Risdon Beazley - War Years

War Years

At the outbreak of World War II the Admiralty requisitioned salvage vessels and most were put under Risdon Beazley's management. By 1945 Risdon Beazley were operating 61 vessels, including 29 that were owned by the Admiralty, working as far east as Colombo. They lost three vessels and a barge in the war. The other managers operated less than 20 vessels between them.

Risdon Beazley managed all but three of the salvage vessels that went to France for D-Day; their ships went on to clear ports in France, Belgium and Holland. The vessels were civilian manned. Usually the only military people aboard were DEMS gunners and a salvage officer (these were mostly RN reservists). The company built 22 Fairmile Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats; they were the fastest UK yard to turn out the D type MTB and fourth fastest in the UK for all Fairmiles. They also built ten harbour Service launches.

At the end of the war they retained the self-propelled hoppers Foremost 17 and Foremost 18 and the Coastal Salvage vessels Lifeline and Help. They spent several successful years in rescue towage using the salvage tug Twyford (ex-Warden) and the Ashford (ex-Empire Sandy). Twenty other vessels joined and left the fleet in the years immediately after the war. Later the landing craft Topmast 16, 18 and 20 were rebuilt for salvage work; Topmast 16 and Lifeline maintained emergency moorings around the UK coast. The fleet included the smaller Topmast 17 (an ex Inshore minesweeper) and the Queen Mother (an ex-Bristol Channel Pilot cutter).