Of the four paddle-steamer duchesses built for the Caledonian Steam Packet Company between 1890 and 1903, Duchess of Hamilton, 1890, product of Denny Brothers, Dumbarton, was said by many to be the most successful steamer ever built on the Clyde, sailing on the prestigious Arran service from Ardrossan. She was slightly larger than the Duchess of Rothesay, built at Clydebank in 1895 and successor to the famous teetotal Ivanhoe on the Gourock-Arran service. In the new century, the paddle steamer, Duchess of Montrose, was built by John Brown’s in 1902, and her younger quasi-sister, Duchess of Fife, was built at Fairfield in 1903. Both were designed mainly for more mundane ferry duties, but the Fife turned out to exceed all expectations with her speed and comfort.

War brought adventures for all four of the duchesses. The Admiralty commandeered all four of the vessels, Duchesses of Hamilton, Rothesay, Fife, and Montrose. As minesweepers, they destroyed many mines but sadly, Duchess of Hamilton and Duchess of Montrose were sunk. In addition to minesweeping, Duchess of Rothesay towed a Zeppelin to an East Coast port.

Duchess of Fife was first to return to service after the war. The Duchess of Rothesay also returned home unscathed. Then ill-luck befell her. A sea-cock in her was inadvertently left open. She sank at her berth in the river and she lay for several weeks with only the top of her funnel showing. Fortunately, she was raised, overhauled, and restored to her former beauty. The two steamers became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company when the south-side companies were amalgamated on January 1, 1923.

Duchess of Rothesay at Berth C, Rothesay in July 1928

Duchess of Rothesay around 1930 (Adamson)

Duchess of Fife around 1930 (Adamson)

Duchess of Fife leaving Rothesay with Columba at the pier (Adamson)

Duchess of Rothesay on the Holy Loch run around 1930 (Tuck)

The Caledonian Duchesses were not sister ships by any reasonable definition. After additional lifeboats were added in 1913, the Duchess of Rothesay, with her additional lifeboat to starboard could easily be distinguished, even at a distance, from Duchess of Fife with her additional lifeboat to port. They remained under the control of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co., allowing them to sail to any corner of the Firth. The first two years under L.M.S. control, they endured a black top and red band on their Caledonian funnel, and their time in that livery is addressed in another article.

This essay is mainly a pictorial record of the steamers in the years after 1924 until World War II, with a few added notes from contemporary newspapers. The advent of the new Glen Sannox in 1925 displaced the Duchess of Rothesay from the Arran by way of the Kyles cruise and both Duchess of Rothesay and Duchess of Fife were relegated to maintain the Rothesay and Kyles service from Gourock and Wemyss Bay. This they did with remarkable efficiency and few interruptions for many years.

Duchess of Fife in Rothesay Bay (Adamson)

Duchess of Fife at Rothesay with Marchioness of Breadalbane

Duchess of Fife at Auchenlochan on the Kyles service

Duchess of Rothesay on the Kyles service around 1930 approaching Tighnabruaich (Spencer)

Duchess of Rothesay in the Kyles (Spencer)

Maw, paw and the weans at Tighnabruaich with Duchess of Rothesay as a backdrop

“The Clyde passenger steamer Duchess of Rothesay, which went aground in thick at Craigmore, was refloated on the incoming tide yesterday.”—28 March 1929

Duchess of Fife at Gourock

Duchess of Fife approaching Craigmore on July 19, 1930

Duchess of Fife at Kilmun

Duchess of Fife at Wemyss Bay 

Duchess of Fife off Gourock (Robertson)

“Man overboard at Rothesay.—Rothesay reports yesterday’s storm as the worst this winter. Steamers arrived an hour late. The passage to Wemyss Bay was very bad. While the Duchess of Fife was taking the pier, a wave washed a deck-hand of a wing of the boat. The next wave carried him up against the steamer. Another deck-hand pulled him on board. Some fishing boats braved the gale and made for the sheltered fishings at West Kyles, others remained in harbour.”—Scotsman, December 4, 1931

“Steamer Marmion disabled.—Shortly after the L.N.E.R.steamer Marmion left Rothesay on the up run yesterday afternoon the steering gear broke down, and she was unable to take Craigmore Pier. The L.M.S. steamer Duchess of Fife, which left shortly afterwards, came alongside and took off the passengers. The weather was calm, and there was no excitement. In about an hour the Marmion was able to carry on.”—January 1, 1932

Duchess of Rothesay off Greenock in 1935 (Feilden)

Duchess of Rothesay at Princes Pier in 1936 (Valentine)

Duchess of Rothesay on September 6, 1936

“Passenger steamer breaks down, unable to make run to Kyles of Bute.—Shortly after the L.M.S. steamer Duchess of Rothesay left Greenock yesterday morning on the run to Dunoon, Rothesay, and the Kyles of Bute she broke down and had to abandon the sailing, which was taken by the Duchess of Fife. The mishap was to the vessel’s steering gear. The steamer Eagle III offered assistance, but this was not required, a jury steering gear had been rigged, and the Duchess was able to reach Gourock Pier. There were several hundred passengers on board, many of them on their way to Rothesay to view the British-American Cup yacht race.”—July 11, 1936

Duchess of Rothesay in Rothesay Bay in 1937 (Salmon)

Duchess of Rothesay at Kirn in 1937 (Salmon)

Captain Duncan M‘Dougall, a Dunoon man, was in command of Duchess of Rothesay in the mid-1930s when she sailed between Gourock and Wemyss Bay and Rothesay and the Isle of Bute.

Duchess of Fife aground at Kirn in 1936 (Dunoon Observer)

“Vessel ashore 200 yards from pier—passengers disembark in lifeboats.—The accident occurred at Kirn. In an almost impenetrable mist the L.M.S. steamer Duchess of Fife, while on her morning run fro Rothesay to Gourock, went ashore about 200 yards south of Kirn Pier. She was slowly finding her way to the pier when, in order to avoid collision with an L.N.E.R. steamer which had berthed at the pier in front of her, her engines were reversed and she grounded on the rocks. It was found impossible to refloat the vessel under her own power, and passengers were disembarked in the vessel’s lifeboats, being afterwards conveyed from Kirn on a relief steamer which had been sent from Gourock. With a receding tide the steamer lay aground all day.

“On ledge of rock.—“This morning’s fog,” said Captain Ramsay in an interview, “as just about as thick as an August mist as I have ever seen on the river. “When I left Rothesay with about 50 passengers I knew that the outlook was uncertain on the Clyde and took the usual precautions. After passing Innellan I slewed towards Dunoon Pier with the intention of taking the direction from that pier to Kirn. I had Kirn Pier in mind in my calculations, but just at that moment I was given instructions to reverse. I did do and then stopped the engines. As soon as that happened I felt the ship lift and drift and ground on a ledge of rock. The fog was so thick that I could not see one foot in advance of the men whom I had posted on the look-out on the bows of the boat.”

“The Duchess of Fife was towed off the beach at high water at 7:30 p.m. by the Clyde Shipping Company’s tugs Flying Eagle and Flying Foam. Under her own steam the vessel then proceeded to Messrs James Lamont and Co.’s ship repair yard at Port Glasgow for survey.”—Glasgow Herald, August 28, 1936.

Ashore at Kirn in 1936 (newspaper clipping)

“Mishap to two Clyde steamers.—A slight collision between the L.M.S. paddle steamer Duchess of Rothesay and a small Clyde cargo steamer, the Ardyne, occurred off Innellan pier yesterday morning. Neither vessel was badly damaged, but the Duchess of Rothesay was taken off the service and sent to dock for hull repairs when she arrived at Gourock on the completion of her run. The Ardyne, which was bound for Rothesay, was also able to continue on her journey.”—Scotsman, January 21,1937

Duchess of Rothesay in Rothesay Bay (Adamson)

Duchess of Fife in Rothesay Bay (Adamson)

Duchess of Rothesay off Gourock in the 1930s (Robertson)

The magnificent Duchess of Rothesay off Gourock in the 1930s (Robertson)

Duchess of Fife at Gourock with the new Jupiter in 1937 (Robertson)

Duchess of Fife off Gourock (Robertson)

At the end of the 1930s, Duchess of Fife began an association with the Largs and Millport service from Wemyss Bay.

Duchess of Fife on the Millport berth at Wemyss Bay in 1939 (Valentine)

“On Duty as Men-o’-War—Camouflaged, and with guns mounted on the decks where excursionists used to promenade, well-known Clyde paddle steamers, on duty as men-o’-war, have given a good account of themselves. Since the beginning of the war the craft have been missing from their familiar haunts, for they joined the Royal Navy in September 1939.

“A number of the “paddlers” have new names—and some will never return to their former role. H.M.S. Mercury was sunk while minesweeping off the Irish coast on Christmas Day, 1940; the Juno, renamed Helvellyn for her war-time job was sunk in the Thames during the London “blitz”; H.M.S. Marmion went down off Harwich; H.M.S. Kylemore veteran of the group, is no more, and H.M.S. Waverley came to a heroic end while playing her part in the evacuation from Dunkirk. The Duchess of Rothesay, Eagle III (renamed Oriole), and Duchess of Fife survived to share the glory of that occasion.

“In the early days of the war some of the “paddlers” were converted into minesweepers, and others into coastal defence auxiliaries, and the fighting tradition which they built up in the battle against enemy aircraft attacking these shores or in destroying mines laid on the convoy routes is to-day upheld by the Queen Empress, Oriole, Caledonia (renamed Goatfell), Jupiter (renamed Scawfell) Duchess of Fife, Jeannie Deans, and Duchess of Rothesay.

“The family of “paddlers” is now widespread, but some of them have managed to stick together in groups of two and three. One of the happiest combinations in the Navy was in the early days of the war when Jeannie Deans, Scawfell, Caledonia, Juno, and Mercury swept the Clyde together under the command of Captain FitzRoy, R.N.

“All the chief engineers, who hold a rank of Lieutenant, Royal Naval Reserve, were taken over with their ships. In nearly every case the chief engineer is the oldest man aboard, and veteran of the group is Lieutenant C. B. Howe, R.N. chief engineer of the Goatfell. He has been in Clyde “paddlers” for 21 years, and in the Goatfell in peace and war for eight years.”—Scotsman, July 20, 1943

“Return of the L.M.S. Clyde River fleet.—With the return of most of the steamers which were on war service, the yellow black-topped funnels of the L.M.S. fleet will be greatly in evidence in the Firth Clyde this year, and popular services which disappeared on the outbreak of war will be restored at the beginning of June. The Clyde River steamers have always had warm corner in the hearts of Glasgow and West of Scotland people and readers will interested to know what their old favourites are doing this year. The Queen Mary II. and the King Edward will provide the resumed sailings from the Bridge Wharf—at 10.0 a.m. (11.0 a.m. Sundays) Dunoon, Rothesay, Largs, Millport and the Arran Coast, and at 11.0 a.m. (weekdays) to the Kyles of Bute. The new services to Lochranza and Campbeltown on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and to Inveraray on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will be provided by the Duchess of Hamilton. The Duchess of Montrose will on the Gourock, Dunoon, and Arran run and the Duchess of Argyll will sail from Gourock to the Kyles of Bute. The regular services between Gourock, Dunoon. Wemyss Bay and Rothesay will be undertaken by the Caledonia and the Jupiter and the Duchess of Fife will cover the Holy Loch run. The Marchioness of Graham will be on the Wemyss Bay, Largs and Millport service. The Wee Cumbrae will give local sailings between Largs and Millport, while the Ardrossan and Arran service will be covered by the Glen Sannox.

“A new feature is being introduced at Gourock this season. The motor vessels Ashton and Leven which were used before the war on the short river trips from Bridge Wharf will provide daily, including Sundays, an hourly service from Gourock to Dunoon, 11.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.—7.30 on Saturdays. From Dunoon to Gourock there will be an hourly service from 12.30 p.m. until 7.30 p.m.—8.30 on Saturday.—May 31, 1946

Duchess of Rothesay survived the second conflict but was not considered worth returning to commercial service and was sent for scrap in the Netherlands in 1946.

“L.M.S. plans for 1946 include the refitting of three of the eleven Clyde steamers which have been on active service—the Caledonia, Jupiter, and the Duchess of Fife. Six others are waiting for refitting and two are still on Government service. Plans are being made to replace the seven L.M.S. ships lost during the war. A new vessel for the L.M.S. Stranraer-Larne service is already under construction.”—Scotsman, February 11, 1946.

Duchess of Fife returned to the Wemyss Bay to Largs, Millport, and Kilchattan Bay after the second world war and was popular with the post-war holidaymakers. Like the rest of the fleet she came under the auspices of British Railways after nationalization and had a wheelhouse fitted for the 1948 season.

Duchess of Fife around 1946 (Ralston)

Duchess of Fife off Largs on the Millport service

Duchess of Fife at Wemyss Bay around 1950 with winter boarding

A Walter Kerr photograph of Duchess of Fife approaching Millport around 1950 (Kerr)

Duchess of Fife approaching Millport in 1952 (Valentine)

Ronald McKim’s poignant photograph of Duchess of Fife leaving Millport for the last time (McKim)

“Clyde Steamer’s breakdown.—Close on 100 passengers were delayed for a time at Gourock Pier last night when the British Railways’ paddle steamer Waverley broke down on her five o’clock run from Gourock to Kirn and Dunoon. The paddle steamer Duchess of Fife went alongside, took off the passengers, and returned them back to Gourock Pier. Later, the Duchess of Fife carried out the 6.10 run which the Waverley should have normally sailed to Dunoon and Rothesay, and took the five o’clock passengers with her to Dunoon. A tug towed the Waverley into Gourock Pier. By this time, repair work to the damaged paddle was being carried put by the ship’s engineers. This work was finished last night, and the Waverley will be ready for service again this morning.”—Scotsman, March 15, 1950.

Duchess of Fife was laid up in June 1953 with the advent of the mew Maid motor vessels, and was broken up later in the year.