The Hampton Ferry

• Guest 690

  • Registered: 10 Oct 2009
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  26 September 2010     16:4772607
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  Another of the well known ferries of yesteryear, long gone to the scrapyard. My father spent some time on this vessel during the war, when I believe it was used for mine laying. In the background of the above picture, a very different scene of that today.
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• Guest 690

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  26 September 2010     16:5072609
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  This is a scene of some sort of concert(?) on board, presumably pre-war again. I have other literature on various events aboard this ship, and I`ll assume that other ferries had the same sort of going`s on, but nobody to record it all for posterity. They seemed to have a good time in those far off days.
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• Guest 649

  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
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  26 September 2010     17:1572610
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  Great to see it all again Colin it was like that when I was young.
• howard mcsweeney1

  • Location: Dover
  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
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  26 September 2010     18:2372622
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  that picture looks like the original version of "allo allo".
• Guest 690

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  26 September 2010     18:4272625
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  It does Howard, even though I never watched it. Vic, always nice to see the old ferry days I think, the life blood of the port. Now, I`ve never thought of this before, but I wonder if this programme pictured above refer`s to the concert in the top picture? If so, we have the wartime year of 1940 to date it. As we can see, other ferries were involved also.
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• Guest 690

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  26 September 2010     19:1572635
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  Monday 5th February 1940. Loaded empty horse trucks and left Dunkerque at 07.00 and arrived at Dover in fog, and berthed number 5 berth 12.30. The "Twickenham" did not leave so we go in the ferry dock tomorrow. HMS Sphinx, capsized and sank while being towed into port after an air attack. This is the first naval minesweeper to be lost apart from trawlers during the present war. It is feared 5 officers and 49 ratings, a total of 54, are lost. ............... This is a page from one of my dads diaries he kept in wartime, and from the info above, he must have been on the Hampton or Shepperton ferry. I haven`t been on the internet, but a bit of investigation for someone on the HMS Sphinx, as she must be near here somewhere.
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• howard mcsweeney1

  • Location: Dover
  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
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  26 September 2010     20:2572649
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  colin i see that your dad was responsible for the songs in that concert, was he in the picture?
• Guest 700

  • Registered: 11 Jun 2010
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  26 September 2010     21:5072660
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  on board the Hampton ferry during the war:
  
  

  
  ---------------------------------------------------
  Lincolnshire Born and Bred
• Guest 684

  • Registered: 26 Feb 2009
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  27 September 2010     11:2472690
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  Great photos again, Colin. Both my dad and my grandad served on the Hampton and Shepperton ferries (the Twickenham had a French crew, if I'm correct).
• Guest 673

  • Registered: 16 Jun 2008
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  29 September 2010     03:1872894
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  Re post #6: HMS Sphinx was a Halcyon class minesweeper which was sunk off the East coast of Scotland.
  
  A bomb exploded up forward in the mess deck and caused the entire forecastle plating to be folded back across the Bridge. Quite extraordinary and I remember seeing a remarkable photo of same many years ago, similar to the small one in the article below.
  
  http://www.halcyon-class.co.uk/sphinx/hms_sphinx.htm
  
  
  Incidentally, there is an interesting article on the last years of the train ferries in this months "Railways Illustrated" entitled "Follow me over, via Dover."
• Guest 690

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  29 September 2010     14:5572961
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  Thanks for that Ed. Re-reading the diary note`s, it does appear as though it`s Dover, but maybe at the time the actual port was classified information, hence not entered into the diary. KATH. Russia launched their Sputnik spacecraft in 1957, but it looks as though your picture shows a number of them some year`s earlier.
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• Guest 690

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  30 September 2010     18:3473160
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  Can`t do a thread for every old ferry, so here`s the `Isle of Thanet` leaving Dover on the 12.55 sailing to Calais, 6 September 1931. Glad you liked the Hampton above Andy, I remembered your dad and grandad were on it.
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• Guest 684

  • Registered: 26 Feb 2009
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  1 October 2010     11:5573260
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  Thanks Colin!
• Guest 690

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  2 October 2010     19:4373441
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  Undated picture here of the Hampton Ferry.
  Tell them that I came, and no one answered.