TSS (RMS) ''Manx Maid'' (I) No. 131765 - the first ship in the Company's history to be so named - was a

packet steamer Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

which was bought by the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited (abbreviated to IoMSPCo or, locally, The Steam Packet ()) is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, having been founded in 1830. The company provides freight, p ...

from the

London and Southwestern Railway Company The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and Weymouth, Do ...

, and commenced service with the Steam Packet in 1923.

Dimensions

Her name came from

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

, the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name for the

Island of Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gover ...

. Constructed for the

and named ''Caesarea'', the vessel was built by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

in 1910. Length 284'6"; beam 39'1"; depth 15'8". ''Caesarea'' was launched at

on Wednesday 14 September 1910. ''Caesarea'' was a steel; triple-screw

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

vessel, which had a registered tonnage of . Powered by three directly coupled turbines, and producing 6,500 i.h.p., ''Caesarea's'' boilers were double-ended circular return type, with a working steam pressure of 160 pounds p.s.i. This gave ''Caesarea'' a service speed of 20 knots.

Service life

London and Southwestern Railway Company

''Caesarea'' entered service with the

in 1910, who employed her on the

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

service. On 7 July 1923, in a thick

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

, ''Caesarea'' struck a rock off Corbière as she was making passage from

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. Water began to enter the stokehold and

engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the Compartment (ship), compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. The engine room is generally the largest physical compartment of the machinery space. It houses the vessel's prime move ...

, whilst the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

began to fill, leading to the ship beginning to

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

. She was able to turn round and almost made it back to St Helier Harbour, but sank just outside the pierheads. ''Caesarea'' was stuck fast for almost two weeks, but was refloated on 20 July on a

spring tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. Nobody was injured. Following her salvage, ''Caesarea'' was taken under tow to

for initial repair, and from there to

at where her repairs were completed and she was acquired by the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company

Purchased by the

in December 1923 for an initial price of £9,000 and renamed ''Manx Maid'', she was refitted at a cost of £22,500 and converted to oil burning for a further £7,000 resulting in a total cost to the Company of £38,500. ''Manx Maid'' was fired by six furnaces for each boiler and at 18 knots would consume 84 tons of oil in 24 hours - or 36 tons at 12 knots. ''Manx Maid'' entered service with the Steam Packet fleet in time for the 1924 tourist season. She was employed operating to the numerous destinations then served by the Company, and continued to give reliable service to and from the Island, until with the dark clouds of war beginning to gather, she was requisitioned by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

on 27 August 1939, as an ABV - an armoured boarding vessel.

War service

''Manx Maid'' saw service in both

World Wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

. In 1914, she was requisitioned and served throughout the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

under her original name, ''Caesarea''. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she was requisitioned in August 1939, and served as an ABV, an Armed Boarding Vessel. As other Steam Packet ships were attending the

Evacuation of Dunkirk The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

, ''Manx Maid'' took no part in

Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, as she was undergoing repairs at the time. However, once her repairs were completed, she was ordered to

and made two crossings into the war zone as the retreat moved westwards along the French coast. Her first mission took her to

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. The walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the All ...

, but by the time she arrived the port was already under

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

. She escaped after being unable to go inshore, and returned to England. She then made passage to Brest, and in one trip brought out nearly 3,000 troops, roughly twice her allowable passenger complement. ''Manx Maid'' pulled out in a heavy swell followed by the , and a cross-channel railway steamer. ''Manx Maid'' was almost two feet below her

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

, and consequently developed condenser trouble meaning she had to

heave to Heave or heaving may refer to: * Heave (translational motion), one of the translational degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion along the vertical axis (to move up or down) * Heaving to or 'heave to', a wa ...

for nearly three hours some distance off the French Coast with the main enemy force approximately 30 miles from the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

. Even so, she finally reached

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

safely. In October 1941 she became a 'Special Duties' vessel and was renamed H.M.S. ''Bruce'' by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. From the end of March 1942 she became a

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

target vessel, continuing those duties until March, 1945. She was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns#Scotland, Three Towns'. Ardrossan is loca ...

on 21 March 1945 (minus her

mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

), and returned to the

that day.

Post-war service and disposal

Following her war service, ''Manx Maid'' returned to the Isle of Man. After a refit, she resumed her duties within the Steam Packet fleet, where she once again worked on the peak traffic routes, until with the introduction of the , , and , the decision was made to put her up for disposal. ''Manx Maid'' was towed to

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

for breaking up in November 1950.

Gallery

References

;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manx Maid Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company 1910 ships World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II merchant ships of the Isle of Man Ferries of the Isle of Man Steamships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1923 Steamships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Mersey Packet boat