Memories, section 7 …                                        

Annette O’Hearn-Gaul (left) contacted the website about her father, Ted Gaul (right) and sent us the remarkable 1951 photograph of a Queen of Bermuda cooks’ football team with players’ names and even the result (below). 

Annette tells us “Sadly, my father passed away in 1983.  My parents would have loved this website as they married in Bermuda and lived there for a few years with my older sister Marilyn.”

Queen of Bermuda cooks’ football team at a charity match in Hamilton, Bermuda 1951.

(Back left to right): Bert Brown, Frank Rostock, Ted Gaul, Johnny Potts, Mick Smullen, John Malcolm, John ?

(Front left to right): Bob King, Alec Ross, Andy Johnstone, Ted Harwood, Tony Cahill.

Result - Waiters 12 Cooks 1.

 

Photograph: Annette O’Hearn-Gaul, the original of which first appeared in www.cunardyanks.com

 

 

Memories of Ted Gaul, Ship’s Cook …                                        

She continues “They married in 1950 at St. Theresa’s parish church in Hamilton, Bermuda (right).  Witnesses were Francis Doon (I’m sure he was on Queen of Bermuda) and Catherine Stubbs who probably worked at the Elbow Beach Hotel — my mother was a waitress there while they lived in Bermuda.”

 

Annette concludes “Apparently the ship donated the food for their wedding and I’m sure there were some shipmates at the wedding too!”

 

Photographs: Annette O’Hearn-Gaul

Lifeboat testing and practice ….                                        

Allan Davidson sent us these two photographs of a motor lifeboat from Ocean Monarch on a day out in 1966.

Allan recalls “I was standing on Somerset Bridge when the lifeboat came through, so they are before and after shots.  I can recognise several faces but you might want to put them up on the website for others to see.”

In the port bow is Dave Townson, starboard bow with the boat hook is Russ Urry, sitting on the port forward rail is Des Kirkpatrick, hanging on to the same rails are Dave Eggleton port side and Roger Blackburn starboard side.

Is that Andy Herdan at the helm,  Dave Kemp with the camera?

If you can help with more names, particularly of wives and girlfriends, please contact the webmaster.

Photographs: Allan Davidson

For more archive shots from Allan’s collection, including new material of Captain Musson in command of Pacific Northwest in Bermuda, click here.

Maintaining the forward mast …

A rare shot (left) of a crew member on the forward mast of Queen of Bermuda taken by passengers, Bob and Joanne Duerholtz (right) on their 1964 honeymoon cruise.

The Duerholtz’s are neighbours of Jim Macintyre (former cadet with Furness Bermuda Line in the 1960s).  Jim sent us the photographs after he discovered the connection.

He tells us “The Duerholtz family have quite a history with FBL . Bob’s grandfather and father spent their honeymoons on Monarch of Bermuda. Joanne’s uncle, Joseph Slattery, worked for Furness in the New York office as a Vice President and, for their '64 cruise, they were able to fix a cabin upgrade. “

 Photographs: courtesy of  Bob and Joanne Duerholtz

 

 

Dick Hallam remembers …

Dick Hallam (right) was an assistant purser with Furness Bermuda Line in the late 1950s and early 1960s, serving on Ocean Monarch and Queen of Bermuda. 

He contacted us when his long-time friend and former cadet, Jim Mackintyre, suggested he look at our website.

Dick has “Many good memories of the years spent aboard in the Purser’s office and the couple of years as Furness Lines’ landing agent in New York.  Following that, I had 30 years with the New York Central/Penn Central/Conrail railroad, retiring as manager in the Financial Accounting Department in Philadelphia.  Now enjoying retired life in the Endless Mountains area of North/Central Pennsylvania and spoiling our grandchildren and newly-born great grandson.”

A recent photograph of Dick and his wife, Pat.

They met when she sailed as a passenger on the ‘Miss Liberty Belle’ cruise of Ocean Monarch from Philadelphia in 1962.

They married a year later, following which Dick joined the shore staff of Furness Downtown office.

 

The pursers and radio officers of Queen of Bermuda played football in their lunch break when the ship was on her positioning run back to the United States. 

In this photograph are (left to right): Ray Gleave, Mike Willey, Dave Gillmon, Bill Cox, Dick Hallam and Alva James.

Photographs: Dick Hallam

Mike Clark remembers …

Mike Clark was a navigating cadet for Furness Bermuda Line in 1955 ( right) and later joined Ocean Monarch as a Third Officer.  Mike (left) recently contacted the website with some memories and photographs.

He remembers “After my service as a cadet, I returned to Ocean Monarch as Junior Third Officer and sailed on several other Furness Withy ships until I obtained my master’s certificate. The fleet was shrinking by that time so there were no real prospects of promotion and I switched to various flags of convenience vessels for a few years.”

 

 

“I eventually returned to New York as a surveyor for Toplis & Harding before switching back to Furness Withy as Cargo Handling Superintendent in 1971. Furness Withy was one of the first tenants to move into the new World Trade Centre.  By that time the Bermuda ships were long gone and the New York office was reduced to an agency for other owners, notably Ocean Fleets/Blue Funnel Line.

As you will know, Dr Richard Beeching, of railway cuts fame, became Chairman of Furness Withy in 1973 with a brief to make the company more profitable and efficient, so he sold off all the remaining ships and closed the New York office in 1974.  Presumably, the company then became 100% efficient!

At about that time, Ocean Fleets formed a joint ‘round the world service’ with Brostroms of Sweden and Whilhelm Wilhelmsen of Norway called Barber Blue Sea Line. I switched over to them as Port Captain in Hong Kong and later in Singapore. In 1980, I took the General Manager’s job in Saudi Arabia probably because no one else would go there. My final job with BBS was asGeneral Manager of their office in London, which is why I washed up back in the UK. 

Incidentally, I spoke to Jimmy Baston on the 'phone last night for about an hour. First time in over half a century so we had a lot to catch up on!   Again, very best wishes with the development of the website.”

About the image above, Mike says “It was taken on Queen of Bermuda by the Department of Marine and Aviation, City of New York in August/September 1955 and was to publicise a visit made to the port by the Senior Boy Scout of America.

I am standing between him and Captain Magnus Musson.  I recall that Capt Musson was the Staff Captain of Queen of Bermuda at the time.

Photograph: permission to reproduce was granted by  the Department of Marine and Aviation, New York City, 1955.

Mike has also sent us remarkable photographs taken from Queen of Bermuda during the rescue of Student Prince II in 1955 when Captain Musson was in command of the rescue party.  To see the images, click here.

 

For Memories, section 1, click here, section 2, click here, section 3, click here, section 4, click here, section 5, click here, section 6, click here, section 8, click here, section 9, click here, section 10, click here and section 11, click here.

For Memories, section 1, click here, section 2, click here, section 3, click here, section 4, click here, section 5, click here, section 6, click here, section 8, click here, section 9, click here, section 10, click here and section 11, click here.