Name HMS Beckford (P3104) Name HMS Dee (P3104) Construction started 18 February 1953 Length 36 m | Namesake River Dee Launched 27 April 1953 Draft 1.98 m | |
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Operator Royal Navy Mersey Division, Royal Naval Reserve | ||
HMS Beckford (P3104) was one of 20 Ford-class patrol boats built for the Royal Navy in the 1950s.
Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ford. This boat was named after Beckford, Worcestershire.
Beckford was launched on 27 April 55. She was later renamed HMS Dee whilst serving as the training tender to the Mersey Division of the Royal Naval Reserve. In 1968 the vessel was chartered by the Plessey Group and renamed Robert Clive, then returned as HMS Dee to the RNR in January 1969. She was placed on the disposals list in 1982 and sold to Pounds Marine Shipping in 1984 She was fitted with schooner rig and (as of 2014) has been anchored off Shotley, Suffolk in Harwich harbour for "a very long time."
HMS Beckfoot
Beckford was an inspiration for the fictional vessel HMS Beckfoot (also called Hispaniola and Pride of Macau) in the Strong Winds trilogy of children's books by Julia Jones.