QE2 Midships Lobby Model

[Michael Gallagher]

Last October Rob Lightbody forwarded me an EMail he had received from Merseyside Maritime Museum wanting any information about a Midships Lobby model thet wanted to exhibit in their new exhibition: Life On Board.

https://www.visitliverpool.com/whats-on/life-on-board-p463301

Rob asked me if I knew anything about the model and I was really pleased he did so because it seemed to have solved a puzzle for me which dated back to 1995 - and that is what happened to the model of the Midships Lobby I used to have under my desk (mainly as a foot rest!) in the Cunard Pall Mall office in 1994 / 1995!

I wanted to know from the Museum if the model was in a black wooden case and could it be illuminated? And could they let me know how the museum came to have it in its collection?

In late 1994 me and my boss were asked to attend a house where several QE2 items had been found during a clear out. We went and there were some QE2 bits and pieces and a designers model of the Midships Lobby in a black case. We were given the items and duly stored them at the Cunard offices in Pall Mall, London. .
In September 1995 the Pall Mall office was closing and I had been made redundant (only to return to Cunard in 1998). They were clearing all sorts of stuff and most of it was skipped. I was told I could have the model if I wanted and I did think seriously about it but decided against as it was huge and I really didn't want to see the other half's face when I arrived home with it!

For many years since I wondered what I did with the model. I know it sounds very strange but I just couldn't remember.

The contact from the Museum looked as if I had done the right thing and sent it to Liverpool and a list of old contacts I had there was confirmed by the Museum and tallied with the very little information they had about the model!

Life on Board opens on 28 March (until January 2021) and I can't wait to see the model again and suggest a visit by any Forum members should they be in Liverpool this year!

Today I was reading through some QE2 supplements from 1969 and was delighted to find this image of Dennis Lennon himself looking at the model itself! And I have also attached some general images of the model used by Cunard for press and marketing purposes in the 1960s.

And the Midships Lobby as completed.

[Rob Lightbody]

I'm glad I could help, and glad there's a happy ending!  It does sound an ideal venue for a get-together.

The changes that happened to that space over the years diluted the original outstanding effect of the room, with the strong contrasting colours and that simple column of like making the water drop ripples spreading across the roof effect.  It remains to this day an impressive space, but nothing like it was originally.

[Lynda Bradford]

Sorry that I missed this post probably because I was cruising on QM2 in February.

What an amazing story and so glad that the museum has saved the model.  If the exhibition is still ongoing there will be the opportunity for people to see the model. 

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[Isabelle Prondzynski]

And this is another occasion when this forum has helped to solve a puzzle or a mystery. I always find it wonderful when things suddenly click and come together. We now have so many members with memories and so much material here that we can probably make this happen quite often!