The Avalon is frequently in sight. This poster hangs behind the settee in the living room...

...and this behind me in the office. If you ever have a Teams/Zoom meeting with me, ask to check it out.

So why the fondness for this ship?

Once again, it's the Dutch connection. Many of my early memories involve the journey from Plumley Middelburg by rail and sea - and the Avalon was probably my favourite vessel.

Modern Railways, of course, covered the Avalon's introduction. This is the October 1963 edition. I would have been approaching my second birthday. Modern Railways always covered key British Rail(ways) shipping developments. At this stage, the Harwich - Hoek van Holland service fell under BR's Eastern Region and was operated jointly with the Dutch SMZ. The Shipping and International Services Division and later Sealink had yet to make an appearance.

The article informs us that the Avalon entered service on 25 July 1963 and replaced the Duke of York. The Avalon was to operate alongside the Arnhem and the Amsterdam. I will add the other vessels to these pages when time allows and whim dictates.

Of particular note is that the BR ships operated the night services, i.e. out from Harwich to the Hook one night and back the following night. The Dutch ships operated the day sailings, i.e. a vessel would only make one crossing every 24 hours. This arrangement wouldn't last forever.

There was space on the Avalon for 30 cars which, hard to believe now, were loaded by crane. My dad used to take me up on deck to watch this. The vast majority of passengers back then were what we now call 'foot passengers' connecting out of and into trains at either port and there were berths for a little over 600.

I always picked up one or more of these lovely leaflets; the size is a little smaller than a postcard when folded and a little under A4 when opened out. I also have the equivalents for the Duke of York, Arnhem and Amsterdam. The practice was discontinued with the later introduction of the St George. This one is dated June 1967.

 

 

 

 

 

This makes a great quiz question. Where is the furthest North and further South that British Rail has operated a service to? No-one has ever got the answers right. Narvik and Tangier.

The Avalon was so well-appointed that she operated cruises during off-peak periods for a number of years.

 

The photograph was given to my dad by someone (who that might have been, I can't remember) to give to me and it is in my photo album for 1972. This shows the Avalon during one of the cruises. If I had to put some money on where, I'd go for Hamburg.

This is the only photo I have taken of the Avalon, again in the 1972 photo album. Here she is alongside at Hoek van Holland courtesy of my Kodak Instamatic 33.