in Trieste for £5000.

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ALBION [2].

Built 1870 by London Engineering & Iron Shipbuilding Co, Millwall. Iron screw tug. L101'. B17.9'. D9.3'. 110grt. 40nhp 2cyl compound Stewart steam engine. Speed 12 knots. ON63606.

6-1870 Delivered to Watkins. 7-1-1871 Towing barque Carrie Wright, Scilly Isles to Antwerp. 7-2-1872 Acquired by ED. Delfs, H. Paasch & Co., Antwerp, renamed Sils-Duez. Later owned by Belgian Government?.

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ANGLIA

Photo B. Hunt Colln

Built 1866 by Thames Ironworks Ltd., Blackwall. Iron Paddle Tug. L144.4'. B22.2'. D12.4'. 275grt. 700ihp Stewart superheated steam engine. 3 boilers, 3 funnels. Coal cap 90 tons. Acquired 1866. Disposed 1894. Official No. 54745. Call sign HTKN.

1866 Delivered to Watkins. 1873 Carried Shah of Persia and entourage during the Spithead Naval Review. 1875 Towed liner Syria from St. Helena to Southampton, 5000 miles in 51 days, coaling at Freetown, Goree, Teneriffe, Madeira and Vigo. 1876 Towed 3400 ton steamer from Port Said to Glasgow for £2650. 1878 Towed Cleopatras Needle from Ferrol to London. 1880 New boilers and shafts at Somes Drydock. 1894 Sold through Constants to Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Co., in NE of England. 1894 Converted into barge. 1914 As barge towed from NE England to France loaded with coal and munitions throughout WW1. The 90 tons coal capacity will be noted. Her consumption was reputed to be awesome. She once burnt 30 tons of coal between Gravesend and Beachy Head. Nicknamed "Three Fingered Jack".

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ANNETTE

Built 1862 by James Ash, London. Iron Paddle Tug. Stewart steam engine, 29" cylinders, superheated boiler, surface condensers. Acquired 1862. Disposed 1869.

1862 Delivered to Watkins. 1863 Chartered as ferry between Ryde and Stokes Bay by A. Brett and Co. 1865 Chartered for whaling voyage to Iceland. 1869 Sold to Peter Acatos on behalf of Danube clients for £3300. Named after Mrs. William Watkins.

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ANTAGONIST

Photo J. Grainger Colln.

Built 1857 by Charles Lungley, Deptford. Iron Paddle Tug. L83.3'. B17.0'. D8.8'. 80grt. 1864 Remeasured to L91.6'. 90grt. 50nhp 2cyl side lever steam engine by J Stewart. Acquired 1863. Disposed 1867.

1857 Owned by James Archbold and Joseph Law, London. 1863 Acquired by Watkins. 1863 Chartered to Isle of Wight steam Packet Co. as ferry between Ventnor and Littlehampton. 8-1867 Sold to W H Vermeulen, Amsterdam, for £2300.

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ARCADIA

Photo B Hunt Colln

Built 1895 by Cook, Welton and Gemmel, Hull. YN149. Steel Screw Tug. L109'. B21.5'. D11.8'. 180grt. 700ihp 99nhp 3cylTE 14.5"x28"x31"x27" stroke steam engine by T E Earles, Hull. Acquired 1895. Disposed 1962. Scrapped 1962. Official No. 105766. Call sign PDJN later MQTJ.

1895 Delivered to Watkins. 5-1905 Reboilered. 4-8-1914 Req. by RN renamed HMS Chichester. Served on Downs Patrol duties, based Ramsgate. 1917 Serving at Calais. 29-5-1919 Returned to Watkins. Renamed Arcadia. 1941 Ran aground in The Wash and badly damaged rudder. After parting anchor cable drifted around Wash for four days until found by trawler and towed to River Humber for repairs. 19-10-1943 Whilst positioning the Shivering Sands Army Fort, collided with barge May, resulting in the connecting fort gangway being lost overside to be later recovered by divers. 1-2-1950 Transferred to Ship Towage [London] Limited. 6-1952 Renamed Badia at the request of P and O Lines Ltd., who wished to name their new liner Arcadia. 14-11-1962 Scrapped by T W Ward Ltd., Grays Essex.

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ATLAS

Built 1854 by Charles Hill and Sons Ltd., Bristol. Wooden Paddle Tug. L98.1'. B17.7'. D9.8'. 100grt. 17nrt. 70nhp 2cyl side lever steam engine. Acquired 1873. Disposed 1887. Scrapped 10-1887. Official No. 14368.

1854 Delivered to Bradford, Bristol. 1856 Owners Bristol General Steam Navigation Co., Bristol. 1873 Acquired by William Watkins Ltd., London. 1874 Rebuilt. 1879 Two tubular boilers fitted ex Rainbow. 10-1887 Broken up.

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AUSTRALIA

Photo A. Duncan.

Built 1882 by L Smit and Zoon, Kinderdijk, Holland. Iron Single Screw Tug. L90.4'. B20.6'. D11.3'. 125grt. 18nrt. 700ihp 2cyl steam engine by Appleby Bros., East Greenwich. Acquired 1882. Disposed 1908. Scrapped 1908. Official No 85095.

1882 Delivered to Watkins. 1893 Damaged by fire. 1894 Damaged in collision with Lord Churchill in Blackwall Reach. 1895 Damaged in collision with tug Dorunda off Royal Albert Dock. 1896 Practically rebuilt and converted to single stack. 7-6-1897 Assisted beaching sailing vessel Micronesia, on fire with cargo of saltpetre, near Deal. 1898 Damaged in collision with tug Mystery at Gravesend. 1899 Damaged in collision with SS Boldern and SS Greyfriars at Gravesend. 1899 Damaged in collision with SS Turret Cape off Gravesend. 1908 Sold to Dutch breakers.

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BADIA (1)

Photo J. Grainger Colln.

Built 1909 by Philip and Son, Dartmouth. YN347. Steel Screw Tug. L98.2'. B20.6'. D10.9'. 150grt. 500ihp 3cylTE 18"x21"x34"x24" stroke 165psi steam engine by builder. Acquired 4-1909. Disposed 2-10-1947. Scrapped 1961. Official no. 125778. Call sign MGXY.

1909 Delivered to Watkins. 31-7-1914 Req by RN renamed HMS Chester III, and based at Ramsgate until 7-4-1917. 8-9-1917 - 19-1-1919 on War Office (Army) duties based Calais. 19-1-1919 Returned to Admiralty service. 23-5-1919 Returned to Watkins, renamed Badia. 3-9-1928 0740 Whilst at anchor off Barking Creek was run into by paddle steamer Clacton Belle. 26-1-1930 Whilst anchored off Gravesend was struck by SS Spheno, sustaining damage to starboard rubbing band. 1939-1945 Served on Thames throughout WW2. 12-1940 Assisted salvage of S.S. Llandilo damaged in a minefield. 194? Fitted with Kort nozzle. 2-10-1947 Sold to Fowey Tug Co. renamed Penleath. 1961 Scrapped by Marel and de Korte, Bruinidse, Holland.

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BADIA (2)

Photo R. Stanford Colln.

For all details see ARCADIA.

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BANK OF ENGLAND

Built 1849 by Candish of Sunderland. Full rigged sailing vessel. 677grt. Acquired 1849. Lost 1857.

29-6-1857 Wrecked at Albrough.

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BLACK PRINCE [1]

Iron Sailing Vessel. Acquired 1862. Disposed 1878. Scrapped 1878.

Original name Venezuela. 1862 Acquired by Watkins and converted to coal hulk, stationed at Gravesend. Renamed Black Prince probably after 1871 as still Venezuela in 1871 census which showed Capt. William Adams, his wife, his three children and three coal porters aboard.1878 Sold to Castles the breakers for £50.

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BLACK PRINCE [2]

Built 1846 at Quebec. Sailing vessel. 534grt. Acquired 1878. Disposed 1898. Scrapped 1898.

Original name Montezuma. 1875 Converted into coal hulk for Black Ball Tug Co. for £1400. 1878 Acquired by Watkins for £370 renamed Black Prince and moored at Gravesend. 1881 The census return showed Captain Huneybell, his wife, five children and eleven labourers aboard! 1898 Sold to Castles for £35.

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