"At
10.30 hrs. Sunday 9th. August, in fine weather, the ‘Royal Daffodil’
one of the famous Ferries across the Mersey commanded by Captain Robbie
Quinn and flying a Conway Ensign, sailed from the Pierhead with 322
Conways and guests for a trip to Rock Ferry where the ferry stopped and
a wreath was cast by Rev. Simon Douglas Lane, Hon. Chaplain of the
Conway Club and the President, Archie Smith, in the Sloyne where our
Old Wooden Mother used to be moored, in memory of Conway and all who
trained in her.
Commentary during the cruise was by two OCs both ex Liverpool career
pilots, Bill Wood 50-52 and Geoff Topp 58-60. A party of Wallasey Sea
Cadets from HMS Astute in the charge of Lt. Chris Hughes and CPO Tony
Baine provided two buglers for the wreath laying and, later, collected
donations for the RNLI. After the wreath ceremony we cruised down river
to the Fort Perch Rock and there was quite a lot of river traffic
including the Isle of Man Steam Packet.
Shortly
after midday we were treated to a display by the crew of the New
Brighton Lifeboat a ‘B’ Class Atlantic Inshore, speed 35 knots and crew
of 4, under the command of Mike Jones who, after several high speed
passes, demonstrated picking up men from the water. There’s no doubt
that this exercise contributed to the RNLI donations of £920. We all
enjoyed the packed lunches provided by Jan Zacharias Catering. A great
day was had by all."
"The
ferry’s regular master must have viewed the trip with trepidation as
his passengers included 120 old Conways , 70 or so Captains and two
experienced Mersey pilots! Has a vessel with so many qualifications
aboard ever put to sea? The trip were treated to a rescue display by
the New Brighton RNLI and a collection raised £920 for the lifeboat’s
funds, demonstrating that old Conways know how to hedge their bets."
Click links below to see images:
Email your comments.
Peter
Bobbin (50-51): "The trip on the Mersey began with the moving
dedication in the Sloyne, the wreath and the Sea Cadets playing the
Last post. Down river, the interesting and amusing RNLI display while
all the time, at a carefully measured pace, the most excellent
commentary of the history of the Conway whilst stationed on the river,
given by two old Conways who are very familiar with the Mersey."
Dick
Chown (32-34) (the senior hand): "Perhaps the most poignant moment for
me was the laying of the wreath on the Sloyne at the exact spot where
"our Old Wooden Mother" was moored and where I spent two wonderful
years.
Bob Gordon (59-62): "The trip on the river was excellent with Jeff Topp giving a very moving and emotional talk over the public address system."
Peter
Syddall (59-62): "On Sunday my highlight was the trip on the Mersey
Ferry and wreath laying at the spot where Conway was moored for most of
her history. A trip very much enhanced by Geoff Topp’s commentary,
which I thought was incredibly interesting and sometimes moving.
Clearly a lot of research had gone into taking us back to the period
when the ship was in the Mersey. I would imagine that those of us who
came later – post 1941 – found the trip just as memorable as those who
had served on the Mersey."
Geoff
Topp (58-60): "The River Mersey looked fabulous for the ferry trip and
it was a somewhat poignant moment when the wreath was cast adrift in
the Sloyne and the last post sounded across the water"
