RML 497 (motor launch)

A Fairmile B Motor launch

RML 497 was built to the standard Fairmile B motor launch design, and was one of around 650 of the class built. The design was very adaptable, being fitted with pre-drilled rails for different uses – the Rescue Motor Launch (RML) type of which around 50 were built,[9] including RML 497, were fitted with a sick-bay aft of the funnel – the present lounge.

RML 497 was built in 1941, and commissioned in July 1942. She was originally stationed with the 62nd ML Flotilla, based at Portland, Dorset, then in January 1944 was transferred to Kirkwall, in the Orkney Islands, being used for anti-submarine target towing. In August of the same year she was sent to Appledore, North Devon. She was later transferred to the 69th Flotilla at Felixstowe, before being decommissioned at the end of the war, and sold at Itchenor in Chichester Harbour.[1]

The Western Lady Fleet laid up in the winter of 2005. Western Lady III is on the right

In 1946, Mr Edhouse of Totnes purchased four of the RMLs, and converted them for use as passenger vessels on a ferry service from Torquay to Brixham, across Torbay in South Devon. The ferry had been run up until 1934 by the Devon Dock, Pier & Steamship Co, but had then lapsed, due to the vessel used, SS King Edward failing her boiler survey.[10] The four RMLs were named Western Lady, Western Lady II, Western Lady III and Western Lady IV. All were re-engined, as their original engines used a fuel with too high an octane value for passenger service;[9] in any case, the original Hall-Scott Defender Petrol engines had been removed prior to sale by the Admiralty and returned to the USA under the World War II lease-lend agreement. This reduced their top speed from 20 knots to 14 knots. In addition to the ferry service, the Western Ladies were also used on excursions, especially to the River Dart. The company was sold in 1963, to Torbay Boat Construction Co Ltd, of the Dolphin Boatyard in Galmpton, with little effect on the operation, though the launches were a familiar sight at the Dolphin Boatyard for their winter layup – in the summer the whole fleet was moored on buoys in Brixham Harbour. In 1967 Western Lady III spent some time running cruises around Dublin Bay, under the sponsorship of the Irish Government.[10]

In 2003, the two remaining operational Fairmiles; Western Ladies III and IV were supplemented on the Torquay – Brixham ferry by the more modern MV Torbay Princess and MV Torbay Princess II. This arrangement lasted until the end of the 2006 season, when the Fairmiles were withdrawn, following the closure of the Princess Pier landing stage in Torquay, which was used by the Fairmiles; the more manouevrable Princesses use the fish quay inside the harbour, which is inaccessible to the Fairmiles.[11]

Western Lady III, by now the last Fairmile Passenger vessel (The Western Lady IV became a yacht), was bought in 2007 by Fairmile Classic Cruises, who operated her from Swanage in Dorset on circular cruises along the Jurassic Coast, and to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.[12] By early 2009, the company had run up debts, and the vessel had been impounded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The owners of Greenway Ferry inspected her, and were given less than 24 hours to buy her by the harbour master, to avoid her being sold at auction to pay off the debts.[13] This was achieved, and the Western Lady III returned to Brixham.

After a brief call in Brixham, Western Lady went to Polruan in Cornwall, where she was given a major (£35,000) refit, to return her to MCA standards, and to refurbish her passenger accommodation in Art Deco style. She was renamed The Fairmile to avoid confusion with the services of Western Lady Ferry Service, and to emphasise her history. In August 2009, she returned to Torbay, undertaking a series of 'Welcome Home' sailings, with the guest of honour being one of her wartime skippers, Eustace 'Mac' Mackmurdo, aged 93. A Winston Churchill impressionist was also present, who gave a speech.[14]

The Fairmile replaced MV Riviera Belle on the day cruise route from Torquay via Brixham then along the coast to Dartmouth, and up the River Dart to Greenway Quay. Her additional capacity was needed on the route, as the competing service operated by MV Torbay Belle was withdrawn after the 2008 season, and in addition, the National Trust opened Greenway House to the public for the first time in 2009. As the landing stage at Princess Pier, in Torquay is no longer safe for use, The Fairmile moors inside the harbour on Princess Pier, whilst she moors overnight on a buoy in Brixham Harbour.[5]

In May 2013, she returned to service after an over-winter refit which saw her returned to her wartime appearance including 'English Channel' camouflage paint scheme and original service number.[3]

In July 2015, Greenway Ferry announced that their Torbay operation, including the Fairmile, had been sold. They claimed unfair competition, owing to Torbay Council's subsidy of another ferry.[15]

In December 2015, the vessel was acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy.[16] She was moved to the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Hartlepool from Southampton in 2019 in anticipation of a conservation programme to get her on permanent display.[17][18] Having been removed from the water, it was decided that RML 497 would not return to it, her wartime hull no longer being suitable for such service. The vessel was placed in a purpose-built shelter in a car park to dry out, with the National Museum of the Royal Navy continuing to monitor her moisture levels as they slowly decrease.[19][20] RML 497 continues to sit on a metal cradle in her shelter, with more supports needed as the boat dries out and hull weakens further. A full structural survey of the ship is planned so that at some point she may go on public display at the museum.[21]