St. Patrick: This vessel was built in 1947 by Cammell Laird and Co., Ltd., Birkenhead, as a replacement for a steamer of the same name which was lost during the Second World War. She had a gross tonnage of 3,482; was 321 ft. in length; 48 ft. in breadth; with twin screws driven by steam turbines and carried 1,300 passengers. Her speed was 20 knots.
Originally intended for the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbour Company (a joint enterprise of the Great Western Railway and the Irish Great Southern Railway) the St. Patrick was employed as a summer relief by British Railways on their Weymouth—Channel Islands service between 1948 and 1959.
Her red funnel and her naval-type syren, which was invariably used in preference to her organ pipe whistle, made her easily distinguishable from all other mail ships on the Channel Islands route.
On December 17, 1959, she was transferred to the British Transport Commission and became a permanent member of the Weymouth fleet; she was subsequently given an extensive refit.
In 1961 and 1962 she was employed on week-end and excursion duties and in 1963 she operated the Jersey—St. Malo route. In the following year the St. Patrick operated on the Southampton to St. Malo route, but still visited the island occasionally on day-trips. However, in December she was transferred to the Dover station to work on the short sea route to France. Withdrawn from service in 1971, she was sold to Greek buyers for service in the Mediterranean. SG82
The Southern Railway, with its long-established association with the shipbuilding firm of William Denny and Bros Ltd., of Dumbarton, not surprisingly commissioned this company to build two new vessels for its Southhampton-Channel Islands route. The Isle of Guernsey was commissioned in 1930 and enjoyed great popularity in the islands. Of 2,143 gross tons; 862 net; her length was 296 ft. 5 in.; beam 42 ft. 1 in.; depth 14 ft. 2 in.; and she could carry 800 first-class and 600 second-class passengers. Her speed was 19′/2 knots and she was driven by four steam turbines, single reduction geared to two screw shafts. She was notable as one of the first ships to be fitted with echo-sounding apparatus.
The Isle of Guernsey travelled regularly across the Channel until the outbreak of war in September 1939, when she was converted into a hospital ship. Serving at the evacuation of Dunkirk, she was attacked by German aircraft and damaged by shrapnel, shells and bullets but successfully avoided the bombs which were aimed at her.
Later in the war she was engaged in Scottish waters and elsewhere. In 1944, the Isle of Guernsey was fitted up as a landing ship, infantry, and used in the D-day operations. She carried Canadians to France on D-day and immediately afterwards returned to England to transport troops for service in France.
In January 1945, the first civilian cross-Channel service was restored from Newhaven to Dieppe, this being the only port available in France, and the Isle of Guernsey was employed on that route for a short time. On June 25, 1945, she became the first steamer to resume the service between Southampton and the Channel Islands. She continued so to operate until May 12, 1961, when she was the last Southampton mail steamer to leave Guernsey. Retained as a Channel Islands relief vessel for a short period, the Isle of Guernsey was sold to the Belgian ship-breakers Van Heyghen Freres, in November 1961. SG81
In March 1924, the Great Western Railway placed an order with John Brown and Co. Ltd., Clydebank, for a pair of vessels of greater tonnage, to combat falling traffic on its Weymouth—Channel Islands service, due in part to out-dated steamers (the latest had been built in 1897).
On May 4, 1925, the first of these, the St. Julien, arrived at Weymouth. She was a twin-screw streamer of 1,885 gross tons, 780 net, with two funnels, her length being 282 ft. 2 in.; beam 40 ft.; depth 16 ft. 3 in.; and draft 13 ft. 33/4 in. Four steam turbines, single reduction geared to two screw shafts gave the ship a speed of 18 knots, An oil burner, she had a passenger capacity of 1,000.
Named after a saint with supposedly Guernsey connections, her second funnel was a dummy and was removed shortly after her entry into service to assist manoeuvring in a high wind. After many years regular service with her sister ship St. Helier, the vessel was withdrawn when the Weymouth—Channel Islands service was suspended upon the outbreak of war in September 1939, leaving only the Southampton route serving the islands.
The St. Julien was first used as a troopship between England and France. She then figured in the Dunkirk withdrawal, having been converted to a hospital ship and performed a similar role in Northern waters until 1943 and subsequently for some 10 months in the Mediterranean Sea. Finally she took part in the Normandy invasion.
When the war was over, the St. Julien returned to the Weymouth —Channel Islands service. With the advent of nationalisation of the railways in 1948, she came within the jurisdiction of the Southern Region, which made for better organisation and, co-ordination of the services. Her last sailing was on September 27, 1960; in the following year she was broken up in Belgium. SG80
U.S.S. Constellation by de Simone appears on the lr. stamp. She was built by Samuel and Joseph Sterrett, at Baltimore, Maryland, and was the first of the 36-gun frigates, being launched on September 7, 1797. David Stodder was the naval constructor in charge of her building. In 1805-12 she was rebuilt and was widened 14 ins. Again rebuilt in 1854, she was lengthened and cut down one deck, each time her lines being altered to some extent. As first built her gun deck was 163 ft. 7 in.; moulded beam 40 ft. and depth of hold 13 ft. 6 in. and she was a sister-ship to the Congress. Built as 36’s, they were raised to 38’s, as they were sufficiently large to carry the increased battery. The Constellation had a distinguished career. On February 9; 1799 she fought and captured the 40-gun frigate L `Insurgente and captured two French privateers. On February 1, 1800, she fought the 52-gun frigate Vengeance, which struck but later escaped in darkness. She recaptured three American merchantmen in May 1800 and was active in the Mediterra¬nean from 1802-1805, blockading, bombarding hostile ports and protecting American shipping. She was blockaded in Hampton Roads during much of the 1812 war. Again in the Mediterranean from 1815-17, she captured the Algerian frigate Mashuda. Until 1865 she was consistently at sea, principally protecting American shipping and putting down the slave trade. She was recommissioned in 1840, and at present is a public memorial at Baltimore.
The U.S.S. Mississippi is featured on the 60d. stamp, which shows the steam frigate in a typhoon, 1854, from a lithograph by Currier and Ives, after a drawing by Brown Jr. She was one of the two steam frigates John Ericsson succeeded in having built with screw propulsion, telescopic funnels and fans for forced draught fire. Launched at the Federal Navy Yard, Philadelphia in 1841. A three-masted, sidewheel, barque rigged steamship, her dimensions were 229 x 40 x 19 ft. Displacement at mean draft was 3,824 tons and load draft 194 ft. She had 2 ten-inch and 8 eight-inch shell guns. Two side-lever engines with cylinders 75 ins in diameter and 7 ft. stroke.
“The Capture of Porte Belle”, 1739, by G. Chambers, is the painting on the 50d. stamp. Morgan the buccaneer took this South American port in 1668, but the scene on the stamp is its capture by the British under Admiral Vernon, from the Spaniards on November 21, 1739. Porto Belle was originally discovered by Columbus on November 2, 1502. The action took place during the “War of Jenkins’ Ear,” which broke out in 1739. The British were allowed under the Treaty of Utrecht, to import annually a certain number of negro slaves into America and to trade to a limited extent with the Spanish Main. This led to smuggling, friction and squabbles with the Spanish Guarda Costas and merchant sailors often received rough handling. In one of these affairs a man named Jenkins was said to have had his ear cut off by the Spaniards. Public indignation was aroused in London and war with Spain was demanded. Walpole, Prime Minister, resisted the demands as long as he could but eventually declared war. Edward Vernon was sent to destroy shipping in the West Indies, was promoted to Vice-Admiral, in command of six ships, which he said were enough for the purpose, and proved correct.
A painting by Coates, in 1811, featuring the United States engaging the British Macedonian is shown on the 30d. stamp. Actually this event was the chief claim to fame of the American ship, which captured the British warship on October 25, 1812, in the Atlantic. The United States was also built to the plans of Josiah Fox, under the direction of Joshua Humphreys, a Quaker of Welsh descent. She was the first frigate of the class to go down the ways and was built by Humphreys himself at Philadelphia and launched on May 10, 1797 (U.S. State Papers). She was reported to be the heaviest built of the three 44-gun ships of the class, as well as the slowest, earning the nickname “Old Wagon”. She lasted, with the aid of numerous rebuilding until the Civil War, and was one of the ships sunk when the Federals abandoned the Norfolk Navy Yard, on April 20, 1861. Later she was raised and used as a receiving ship until 1866, when she was finally broken up. The three frigates of the class, United States, Constitution and President, were the largest frigates the world had hitherto seen and perhaps the finest ever to be built. From figurehead to stern they measured 204 ft., the keel was 146.4 ft and at their widest they were 44.3 ft.
Officially they were called 44-gun frigates, but their real armament was 30 long 24-pdrs. on the gun deck and 20 to 22 12-pdrs. on the forecastle and half-decks plus another two long 24-pdrs, on the forecastle. This was the “establishment”, but it varied from year to year. These American frigates were 20 ft. longer and 3 ft. broader than the most modern English 44-gun frigates. H.M.S. Macedonian was a 5th Rate. 38 guns, 1,082 tons b.m. completed at Woolwich Dockyard on June 2, 1810. Her length was 154 ft. and beam 39ft.
The Constitution blowing up the Java, in 1812, from the painting by Pocock, 25d. stamp, is new to collectors. The Constitution was built at Boston, Mass., under the supervision of George Cleghorn, to the plans of Josiah Fox. The ship was built in the yard of Edmund, Joseph and Edward Hartt, who probably acted as foremen in the construction of the frigate. She was launched on October 21, 1797, after two unsuccessful attempts, and carried 32:pdr. carronades in place of the normal 42-pdrs of ships of her class.
The Java, was a 5th Rate of 38 guns, 1,083 tons, builder’s measurement, and was originally a French ship, the Renomee, captured by a British squadron on June 20, 1811, off Madagascar. She was captured on December 9, 1812, by the American Constitution off San Salvador and burnt on the next day.
To commemorate this victory the Americans had a frigate which they named Java built at Baltimore in 1814 by Flannigan and Parsons. She was broken up in 1842 at Norfolk, Virginia.
The Serapis and the Bonhomme Richard, by Paton, 1779, are seen on the 20d. This battle has previously appeared on a United States stamp.
The Erie, from a painting by Camilliere, is shown on the lowest value of this series, 15d. A ship-sloop, of 18 guns, she was built by Thomas Kemp at Baltimore in 1813, but was rebuilt and lengthened in 1820, and pierced for 22 guns, excluding bridle-ports. She carried 20 carronades, 32-pdrs, and two long 18’s. She had the reputation of being a fast sailer but apparently did not steer too well. Her dimensions were: length 117 ft. 11 in., keel 97 ft. 6 in., moulded beam 31ft. 6 in., depth in hold 14 ft. 6 in. She was broken up at Boston in 1841.
