A volunteer who helped save the last paddle steamer built in Scotland from the scrapheap, and who is now working to bring the Waverley back to his home town of Helensburgh, has been recognised in the King’s birthday honours.

John Beveridge, 71, has been made an MBE for his services to paddle steamer preservation and to charity.

Mr Beveridge enjoyed childhood trips on paddle steamers and his involvement in restoration projects dates back to the 1970s.

Until May 2021 he was the chairman of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company, the charity set up to save the historic Loch Lomond paddle steamer, Maid of the Loch, with the aim of one day bringing the ship - which last carried passengers in 1981 - back into service.

Mr Beveridge founded the Loch Lomond Steamship Company and educated himself on applying for grants as a hobby, leading a team of 40 volunteers, in addition to being director of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

The charity bought the ship in 1995, and its volunteers have since worked painstakingly on its restoration and the funds needed to bring it back into service.

Having stood down as a member of the Maid of the Loch team three years ago, the father-of-two is now on the board of directors for the Waverley paddle steamer.

His royal honour comes close to the anniversary of the Waverley’s maiden voyage, on June 16, 1947, and Mr Beveridge said he hopes the recognition will renew interest in the Maid of the Loch project.

Mr Beveridge said: “The honour is for work I did on Maid of the Loch, which was a wreck and sinking in the 1990s.

"I helped save the Waverley back in 1974, when she was given to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society for £1.

“The Waverley is more than 70 years old. It’s a great advert for Scotland.

"It’s been 25 years I’ve been involved in the Maid of the Loch and volunteers are still helping to restore it.

"The aim is that she will sail again on Loch Lomond, hopefully one of these days.

“I’m involved in trying to get Helensburgh pier reopened so the Waverley can call at it.

"The first paddle steamer was the Comet in 1812, but over the years they became too expensive.

“We got £1million from the Scottish Government about four years ago to get the engines of the Waverley working again for the first time in about 40 years.”

He said the Maid of the Loch, which entered service in 1953 and was the last paddle steamer ever to be built in Britain, still needs a lot of work.

Mr Beveridge added: “Hopefully this will get it a bit more publicity.”

The 'Maid' and the Waverley were both built at the same Clydeside shipyard - that of A. & J. Inglis at Pointhouse, near the mouth of the River Kelvin - though the 'Maid' had to be bolted together, then dismantled and transported in pieces from Glasgow to Balloch, and reassembled there before being launched on March 5, 1953.