A ship's wheel spoke from the Princess Alice.

A ship's wheel spoke from the Princess Alice. © National Maritime Museum, London

Repro ID: H3633

Description: A ship's wheel spoke from the ill-fated paddle steamer 'Princess Alice' (1865). The 'Princess Alice' was a saloon steamboat, named after the third daughter of Queen Victoria. Bulit in Greenock as the 'Bute', she served the Thames excursion routes from 1866. On 3 September 1878, she was returning from a routine day trip to Gravesend and Sheerness when she was struck by th ecollier 'Bywell Castle' in Galleons Reach. She sunk within minutes and up to 650 people died in the worst-ever disaster on the Thames.

Creator: Unknown

Date: 1865