Faster, more stylish and far more luxurious than her 2004
successor,
the Queen Mary was completed in 1936 by the famous John Brown shipyard in Clydebank,
Scotland she was designed to provide a fast Atlantic crossing together with her sister,
the Queen Elizabeth.
Fastest ship in her day and the holder of the Blue Riband for many years. She
hundreds of thousands of troops to and from the front lines during WW2 and as many as 17,000 on one trip!
The D-Day declaration was signed on board what Sir Winston considered to be his HQ at sea
and later commented that she had shortened the war by as much as 2 years. She became known
as the "Grey Ghost" because of her grey war-time colour scheme and the inability
of the enemy to find her. Look closely at the photo above and you'll see the
"degaussing strip" - fitted during wartime to provide the hull with a
negative
charge so that mines could not stick.
This is the Queen Mary during her peacetime duties - as the most luxurious
liner afloat as opposed to a high-speed troopship!
My grandfather's Invitation to the launch of "S.S. No 534"
I was astonished to find this recently in my Mum's loft. It was in its
original envelope addressed to my Grandfather.
I was finally able to fulfil my lifelong dream of
visiting the Queen Mary on the 9th of December 1997.
Here are thumbnails of some of the photographs I took, click on them for a full-size
image.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Long Beach California for buying and
preserving the Queen Mary in 1967 and for keeping her open to the public. If that hadn't
happened I would not have been able to fulfil my lifelong dream of being on board the
Clyde-built Queen Mary. I spent an amazing day on and around her on the 9th of December
1997.
It does seem that some horrible mistakes have been made by her management in the past and
the present - notably the decision to remove everything below 'R' deck - but I hope that
she will be preserved for generations in the future to visit.
Classic
Cunard - wonderful pictures of Queen Mary's stunning Art Deco interiors
in her heyday - just look at the wonderful wood panelling in the 1st class
staterooms!
Dave Lee's
Queen Mary Photopage
An excellent site FULL of information and fantastic photos. Well worth a click! He's
obviously a better photographer than I am because HIS night photographs are superb!
Sailing
Day -
marvellous story of a young Scot going to work in the Queen Mary's engine rooms
for the first time.
The
Turbine Tribune -
An excellent collection of pages put together by a group of enthusiasts who are doing what
they can to help Long Beach preserve the Queen Mary. Join their mailing list to receive
free regular updates!
IMPRESSIVE Queen Mary pictures
Read about Tracy's visit to the Queen Mary. Remember to let her page finish loading as she
has a few photos that load in turn. The interior shots of her cabin let you see just how
beautiful a ship she was for the traveller.
The Queen Mary compared to the Niagara Falls
The
Queen Mary compared to famous tall buildings of the time.