Draft:PS Devonia

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Devonia underway in Bristol Channel
History
Wales
NameDevonia
OwnerBarry Railway Company
OperatorRed Funnel Line
Port of registryGlasgow
RouteBristol Channel
BuilderJohn Brown Shipyard, Clydebank
Yard number369
Launched22 March 1905
Out of service30 May 1940
FateScrapped in 1941 after being damaged by aircraft at the Dunkirk Evacuation
General characteristics
TypePassenger Ship
Tonnage641 tons[1]
Length245ft (74.7m)
Beam29ft (8.8m)

PS Devonia was a paddle steamer built as an excursion vessel for the Barry Railway Company in 1905 at John Brown Shipyard in Clydebank. The Barry Railway Company could not legally operate her from their dock in Cardiff, so she was transferred to the Red Funnel Line to avoid this, serving in the Bristol Channel. In 1911, she was transferred to P. & A. Campbell and served as a minesweeper during World War I. Afterwards she returned to passenger service. In 1939, she was acquired by the British Admiralty during World War II as a minesweeper, but would be badly damaged at the Evacuation of Dunkirk by aircraft bombing, where she was beached and scrapped by the Germans in 1941.[2]

Construction and Launch

PS Devonia was built by John Brown Shipyard on the river Clyde. She had a length of 245ft (74.7m), and beam of 29ft (8.8m), and a depth of 9.7ft (2.9m) and tonnage of 641 tons. She was propelled by a linear-action Compound steam engine, driving two paddle wheels.[3] Devonia was launched on the 22 March, 1905 from her Clydebank yard, with her yard number being 369.[1]

Career

Barry Railway Service

After being launched, she was given to the Barry Railway Company, where she was meant to operate excursion trips between Barry, Cardiff, and Ilfracombe, but due to legal circumstances, they could not operate her from their pier in Barry.[4] Barry Railway Company decided to bypass this by operating alongside the Red Funnel Line under the name "Red Funnel Steamers." These trips were overnight and since she was an excursion vessel, she did not have sleeping accommodations. Instead, passengers had to find a place to sleep in her main saloon.[5] The Red Funnel Steamers ran these excursion trips in the Bristol Channel until 1911, when their competitors, P. & A. Campbell, bought out Barry Railway Company, leading to the company's collapse.

P. & A. Campbell Service

Under P. & A. Campbell, she continued to run excursion trips in the Bristol Channel until September 1914 where the Royal Navy requisitioned her to become an auxiliary minesweeper, being renamed H. M. S. Devonia. During her service in WWI, she served off the east coast of the British Isles along with her sister ship, Gwalia, until the war ended in 1919 and was given back to P. & A. Campbell, returning to passenger service on the southern coast operating at a new station by 1923 and taken out of service in 1932.[6]

PS Devonia Minesweeping during WWI

Dunkirk Evacuation and Fate

By 1939, Devonia, now Brighton Queen was laid up. That same year, WWII had erupted and the Royal Navy requisitioned her and operated as a minesweeper as she did during WWI. On 30 May, 1940, she participated at the Dunkirk Evacuation and while en route, she took on heavy aircraft fire at her stern and she began to take on water. Her captain ordered her to be beached deep inland so she could be used as a jetty in evacuating troops. By 1 June 1940, the evacuation ended and her hull was scrapped by the Germans in 1941. Parts of her wreck are still visible today while others believe that she was salvaged and put back into service on the River Elbe, but there is no real evidence to back up this claim.[6][7]

References

  1. "PS Devonia". Paddle steamers.info. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  2. "PS Devonia". Clydeships. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  3. "John Brown Shipyard Ships". University of Glasglow. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  4. "PS Devonia". Hugh Evelyn Prints. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  5. "PS Devonia". Paddle steamer Preservation Society. Retrieved 2026-01-16.
  6. "PS Devonia". Traces of War. Retrieved 2026-01-16.
  7. "H.M.S. Devonia". Museum of Wales. Retrieved 2026-01-16.