The Fairmile B Motor Launch was known as the “Maid of All Work” during the war years. Always on the go, mine laying and sweeping, ferrying troops, convoy escort duties and guiding Landing Craft onto beaches. The boats chosen to be a part of the Western Lady Ferry Service also had another role during wartime service, that of Rescue Motor Launches (RML’s). Although given the necessary equipment to fight back if the need arose, their primary role was that of air/sea rescue duties and saving lives. Of the 650 Fairmile B’s built during the war only 50 were designated RML’s. The vessels associated with the Western Lady Ferry Service have all been of that class and are the last to survive world wide. The Fairmile B Motor Launch was the brain child of Noel Campbell Macklin. He saw that war was brewing and that there would be a need for small light craft to help defend our shores from attack and submarine warfare. Working with a Naval Architect he came up with a plan for boat building which used prefabricated components that would enable small boatyards to contribute to the war effort, freeing the larger yards to concentrate on the larger destroyers, frigates and air craft carriers. The Admiralty were originally dismissive of both the concept and design so Mr Macklin paid to have one built at Woodnutts Yard on the Isle of Wight. This became known as the Fairmile ‘A’ class and although it proved to be both wet and uncomfortable, the Admiralty accepted that the general idea was indeed feasible. They gave the order for eleven more ‘A’ class to be built before getting their own Naval Architect, William Holt, to fine tune the design. He adapted the hull from hard chine to round bilge which gave much better sea keeping capability and was then approved by the Admiralty to enter mass production. Prior to the war Noel Macklin had been involved with building motor cars, Railtons and Invictas, now he and his team worked from his Fairmile home to organise a build programme with yacht and boat yards at home and abroad.
Read More The Fairmile B was devised as an expendable weapon of war and given a life expectancy of between five and eight years. Only a handful of Fairmile B’s now survive world wide and of those, the Fairmile’s belonging to the Western Lady Ferry Service were the least altered from original design and retained much of the original installation features. The electrics, auxiliary generator, fuel tanks, stern greasers, rudder indicators, helms (charthouse and bridge) and all running gear etc were still giving sterling service in 2006. The original Hall Scott Defender Engines were 80% Octane fuelled and had to be replaced with diesel engines for passenger work, together with having the engine rooms tin lined. The engine replacement and the addition of a larger deck saloon were the only major alterations made over the sixty years of ferry service.
Being shipyard maintained for most of their working life also ensured that any problems that arose were quickly dealt with, extending their eight year life to over sixty five years and likely to remain intact for many years to come.
