Southend Motor Navigation Co - Fleet List


This is one of a series of pages devoted to the passenger boats of the Thames and Medway Estuaries. This page shows postcards and photographs of the fleet of the Southend Motor Navigation Co Ltd (SMNCo). Southend Page 4 has a more detailed history of the company by Julian Wilson.

The information for this page was supplied by Julian Wilson, the elder son of WH (Bill) Wilson of Marlborough Road. WH Wilson was one of the two joint-owners of the Southend Motor Navigation Co. Ltd (SMNCo), post 1930. The other was Albert Brand of Kensington Road, his lifelong close-friend and business partner for over 30 years. Julian Wilson qualified as a skipper through the company's post-World War 2 training scheme, probably the last to do so.

Southend Motor Navigation Co The SMNCo was formed by a group of Southend businessmen in late 1921, to take advantage of the loosening of wartime regulations, and what they all hoped would be the return to the booming Seaside Holiday Trade of the Edwardian period, pre-the-Great War.

The Company's first two vessels were the San Toy 1 and the San Toy 2. These two motor launches (MLs) maintained a daily service between Southend, Westcliff, Crowstone, Leigh-on-Sea, and Canvey Island, sometimes calling at the Chapman Head lighthouse, en route. The third motor ship of the Company was the 'very pretty and sightly' Princess Maud (1).

The Company's first 'big ship' was the Julia Freak (later re-named the New Prince of Wales I after the Second War). The larger New Prince of Wales is considered to be the first pleasure vessel of more than 100 gross tons to be driven by internal combustion engines - she had two paraffin engines totalling 150 hp, made by John L.Thornycroft. (The Royal Lady at Scarborough was the first to be powered by diesels). New Prince of Wales was wooden hulled, and completed by Alec Fowler in Bosham in 1923 for the Southend Motor Navigation Co. She was 104 feet long and 137 gross tons. She was of very shallow draft, being used to to perform short cruises from a small jetty near Southend Pier at high tide. New Prince of Wales ran from the end of the pier at low tides. The New Prince of Wales was a Dunkirk loss - sunk off La Panne in 6ft of water, after drifting into the middle of an artillery duel between a German army shore-battery and a French destroyer.

In addition to the larger vessels listed, the SMNCo had varying number of ex-RN motor-cutters, named after Royal Navy war losses. These were quite popular with ex-Great War naval veterans because of that. At one point the SMNCo had 15 of these motor cutters, working from various pitches from Leigh to Shoeburyness.

For more details of the history of the Southend Motor Navigation Co Ltd (SMNCo) see Southend Page 4.


Vessels on this Page:-
Julia Freak - (Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1945)
King George V - (Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)
New Prince of Wales - (Built: 1923 - SMNCo: 1923-1940)
New Prince of Wales I - (Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 1945-19??)
Princess Maud (1) - (Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)
Princess Maud (2) - (Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-19??)
Princess Maud (3) - (Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-19??)
Princess Maud (4) - (Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-19??)
Queen Mary - (Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)
San Toy - (Built: 192? - SMNCo: 19??-1940) - later San Toy 1
San Toy 1 - (Built: 192? - SMNCo: 19??-1940) - ex-San Toy
San Toy 2 - (Built: 192? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)


Other Thames, Kent & Essex Pages:-
Southend Page 1 - Southend Pier
Southend Page 2 - Southend Small Excursion Boats
Southend Page 3 - Southend Motor Navigation Co - Fleet List - This page
Southend Page 4 - Southend Motor Navigation Co - Company History
Southend Page 6 - Southend Cliff Railway
MV Balmoral - 2006 cruise past Southend Pier
PS Waverley - 2005 cruise past Southend Pier
Essex Piers
Kent Piers
Kent Excursion Vessels
General Steam Navigation
Invicta Line
Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co
New Palace Steamers
Tilbury-Gravesend Ferry

Associated Pages:-
UK Excursion Ships
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards - Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards - Home Page

References:-
Trip Out Guides - Written and published by G.P.Hamer - various editions from 1977 to 2005 consulted Trip Out Guides are available from Geoffrey Hamer, PO Box 485, Southall, UB1 9BH

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Southend Motor Navigation Co

Vessels are shown in decreasing order of size, since dates are not currently available for most


New Prince of Wales
(Built: 1923 - SMNCo: 1923-1940)

New Prince of Wales is considered to be the first pleasure vessel of more than 100 gross tons to be driven by internal combustion engines - she had two paraffin engines totalling 150 hp, made by John L.Thornycroft. (The Royal Lady at Scarborough was the first to be powered by diesels). New Prince of Wales was wooden hulled, and completed by Alec Fowler in Bosham in 1923 for the Southend Motor Navigation Co. She was 104 feet long and 137 gross tons. She was of very shallow draft, being used to to perform short cruises from a small jetty near Southend Pier at high tide. New Prince of Wales ran from the end of the pier at low tides. The New Prince of Wales was a Dunkirk loss - sunk off La Panne in 6ft of water, after drifting into the middle of an artillery duel between a German army shore-battery and a French destroyer.

Julian Wilson writes:- New Prince of Wales details:- 105ft loa, draught 3ft light and 3ft 6ins loaded. Loaded freeboard was 4ft aft and 7ft at the bows, where the forecastle flared to throw off 'green seas'. Max speed light on trials 15.5 knots, max economical speed loaded 11 knots. Engines (from Thornycrofts) and stern gear layout designed by WH Wilson, FIMar E, (CPO(MEM) RN, Rtd); and executed by Bruntons of Colchester. Twin screws in tunnels with twin balanced rudders and a bow rudder for maximum manoeuvrability. BOT Steam 6 Certificate which allowed Cross-Channel Cruising. New Prince of Wales had the first radio room to be fitted on a Southend excursion vessel and the first public address system to be fitted on such a vessel. The designer & builder was Lt. CDR Alec Fowler (RN, Rtd). Built in a specially-constructed bund to the East of Bosham Village, West Sussex, during 1922, First Season on the Foreshore, 1923, operating from the No 1 Jetty, opposite the Hope Hotel (which was by way of being the 'unofficial HQ' of the SMNCo). The engines were sited as far outboard as possible, the 4-bladed screws were in tunnels, and the balanced rudders and bow rudder made 'The Big Prince' very handy; quick turnarounds meant more trips per tide, which increased income and profits. The Saloon had a compact modern galley, run by my Mum as Chief Purser, with the assistance of Mrs Lilian Brand, and some of the other company wives.

Postcard of New Prince of Wales with open bridge
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Postcard of New Prince of Wales with semi-enclosed bridge
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Real photo postcard of New Prince of Wales Click to open larger image in new window


Postcard of New Prince of Wales with semi-enclosed bridge
The card was posted in 1937
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Postcard of New Prince of Wales with semi-enclosed bridge
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Postcard of New Prince of Wales with fully-enclosed bridge in the 1930s
Scan: Julian Wilson
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Postcard of Southend Britannia (centre) and New Prince of Wales (left) at the pier head, plus smaller boats (right).
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Painting of New Prince of Wales and HMS Hood
Painting: Sydney Grey - Scan: © Julian Wilson



On board the New Prince of Wales
Photo: © Julian Wilson
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Bill Wilson and Albert Brand on the bridge of the New Prince of Wales
Photo: © Julian Wilson
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Julia Freak (Built: 1932 - SMNCo: 1932-1940)
New Prince of Wales I (SMNCo: 1945-19??)
The Julia Freak (named after the wife of an early director of SMNCo), and her near-sistership, the Britannia I, were both built by Haywards in a temporary boatyard set-up in what was the Kursaal's coach-park. They were moved from there on trailers, down what is now either Beach Road or Burdett Road, along the Eastern Esplanade to the Corporation Loading Jetty, where they were each launched using the Corporation's largest Crane.
Julian Wilson writes:- As soon as the Myalls heard about the order, they ordered a sistership - which became the 'little' Britannia. However, they tried to save money, and finished with a less capable vessel. The Julia Freak was 75ft loa, and drew 3ft light and 3ft 6ins loaded. Her engines were 8-cylinder Parson's L-series petrol-paraffin units, producing 75 shp each. Rudders, shafts, stern gear and props again designed by WH Wilson, and manufactured by Bruntons of Colchester, with whom the SMNCo had a long and amicable business relationship. The Julia Freak also had a PA system, and like the New Prince of Wales, a gimballed, and vibration-proofed gramophone, so that the passengers could have music when a crew-member was not giving a commentary of the Estuary and its shipping. The SMNCo had a standing order with a music shop opposite the old Gaumont Cinema in Southchurch Road, for ten copies of every hit record, so that all four of the vessels with PA systems could broadcast up-to-the-minute hit tunes and songs. The Julia Freak was also said to have reached 16 knots light on maximum speed trials, but by the time I came to know her after WW2 as the New Prince Of Wales I, the most we ever recorded over the local measured mile was 14.5 knots light, However she could still achieve a cruising speed of 12 knots loaded - about a knot faster than Myalls' 'little' Britannia.
Julia Freak was volunteered for 'Operation Dynamo', the Dunkirk evacuation, as were all the shallow-draft SMNCo pleasure boats. After surviving Dunkirk, Julia Freak was commandeered by the Admiralty thereafter 'for the Duration'. Julia Freak then served as an inshore Minesweeper. The Company never found out the fates of the other vessels they had offered to help lift troops off the Dunkirk beaches and which were lost. These shallow-draught vessels were uniquely-suited to this work, but unfortunately not with the inexperienced Navy crews that were assigned aboard them.
The SMNCo got Julia Freak back in an appalling state in the winter of 1945, and re-named her New Prince of Wales I - under which name she served the SMNCo and the successor company Brand & Wilson, until WH Wilson and Albert Brand shut down the pleasure-boating side of their operations. Prince of Wales I was sold to an owner up along the North Sea Coast, but suffered engine failure on the delivery trip to the shipyard where she was to be altered and modernised. She was driven ashore and broke-up where she lay because the new owners had not insured her and did not have the money to mount a salvage operation.


Julia Freak at Southend-on-Sea.
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Photochrome postcard of San Toy 1 at Southend-on-Sea, with Julia Freak in the background.
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Post-war postcard of New Prince of Wales I (ex-Julia Freak) The vessel in the background is My Queen Click to open larger image in new window Princess Maud
(Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)

Princess Maud served with the SMNCo before World War 2. She was volunteered for 'Operation Dynamo', the Dunkirk evacuation, as were all the shallow-draft SMNCo pleasure boats, but did not return, although no details were ever obtained as to her exact fate. There were three subsequent Princess Mauds after the war.


Princess Maud photographed at Southend
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Postcard of passengers on Princess Maud Click to open larger image in new window King George V
(Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)

Shown below is a miniature oil painting from a Morocco-leather bound book of paintings of Thames Estuary Shipping during the inter-war period given to WH Wilson by the artist Sydney Grey. Sydney Grey was a senior draughtsman for Rolls Royce, and for nearly 20 years spent his summer holidays in Southend. He patronised to SMNCo to take him out to view shipping in the Estuary. He gave the books of miniature paintings to WH Wilson, and they are now owned by his son Julian Wilson.


Painting of King George V
Painting: Sydney Grey - Scan: © Julian Wilson
In memory of WH (Bill) Wilson - Marine Engineer - CPO(MEM) RN Great War (Rtd.) - Chief Engineer and Joint Owner of the SMNCo
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Queen Mary
(Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)

Sister ship of King George V No image available yet - please contact Simplon if you can help San Toy - San Toy 1
(Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)

The Company's first two vessels were the San Toy 1 and the San Toy 2. These two motor launches (MLs) maintained a daily service between Southend, Westcliff, Crowstone, Leigh-on-Sea, and Canvey Island, sometimes calling at the Chapman Head lighthouse, en route.

Photochrome postcard of San Toy 1 at Southend-on-Sea.
Julia Freak is in the background.
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San Toy 2
(Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-1940)


The Company's first two vessels were the San Toy 1 and the San Toy 2. These two motor launches (MLs) maintained a daily service between Southend, Westcliff, Crowstone, Leigh-on-Sea, and Canvey Island, sometimes calling at the Chapman Head lighthouse, en route.

Sister ship of San Toy 1 No image available yet - please contact Simplon if you can help Princess Maud (2)
(Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-19??)

There were three post-WW2 Princess Mauds, the first being an ex-RN motor pinnace which the SMNCo ran for 2 years. This was then sold, and the company bought a 40ft l.o.a. open TSML, which carried the name for another two or three years. By this time, the legal battles with Admiralty and Treasury Lawyers about War Losses had been resolved with a compensation payment which enable the 3rd post-WW2 Princess Maud to be built by Cooks of Maldon. She was sold to a pleasure-boat operator in Devon during the 1960s, when cheap charter air flights to foreign holiday destinations had almost destroyed the English Seaside resort trade. No image available yet - please contact Simplon if you can help Princess Maud (3)
(Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-19??)

There were three post-WW2 Princess Mauds, the first being an ex-RN motor pinnace which the SMNCo ran for 2 years. This was then sold, and the company bought a 40ft l.o.a. open TSML, which carried the name for another two or three years. By this time, the legal battles with Admiralty and Treasury Lawyers about War Losses had been resolved with a compensation payment which enable the 3rd post-WW2 Princess Maud to be built by Cooks of Maldon. She was sold to a pleasure-boat operator in Devon during the 1960s, when cheap charter air flights to foreign holiday destinations had almost destroyed the English Seaside resort trade. No image available yet - please contact Simplon if you can help Princess Maud (4)
(Built: 19?? - SMNCo: 19??-19??)

There were three post-WW2 Princess Mauds, the first being an ex-RN motor pinnace which the SMNCo ran for 2 years. This was then sold, and the company bought a 40ft l.o.a. open TSML, which carried the name for another two or three years. By this time, the legal battles with Admiralty and Treasury Lawyers about War Losses had been resolved with a compensation payment which enable the 3rd post-WW2 Princess Maud to be built by Cooks of Maldon. She was sold to a pleasure-boat operator in Devon during the 1960s, when cheap charter air flights to foreign holiday destinations had almost destroyed the English Seaside resort trade. No image available yet - please contact Simplon if you can help Southend Page 1 - Southend Pier - Southend Page 2 - Excursion Boats - Southend Page 3 - SMNCo Fleet List - Southend Page 4 - SMNCo History
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