MV Havengore

Havengore decorated for the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant
History
United Kingdom
Name:	Havengore (2nd of that name)
Namesake:	Havengore Island, a low-lying marshy island off the coast of Essex.
Owner:	Christopher Ryland
Operator:	Venues of Distinction
Ordered:	1954
Builder:	Tough Brothers, Teddington
Launched:	1956
Sponsored by:	Port of London Authority
Commissioned:	4 February 1956
Recommissioned:	1997
Decommissioned:	1995
Maiden voyage:	1 February 1956
Out of service:	1995
Reclassified:	2006
Homeport:	London
Identification:	MHQK
Motto:	"Walk always in the Ranks of Honor"
Nickname(s):	'H'
Honours and awards:	Bearer of Sir Winston Churchill during his State Funeral in 1965
Status:	Fully operational
Badge:	A demi-bulldog affronty vested in a Union Flag holding a twisted rope coil with an azure background, two sea-lions combatant, representing the PLA, supporting a "V" for Victory.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Class V Passenger ship; ex survey ship
Tonnage:	89.19 tons gross, 46.31 registered
Length:	25.81 m (84.7 ft)
Beam:	4.95 m (16.2 ft)
Draft:	1.90 m (6.2 ft)
Installed power:	Twin Gardner 8L3 Diesels delivering 304 h.p. at 900 r.p.m.
Speed:	12.29 knots
Capacity:	40 passengers
Crew:	up to 10

Havengore is a former hydrographic survey launch, originally launched in 1956 for service with the Port of London Authority (PLA). After her withdrawal from service and sale in 1995, she was re-registered as a passenger vessel for up to 40 passengers. Based on the River Thames, Havengore has also served as a ceremonial vessel. She is best known for her carrying the body of Sir Winston Churchill as part of his State Funeral.

Havengore was named after Havengore Island, a low-lying marshy island off the coast of Essex. The derivation of the word Havengore is Old English, 'haefen' meaning an anchorage and 'gor' meaning muddy. The adjoining Havengore Creek marked the northern end of the PLA's jurisdiction prior to 1964, when it was extended to include the whole of the Thames Estuary. By convention many PLA vessels are named after features of the River Thames, and an earlier PLA vessel, the SY Havengore, had carried the same name. She was a small steam yacht, launched in 1910, that performed the role of a patrol vessel, operating from Barking to the outer port limits, until she was broken up in the 1940s.

Havengore was commissioned by the Port of London Authority in 1954 to replace its former survey vessel the Shorne Meade. Built by Tough Brothers of Teddington, she is of double diagonal construction in teak over a framework of English oak. The National Physical Laboratory helped design and test her twin counter-rotating propellers and underwater fittings, while Decca Radar oversaw trials of her survey systems. She was launched in 1956.