SS Prague (1929)
.jpg) Photo from 28 May 1930
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | TSS Prague |
| Operator | London and North Eastern Railway |
| Port of registry |  |
| Builder | John Brown, Clydebank |
| Yard number | 528 |
| Launched | 18 November 1929 |
| Out of service | 1948 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 4,220 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 350 feet (110 m) |
| Beam | 50 feet (15 m) |
TSS Prague was a passenger and freight vessel built for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1929.[1] The first group of Kindertransport refugees to arrive in the UK did so aboard the Prague, in December 1938.
History
The ship was built by John Brown on Clydebank. She was one of an order for three ships, the others being Vienna and Amsterdam. She was launched on 18 November 1929. She arrived in Harwich Parkeston Quay on 22 February 1930.[2]
In June 1932 she collided with a Belgian fishing smack in dense fog which resulted in the fishing boat sinking in less than 2 minutes, and four of the five crew were drowned. [3]
She brought the first group of unaccompanied child refugees to Britain from Nazi Germany, arriving at Parkeston Quay on 2 December 1938.[4][5][6] A plaque unveiled in 2011 at Harwich harbour marks this event.[5]
At the outbreak of the Second World War the ship was requisitioned by the Ministry of War Transport and in 1944 served in the D-Day landings.
She was sent to Clydebank for refurbishing in 1947 but was severely damaged by fire, and sent for scrapping in September 1948.
References
- ^ Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
- ^ "The s.s. Prague". Chelmsford Chronicle. England. 28 February 1930. Retrieved 6 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Four fishermen drowned". Western Gazette. England. 3 June 1932. Retrieved 6 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ 1939 [SIC] England: Children Arrive Harwich off Ship Prague (Motion picture). 1938. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b Williams, Amy (January 2020). Memory of the Kindertransport in National and Transnational Perspective (Doctor of Philosophy). Nottingham Trent University.
At 5.30 AM on 2 December 1938 the SS Prague docked at Parkeston Quay. On board were 196 children, the first arrivals of what would become known as the 'Kindertransport'... None were accompanied by their parents.
- ^ Sebald, W. G. (2002). Austerlitz. London: Penguin. pp. 200, 202. ISBN 0140297995.