PORTWEY – THE FIRST 75 YEARS, A VERY BRIEF HISTORY
10.10.26 | Ordered from Harland & Wolff, Govan |
10.08.27 | Launched and handed over to Portland & Weymouth Coaling Company at Weymouth |
?1938 | Purchased by G.H.Collins & Co. Ltd. of Dartmouth and moved to Dartmouth. |
Date unknown | Owner’s name changed to Channel Coaling Company. |
1942 – 46 | War Service |
1946 – 51 | Based at Weymouth, back with the Channel Coaling Company. |
Aug 1951 | Sold to Falmouth Dock & Engineering Co. |
June 1967 | End of working life. Saved from scrap by Richard Dobson at Dartmouth. |
June 1982 | Sold to Maritime Trust, steamed to London. |
April 1988 | Awarded 1st Prize, British Coal Steam Heritage Awards. |
August 1996 | Awarded £82,000 by Heritage Lottery Fund for major hull steel replacement under the boiler. |
June 2000 | Steam Tug PORTWEY Trust created |
June 2002 | Awarded £10,200 by the Heritage Lottery Fund for complete rebuild of the original lifeboat. |
Thanks to the untiring efforts of our researcher and historian, Peter Clisby, the Trust has printed a booklet giving as much of the history of the tug as it has been possible to unearth so far. Costing £1.20, including postage, the booklet is available from the Secretary, whose address you will find on the home page. Please send the amount in stamps if you wish, or a cheque made out to the ‘The Steam Tug Portwey Trust’.