The “Windsor Castle” really needs no introduction. She was the penultimate passenger liner built for the Union Castle Line, and the largest. Similarly, she was briefly the largest passenger liner built in England (note: England) until the arrival of Orient Line’s “Oriana”, launched 4 ½ months after “The Windsor” – which she became fondly referred to.
The “Windsor Castle” was the first and last Union Castle Line passenger liner to be built at the famous Cammell, Laird & Co. (Shipbuilders & Engineers) Ltd. shipyards at Birkenhead on the Mersey. Her keel was laid on 9th December 1957 (six days after my 8th birthday) and she was launched on 23rd June 1959 by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
As built, the “Windsor Castle” was 37,640 Gross Registered Tons with an overall length of 783.5 feet (238.81 metres) and powered by a set of double-reduction high-pressure Pametrada steam turbines connected to three Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers, driving twin propellers, giving her a speed of 23.5 knots. In addition to a sizeable cargo capacity (including refrigerated spaces) of 639,000 cubic feet (18,095 m³) she was beautifully fitted out with public spaces and cabin accommodation for 237 First Class passengers and 585 Tourist Class passengers (one resource states 191 First Class, 591 Tourist Class) with ample deck spaces and two swimming pools.
The “Windsor Castle” sailed on her Maiden Voyage from Southampton on 18th August 1960 and successfully operated, without any major incidents, on the passenger-mail service to and from South Africa for a mere 17 years. During that time, following a refit in 1967, she was remeasured at 36,123 GRT and, similarly, another refit in 1972 saw her remeasured at 36,277 GRT. Notably, in 1965, the long-planned accelerated service between Southampton and Cape Town came into effect, reducing the passage time from 13½ days to 11½ day and seeing the traditional 4pm Thursday’s Southampton departure becoming the 1pm Friday departure.
On Friday 12th August 1977, the “Windsor Castle” made her final commercial departure from Southampton, commemorated with great ceremony including an RAF flypast. As records show, it was her 124th voyage to South Africa and back. Her final departure from Cape Town on 6th September 1977 was equally well commemorated, with “Windsor Castle” arriving back at Southampton on 19th September 1977, thus ending her career with the Union Castle Line.
Perhaps little-known, by the time of her arrival back at Southampton from her final voyage, she had already been inspected by several prospective purchasers, including the Greek Chandris Brothers, the Greek shipping and oil magnate John S Latsis, the Italian company Società Italiana Trasporti Marittimi (SITMAR) and Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line – which latter company opted to buy ‘The Windsor’s running-mate “S.A. Vaal” (ex “Transvaal Castle”) primarily because that passenger liner was already configured as One Class.
In the event, the entrepreneurial Yiannis (John) S. Latsis outbid Chandris (which company had already prepared outline brochures for the ship) and, on 3rd October 1977, renamed “Margarita L” (after one of John’s two daughters), she departed Southampton for the very last time under the registered ownership of Santa Margarita Shipping & Trading Co., bound for Latsis’s shipyard at Perama, Piraeus, to be converted into an 852-berth accommodation ship, offices and leisure facility for Petrola International S.A. (a Latsis company) and initially moored alongside at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Fitted with a helipad. In February 1979, she arrived at the special jetty 2 miles north of Jeddah, notably replacing the smaller, older “Marianna VI” – ex Elder Dempster Line’s white swan “Aureol”.
In June 1991, after 12 years at Jeddah, the former “Windsor Castle” was towed back to Greece and laid up at anchor off Eleusis(Elefsina), the coastal suburb of Athens, where the Latsis family used her as their private residence for summer holidays, and for hosting dignitaries and business associates. Sadly, following a period of declining health, Yiannis (John) S. Latsis passed away (age 92) on 17th April 2003 and his beloved “Margarita L” was placed back on the S&P market for sale, with only one foreseeable outcome.
Purchased by un-named intermediary brokers, on 14th April 2005, renamed “Rita” (a cheap abbreviation by painting out “Marga”) the former “Windsor Castle” departed Piraeus under her own steam for her final one-way voyage via the Suez Canal bound for Alang’s shipbreaking beaches. However, records state that, before reaching India, she was diverted to the United Arab Emirates and anchored off Kalba by the intermediary owners to await an improvement in the values of scrap steel prices. Eventually, however, on 18th August 2005 (exactly 45 years after her Maiden Voyage from Southampton) she arrived at Alang to be scrapped.
In 2003, an attempt was made by a group of ill-matched enthusiasts led by one Alex Naughton to acquire the former “Windsor Castle” and bring her back to the UK to be restored to her original beauty for use as a floating hotel (floatel), conference centre and leisure facility at Liverpool, reinstated with her famed Union Castle Line lavender hull. Because her structural profile had never been altered since her mailboat heydays, and because the majority of her interiors remained unaltered, she was considered ideal.
Regarded as just one example of his incompetence, the Liverpool town planner recruited TV actress Prunella Scales (of, appropriately, Faulty Towers fame) as sponsor instead of approaching a recognised luminary with maritime connections. Unfortunately, due to financial problems, the failure to raise enough equity for the project, poor planning and (many claimed) inept leadership, the plans fizzled out by December 2004.
Personally, I feel it is a sad reflection of our nations inability to preserve an iconic passenger liner as an example of our illustrious maritime heritage. Many attempts have been made, including “Kenya Castle” and British India’s iconic “Uganda”, but all failed – mainly due to lack of financial support (from government, port-city councils, corporate enterprises, charities and public donations, but also due to a general lack of interest or commitment.
Although, during my seagoing career with Union Castle Line, I was never appointed to “Windsor Castle”, in earlier years (between 1966 and 1972) as Crewing Officer at Southampton, I regularly visited the big WC each period she was in dock to deal with crew sign-offs and sign-on to the ship’s Articles. From this, I recall she had a very good and happy British crew with a high percentage of retention for successive voyages.
