Prince Eddie was built, apparently in wood, by the Harvey’s shipyard around 1904. The craft was screw driven and was their only departure into steam. She first appears in the Littlehampton Harbourmaster’s Journal on 27th April 1904, presumably at the time of launch, and again on 25th August 1905 when she collided with Ford bridge. The Harbourmaster commented that it "was a miracle it was not more serious".

Prince Eddie was operated by a New Zealander, Captain Holden, and was intended for use as a trip boat from the harbour. One of the postcards in my collection contains a disparaging comment so it may not have been popular with customers. The trip boat market included paddle steamers such as Worthing Belle and launches like Norfolk, so there were plenty of alternatives. Prince Eddie was probably too small to be commercially successful.

After this rather unsuccessful period, the ship was briefly used in the Solent by the Ryde Steamship Company in 1909 before being sold abroad to Spain in 1910.

There are a surprisingly large number of views of the ship on local postcards, despite its short period in the harbour, so it was clearly popular with the photographers.

Prince Eddie in Littlehampton

This card, from the Eric Benham collection, shows the steamboat moving down the harbour with a healthy number of passengers sometime in 1904 or 1905. The publisher is unknown, although copyright is claimed on the foot of the picture. It was sent by Edith to Miss Ethel Simpkin, The Corner House, Heathview Gardens, Putney. A comment in the text, "Can you remember being on this ship, not half I do!" suggests it may have been an interesting experience. The card was posted in St. Albans on Feb 22nd 1907.

Prince Eddie passing West Works

This view shows her at speed departing the Littlehampton Harbour, again with plenty of passengers, and making some smoke. The plain backed card is probably by Frank Spry although it is not identified as such.

Final Resting Place?

This photo is from an unknown source in the Eric Benham collection. The ship appears to have been stripped of her mast and some canvas fittings, and the anchors are hanging from the bow. The unidentified location may be the River Medina on the Isle of Wight. No date has been given.