Helinda: A Rare Continuous Record of Auxiliary Patrol Service

Helinda is an outstanding case study in why detailed vessel records matter. Launched in April 1939 as White Ghost II, she was a 40-foot Eagle Class motor cruiser with twin Morris six-cylinder petrol engines and registered under Official Number 167759.

Her uniquely valuable service record begins almost immediately with the outbreak of war: on 4 September 1939 she was requisitioned by the Ministry of War Transport and employed as a Thames Auxiliary Patrol vessel. In November 1941 she was purchased outright by MOWT and remained in Auxiliary Patrol service until June 1945, one month after VE Day.

That continuity is the key point. While many small wartime craft have fragmented records, Helinda presents a well-defined arc from pre-war civilian launch to sustained wartime state service and then re-entry into civilian life. Records for similar vessels, including sister ship Gwen Eagle, show Dunkirk service, but no specific Dunkirk record has been confirmed for White Ghost II/Helinda herself.

Her post-war life also reinforces her heritage value: reacquired by her original owner in 1945, reworked and renamed Helinda in 1947, later re-engined and moved through Mediterranean and UK ownerships, then preserved through major refurbishments in 1994 and 2016 before re-registration in 2022 as HELINDA (Littlehampton) under her original official number.

For the Wartime Maritime Memorial Association, Helinda reflects exactly the type of vessel we aim to recognise: a working wartime craft with traceable official history, strong preservation potential, and clear interpretive value for the public.

Read more:
National Historic Ships register: https://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/3740/helinda
Follow Helinda: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558729783656