One of the largest paddle steamers afloat in Britain is the H.M.S. Royal Eagle, former peacetime excursion boat which carried passengers on pleasure jaunts from Tower Bridge to Southend, Ramscate and Margate. Commissioned two years ago as a warship of the Royal Navy, the craft has been in action 52 times against enemy aircraft. The Eagle took part in the evacuation from Dunkirk where she was dive-bombed 48 times and brought home nearly 3,000 British troops. Members of the crew cleaning the paddle boxes of H.M.S. Royal Eagle in London on January 18, 1943. (Photo by AP Photo)

A family rides a bike amid rain in Lahore on October 16, 2023. (Photo by Arif Ali/AFP Photo)

A team of ten acrobats form the shape of a racehorse crossing the winning post ridden by Stefanie Hofer to celebrate the upcoming Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse on July 29, 2014 in Ascot, England. The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup is the only team-format raceday in the UK and takes place on 9th August. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)

A service member of the Ukrainian armed forces is seen at fighting positions on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk region, Ukraine on April 10, 2021. (Photo by Oleksandr Klymenko/Reuters)

Simba, one month and four days old kid goat with 22-inch long ears, is held by his owner in Karachi, Pakistan on July 8, 2022. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Lava flows as volcano continues to erupt on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Monday, November 29, 2021. Several new volcanic vents opened in La Palma on Sunday, releasing new lava that flowed fast down a ridge and threatened to widen the impact on evacuated land, infrastructure and homes. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

A view through mist shows the Kirk of Saint Mary Magdalene in Primorsk, Leningrad Region, Russia on March 24, 2019. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh meets members of the cast of “Chicago” during a visit to the Adelphi Theatre in this March 4, 1999 file photo in London, England. (Photo by Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)