The Heyday of Thames Pleasure Steamers

For several generations of Londoners the highlight of each summer was a day trip to the coast aboard a well-loved pleasure steamer. The interwar years saw some of the finest pleasure steamers ever being built for Thames service and names such as Royal Eagle, Golden Eagleand Crested Eaglebecame bywords for luxury and speed as they took their happy throng of passengers to coastal resorts such as Margate, Southend, Ramsgate and Clacton. By the mid-1930s, sleek modern motor vessels were replacing th