WILLIAM WATKINS LIMITED

FLEET LIST

DEFIANCE - HER MAJESTY

Built 1856 at South Shields. Iron Paddle Tug. 81grt. Acquired 1856. Disposed 1871. ON16964?

1856 Delivered to Watkins. 1860 Reboilered. 1869 Reboilered. 1871 Sold to West India Dock Co. for £1300.

Built 1841 at Yarrow.  Wooden Paddle Tug, clench built. L72'2''. B14'9''. 45grt. 100ihp Single cylinder steam engine. Acquired 1855. Disposed 1866. Scrapped 1866.

1855 Acquired from William Hughes Jnr. for £410. 1864 Chartered to West India Dock Co. 1862 Laid up. 1866 Sold for scrap for £55.

1909 Delivered to Watkins. 18-2-1910 Engaged £20 for tide plus £50 bonus if refloated, assisting Marechal Suchet, grounded on West Shingles whilst in tow of Guiana. Awarded. 23-2-1910 Salvage award £750 for assisting salvage Blackbraes aground Newcombe Bank, Dungeness and towing to London. 30-7-1914 Req by RN. 2-1-1919 Returned to Watkins. 6-7-1926 Towed yacht Norada, Dover to Gosport. 1939 Req by RN based Naval Control, Southend. 5-1940 Under Master A W Mastin served as inspection vessel and was at sea for most of the Dunkirk operation, picking up 90 men. 1943 Stationed at Southampton under control of Risdon Beasley Ltd. 1945 Returned to Watkins. 1947 Sold to Romochiatori Riuniti Genoa, renamed Euro.  29-11-1947 Left Ramsgate in tow of Empire John. 1954 Renamed Venezuela. 1956 Renamed Cile. 1957 Scrapped.

[Chartered Vessel]

Built 1943 by Clelands [Successors] Ltd, Tyneside. YN67. Steel Screw Tug. Englishman standard class. L136'. B31.1'. D15.3'. 479grt. 1275ihp 3cylTE oil fired steam engine by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, Tyneside. Bunkers 340 tons. Four bladed prop, 11.5' dia., 11.87'  pitch. BP approx 14.5 tons. Acquired 1946 (On long term Charter). Disposed 1951. Scrapped 1965. Official No. 169171. Call sign MQVJ.

21-4-1943 Launched. 4-10-1943 Completed and handed over to Watkins as managers. 5-11-1943 Departed Liverpool convoy OS58/KMS32G.  19-11-1943 Arrived Gibraltar ex convoy OS58/KMS32G. 1944 Management transferred to Lawson-Batey Tugs Ltd., Newcastle. 1945 Management transferred to Watkins. 1946 Long term chartered by Watkins. 21-8-1947 Damaged, near Kiel, when she passed over a mine which fortunately exploded astern, whilst on passage Harwich to Copenhagen, towing a corvette. Repaired at Kiel. 1951 Charter terminated. 1951 Sold to Dominion Coal Co., Canada without name or registry change. (PoR Newcastle). 1965 Sold to Commonwealth Metals Ltd., Canada for demolition and resold to Cia. Espanola de Demolicion Naval, Madrid. 2-11-1965 Arrived Bilbao in tow of Praia d'Adraga    [516/52]. 12-1965 Demolition commenced.

Built 1868 at Blackwall. Screw Tug. L65'. D5'. 30grt. 24nhp 60psi Stewart and Nicholson continuous expansion steam engine. Lowerable funnel. Speed 13 knots. Acquired 1868. Disposed 1882. Official No 60986.

Watkins first screw tug. Fitted with Varley's Patent Prop Shaft Splicing Apparatus. 1868 Delivered to Watkins. 1874 Reboilered. 1878 Towed Cleopatras Needle up river "under bridges"  to its position on the Thames Embankment near Charing Cross. 31-5-1878 Positioned Cleopatra at Adelphi Stairs. 5-1882 Sold to a Greenwich lighterage company for £800. Not a great success and used more as a launch than a tug. Much in demand for viewing University boat races etc. Coal consumption was reported as being one and threequarter pounds per HP per Hour.

Built 1856 on Tyneside. Iron Paddle Tug. L88.9'. B18.6'. 94grt. Acquired 1864. Disposed 1880. Scrapped 1898.

1856 Built for Edward Gregory, William Gunn and John Wood, Gravesend. 1876 Boiler ex Britannia fitted. 10-1880 Sold to Mrs. Caroline Jackson, Milford Haven. 12-1898 Scrapped, possibly at Milford Haven.

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FABIA

1919 Built for War Dept. as HS85, but renamed Wendy. 1919 Transferred to RN. 1920 renamed Early. 4-1920 Acquired by Watkins as compensation for war loss, renamed Fabia. 1938 Laid up at Ramsgate. 1939 Req by RN and served in Thames Estuary servicing barrage balloon vessels under RAF control. 13-11-1939 0910 Departed Ramsgate to assist Minelayer HMS Adventure which had been mined in the Thames Estuary. Enroute diverted to assist Destroyer HMS Blanche, which had also been mined. HMS Blanche eventually foundered whilst under tow for Sheerness in position 51.29N 01.30E, her crew being rescued by the tug. 1940 Downs Patrol vessel. 5-1940 Under Master F Smith crossed to Dunkirk towing various craft and worked off beaches. 1941 Stationed at Londonderry. 5-12-1945 Departed Londonderry. 1946 Returned to Watkins. 1946 Sold to Hemsley, Bell and Co., Southampton for £7500. 1947 Sold to Liverpool Screw Towing Co., renamed Moorcock. 12-4-1956 Scrapped by T W Ward Ltd., Preston.

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FIDDLER

Built 1840 at Limehouse. Wooden Paddle Tug. L69.5'. B16.3'. D8.5'. 78grt. 20nrt. Steam engine. Acquired 1840. Disposed 1847.

1840 Delivered to Watkins. 1847 Sold to John Bond, Millwall. 1848 Sold to William Sutcliffe, Millwall. 1860 Register closed as "missing".

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FOX

A Mystery!! It is only a possibility that the details below refer to this vessel. As Watkins only showed ownership for five months, they may have performed a delivery voyage to South Africa. (Following info courtesy of David Asprey) 

Built 1877 by Thames Ironworks, Blackwall. Iron Tug. L76'. B14.5'. D8.4'. 55grt. 13nrt. 35nhp 2cyl compound steam engine by Stewart. Acquired 10-1877. Disposed 2-1878. Scrapped 1923. Official No. 79602.

1877 Owner Donald Currie, London. 29-8-1878 Arived Table Bay SA. 17-9-1878 in service for Donald Currie Line at Port Natal. 18?? Owner Lord Brassey, James Cowan and John Nixon, Durban SA. 1911 Owner The African Boating Co. 1912 Owner Sole Robinson, Durban. 1912 Owner The African Fishing and Trading Co., and Charles Johnson, Capetown SA. 31-1-1913 Owner Irvin and Johnson Ltd., Capetown, used as fishing vessel. 1922 Owner Irvin and Johnson (South Africa) Ltd., Capetown. 8-1927 Registry cancelled with note 'broken up many years ago'.

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GLEN ROSA

(Chartered 1915-1918)

Built 1895 by John Shearer and Son, Kelvinhaugh, Glasgow. Steel Screw Tug. L96.0'. B18.5'. D9.7'. 110grt. 2nrt. 400ihp 2cyl compound steam engine by Muir and Houston, Glasgow. Official No 105174.

1895 Built for John Guthrie and Thomas Heywood, Cardiff. 1896 Owned by John Guthrie at Penarth and lengthened from 85.5' to 96'. 1901 Owners Cardiff Steam Towing Co. Ltd., Cardiff. 1905 Sold to George Robinson, Middlesbrough. 5-1909 Owners Tees Tug Co. Ltd., Middlesbrough. 1915-1918 Chartered by William Watkins Ltd for work on Thames.  30-7-1920 Owners Tees Towing Co. Ltd., Middlesbrough. 22-4-1926 Sold for scrap to Hughes Bolckow Shipbreaking Ltd., Blythe. 30-4-1926 Departed Tees for breakers.

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GONDIA

Launched 5-4-1927. Completed 11-1927 for William Watkins Ltd., London. 1940 Req by RN. 1940 Stationed at Dover. 17-3-1940 With Lady Brassey refloated Norwegian steamer Vespasian from Copt Point, Folkestone. 5-1940 Under Master C Pratt stationed at Dover assisting vessels berthing and refuelling during Dunkirk operation. 31-5-1940 With Simla towed damaged sloop Bideford into Dover.1940 Working at Milford Haven. 23-4-1942 Based at Reykjavik, Iceland. 2-4-1944 Departed Reykjavik convoy RU114. 7-4-1944 Arrived Loch Ewe. 1946 Returned to Watkins. 1-2-1950 Transferred to Ship Towage [London] Ltd. 3-1966 Laid up at Gravesend. 6-1966 Scrapped by Scrappingco SA Belgium, Antwerp

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GUIANA

Built 1886 by Uskside Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Newport Mon. Designed by James Pollock and Sons Ltd., London, ship No. 28. Steel Tug. L110'. B19'6''. D11'10''. 152grt. 70nhp 3cyl steam engine by Newall and Co., Bristol. 15''x23''x40''. 27'' stroke. Boiler 12'diax10'3'' 150psi. Acquired 1889. Lost 1918. ON91809. Callsign QCWH.

1886 Completed as Power, operated by South West Steamship Co Ltd.,  at Plymouth. 1889  Brought by Gravesend syndicate headed by Mr Alfred Tolhurst, a Gravesend solicitor. 1889 Acquired by Watkins and renamed Guiana. 1894 Reboilered. 8-1896 New boiler and engine room modifications at Eltringhams. 7-1897 Chartered to Dutch owners for six months. 28-7-1905 Attending Channel swimmer at Dover. 7-11-1914-1918 On war service at Newhaven and in Scottish Waters. 29-1-1918 Run down and sunk by RN destroyer off Whitby. Four lives lost.

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HER MAJESTY

Built 2-1854 by Byers, Monkwearmouth. Full rigged sailing vessel. 848grt. Acquired 1854. Lost 1854.

1-3-1854 Taken up by British Government for Crimean War transport duties. 1854 Maiden voyage Woolwich to Constantinople for orders, carrying horses, fodder, ammunition and guns. Discharged at Varna and then worked locally in Black Sea. 14-11-1854 Anchored off Eupatoria when caught in hurricane and driven ashore, along with many other vessels. Being a young, strong vessel salvage was a strong possibility, but before an attempt could be made she was hacked to pieces by the freezing troops for use as firewood.