SS ''Royal Daffodil'' was a Mersey ferry, 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 north west 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 ...

operating between Liverpool and

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...

Zeebrugge Raid

In 1918, she was requisitioned for war service and became HMS ''Daffodil''. Her sister ship '' Iris'' was also requisitioned and became HMS ''Iris II''. In preparation for the Zeebrugge Raid 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 dis ...

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

Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

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 on 17 May 1918, to a heroes' welcome. After repairs at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

, both vessels returned to service on the Mersey.

Post war

After the raid, she was renamed ''Royal Daffodil'' on command of King George VCollard p38 and returned to the Mersey, bearing

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam ...

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. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Rainham. It lies on the northwest bank of the River Medway at its lowes ...

–

Sheerness Sheerness () is a 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 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

– Southend 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.

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