Duchess of Norfolk was a 381 GRT paddle steamer

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

 which was built in 1911 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...

 and London and South Western Railway

London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

, who operated a joint service to the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

. She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 for use as minesweeper

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

 HMS Duchess of Norfolk during the First World War, returning to her owners after the war ended. She passed to the Southern Railway

Southern Railway (Great Britain)

The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...

 on 1 January 1923

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...

.

In 1937, she was sold to Cosens & Co and renamed Embassy. During the Second World War, she was again requisitioned for use as a minesweeper, this time being named HMS Ambassador. Postwar she was returned to her owners, and regained her former name Embassy. She served until 1966. She was scrapped in 1967.

Description

The ship was built by D & W Henderson Ltd, Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. She was yard number 475 and was launched on 25 July 1911 with completion in August 1911. The ship was 190 feet (57.91 m) long, with a beam of 26 in 1 in (7.95 m) and a depth of 8 in 7 in (2.62 m). She was powered by a compound steam engine, which had cylinders of 27 inches (68.6 cm) and 51 inches (129.5 cm) bore by 54 inches (137.2 cm) stroke. This could propel her at a speed of 13.5 knots (26.5 km/h).

History

Duchess of Norfolk was built for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London and South Western Railway. She was used on their Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 - Ryde

Ryde

Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...

 route. Her port of registry was Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

. In May 1916, Duchess of Norfolk was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for use as a minesweeper in the Mediterranean. She was returned to her owners in July 1920 and refitted before resuming service. She passed to the Southern Railway at Grouping.

In 1937, Duchess of Norfolk was replaced by Ryde

PS Ryde

PS Ryde is a paddle steamer commissioned and run by Southern Railway as a passenger ferry between mainland England and the Isle of Wight from 1937 to 1969. She saw wartime service and later became a nightclub. After many years abandoned at moorings on the River Medina, scrapping started but was...

. She was sold to Cosens & Co and was renamed Embassy. She was refitted before entering service. Her port of registry was changed to Weymouth. She was used for day trips from Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...

. During the Second World War, Embassy was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for use as a minesweeper, HMS Ambassador. Postwar, she was returned to Cosens & Co, and regained her former name. Embassy was refitted, with a larger wheelhouse and extended deck shelters, re-entering service in 1946. She was converted to oil firing during the winter of 1946-47. Embassy was used for day trips from Bournemouth, except for the 1948 season when she was based at Weymouth. In 1966, Embassy developed mechanical problems, including a damaged paddle wheel

Paddle wheel

A paddle wheel is a waterwheel in which a number of scoops are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several usages.* Very low lift water pumping, such as flooding paddy fields at no more than about height above the water source....

. She operated her final service on 22 September of that year. She was sold for scrap, and departed Weymouth under tow on 25 May 1967, bound for Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. She was scrapped at Boom, where she arrived on 28 May 1967.

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. Duchess of Norfolk and Embassy had the United Kingdom Official Number 131994 and used the Code Letters

Code letters

Code letters were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of radio, code letters were also used as radio callsigns.-History:...

MBQN. Towards the end of her life, Embassy was allocated IMO Number 5510305.