£1m anonymous donation to go to TS Queen Mary renovations
The 90-year-old steamship is undergoing restoration to be able to take passengers again
A £1m anonymous donation has been gifted to mark the 90th birthday of the TS Queen Mary.
The Clyde steamer is the last remaining turbine steamship built in Scotland and is currently docked at Pacific Quay.
Known sometimes as the Glasgow Ship, she was retired in 1977, and spent much of the following 40 years as a restaurant on the Thames, before returning to the Clyde in 2016.
Plans to restore the vessel to being a passenger carrier were unveiled in 2021 by Princess Anne, who is Royal Patron of the ship.
Friends of TS Queen Mary chairman, Iain Sim, said the donation was “astounding”, adding: “this incredible donation is going to allow us to start the structural work on the vessel.
“It will enable us to lift Queen Mary’s timber decks on the boat deck, the promenade deck, and the main deck, and replace them with brand new steel decks which is the prerequisite in order for the ship to sail again.”
Since 2016, the charity had raised £3.8m before the bumper donation.
Built in 1933 in Dumbarton, once upon a time the Queen Mary carried as many as 13,000 passengers each week, and even had some famous guests, including the Queen, King George VI, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Mr Sim described the ship as “one of a kind”, going on to say: “she is synonymous with Glasgow, she’s part of the social fabric of the city.”
He went on to say how much the charity is looking forward to having people back on board.
“The people of Glasgow are very welcome to come along to one of our open days, which we will be restarting quite soon, and see for themselves the work that is being undertaken.
“We’re very excited to welcome the people back on board the Queen Mary.”