WAVERLEY SALUTES HARWICH ON HER 80th BIRTHDAY.

With flags flying and whistles blowing the iconic Paddle Steamer Waverley will salute Harwich Harbour and Ha’penny Pier as she steams past on her cruise to London. The famous Waverley celebrates her 80th birthday this year. Waverley, the world’s last passenger carrying paddle steamer will be making a special detour into Harwich harbour around 11.15am on Thursday September 24.

Onlookers are invited to join the celebrations on the Ha’Penny Pier and Harwich Quay to have a grandstand view of Waverley, together with a reciprocal salute from Harwich’s own heritage ship, LV18 which will sound her horn to the Pride of the Clyde before Civic guests and ship enthusiasts. Look out for her – a spectacle not to be missed on this unique occasion to celebrate the LV18’s current exhibition of ‘Seaside Piers on Posters’ to coincide with the Waverley’s 80th birthday. The LV18 and exhibition will be open free of charge on the day.

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‘The event to celebrate the Waverley’s 80th birthday since it’s launch in 1946 and to pay homage to the port of Harwich and it’s historic wooden Ha’penny Pier, which was for many years an arrival and departure point for many of the East Coast’s Paddle Steamers during the heyday of the thriving seaside resorts.

The Waverley will enter the harbour around the Guard Buoy around about 11 – 11.15am and proceed into the mouth of the River Stour, then turning and heading for a slow pass of the Ha’penny Pier where she will sound her ships whistle. The LV18 will respond with a blast (or more!) of her air horn. After which the Deputy Lord Lieutenant for the County of Essex will lead the ‘three cheers for the Waverley’ to raise a rousing response from those present.

The Harwich Mayor, consort and invited dignitaries will be met on the Ha’Penny Pier at 10.50am by Heather O’Neil representing the Pharos Trust, owners and operators of the LV18.

Many thanks to The Waverly Paddle Steamer Trust, National Piers Society, Harwich Haven Authority, Tim Wardley, NIgel Spencer, Harwich Town Council, Harwich Harbour Ferry, Scruton Wyatt Media & BBC Essex

Image of PS Waverley is © Jeff Welch and used with kind permission.

‘Piers on Posters Exhibition’, Launches 17.5.2026

The history of piers and railways are inextricably linked, especially in Harwich, and the National Piers Society (NPS), in conjunction with The Pharos Trust, is delighted to be able to celebrate this relationship with a temporary exhibition onboard the historic Light Vessel 18, moored adjacent to Harwich’s Ha’penny Pier.

The exhibition, the largest of its kind in the UK, uses images from the Golden Age of railway posters, taking us on a journey around piers past and present, as depicted by some of the best commercial artists of the twentieth century.

Richard Furness has very kindly supplied images from his ‘Poster to Poster’ book series, while NPS member, Barry Thompson, has compiled the selection and provided the text.

The ‘Piers on Posters’ exhibition, with a declaration at 11am by the Harwich Town Crier, Richard Bench, opens on May 17 with a special day of celebration about everything seaside, including broadcasts from the LV18’s radio station, Radio Mi Amigo. A group of guests will arrive on a preserved Routemaster Bus hosted by BBC Essex celebrities, Steve Scruton and Ian Wyatt, plus a special appearance by Inspector Blake famed from ‘On the Buses’.

The exhibition will be open throughout the summer and included as part of the guided tour of Lightship 18. Tim Wardley, Chairman of the National Piers Society said “ We are excited and delighted to be joining forces with the Pharos Trust to bring this nationally significant exhibition to Harwich. I am sure the extensive collection of pier posters will recall happy memories for many, and introduce younger generations to a great British tradition which remains as relevant today as in times past – with our seaside piers driving the inward investment for seaside towns and offering exciting all weather attractions “.

Tony O’Neil, from the Pharos Trust, added “We are most honoured to be selected as the
summer venue for this nationally important exhibition. In the wake of the serious fire caused by an arsonist in 2024, which devastated the LV18 causing £300,000 damage, our volunteers have worked tirelessly to restore the aft area into a new exhibition space to house ‘Piers on Posters’.

It is our hope that this exciting event will not only attract visitors from far and wide to the LV18 but to visit the rest of our historic maritime town of Harwich and the area in general. The exhibition is running daily from Sunday 17th May until 31st October 2026.