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Press coverage 18 May 2009 The Royal Gazette ‘Quite a ride’ at http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d952ab30030003§ionId=80 May 2009 Nautilus UK Telegraph page 16 ‘Furness Bermuda crew to reunite’ at http://www.nautilusint.org/Resources/Telegraph%20Files/May%202009.pdf 8 April 2009 Bermuda Sun ‘Recalling our golden age of sea travel’ at http://www.bermudasun.org/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=41073&SectionID=24&SubSectionID=270&S=1 1 April 2009 Lloydslist.com ‘Furness folk meet again’ http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/furness-folk-meet-again/1238463857701.htm?
Press releases 4 April 2009 — Furness Bermuda Line: ships’ crew reunion more than 40 years on Ships’ crew, who sailed on the Furness Bermuda Line in the 1950s and early 60s, are reuniting on Saturday 16 May 2009 to renew old acquaintances and to share memories and mementos from the golden days of Furness’s sister ships, Queen of Bermuda and Ocean Monarch. “Some fifty crew and their relatives have confirmed they’re coming”, says Bill Cox, reunion organiser, “but we’re hoping to find even more.” The reunion will take place at The Merchant Seaman’s War Memorial Society in southern England. Lying close to London’s airports, the venue is conveniently placed for shipmates, who are travelling from as far as Canada, New Zealand and Bermuda, as well as from locations across the UK and Europe. Queen of Bermuda and Ocean Monarch departed on Saturday afternoons from Pier 95 on New York’s Hudson River to make the 700-mile voyage to Bermuda. Stephen Card, born in Bermuda and renowned for his paintings of these and other ships, recalls “the many Monday mornings when I would arrive by ferry in Hamilton and, instead of rushing to school, wait to watch the Queen slowly come alongside at No 1 dock. On Wednesday afternoons, as sailing time approached, her triple-chime steam whistles could be heard all over the island.” He adds, “Queen of Bermuda was particularly famous for her profile. Her grey hull and white superstructure were topped with three graceful red and black funnels and she was the only liner in history to have sailed with three, two and, from 1962, one funnel.” Queen of Bermuda made her maiden voyage to Hamilton in 1933. Accompanied by Monarch of Bermuda until the outbreak of war in 1939, they became known as the ‘Millionaires’ Ships’ as they attracted the wealthiest passengers – and the famous, including Clark Gable, TS Eliot, Gertrude Lawrence and child film star Shirley Temple. After a distinguished war service, Queen of Bermuda returned to the Furness Bermuda Line, this time running with the newly-built but smaller Ocean Monarch. Throughout the 1950s, they were dubbed the ‘Honeymoon Ships’, their Saturday departures from New York fitting in well with the week-long honeymoons of many couples. The celebrity list continued, this time including former US president Harry Truman, Cary Grant, Noel Coward and Princess Soraya, former wife of the Shah of Iran. It also included a Cockney lad called Tommy Hicks, who joined the Queen as a bellboy, later returned to London to become a rock ‘n’ roll singer and changed his name to Tommy Steele. Most of the crew came from the UK and many later made their homes in North America and Bermuda. Bob White, from London, now lives in Canada. “After serving as Assistant Purser on both ships from 1961 to 1966,” he says, “I joined Canadian Pacific Airlines and, in the early part of my career, lived all over the country. I married in 1971 in the Yukon Territory, honeymooned in Bermuda – of course – and eventually settled in Toronto.” Des Kirkpatrick, from Manchester, has lived in Manhattan for more than 40 years. “I left Ocean Monarch in 1966 and went to work in the shore excursion office of American Express in New York. Several years later”, he explains, “I moved to Swedish American Line, Flagship Cruises and then Lindblad Travel.” Others, like David Gillmon, returned to the UK. He joined Queen of Bermuda as a radio officer in 1955 and sailed on her final voyage to Faslane in Scotland in 1966. “I went on to join P & O Lines,” he says, “serving on SS Oriana for 18 years, then moved to passenger ferries in the UK and finally swallowed the anchor in 2002.” Shirley Thompson (now Layne) also returned to the UK. She ran the souvenir shop on the Queen for four years and recalls that “in the 60s, there were usually just ten women crew members on the ship, me, a hairdresser and the stewardesses.” Bermudians also found employment on these ships. Allen Soares, bellboy and waiter on Queen of Bermuda from 1961 to 1965, remembers the fine dining on the ship. “Dinner was a very elegant occasion, all silver service and usually five courses with many selections.” He adds, “The passengers were very generous, some tipping a waiter as much as $100 for the week’s round trip from New York.” Another Bermudian, Allan Davidson, joined the Queen as a cadet in 1956 and, as he moved up through the ranks to become Jnr Chief Officer, returned from time to time to serve on both Queen of Bermuda and Ocean Monarch. “As cadets,” he says, "we learned to navigate the ocean by the stars. We met all sorts of interesting people and forged friendships, which have proved to be enduring.” For many, life aboard these ships was a happy, memorable experience. Dave Townson, from Liverpool and now living in Toronto, was an Assistant Purser on Ocean Monarch. He recalls, “The ship was our address but, week after week, we enjoyed both the excitement of New York and the enchantment of Bermuda. Off duty on the island was an afternoon at the beach, a stroll at sunset back to the ship and a dinner of pate de foie gras, caviar and steak, accompanied by the familiar chorus of tree frogs on a still sub-tropical night.” Now, more than forty years on, he and other crew will reunite to share their memories and mementos. Bill Cox, Assistant Purser on both ships from 1956 to 1966, is always on the look-out for memorabilia. “I hope,” he says “the reunion will feature a model of Queen of Bermuda, originally displayed on Pier 95 and recently discovered in the Fred Olsen Line warehouse. The model is due to be presented to the Bermuda Maritime Museum.” While the focus is on Queen of Bermuda and Ocean Monarch, Peter Manley, reunion organiser and former bellboy-deck steward on both ships, has been contacted by a Monarch of Bermuda veteran. He says, “Fred Burney served for three years on the Monarch. Now 91, he is planning to join the reunion in May, thanks to his son-in-law, who read about the event in the UK-based Ships Monthly. Fred is the oldest-known survivor of the Furness Bermuda Line crew.” The organisers would love to hear from more crew – or their relatives – and, of course, welcome them to the reunion. Contact: Bill Cox at william.cox15@btinternet.com or Peter Manley at pmanley@graham-eng.co.uk tel 01282 695121. Notes to editors 1 For enquiries about this press release, please contact Sara Avery, reunion press adviser, at averysara@googlemail.com or tel +44 (0)7505 138378. 2 For further information about the reunion to be held at The Merchant Seamen’s War Memorial Society in Surrey, England on 16 May 2009, visit the Furness Bermuda Line: ships’ crew reunited website at http://www.alvajames.co.uk 3 Images (low-res) of the ships and crew can also be found at http://www.alvajames.co.uk For high-res images, contact Sara Avery at averysara@googlemail.com 4 Furness Bermuda Line Furness Withy took over the passenger traffic between New York and Bermuda from the Quebec Steamship Company in 1919. This Company had had a contract with the Bermudian government since 1874 for a three-weekly service from New York to the island, carrying freight, mail and, as time passed, more passengers. In 1920, Furness Withy’s service, known as Furness Bermuda Line, carried some 22,000 passengers to the island. During the 1920s, Forts Hamilton, Victoria and St George carried the passengers. After Fort Hamilton was sold in 1926, a new larger ship, Bermuda, was launched in 1927. Bermuda caught fire in Hamilton harbour in 1931 and was returned to Belfast in northern Ireland for repair, where she caught fire again. Vickers-Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness shipyard) was then contracted to build Queen of Bermuda, which entered service in 1933. After Fort Victoria sank in a collision off New York in 1929, Vickers-Armstrong (Newcastle shipyard) was contracted again to build Monarch of Bermuda, which ran with Queen of Bermuda from 1933 until 1939. After WWII, Monarch of Bermuda went to Tyneside in north-east England to be re-fitted for commercial service but was virtually destroyed by fire in 1947. The British government bought the ship, which became New Australia and then Arkadia until broken up in 1966. In 1951, Vickers (Newcastle shipyard) completed Ocean Monarch, which ran with Queen of Bermuda until Furness Withy withdrew from the passenger service in 1966. These ships also shared longer voyages to the Bahamas and the West Indies, and pioneered cruises from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) in Florida. The Queen was broken up in Faslane, Scotland and Ocean Monarch was sold, renamed Varna but eventually caught fire and sank in the Mediterranean in 1981. 5 Furness Withy at http://www.furnesswithy.co.uk Furness Withy & Company Limited was established in north-east England in 1891 with just 18 vessels. For nearly a century, the company developed its transatlantic trade and, through partnerships, purchases and acquisitions, expanded its fleet and services to Australia, South America and the Mediterranean. Furness Withy was purchased by the Tung Group of Hong Kong in 1980 and re-sold to the Oetker Group in 1990. Today, Furness Withy Chartering specialises in bulk carrier ship and cargo operating. 6 Bermuda Bermuda lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, 700 miles from New York. The island is 53 sq km and has a population of 66,800. Tourism to Bermuda first developed to escape North American winters. Today, it is the number two industry (international business is first) and cruise ships dock in Hamilton, the capital, St George on the north-eastern tip and at the recently renovated Dockyard on the western side. There are regular flights between Bermuda and eastern US cities, and between the island and London’s Gatwick airport.
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