Dunkirk little ship, WATCHFUL, Built 1935. Returning to Hartlepool.

History
CORONIA was built as BRIT by Fellows & Co., Great Yarmouth, in 1935 for Longfield Brothers, who offered excursions from Great Yarmouth's Town Hall Quay and Britannia Quay. She was licensed to carry 200 passengers and spent her first five summers taking holidaymakers out to see the seals basking on the sandbanks along the north sea coast of Norfolk. She was powered by twin Crossley diesels. Following the outbreak of war, she was requisitioned by the Admiralty on 16 September 1939 for service as a tender. Renamed WATCHFUL, she became the base ship for the fleet and was repainted in battleship grey. She carried stores and torpedoes to the destroyers lying in Yarmouth roads, her bar became the wardroom for her officers and she had a gun turret installed on her foredeck.

On 29 May 1940, she was deployed to assist in the Dunkirk evacuation and reportedly rescued 900 troops. On 12 December 1945, she was returned to her owners, the Longfield brothers and was refitted and restored to her orignal name, BRIT, to operate once more as a pleasure cruiser for the start of the 1946 season. In 1950, she was modified with a lower funnel and bridge to be operated on the Thames by Thames Launches for excursion work during the Festival of Britain.

In spring 1951, she was sold to D. Dalton & G. Round for excursion work at Scarborough and renamed YORKSHIRE LADY. She was repainted with a white hull and a yellow funnel, which later had the company's house flag emblazoned on it. In a 1961 refit at Eyemouth, she was re-engined with Gardner 6LX diesels and a new wheelhouse was fitted. In 1968, she was sold and renamed CORONIA. After a refit in Scotland in 1975, she eventually sailed for Gibraltar in 1985 and provided trips around the bay, showing visitors the Rock and the marine life around the colony. At the end of 1991, CORONIA was sold to North Sea Leisure and on 5 June of that year, she returned to Scarborough, where she resumed service alongside REGAL LADY (cert 180). Source: Paul Brown, Historic Ships The Survivors (Amberley, 2010), updated Mar 2011.

Now back seaworthy and available for viewing in Hartlepool Marina, she has a Tea room open in the after lounge area and a Bar open in the ward room along with a small museum displaying the Dunkirk evacuation story of this little ships life. All proceeds of the tea-room and Bar go to the upkeep and continued restoration of this eighty six year old lady that served us all in this country's darkest days, restored by her current owner and volunteers



Sources
Machin, Tom,
M V Coronia,
1935-1995, 1995 Brann, Christian,
The Little Ships of Dunkirk: 1940-1990,
Collectors Books Ltd, 1989 Hamer, Geoffrey,
Trip Out 1995/6 - A Guide to the Passenger Boat Services of the British Isles,
G P Hamer, 1995 Hamer, Geoffrey,
Trip Out 1995/6 - A Guide to the Passenger Boat Services of the British Isles,
G P Hamer, 1995 Plummer, Russell,
Ships Monthly:
UK Excursion Guide 2000,
pp42-45, August 2000

Key dates
1935
Built in Great Yarmouth as a cruising yacht named BRIT for Longfield Brothers

1935-1939
Summer cruises along the Norfolk coast from Great Yarmouth

1937
Dummy funnel fitted

1939
Requisitioned by the Admiralty for boom defence work on the Humber and renamed HM Tender WATCHFUL

1940
Took part in the Dunkirk evacuation rescuing 900 troops from the beaches

1942-1944
Worked on the Pluto pipeline project

1942-1950
Returned to Great Yarmouth renamed BRIT and used for pleasure cruising

1950
Modified with a lower funnel and bridge Operated by Thames Launches for excursion work for the Festival of Britain

1951
Sold to Scarborough Cruises

1951-1984
Carried out pleasure cruises from Scarborough along the Yorkshire coast and renamed YORKSHIRE LADY

1968
Renamed CORONIA

1985
Sold to Gibraltar based owners

1985-1990
Operated from Gibraltar as a pleasure cruiser and at one time acted as host to HRH The Duke of Gloucester on an official visit

1990
Sold to Tom Machin of North Sea Leisure - now Scarborough Pleasure Steamers

1997
Extensive restoration work undertaken

1991-2011
Pleasure sailing from Scarborough in conjunction with another historic vessel, REGAL LADY

2011
Sold into new ownership, Based on Hartlepool Marina. Open most days as a living floating museum and Tea Room