SHIP’S WAR RECORD
QUEEN ELIZABETH’S SERVICE NOW CARRYING CIVILIANS It was one grim day back in 1940 that the 83,673 ton Queen. Elizabeth, the largest shep, ever built, with only an operating crew aboard, slipped quietly into the fog banks off Scotland for a swift dash through submarine-infested waters to New York. The sturdy British had no intention that the pride of their merchant fleet, not yet quite completed, should become the prize target of the Luftwaffe or U-boats. Allegedly “Sunk” Many Times
It was a quick voyage then—a silent one—a blacked-out one. After that the Queen Elizabeth slipped in and out of New York Harbour dozens of times. The great vessel plied the Pacific. It received transport fittings at Singapore before the Japanese occupied that port. The ship was cloaked in anonymity. Its movements, its whereabouts were the subject of Nazi speculation. Mussolini’s radio scouts sometimes “sank” the ship. But to hundreds of thousands of muted troops, the Queen Elizabeth temporarily was a home and a refuge from the storm of war.
When the days of war duty ended the Queen Elizabeth became the bearer of joyful throngs of men returning at last to their homes. White Star Cunard Line people make much of the claim that the Queen Elizabeth has the greatest peacetime passenger-carrying capacity. of any ship afloat—a total of 2,314 travellers for a single trip, not counting the crew.
Sailed Minus Escort In wartime, the Queen Elizabeth carried more than 15,000 men at a time. Entire divisions were embarked in the great ship. These numbers were multiplied during the war, until something like 811,400 men had travelled to and fro on the vessel. Enemy submarine packs were directed to ambush the “Q.E.” But it travelled without escort, carried its own protection—the greatest, of which was its speed—and voyaged without mishap. Not many reminders of the days of transport duty—which mounted up to 492,635 miles—remain. The mahogany deck rails, carved with the initials of many servicemen, have been carefully finished to preserve these marks of service. Many a G.I. some day may sail on again in the Queen Elizabeth and find his initials still there.
Otherwise the ship is practically a new ship. Its 35 public rooms have been finished with elegance and taste, using many rare veneers and woods, a variety of leathers, plastics, glass, and metal work to add to its beauty. Staterooms, with all conveniences, air conditioning, and the latest type of lighting, were developed in the ship’s first cabin, and tourist classes with only one thought—that of passenger comfort. Exquisite Art Work The largest public room—a dining saloon for 800 guests—is ornamentally canopied. Its walls are wood, covered with London plane tree burr. A large clock in this room, its face carved with the signs of the zodiac by Bainbridge Copnall, noted British wood carved, is in a lime wood case. The marquetry panel, revived from the 16th century’s wood-work-ing craftsmanship, presents -the theme of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. It was done by the English artist, George Ramon, whose work was chosen out of more than 400 sketches submitted. Ramon’s panel, believed to be the largest marquetry work in existence, is done in 66 different wood veneers.
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Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 87, 27 January 1947, Page 5
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533SHIP’S WAR RECORD Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 87, 27 January 1947, Page 5
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