TSS Mona's Queen (III) off Cammell Laird's yard
Date(s): mid 20th century
Creator(s): Stewart Bale Ltd
Scope & Content: TSS Mona's Queen (III) was a ship built for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1934. Just six years after being launched, she was sunk by a sea mine during the Dunkirk evacuation on 29 May 1940.
In the early hours of 29 May, the Mona's Queen set sail for Dunkirk from Dover loaded with water canisters because troops on the Dunkirk beaches were short of drinking water. However, the ship struck a magnetic sea mine outside Dunkirk harbour at 5:30am. The Mona's Queen sank in two minutes.
Twenty-four of the crew were lost. Of the crew who died, 14 worked in the engine room. They included the Chief and Second Engineer. Seventeen of the dead were from the Isle of Man.
To mark the seventieth anniversary of her sinking, Mona's Queen's starboard anchor was reclaimed from the sea bed off Dunkirk and restored. In 2012 it was placed at Kallow Point in Port St Mary, facing in the direction of Dunkirk, to form the centrepiece of a permanent memorial to the loss of the Mona's Queen and her sister ships, King Orry and Fenella during the evacuation of Dunkirk.
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Language: eng
Extent: overall: 20 cm x 28.5 cm
Physical description: black & white print
Item name: photograph
Collection: Photographic Archive
Level: ITEM
ID number: PG/7593/113
Subject tags : boat, ship, sea, mast, liferaft, steam, packet.