SS ''Royal Daffodil'' was a

Mersey ferry The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in northwest England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12 ...

, built in 1906 and scrapped in 1938. She was built as ''Daffodil'' but renamed ''Royal Daffodil'' in recognition of her service under requisition during the

1st World War 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 ...

History

Pre war

''Daffodil'' was built by Robert Stephenson & Sons as yard number 101. She was launched on 20 April 1906 and completed in June 1906. She was put into service as one of the

Mersey ferries The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in northwest England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12t ...

operating between

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

Zeebrugge Raid

In 1918, she was requisitioned for war service and became HMS ''Daffodil''. Her sister ship ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

'' was also requisitioned and became HMS ''Iris II''. In preparation for the

Zeebrugge Raid The Zeebrugge Raid (; ) on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgium, Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. The British intended to sink obsolete ships in the canal entrance, to prevent German vessels from leaving port. ...

which aimed to deny the Germans further use of the port as a u-boat base, both ships were stripped of all furniture and fittings and had armour fitted to the superstructure. The ferries were chosen because of their shallow draught and

double hull A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some di ...

s. ''Daffodils'' role was to carry two of the three seamen demolition parties, known as "C" Company and commanded by Lieutenant Cecil Dickinson, specifically tasked with using explosives for demolition work. The original plan was for the demolition team to embark the Iris, but on the day they embarked the Daffodil instead. Both the Iris and the Daffodil were towed across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

by HMS ''Vindictive'' for the operation on 23 April 1918. As the attack unfolded, ''Daffodil'' was hit in the engine room by two shells, but was able to maintain her position holding ''Vindictive'' against the wall of the Mole. One member of the ship's crew died during the raid.

Return to Liverpool

''Iris'' and ''Daffodil'' returned to the

Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it ...

on 17 May 1918, to a heroes' welcome. After repairs at Chatham, both vessels returned to service on the Mersey.

Post war

After the raid, she was renamed ''Royal Daffodil'' on command of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

Collard p38 and returned to the Mersey, bearing shrapnel marks from the raid. In 1932 she succeeded PS ''Royal Iris'' on excursion work and in 1934 ''Royal Daffodil'' was sold to the New Medway Steam Packet Co. (NMSPC). She was used on the Rochester –

Strood Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. Strood forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham and Rainham, Kent, Rainham. It ...

–

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

–

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

route. The NMSPC was taken over by the General Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. in 1936 and in 1938 ''Royal Daffodil'' was sold for scrapping in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

References

Citations

Sources

*Collard, Ian: ''Mersey Ferries Through Time'' (2013) Amberley * *Maund, Thomas: ''Mersey Ferries Vol II-The Wallasey Ferries'' (2003) Black Dwarf Publications *

External links

Zeebrugge Raid
story continued on subsequent pages.

– French sub aqua club film of a dive on HMS Daffodil (ex TF3).

LNER Harwich Fleet List {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Daffodil Mersey Ferries World War I naval ships of the United Kingdom 1906 ships