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Patricia Bridgen Farley was a Wren (Womens Royal Naval Service) stationed at Portkil, Near Kilcreggan, Scotland during World War II, living in a house affectionately known to the group of Wrens that were based there as 'The Barn'. The Wrens came to be known as the 'Barnites'.
We Portkil Wrens became very familiar with the paddle steamers. They took us from Kilcreggan to Helensburgh and back, whether on duty to visit our home base, going on leave or simply shopping and a movie in town.
The one that we remember so fondly was named the 'Lucy Ashton', and it was the only paddle steamer on service on the Clyde during the war years. It was the most strenuous period of her career. Already fifty years old, she was the sole unit of the Craigendoran fleet. I treasure a drawing of the steamer that hangs in my dining room, given to me by Lois, one of the original Barnites.
The Lucy Ashton was built in 1888. She replaced the 'Dandy Dimont', one of the original ships of the North British company when they began their Clyde service in 1866. The Lucy then joined other boats for service to Dunoon, the Holy Loch and Rothesay.
Not a large draft, the Lucy had two saloons, one aft, and one forward, a haystack boiler and an engine capable of going about 17 knots. The funnels were painted battleship grey during the war. One could walk all around the boat and view the landscapes, or go down below for a drink and a bit to eat. It took about 20-30 minutes to reach the Craigendoran pier in Helensburgh from our village of Kilcreggan.
As we worked diligently at the Fort, testing the many large ships on their degaussing equipment, it was comforting to look out the window at the Firth and see dear old Lucy puffing, the smoke spiralling up from the funnel into the air.
Evidently, we weren't the only ones who regarded, and still do, that paddle steamer with affection. The Clyde River Steamer Club honoured her diamond jubilee (1948) with a special charter when she revisited many of her old haunts.
In 1949, it was all over and she was towed to Faslane for breaking up. Even the souvenir hunters took away equipment and other parts of the ship. The departure of the Lucy Ashton severed the last link of the Clyde passenger service with the Victorian era.
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