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George Wheeler Launches
1947-2006
This page is devoted to the Thames excusion boat operators George Wheeler Launches.
This is one a of series of
Simplon Postcards
pages devoted to
River Thames Excursion Boats
.
There is a
Fleet List
of George Wheeler boats below.
Before WW2, various boats were run by the Wheeler family in the 1930s. George Wheeler is listed in Dix as part-owning the
Maud
and
Vera
from 1938-1939. He is also listed as owning
Queen Boadicea II
from 1938-1970.
George Wheeler began Thames services after the war in 1948, running the
Tilbury Hope
between Westminster and Tower.
Maid of Kent
was used on Greenwich services from 1951 to 1961, joined by
Golden Spray II
in 1953 (sold 1971). George Wheeler died in 1956, and Alber Ellis became the general manager, and later managing director.
My Queen
arrived in 1962, replacing
Maid of Kent
.
Maid of Kent
was operating from the Palace Pier in Brighton in 1964.
In 1970, Wheelers ordered two new boats,
Withycombe
and
Westminster
. Both were built by Thomas Hughen at Woolwich. Hughens then built the
Chay Blyth
in 1972, which was hired to Wheelers until 1979. Hughens went on to form Greenwich Pleasurecraft for which they built the the
Chevening
and
Pride of Greenwich
, which subsequently passed to catamaran Cruisers.
Chay Blyth
was used by Greenwich Pleasurecraft from 1979 to 1983 after the hire to Wheelers finished. She later rejoined the Wheeler fleet and remained until it was finally disposed of in 2006.
In 1976, George Wheeler bought a controlling interest in Alfred Crouch Ltd, whose fleet was
London Belle
, Princess Marina
and
Thames Queen
. The fleet was run as a separate concern. In 1978,
Royalty
was acquired for the Crouch fleet. Two new boats were built by Yorkshire Dry Docks and Pearl Tarn Ltd in 1980, the
Hollywood
and
Rosewood
. They remained in the fleet until it was finally disposed of in 2006.
The 2005 fleet consisted of
Chay Blyth
,
Hollywood
and
Rosewood
. They operated a service from Westminster to Greenwich and the Thames Barrier under the
Thames River Services
banner with
Avontuur IV
and
London Rose
of
Viscount Cruises
(previously
Campion Launches
),
Mercia
of
Westminster Party Boats
and
Sarpedon
of
Crown River Cruises
. George Wheeler pulled out of boat services in 2006 and
Chay Blyth
,
Hollywood
and
Rosewood
were all sold.
Chay Blyth
and
Hollywood
were bought jointly by
Crown River Cruises
and
Westminster Party Boats
and are operated by
Thames River Services
.
Rosewood
passed to
Capital Pleasure Boats
.
Contact:
www.thamesriverservices.co.uk
Ships on this Page:-
Chay Blyth
- built: 1972 (sold 2006)
Daphne
(George Wheeler: 1946-1953 - built: 1922)
Duke of Edinburgh
(George Wheeler: 1958-1971 - built c.1956)
Golden Spray II
(George Wheeler: 1953-1971 - built: 1946)
Greenwich Belle
- built: 1974 (sold 2005)
London Belle
(George Wheeler: 1980-1987 - built: 1948)
Maid of Kent
(George Wheeler: 1951-1961 - built: 1942)
Maud
(George Wheeler: 1938-1939, 1946-1949 - built: c.1926)
My Queen
(George Wheeler: 1962-1970 - built: 1929)
Hollywood
- built: 1981 (sold 2006)
Queen Boadicea II
(George Wheeler: 1938-1976 - built: 1936)
Rosewood
- built: 1980 (sold 2007)
Royalty
- built: 1913 (sold 1998)
Tilbury Hope
(George Wheeler: 1948-1957 - built: 1921)
Vera
(George Wheeler: 1938-1939, 1946-1949 - built: 1922)
Westminster
(George Wheeler: 1970-19?? - built: 1970)
Withycombe
(George Wheeler: 1970-19?? - built: 1970)
Associated Thames Passenger Boat Pages:-
River Thames Excursion Boats
- Thames Header Page - Full List of Companies
Thames River Services
Campion Launches
Crown River Cruises
Viscount Cruises
Westminster Party Boats
George Wheeler
Associated Pages:-
UK Excursion Ships
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards
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Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards
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Home Page
References:-
Royal River Highway:
Written by Frank L. Dix - published David & Charles 1984
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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Table of Boat Histories
Name
Other names
Built
Rosewood
Golden Flame
1980
Westminster
1971
Witheycombe
1970
George Wheeler Launches
Tilbury Hope
(George Wheeler: 1948-1957 - built: 1921)
Tilbury Hope
wasbuilt in 1921, presumably for use near Tilbury. She was owned by P.J.& RF Hastings from 1946-1947before being bought by George Wheeler for use between Westminster and the Tower. She was sold to Frank Parr of Kingston in 1958. He replaced her with a new bought of the same name in 1993.
No image available
Westminster
(George Wheeler: 1970-19?? - built: 1970)
Westminster
was built for
George Wheeler Launches
in 1970. She passed to Thames Tripping c.1988 and joined the initial
City Cruises
fleet along with the other Thames Tripping boats
Eltham
and
Witheycombe
.
Westminster
in service with
City Cruises
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th May 2003.
Withycombe
(George Wheeler: 1970-19?? - built: 1970)
Witheycombe
was built for
George Wheeler Launches
in 1970. She passed to Thames Tripping c.1988 and joined the initial
City Cruises
fleet along with the other Thames Tripping boats
Eltham
and
Westminster
.
More images of
Witheycombe
Witheycombe
in service with
City Cruises
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th May 2006.
Click to open larger image in new window
Chay Blyth
(George Wheeler - built: 1972)
107grt - 76ft long - 199 passengers
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 11th March 2006.
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, St Thomas' Hospital, 11th March 2006.
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th May 2006.
Click to open larger image in new window
Greenwich Belle
(George Wheeler: 1981-2005 - built: 1974)
86grt - 68ft long - 150 passengers
Greenwich Belle
was built in 1974 and served with the Thames Motor Boat Co, but passed to
George Wheeler Launches
before 1981. She was acquired by
King Cruises
in 2005.
Greenwich Belle
at Milbank, after sale to
King Cruises
.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 11th March 2006.
Click to open larger image in new window
Greenwich Belle
at Milbank, after sale to
King Cruises
.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 11th March 2006.
Greenwich Belle
at Milbank, after sale to
King Cruises
.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 11th March 2006.
Click to open larger image in new window
Hollywood
(George Wheeler: 1980-2007 - built: 1980)
187grt - 90ft long - 200 passengers
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th May 2003.
Photograph: © Ian Boyle, 7th April 2005.
Photograph: © Ian Boyle, 7th April 2005.
Photograph: © Ian Boyle, 7th April 2005.
Photograph: © Ian Boyle, 7th April 2005.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th May 2006.
Click to open larger image in new window
London Belle
(George Wheeler - built: 1948)
London Belle
was built by Rowhedge Iron Works in 1948 for Alfred Crouch. 65 feet long and diesel-powered with twin screws, she was re-engined and converted to a single screw in 1972. In 1980 she passed to George Wheeler Launches, and c.1987 to
Campion Launches
. In 2003 she was sold to
London Party Boats
(
www.londonpartyboats.co.uk
) and is their sole vessel in 2006.
London Belle
of London Party Boats (
www.londonpartyboats.co.uk
)
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 14th June 2006.
Click to open larger window in a new window
Rosewood
(George Wheeler: 1980-2007 - built:
1980)
164grt - 85ft long - 230 passengers
Rosewood
was built for George Wheeler Launches in 1980. She operated the daytime trips to Greenwich. In 2007 she was bought by
Capital Pleasure Boats
and completely refitted for charter use, returning to service as the
Golden Flame
.
Complete history of
Rosewood
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th May 2003.