From Ron Green and Tony Millatt, Mersea Museum

I recently bought an old postcard showing two ships VIOLETTE and REFLOATER. VIOLETTE is of particular interest as she was sister ship to MOLLIETTE which became well known on Mersea.

MOLLIETTE and VIOLETTE were designed and built at Pollock's yard at Faversham in Kent just after World War 1 using concrete because of the shortage of timber and steel. They had a Bolinder diesel engine and were rigged as a 3-masted schooner. They proved to be ungainly and difficult to handle, and their trading careers were short with many incidents.

MOLLIETTE came to West Mersea about 1925, and Captain K.R. Davies used her as a houseboat. In April 1931 West Mersea Yacht Club took over the forepart, and soon all of the vessel, to be their Clubhouse and they remained there until 1934 when they acquired Journey's End - their present home. The MOLLIETTE was taken over by the Hone family who were running the Sailing and Social Club (now the Coast Inn). The vessel developed into a rather notorious club.
Her back had been broken during an attempt to move her. In 1943, she was towed out to the Cocum Hills off East Mersea and used as a practice target for American fighters. When no longer used as a target, West Mersea fishermen found that dredging for brass shell cases round her wreck was more profitable than dredging for oysters. She became the haunt of lobsters. Her bottom can still be seen at very low tides.

The name MOLLIETTE lives on as the name of the WMYC journal, and also as the Molliette Beacon on the Cocum Hills off East Mersea, marking her wreck. Douglas Stoker built a bungalow in Firs Road with the proceeds of the shell cases, and named it "Molliette".

The VIOLETTE made the headlines in the national press in 1921 by crashing into Southend Pier during a gale and causing a great deal of damage. She was salvaged by the REFLOATER and the photo is believed to show the two vessels by the yard at Millwall on the Thames where VIOLETTE was taken for repairs. It was reported that she suffered damage to her bow but it looks to be in good condition in the photo.

The seller listed the postcard as showing fishing boats at Harwich which is incorrect but fortunate - I doubt if I would have found the postcard had it not been listed as Harwich. The hulk of VIOLETTE is at Hoo in Kent and she is listed in the National Register of Historic Ships.

MOLLIETTE in her trading days.

VIOLETTE and REFLOATER

Published in Mersea Life January 2025