Anonymous £1m Donation Gives Major Boost to Clyde Steamer Restoration Project

TS Queen Mary is a Clyde steamer launched in 1933 at the William Denny shipyard, Dumbarton, for Williamson-Buchanan Steamers. In its heyday TS Queen Mary carried 13,000 passengers each week and was affectionately known as "The Glasgow Boat."  The steamer was eventually retired in 1977 and spent a number of years as a floating restaurant on the River Thames in London. In 2009 it was towed to Tilbury, on the Lower Thames, where it remained unused. After a funding campaign Friends of TS Queen Mary's bought the steamer in 2015 and in 2016 it was returned back home to Scotland. A fundraising campaign to restore the vessel has continued with the aim of allowing the steamer to sail and carry passengers again. The target is to raise £10m and so far nearly half that amount has been raised. The announcement of a £1m anonymous donation is a massive boost to the campaign.

Image: Courtesy of Friends of TS Queen Mary.