HISTORY OF CUNARD: 'AQUITANIA'

Here is another chapter in the history of Cunard, cdelebrating its 175th year in 2015.

From Cunard

In 1915 the British Government War Office requested that Mauretania and Aquitania be made available to transport three divisions of troops to the Mediterranean where the Allied armies were heavily involved in the ill-fated Gallipoli expedition.

Painted black (including her funnels) Aquitania left Liverpool on 18 May 1915 for Mudros with over 5,000 troops of the 13th Division. She left Liverpool again on 3 July, again with over 5,000 troops, including much of the 11th (Northern Division) and two days out Aquitania was fired upon by a submarine, possibly Austrian, but fortunately the torpedo missed by some fifty feet astern. Aquitania reached Mudros on 10 July. During the next three months she made a number of trooping voyages between Liverpool and Mudros and conveyed around 30,000 troops. The troops delighted in the “ample accommodations” found on Aquitania and recalled adequate breakfasts of porridge, eggs and bacon and a whole pint of coffee as well as sports and parades on deck being the order of the day.

THE HISTORY OF THE CUNARD BUILDING

Editor's Note: As Cunard marks its 175th year, here's another chapter in their history. This one is about the history of the Cunard Building in Liverpool, posted here from their press release:



"Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson and Cunard Director Angus Struthers hoisted a specially-commissioned 175 Flag above the Cunard Building at the Pier Head in Liverpool on Feb. 20.

Cunard Director Angus Struthers and
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson

"Cunard celebrates the 175th anniversary of the departure from Liverpool of its first ship in 2015 and the Cunard Building, its former Headquarters from 1916 to 1967, will play a key role in the celebrations planned to mark this milestone anniversary. The Building, one of the famous “Three Graces” on the Pier Head waterfront, a UNESCO World Heritage site, will mark its own 100th anniversary in June 2016.

"Angus Struthers, Cunard Director, comments:

“The Cunard Building was designed to convey gravitas as a land-based representation of the Cunard ships themselves: solid, reliable, elegant and impressive. For almost 100 years the Building has remained just that and although Cunard moved to another home in 1967, the Building has remained a true statement to the shared history of the company and Liverpool. It is therefore very fitting that the Three Queens of the Cunard fleet will salute the Cunard Building when they gather on the Mersey on 25 May 2015.”

"The Cunard Building, now one of the “Three Graces” on Liverpool’s magnificent World Heritage Site Pierhead, was built on the site of George’s Dock. Divided into three sites by the extension of Water Street and Brunswick Street, it was destined to become one of the most famous waterfronts in the world.

CUNARD HISTORY: HAIL TO HIBERNIA!

This article, written by Michael Gallagher, public relations executive and historian
for Cunard Line, is part of an ongoing series of key moments in Cunard Line's history

By Michael Gallagher
Cunard Historian

Hibernia arrives in New York

On 29 December 1847, Cunard Line made its first call to New York when Hibernia arrived. The Herald newspaper's front page screamed “Hail to the Hibernia” and detailed how "the entire populace swarmed to its waterfront to cheer the coming of the first Cunarder to the harbour of New York.”

Citing the wonders Cunard had done to Boston in terms of commerce and population growth, The Herald claimed Cunard's first ship, Britannia, had "initiated a new era in human intercourse."

The newspaper went on: "The arrival of the Hibernia...is only the beginning of the revolution that is going on in ocean steam navigation, which will ultimately result in drawing all steamers to this port. Our merchants ought to welcome Captain Ryrie to New York. Why not give him a public dinner, Friday next?"

CUNARD HISTORY: THE BOSTON CUP

Note: We are pleased to continue the History of Cunard series with this latest installment from Cunard historian Michael Gallagher.

By Michael Gallagher
Cunard Historian

Photos/Graphics: Credit Cunard

Former flagship QE2 (left) sails past new
 flagship Queen Mary 2 (right) in Boston in 2004

On 1 May 2004, Cunard flagship status passed from Queen Elizabeth 2 to Queen Mary 2 and the company sought a physical symbol to represent flagship status. Enter the Boston Cup! In a moving ceremony, QE2's Captain Ian McNaught handed the Cup to Queen Mary 2's Commodore Ron Warwick, and later that day attending guests, including Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, transferred by boat to the new flagship for lunch. After lunch they gathered at the stern of Queen Mary 2 and enjoyed the traditional British hymns and anthems waiting for QE2 to sail past.

When she emerged from the mist, the music was dramatically replaced with “Isn't She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder. Nothing more appropriate could have been played and there was not a dry eye on those aft decks – even those of the Deputy Prime Minister. Later that night, with the Boston Cup on board, Queen Mary 2 sailed for the first time as Cunard flagship.

CUNARD HISTORY: SOUTHAMPTON

This article, written by Michael Gallagher, public relations executive and historian for Cunard Line, is part of an ongoing series of key moments in Cunard Line's history

By Michael Gallagher
Cunard Historian

Cunard's “Big Three:” Mauretania, Berengaria and Aquitania

Southampton has been a port since at least Roman times. During the Middle Ages, it was particularly important for wool and wine trade, which finally dwindled away almost completely by the early 18th Century. After a brief period as a spa resort, the port sprang into new life with the coming of the railway; and by 1840 – the year Cunard service from Liverpool to Boston began – it was obvious Southampton’s future prosperity as a passenger shipping port was assured.

During the 19th Century, the docks at Southampton gradually expanded, and many shipping companies came to use the port regularly. Liverpool remained the Cunard port, although an occasional call at Southampton by a Cunarder was not unknown.

White Star Line had been using Southampton since 1907 and had an office there. Cunard made occasional calls before World War One; but after that Cunard found it politic to operate its express liner service from Southampton and, in 1919, an office was established at Maritime Chambers. Soon Cunard's “Big Three,” Mauretania, Aquitania and Berengaria, were running from Southampton to New York via Cherbourg, with the first Cunarder to use the port being Aquitania. However, Mauretania inaugurated the new service on 18 November 1919.

The increased prosperity made the Southern Railway Company, who then owned the docks, consider plans for greatly enlarging them, and by the late 1920s the New Docks was under construction. News of the proposed new superliner, Queen Mary, prompted Southern Railway to include a giant dry dock in its plans – one large enough to accommodate Queen Mary. The New Docks was largely finished during the early 1930s, and on 26 July 1933, the dry dock was officially opened by King George V, whose name it bears.

South Western House, 1966 (Credit: Cunard)

The decision in 1965 to make Southampton the Head Office of Cunard meant that the premises at Maritime Chambers, used since 1919, were no longer adequate, so South Western House became the new home of Cunard. The former hotel building had been converted to provide office accommodation for the company. About 120 staff members and their families moved from Liverpool to Southampton, the existing staff of some 200 persons was retained and about 200 extra personnel were engaged, many locally.

On 4 July 1966 – 166 years to the day Britannia departed on the voyage that changed ocean travel forever – Cunard Managing Director Philip Bates with his fellow Directors watched the Cunard flag unfurl above South Western House.

When QE2 entered service in 1969, she was the first Cunard passenger ship to have Southampton on her stern.

Cunard remained at South Western House until 1996 before relocating to Mountbatten House at Grosvenor Square ,and then to Harbour Parade in 2009.

CUNARD HISTORY: WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Cunard Introduces the Helen Gormley

This article, written by Michael Gallagher, public relations executive and historian for Cunard Line, is part of an ongoing series of key moments in Cunard Line's history

Credit: Cunard

When Her Majesty The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) accompanied her Mother to the launch of Queen Elizabeth in 1938 the world knew that the new ship was to be called Queen Elizabeth (great secrecy had surrounded the name of Queen Mary until the very moment of her launch in 1934). When Her Majesty named Queen Elizabeth in Southampton in 2010 the world knew what name she was to give that ship. And when Her Majesty named the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth recently once again the name was known beforehand.

But when Her Majesty traveled to Clydebank on Sept. 20, 1967 to name the new Cunarder it was a different story…

A SURPRISING CUNARD GEM

Editor's Note: Our readers know how much we love history. Here's another article in a series by Cunard's historian and public relations executive, Michael Gallagher (who we interviewed here).

By Michael Gallagher
Cunard Historian

Skirmisher (Cunard)

Which Cunarder served longer than any other? Which carried more passengers than any other? I think you will be surprised with the answers...

The River Mersey is a tidal river and the range of the tide can be as great as 33 feet. In Cunard’s early days, its ships were moored in the river and passengers would embark and disembark in tenders. With the arrival at Liverpool of increasingly larger ships in the 1880s, two new tenders were built: one was the baggage and fresh water carrier Otter, while the other was the large passenger tender Skirmisher. When Cunard ships berthed alongside from 1895, Skirmisher was used to control the positioning of every Cunarder as well as ferry passengers to and from those mid-river.

Skirmisher (607 gross tons / 165 feet long / 32.2 feet wide with accommodations for three classes) was launched at Clydebank on May 14, 1854 and was in fact Cunard’s first two-propeller ship! She entered service in July that year and would remain a familiar sight on the Mersey until she was withdrawn from service in October 1945.

By then, Skirmisher had become Cunard’s longest-serving ship and carried more passengers than any other Cunarder!

Royal duties beckoned twice. On May 25, 1894 Skirmisher acted as an escort to HRH Queen Victoria’s Royal Yacht at the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal. And then in 1897 she acted as a tender to Cunard’s Campania at the Diamond Jubilee Spithead Naval Review. 
She also visited Fishguard at this time.

Skirmisher did her duty for the country in time of war too. She acted during the whole of the Boer War as the Liverpool Embarkation Ship as the troopships mainly anchored mid-river and were stored and provisioned by a medley of small craft. In 1917 when U Boats were reported off the Mersey, she was berthed across Gladstone Dock Gate in case of an attempt to destroy it by torpedo. In the Second World War she was equipped as a fire fighter and capable of pumping 100 tons of water per minute. In 1944 she went to Fishguard to disembark Winston Churchill from Queen Mary after the Quebec Conference as bad weather forced Queen Mary to sail straight to the Clyde.

With the advent of the "giants" Lusitania and Mauretania an extra deck was added to Skirmisher to enable her gangways to reach the hull doors.

In 1914 Skirmisher went to the Clyde to attend the launch of Aquitania.
A truly remarkable Cunarder indeed!

MEET CUNARD'S HISTORIAN, MICHAEL GALLAGHER

Michael Gallagher

First, it’s a pleasure to meet you and thank you for generously agreeing to answer a few questions for Cruising Squared.

Please tell us a little about yourself, your background and how you came to your role as historian for Cunard.

Coming from just outside Liverpool (where Cunard was founded) and hearing all my Grandad's tales from his time working for Cunard I was very interested in the company from a young age. I used to pester the Public Relations Manager at the time, Eric Flounders, for information. We got to know each other and in 1994 he offered me a job as his Assistant. So, at 19 years old, I left home and went to work in London for Cunard - 20 years ago this August. Eric and I worked together until his retirement in 2011. It was at that point I was made Public Relations Manager and Historian. I am very proud of the "Historian" element as I am the first to undertake such a role in Cunard history.

Cunard has a long, rich and storied history. How did you set about learning it all?

I think having a real passion and interest in finding out as much as you can about something you love helps. And the fact that the Cunard story is unlike any other, with so many strands, means you are always learning more about the company.

If you were making a list of top five or ten most fascinating Cunard historical happenings, what would you include?

For starters...

• The fact that the company came about at all after Samuel Cunard's brainwave to establish the first scheduled service across the Atlantic and how he secured the Admiralty contract without Atlantic experience and without ships!

• The story of the little Carpathia rushing through the night to rescue all the survivors of Titanic.

• The company's war record. Cunard ships took the horses to the Charge of the Light Brigade at Crimea and Churchill saying that the contribution of Queen Mary and Elizabeth helped shorten the Second World War by a year!

• The amazing QE2 and how she defied the odds when she entered service in 1969, when many thought she would be laid up within six months, but she went on to sail more miles than any other ship in history and became one of Cunard's most-loved and longest-serving (39.5 years) ships.

• The association Her Majesty The Queen has with Cunard. She attended the 1938 launching of Queen Elizabeth and has since them launched / named four Cunard ship and visited and traveled many times. That association dates back 76 years!

• How Queen Mary was (and still is) heralded as a sign of the UK coming out of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

• How despite the fact more Cunard ships have won the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing and yet not once did the company collect / display the Hales Trophy or fly the Blue Riband, insisting its ships were not in it for speed.

• How not once in 174 years has the company been responsible for a single loss of life - or loss of a mailbag!

And that what Cunard started on the Atlantic one day Cunard will finish!

What’s been your top personal highlight or accomplishment in your time with Cunard?

There are many, including the ship namings, Royal visits and concerts held at the Liverpool Cathedral, but the biggest highlight has to be meeting Her Majesty The Queen on QE2 during her farewell visit to the ship on June 2, 2008.

So many of the new ships seem like amusement parks at sea. In your opinion, will there always be a market for “classic cruising” in the white glove style of Cunard?

Absolutely. No doubt about it!

We agree 100 percent! Thanks again for sharing your insights with our readers.

Special thanks also to Cunard's Jackie Chase, who assisted with this article.

A DOUBLE DECKER HISTORY LESSON

Loading onto the Queen Mary (Cunard)

If you are history buffs, as we are, you'll enjoy this item written by Michael Gallagher, public relations executive and historian for Cunard Line and part of an ongoing series of key moments in the Cunard Line's history.

"After purchasing Queen Mary, the City of Long Beach wanted to build an 'Olde London' village alongside their new acquisition. As well as buying the great Queen herself, the City purchased two London Double Decker buses to be used in the village. The easiest way to get them to Long Beach would be on Queen Mary. Before her final departure from Southampton in October 1967, the buses were loaded onto the aft decks of the ship.

"It would prove to be a very good revenue stream for Cunard as tickets (a dollar a time) were sold to passengers to sit on the bus as Queen Mary rounded the notorious Cape Horn.

"The 'Olde London' idea never quite came to fruition and neither did the plan to have live electric eels swimming in specially-made handrails on staircases in the Jacques Cousteau's Museum of the Sea which was built in the gutted machinery spaces!

"A London Double Decker Bus was used at ceremonies to mark the Float Out of Queen Mary 2 in March 2003. The bus ferried guests to and from the airport and then took them on an excursion into the dry-dock to see Queen Mary 2. An on board Conductor processed tickets giving the destination as 'QM2'. It was perhaps then we realized just how big she is...."

Credit: Cunard

CUNARD: A HISTORY OF BOTH AIR AND SEA

Credit all photos: Cunard

Are you a history buff? We are. History is so fascinating, whether it's the history of the world, Palm Beach, or in this case, cruise lines. Cunard has produced this as "part of an ongoing series of key moments" in its rich history. I think you'll enjoy it as much as we did:

By Cunard

In 1957, airplanes carried more passengers across the Atlantic than passenger liners; and the number taking to the air rather than taking a ship would increase yearly thereafter. 

Cunard Line saw its future as a transatlantic carrier threatened in the early 1960s with the advent of cheap air travel. In fact, Cunard was one of the first companies to take advantage of air travel to deliver its passengers to its ships in the Mediterranean, Bermuda and the Caribbean, and decades later millions of cruise passengers would be flying to and from their ships.

Without doubt, the most spectacular air/sea marriage occurred when British Airways and Cunard Line joined forces to create the Concorde/QE2 package, matching the world’s fastest passenger aircraft with the world’s fastest and most famous ocean liner.

But before then...