Empire Memorial Hostel, Limehouse

The Hostel, on the corner of Commercial Road and Salmon Lane, was opened in 1924 by the British Sailor Society.  It was built from a Fund set up in 1917 by the Ladies Guild of the British Sailor Society, whose President, Beatrice, Dower Lady Dumsdale, laid the foundation stone on 13th March 1923.  

The Fund’s aim was to provide a fitting Memorial to all the seamen who had lost their lives in the First World War.  It had a novel fund raising idea: individuals and groups could have their name associated with parts of the building or its equipment.  The money was raised from the Dominions and Colonies as well as from every part of the British Isles.  

It was the proud boast of the Hostel that its accommodation was of the highest standard and they had a very high occupancy rate to prove it.  In fact, seamen would have to book in advance and they were not always successful, dispute there being 250 cabins.  A seaman had a cabin of his own and the use of a large lounge, a dining hall and a billiard room, with four tables.  In the 1930s a room would cost 1/6 a night or 8/- a week.  Inside the Hostel, in the large lounge, was a marble memorial to all those seamen who had lost their lives in the Great War.  The memorial tablet had the words “For King and Country” and hung on either side was a Red and White Ensign.  While in the library was a large portrait of Seaman Drury, RNR, the first seaman to win the Victoria Cross.  

The success of the Hostel led to a new wing being constructed in Salmon Lane with 100 cabins and a large hall for functions.  The foundation stone was laid on 27th April 1932 and opened a few years later.  Money for the extension was raised as before.   

With the closure of the Docks in the 1960s and 1970s, the Hostel lost its seamen and closed in 1979.  The Hostel was sold, renamed “Prince’s Lodge”, and became a “home” for the homeless.  Controversy dogged “Prince’s Lodge” and it closed in 1985.  In 1994, the Hostel was sold again this time to a property developer who converted it into 50 private flats and gave it a new name “The Mission”.