The amazing Thames flotilla to mark Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Batsy

Details have emerged about the giant flotilla which will sail down the Thames next year to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

On 3rd June 2012 the largest flotilla to sail down that river for 350 years will be the pinnacle of four days of national celebrations to mark 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II being on the Throne.

Several families of vessels will sail down the Thames, each being separated by an exquisite Herald Barge.

The first will be a Belfry, built on a traditional Thames barge, but another six are likely to be converted passenger boats. Names under consideration include the Connaught, built in Oxford in 1911 and considered the finest Edwardian pleasure boat still afloat on the Thames.

The Belfry may contain several large bells forged at the famous Whitechapel, east London foundry where Big Ben was forged.

Others Herald Barges in the running are understood to be the passenger boats Sapele and Sarpedon, and the MV Edwardian built in 1985 for Richard Branson.

They will be designated the Water and Whistles Barge (intended to look like a geyser, in honour of the old Thames fireboats); a Brass Band Herald Barge (possibly the brass section of the London Symphony Orchestra); a Bateria Herald Barge (maybe full of drummers with a South American/Samba feel); and finally a Pyrotechnics Herald Barge with a climactic fireworks display.

The flotilla, expected to close the river between 11am and 6pm, will begin at Putney with Her Majesty at its helm. The Royal Barge will be followed by VIP guests, possibly including younger members of the Royal Family.

The PS Elizabethan, a replica of an 1890s Mississippi stern-wheeled paddle steamer, is being considered for the job. The Queen will sail to Tower Bridge where she will disembark to watch the pageant. It will end in Greenwich, a course of around 12 miles.

The flotilla will be seven miles long and take 90 minutes to pass a fixed point.

Now that's a REAL armada, Ma'am! Craft by craft, the amazing Thames flotilla that will mark Queen's Diamond Jubilee

By Sarah Oliver
29th October 2011
The Mail on Sunday

It will be the high water mark in a reign that has witnessed the ebb and flow of the tides of 60 years: a magnificent flotilla of boats rowing, steaming and motoring down the Thames with the Queen aboard a new Royal Barge at its head.

Today, The Mail on Sunday can reveal the ‘Order of Battle’ for next summer’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on Sunday, June 3, the pinnacle of four days of national celebration marking the Queen’s accession.

It is to be the greatest gathering on the river since the time of Charles II three-and-a-half centuries ago, stretching seven miles and taking 90 minutes to pass a fixed point.



The Mail on Sunday has spoken to dozens of those involved to build the clearest picture yet of its true scale in terms of the size and variety of craft – seen here on our illustration – volunteering to form an English armada behind their Monarch and sail into river history.

For this is the ‘people’s pageant’, with almost every craft – other than the Royal Barge and security vessels – having applied to take part through a unique public ballot that closes tomorrow night. Organisers, the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, have until the end of the year to make their final selection.

The result will be a very non-Royal navy. It will include craft that have played a role in national life, such as Churchill’s funeral boat, the Havengore, and Dunkirk Little Ships.

Plying the waters of the Thames alongside them will also be around 40 narrow boats and 20 of the Dutch barges favoured by river dwellers, more than 100 private motor boats, between 30 and 40 tugs and barges and around 250 rowing boats, including classic Thames cutters.

At the rear will be a fleet of party boats. It is thought that every Class V passenger cruiser currently licensed on the Thames will participate, playing music from the decades of the Queen’s reign and carrying people dressed in fashions from the eras.

The pageant will be led by the Queen on board the Royal Barge. Britain does not have a permanent Royal Barge and no vessel has yet been selected for the starring role (above is an artist’s impression of how it may look). Her Majesty and the Royal Household traditionally use the Port of London Authority’s 12-seater motor launch, the Royal Nore, when they travel by river and it was she who carried the Monarch for her Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977. However, the launch has been discounted as a craft is required that will ensure the vast crowds can see the Queen while preserving her safety. The Royal Barge will fly the Royal Standard and bear the Queen’s Bargemaster and eight of her Royal Watermen in full ceremonial regalia.


THE LITTLE HEROES OF DUNKIRK: No national pageant would be complete without the Dunkirk Little Ships that rescued members of the British Expeditionary Force from France in a defining moment of the Second World War. More than 700 private boats sailed from Ramsgate to Dunkirk between May 26 and June 4, 1940, to rescue over 338,000 trapped Allied soldiers. So far, 42 surviving ships have volunteered to take part, including Wanda, Tom Tit and Lady Gay


A MEMORY OF CHURCHILL: Behind the Cutters, and ahead of boats representing all members of the Commonwealth, will be the Havengore. She was commissioned as a hydrographic survey vessel by the Port of London Authority and launched in 1956 but is better known for her service to the nation. She bore the coffin of Sir Winston Churchill from Tower Pier down to Festival Hall Pier for his State Funeral in 1965, and has been used on Armistice Day by the Goldfish Club, the band of RAF men plucked from the Channel after being shot down during the war.


The pageant will be led by the Queen on board the Royal Barge. Britain does not have a permanent Royal Barge and no vessel has yet been selected for the starring role (above is an artist’s impression of how it may look). Her Majesty and the Royal Household traditionally use the Port of London Authority’s 12-seater motor launch, the Royal Nore, when they travel by river and it was she who carried the Monarch for her Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977. However, the launch has been discounted as a craft is required that will ensure the vast crowds can see the Queen while preserving her safety. The Royal Barge will fly the Royal Standard and bear the Queen’s Bargemaster and eight of her Royal Watermen in full ceremonial regalia.

A collection of large vessels too big to sail under the bridges – including square riggers, oyster smacks and naval vessels – will be moored on the riverbank as a spectacular Avenue Of Sail. Up to 20,000 crew and passengers will be on the water with up to a million watching from the banks and bridges.

Each family of vessels will be separated by a Herald Barge. The first will be a Belfry, built on a traditional Thames barge, but another six are likely to be converted passenger boats. Names under consideration include the Connaught, built in Oxford in 1911 and considered the finest Edwardian pleasure boat still afloat on the Thames.

THE BARGE STARS

Along with the Royal Barge, these will be the centrepieces, providing the music, entertainment and fireworks.

Despite the billing, only one is expected to be a traditional Thames Barge, the Belfry Herald Barge, which heads the entire procession, sailing ahead of Her Majesty’s craft.

The 82ft Olympic Class barge the Ursula Katherine is slated for the job. She will carry eight new bells, commissioned by the City church of St James Garlickhythe, which will peal out across the water, their ringing echoed by riverbank churches along the route.

The other Herald Barges are believed to be Class V passenger craft (licensed for work on the tidal waters of the Thames). Once stripped of their internal furniture and clad in matching regal colours, they will punctuate the flotilla, dividing one squadron of boats from the next.


She has been used by stars such as Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Seymour for private parties, and may be the Drums and Pipes Herald Barge.

Others in the running are understood to be the passenger boats Sapele and Sarpedon, and the MV Edwardian built in 1985 for Richard Branson.

They will be designated the Water and Whistles Barge (intended to look like a geyser, in honour of the old Thames fireboats); a Brass Band Herald Barge (possibly the brass section of the London Symphony Orchestra); a Bateria Herald Barge (maybe full of drummers with a South American/Samba feel); and finally a Pyrotechnics Herald Barge with a climactic fireworks display.

A SPLASH OF HISTORY

Next to the Little Ships will be the Historic Squadron.

Its composition will not be known until the last minute because some of the vessels that have volunteered may not be robust enough to take part. Other historic ships will be represented by a replica, such as John Cabot’s The Matthew.Too tall to sail under the bridges, she is expected to be moored as part of an Avenue Of Sail.

Others being considered include the Portwey, built on the Clyde in 1927 and the only twin-screw, coal-fired steam tug known to be operating in the northern hemisphere, and the 1924 paddle-steamer Kingswear Castle, built as a pleasure boat on the River Dart and still in service on the Medway and Thames.

The flotilla, expected to close the river between 11am and 6pm, will begin at Putney with Her Majesty at its helm. The Royal Barge will be followed by VIP guests, possibly including younger members of the Royal Family.

The PS Elizabethan, a replica of an 1890s Mississippi stern-wheeled paddle steamer, is being considered for the job. The Queen will sail to Tower Bridge where she will disembark to watch the pageant. It will end in Greenwich, a course of around 12 miles.





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Chris Livett, one of the Queen’s Watermen – a title held by just 24 people at any one time – sits on the Pageant’s Executive Group.

He said: ‘There are going to be a lot of boats, colour and noise, not only on the river but on its bridges and waterfront buildings. It will be the event of 2012. The whole world will be watching.’

The pageant is a recreation of one of London’s most ancient traditions.

The first recorded was a Lord Mayor’s Show in 1453, and the last featured 140 vessels to mark the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.

Her Diamond Jubilee pageant with its glorious vessels, sailed by the people for their Queen, will be an epic depiction of river life and will doubtless capture the same mood of pride and affection that greeted the Royal Wedding.

The Thames has been described as liquid history – and with this wondrous flotilla it is set to make a little more.

Read more: Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Craft by craft, the amazing Thames flotilla that will mark occasion | Mail Online

ItsAWindUp

Waste of f ucking money

AlekSmart

ItsAWindUp wrote: »

Waste of f ucking money

Perhaps,but it's theirs to waste.

The Brits are a canny enough bunch when it comes to Monarchical Pagentry.

They recognise that in Londom terms alone it provides a huge base upon which London plc trades from,and that trade spreads out like a spiderweb to enable many thousands of individuals to earn a living from.

The great unwashed,ie us,just adore the bit of oul pagentry,even though we'll deny it totally as gaelige....those Royal Weddins and associated other Imperialistic Pomp n Circumstance rituals just have the tellies glowin from the heat.

If they get the weather,and this being London in June,they most likely will I'd suggest this event will pack em in with all the attendant benefits for Aer Arann,Aer Lingus,Ryanair and the Ferries.

Go for it Lizzie sez I......Recession my ass

massive c&p and i dont see how it's relevant to anything