Scale: 1:768. Waterline model of the passenger liner 'Athlone Castle' (1937) set in the plaster sea.

A remarkable piece of miniature modelmaking by Charles Hampshire. One needs to view it with the aid of a magnifying glass to truly appreciate the outstanding workmanship and attention to detail. It is colourful too, dressed overall, flags flying in the warm breeze. ‘Athlone Castle’ (1937) is shown at anchor, in a blue sea, with the port-side companion ladder extended. One of the ship’s boats, or a pilot boat, is approaching and a tug is circling off the port bow.

The Union-Castle Line named all their ships with the suffix ‘Castle’ in their names. The company was famous for its lavender-hulled liners with black and red funnels, operating a strictly regimented timetable between Southampton and Cape Town. Every Thursday afternoon at four o’clock a Union-Castle Royal Mail liner would leave for South Africa. At exactly the same time, a ship would leave Cape Town bound for Southampton.

Completed in 1936, the ‘Athlone Castle’ was 25,564 gross registered tons and 725 feet in length. From 1939 until 1946 she served as a troopship but came to no harm. She carried around 720 passengers, and had two similar sisters, the ‘Stirling Castle’ and the ‘Capetown Castle’. She was scrapped in 1965.