Princess Elizabeth, named at the birth of the future Queen of England, was built in 1926 to carry passengers between Southampton and the neighbouring islands.
At 59 metres long and 14 metres wide she could carry 600 passengers as well as ten vehicles on the reinforced foredeck.
When the Second World War broke out, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and transformed into a minesweeper before taking part in Operation Dynamo. She made four journeys taking off 1,673 men. For this work she received the Dunkirk 1940 medal.
Once hostilities were over, the ship, now equipped with a diesel engine, returned to transporting goods round England's south coast until the middle of the 1960s. After being converted into a floating casino, then a London restaurant and then finally used as an exhibition area on the Seine in Paris, Dunkirk welcomed her into the port in 1999. Now she is moored near the historic port and town centre and participates in the life of the town by hosting conferences and receptions.
Princess Elisabeth being towed to Dunkirk
Photo: Port Museum Collection