The Cunard Line
Our story begins with a man named Samuel Cunard. He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1787, and was the son of a successful merchant. Growing up, Samuel developed a keen interest in shipping and maritime trade, and he soon began to make a name for himself in the industry. In 1838, he founded the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, which later became known as the Cunard Line.
The Cunard Line was established to provide regular mail and passenger service between Great Britain and North America, and it quickly became one of the most successful shipping companies in the world. And Samuel became one of the most successful shipping businessmen in the world.
One of his most significant achievements was the development of the transatlantic steamship. In 1840, the company launched its first transatlantic steamship, the RMS Britannia, which was faster, more reliable, and more comfortable than any previous ship.
The fleet also included the RMS Acadia, RMS Caledonia, and RMS Columbia. These ships were the first to offer regular, scheduled transatlantic steamship services between Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston, and they quickly became popular with passengers and mail shippers alike. For 30 years, Cunard held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage.
The Blue Riband
The Blue Riband was a prestigious accolade given to the passenger liner that set the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by steamship. The term "Blue Riband" originates from the blue ribbon that was worn by the champion of a horse race. And in those times, it was spelled R-I-B-A-N-D, but it can also be spelled R-I-B-B-O-N.
The award was first introduced in the 1830s and was awarded to ships that crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest time. Initially, the award was open to any ship, but later it was restricted to passenger liners.
Many famous ships competed for the Blue Riband, including the RMS Titanic and the SS United States. The last ship to hold the Blue Riband was the SS United States, which set the record in 1952 and still holds it today.
The award has not been officially awarded since the 1950s, as the rise of commercial air travel and the decline of ocean liner travel made it less significant.
So the Cunard line held this award for 30 straight years until two other steamship companies attained the award with three different voyages between 1850 and 1854. And in a race to continue its reputation as one of the best steamship companies in the world, the Cunard line began plans for its very first iron paddler, the RMS Persia.
A little ship gossip for ya - this pressure to keep the lead may have contributed to the disappearance of the Collins line’s RMS Pacific. It is said that a few days before Persia was supposed to make her maiden voyage, the captain of the Pacific pushed the vessel to the absolute max, far beyond what it was intended to handle.
The Pacific was never seen again after this voyage, which led people to assume that during that particularly bad winter, there probably was an extreme lack of visibility and it most likely ran into an iceberg and sank.
And just as expected, a few months later, the Persia took the Blue Riband for a voyage it made from Liverpool to New York which lasted just 9 days and 16 hours, averaging 13.11 knots.
Throughout the rest of the 1800s and the early 1900s, the battle between steamship companies to be the very best continued on and on.
Merger
In the late 1920s, the Cunard Line faced yet another threat to its seat as one of the top ocean liner companies in the world - the French Line. The French Line, which later produced the SS Normandie, had many prominent vessels in its fleet and was growing in popularity.
Cunard’s answer to the growing pressure to improve was to begin plans for a 75,000-ton vessel, which at the time they called Hull Number 534. But growing economic crises halted the building process.
To complete their upcoming No. 534 project, Cunard applied and received a loan from the British government, but there were a few conditions attached. To receive the loan, Cunard had to merge with the White Star Line, who had recently been forced to cancel construction of their most recent project, the RMS Oceanic - which would have been an 80,000-ton vessel.
The merger commenced in 1934, and work on Hull Number 534 resumed. Not only did the loan give the newly formed Cunard-White Star Line enough money to finish this ship, but it also was enough to build a sister vessel, too.
The ships would be a part of a two-ship weekly express service between Southampton, Cherbourg, and New York.
So the actual name of Hull Number 534 was kept a really good secret until its launch, and there’s some legend behind it. Cunard had originally planned to name the ship the RMS Victoria, which would fall in line with the company standard of giving all of their ships names ending in -ia. At some point during the process of construction, company executives asked Britain's king if they could name it after Britain’s QUOTE “greatest Queen.” END QUOTE
Though, it seemed that the King didn’t quite understand the reference, because when asked, he said that his wife, Mary of Teck, would be delighted.
They, of course, had no choice but to name the ship the RMS Queen Mary.
RMS Queen Mary
When construction was complete, the RMS Queen Mary was over 1,000 feet long, with a beam of 118 feet, and a gross tonnage of over 80,000 tons. It was the largest and most luxurious ship of its time, and it took three years to build at a cost of $40 million.
The design of the Queen Mary was inspired by the Art Deco style that was popular in the 1930s. The ship's interior was a tribute to the glamor and elegance of the era, with luxurious materials like marble, bronze, and exotic woods used throughout.
When it came to facilities, the ship offered two indoor swimming pools, beauty salons, libraries, children’s nurseries, a music studio and lecture hall, telephone connectivity to anywhere in the world, outdoor paddle tennis courts, and dog kennels. It also had a main dining room which was a total of three stories in height, and many air-conditioned public rooms for all the passengers on board.
One of the most impressive features of the Queen Mary was its two-story Grand Salon. The room was over 100 feet long and featured a 25-foot-high ceiling, with ornate chandeliers and intricate plasterwork. The walls were adorned with murals and paintings by famous artists of the time, and the room was often used for concerts and other special events.
Perhaps the coolest aspect of this room was that it contained a large map of the ship’s two routes. Along the routes on the map, a miniature motorized model of the ship would indicate to passengers where the ship was along its course so they could see the progress of their travels.
The Queen Mary also had a cabin-class dining room called Verandah Grill, which was an exclusive a la carte restaurant and was converted to the Starlight Club during the evening.
Accommodations on the ship ranged from first-class staterooms that were fully equipped and luxurious, to third-class staterooms which were much more cramped.
The Queen Mary's exterior design was just as impressive as its interior. The ship had a sleek, streamlined profile that was designed to maximize its speed and efficiency. The ship's four smokestacks were angled slightly forward to reduce drag, and its hull was painted black to reduce its visibility at night. The ship was also equipped with the latest technology, including a state-of-the-art engine room and the most advanced navigation equipment of the time.
Needless to say, the ship was vastly popular due to its elegance, and quickly became a favorite among celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people. One of which was Winston Churchill, who was named in the passenger manifest as ‘Colonel Warden’ and later quoted after World War II that the Queen Mary had “shortened the war by a year.”
World War II
In 1939, the Queen Mary was en route to New York City. Once docking in New York, the beginning of World War II had been declared and its commercial use was suspended. It stayed docked alongside its rival, the SS Normandie. In 1940, the two were joined by the RMS Queen Elizabeth after her secret voyage from Clydebank. For some time, the three largest liners sat idle in the port of New York City until Allied commanders made plans for them to be converted into troopships.
This involved a complete overhaul of the ship. Her interior decor and furniture were removed and replaced with bunk beds for troops, and the woodwork in the cabin-class dining room, staterooms, and other public areas were covered with leather. A total of 6 miles of carpet, 220 cases of china, crystal and silver items, tapestries, and paintings were stored in warehouses during the war.
The ship's staterooms and public spaces were replaced with dormitories and mess halls to accommodate thousands of troops. The ship's luxurious amenities, such as the swimming pool and grand ballroom, were replaced with workshops and storage facilities. The ship was also fitted with heavy-duty cranes and equipment to handle military cargo and vehicles.
The Queen Mary's speed and size made it an ideal transport vessel for the military. She was said to have been the fastest and largest vessel during the war. The ship's top speed of 30 knots allowed it to outrun enemy submarines, while its length of 1,019 feet made it one of the largest and most impressive ships in the world. She was used to transport troops to and from the front lines in Europe and Asia, as well as to carry military equipment and supplies.
During her conversion to a troopship, the Queen Mary got a fresh paint job. Her hull, superstructure, and funnels were painted navy gray. As a result of her new paint job and sheer speed, the Queen Mary gained a brand new nickname - the ‘Grey Ghost.’
Not only was she quick, but she could also carry record numbers of troops. In 1943, the ship set the record for carrying the most passengers - 16,683 people. To this day, the Queen Mary still retains this record. In fact, the largest cruise ships of today only carry up to just under 7,000 passengers.
Escort Ship Disaster
Tragedy struck in 1942, however, when the Queen Mary was carrying thousands of American troops to join the Allied forces in Europe. Off the coast of Ireland, the Queen Mary collided with an escort ship, called the HMS Curacoa.
On October 2nd, the Queen Mary was on her way to join a convoy in the Atlantic, carrying around 10,000 American soldiers. At the same time, the HMS Curacoa, a light cruiser, was on escort duty for the same convoy. As the Queen Mary approached, the Curacoa, following standard procedure, began zigzagging to create a smoke screen to protect the convoy from German submarines. But the Queen Mary, being a much faster ship, was catching up with the Curacoa quickly.
The captain of the Queen Mary, thinking the Curacoa was getting out of his way, maintained his course. It was too late when he realized that this was not the case and the smaller ship was still in the way. The Queen Mary collided with the Curacoa, cutting the cruiser in two. Because of the risk of U-boat attacks, the Queen Mary was ordered to continue sailing without stopping under any circumstances, so it steamed on. Out of the 338 crew members on board the Curacoa, only 108 survived.
The Queen Mary, meanwhile, sustained minor damage and managed to continue on to her destination. The American soldiers on board were kept in the dark about the incident and were only told about it after the war was over. The incident led to controversy and inquiry.
The British government initially denied responsibility for the collision, but after a public outcry, they accepted liability and paid compensation to the families of the victims.
This brings us to yet another tragedy that actually happened to a man by the name of John Pedder on board the Queen Mary.
Queen Mary Tragedies
John Pedder was a young and enthusiastic engineer who had just joined the crew of the Queen Mary in 1940. He was assigned to work in the engine room and was excited to be part of the team that operated the grand ocean liner. However, his enthusiasm soon turned to tragedy when he became the victim of a watertight door accident on the ship. On the fateful day of July 10th, 1942, the Queen Mary was heading towards Scotland, escorted by a number of other vessels.
The ship was traveling at a high speed of 28 knots, which was necessary to evade German U-boats that lurked in the Atlantic. John Pedder was working in the engine room when he was asked to check the watertight doors. His job was to ensure that all the doors were properly closed and secure, to prevent any water from entering the ship in case of an emergency. Pedder reached watertight door number 13, which was located on the starboard side of the ship.
As he was checking the door, the ship suddenly made a sharp turn, causing the door to close on him. Pedder was trapped between the door and its frame, with the full weight of the door pressing against him. Pedder's colleagues tried frantically to open the door, but to no avail. The door had been designed to be watertight, which meant that it was incredibly heavy and could not be opened easily.
The ship's captain, aware of the situation, ordered the engines to be stopped and the ship to be turned around, hoping to release the pressure on the door. However, it was too late. Pedder had already suffered severe injuries, and his colleagues could do nothing to save him. He died a few hours later from his injuries.
Another strange death was that of a man named W.E. Stark. W.E. Stark was a wealthy businessman who, in 1935, had booked passage on the Queen Mary, the most luxurious ocean liner of its time. Stark was a man of refined tastes, and he looked forward to the elegant dinners and cocktails that the ship was famous for.
On the third day of the voyage, Stark ordered a gin and tonic from the ship's bar. The bartender, not wanting to disappoint a distinguished guest, used the finest ingredients he had on hand. He used a new tonic syrup that had just been added to the ship's inventory, and he added a generous amount of gin to the mix.
Stark, savoring the taste of his drink, ordered another, and then another. He enjoyed the drinks so much that he continued ordering them well into the night, losing track of how many he had consumed. Little did he know, the tonic syrup was laced with toxic levels of quinine, a substance that is used to treat malaria. In high doses, quinine can cause severe side effects, including nausea, dizziness, and even death.
By the next morning, Stark had fallen gravely ill. He was suffering from severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and confusion. The ship's doctor was called to his cabin and immediately recognized the symptoms of quinine poisoning. Stark was rushed to the ship's medical center, where he received urgent treatment.
The doctors worked tirelessly to save him, administering antidotes and trying to stabilize his condition. But it was too late. The quinine had already done irreparable damage to his system, and he passed away a few days later.
Now, the ship is said to be haunted by the ghosts of those who perished on board, and their spirits linger in the halls and cabins, seeking to make their presence known.
Retired
After the war was over, from September 1946 through July 1947, the Queen Mary was converted back into a passenger ship. And the Cunard-White Star Line was also renamed once more to just Cunard. Hand-in-hand with the Queen Elizabeth, their two-ship express service was extremely popular and made Cunard highly profitable even into the 1950s.
Although at that point, air travel was growing in popularity due to its significantly shorter travel times. With just a 7-8 hour flight from New York to London, the demand for sea travel decreased. It became more frequent that the Queen Mary would carry more crew than passengers. And by 1965, Cunard was losing money fast.
It was then that both the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were retired from service. Many bids were submitted, but the Queen Mary was eventually sold to Long Beach, California for $3.45 million.
It was then in 1967 that she made her 1,001st and last voyage. Departing from Southampton, England, on a crisp morning, the iconic ocean liner embarked on a farewell journey that would forever be etched in maritime history. The final voyage of the Queen Mary was a reminder of her remarkable service in transporting 2,112,000 passengers over 3,792,227 miles throughout the years.
The retirement of the RMS Queen Mary marked the end of an era. After decades of service as a luxury ocean liner and later as a troopship during World War II, the Queen Mary bid farewell to her active years and embraced a new chapter in her life. Docked permanently in Long Beach, California, the ship was transitioned into a magnificent floating hotel and museum, preserving her grandeur and allowing visitors to immerse themselves in her rich history and ghostly tales.
Hauntings
The stories of hauntings aboard the Queen Mary are numerous and varied. Some say that the ghost of John Pedder, the man who was crushed by Watertight Door 13, can still be heard working on the machinery, while others claim to have seen the ghostly figure of a woman in white wandering the decks, her ethereal form fading away into the mist.
According to another tale, a young girl was swimming in the pool aboard the Queen Mary, when she somehow drowned. The tragedy of her death has left a lasting impression on the ship, with many people reporting sightings of her ghostly apparition over the years.
Some people claim to have seen the little girl’s ghostly figure playing around the pool area, while others have reported hearing the sound of her laughter echoing through the corridors of the ship. The legend of this little girl has become so well-known that many visitors to the Queen Mary specifically seek out the pool area in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her ghost.
In addition to these tales, there are sometimes eerie whispers and footsteps that can be heard in the deserted hallways and empty cabins, as if the ghosts of long-dead passengers are still on board, unable to find rest.
Many visitors to the Queen Mary have reported strange experiences, from unexplained cold spots and sudden drops in temperature to doors that open and close by themselves. Some have even claimed to have seen apparitions and heard ghostly voices, causing a chill to run down their spine.
The Beloved Queen Mary
Despite the ship's haunting reputation, there are those who still flock to the Queen Mary, eager to experience the thrill of encountering a ghost. Some even say that they feel a strange sense of comfort in the presence of the spirits, as if they are not alone on the ship.
Whether the hauntings are real or simply the product of an overactive imagination, the Queen Mary remains a source of fascination and intrigue for many. Her ghostly inhabitants continue to capture the imagination of visitors from all over the world, and their stories will continue to be told for generations to come.
Still to this day, you can go and tour or stay on the Queen Mary, though she won’t take you anywhere except back in time.
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