The 'Canterbury' leaving Folkestone.
The ‘Canterbury’ was ordered by the
Southern Railway
from Denny Bros early in 1928. She was to be the first
class ferry link in the new ‘Golden
Arrow’ / ‘Flèche d’Or’ luxury train service between
London and Paris.
Her tall funnel and lofty masts gave
her a well-balanced profile, and she created much interest
following her introduction on the new service between
Dover and Calais on 15 May 1929. Although she was certified
to carry up to 1,700 passengers she initially carried
only 300 first class passengers. The accommodation was
more luxurious than anything seen before on the Channel,
and included two suites and 18 private cabins, a restaurant
seating about 100 and a palm court.
At first she suffered a number of mechanical
problems and underwent an extensive refit during the
winter of 1931/32. These were the days of the Depression
and first class only service was no longer viable, so
during this refit she was also given second class accommodation.
In 1935 she was present at King George V’s Jubilee Naval
Review at Spithead.
After the outbreak of World
War 2 she served as a transport for troops and refugees
on a number of routes, and later made five trips to
Dunkirk between
25 May and 4 June 1940. After this she served a short
term as a Fleet Air Arm target ship before being converted
to a troop landing ship. She took part in the D-Day
landings and ran as a leave ship between Calais and
the Kent ports before being released back to commercial
service.
After a refit she returned to the ‘Golden
Arrow’ service on 15 April 1946, being replaced
six months later by a new ship the ‘Invicta’. The ‘Canterbury’
switched to the Folkestone-Calais run, returning to
her old service for a six month spell from January 1947.
In summer 1948 she moved to a seasonal Folkestone-Boulogne
service where she remained for the next 16 years.
The ‘Canterbury’ was withdrawn and
laid up at Dover after her final crossing on 27 September
1964. On the 30 July 1965 this popular ship left the
port she knew so well in tow of a Belgian tug, bound
for Antwerp and the shipbreakers.
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