How did you first become interested in ocean liners / especially QE2?

[Rob Lightbody]

How did you first become interested in ocean liners Rob? Was it through your father and the shipyard?

My Dad returning from exciting international trips to QE2 (at a time when my family couldn't afford international travel) made a huge impression on my childhood.  I remember cowboy hats from America, rum from the Caribbean and a model of the new(ish) world trade center towers particularly. 

From his work at John Browns, he'd have blueprints of the ship that I'd enjoy scribbling on, and he'd bring home the pens with the wee floating ship inside.  QE2 was in my mind, and then when it came on TV (holiday programmes and Falklands conflict) it would resonate and I'd think "Dad's ship", as I do to this day.  She was often in the news.

At the dawn of the internet for me (early 90s), the world opened up and I discovered the information I'd been desperate for about Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth - my 2nd liner passions - and I was aboard Queen Mary as an adult 10 years before I managed to make it onto QE2.

Titanic has never interested me as a ship (just as an event) although I was first in line for the film when it came out, and realise that without that film, there may not have been a QM2...

[Trevor Harris]

My Dad returning from exciting international trips to QE2 (at a time when my family couldn't afford international travel) made a huge impression on my childhood.  I remember cowboy hats from America, rum from the Caribbean and a model of the new(ish) world trade center towers particularly. 

From his work at John Browns, he'd have blueprints of the ship that I'd enjoy scribbling on, and he'd bring home the pens with the wee floating ship inside.  QE2 was in my mind, and then when it came on TV (holiday programmes and Falklands conflict) it would resonate and I'd think "Dad's ship", as I do to this day.  She was often in the news.

At the dawn of the internet for me (early 90s), the world opened up and I discovered the information I'd been desperate for about Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth - my 2nd liner passions - and I was aboard Queen Mary as an adult 10 years before I managed to make it onto QE2.

Titanic has never interested me as a ship (just as an event) although I was first in line for the film when it came out, and realise that without that film, there may not have been a QM2...

Very nice story, Rob!

[Hank Hargrove]

My Dad returning from exciting international trips to QE2 (at a time when my family couldn't afford international travel) made a huge impression on my childhood.  I remember cowboy hats from America, rum from the Caribbean and a model of the new(ish) world trade center towers particularly. 

From his work at John Browns, he'd have blueprints of the ship that I'd enjoy scribbling on, and he'd bring home the pens with the wee floating ship inside.  QE2 was in my mind, and then when it came on TV (holiday programmes and Falklands conflict) it would resonate and I'd think "Dad's ship", as I do to this day.  She was often in the news.

At the dawn of the internet for me (early 90s), the world opened up and I discovered the information I'd been desperate for about Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth - my 2nd liner passions - and I was aboard Queen Mary as an adult 10 years before I managed to make it onto QE2.

Titanic has never interested me as a ship (just as an event) although I was first in line for the film when it came out, and realise that without that film, there may not have been a QM2...

That is a wonderful story, Rob! How amazing that he brought home plans, floating pens, and items from the Americas. It sounds absolutely exciting.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

I am sure that Rob's story is the most interesting one to be found here, but we all have our own stories to tell.

Mine and several others were written up a while ago and can be found here :

https://www.theqe2story.com/Stories/Isabelle.html

It would be great to read more stories especially from our new members .

[Trevor Harris]

I am sure that Rob's story is the most interesting one to be found here, but we all have our own stories to tell.

Mine and several others were written up a while ago and can be found here :

https://www.theqe2story.com/Stories/Isabelle.html

It would be great to read more stories especially from our new members .

I’ve read your story, Isabelle! It was a very nice one.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

I’ve read your story, Isabelle! It was a very nice one.

Thank you very much, Trevor! More members' stories under "QE2 stories" on the left-hand side of the home page, here :

https://www.theqe2story.com/

Members are most welcome to write up theirs .

[kevinh]

Based on the articles and mentions I've written about Titanic, it should be pretty obvious that this ship was what fired my imagination to a whole higher level, and introduced me to the world of ocean liners.

Not sure if I mentioned it in my Introduction post, but it all started when I was back in 4th Grade, attending my third school. I already knew Titanic, but my only knowledge then, was its name, that it was a ship, and, I think, that it sunk: assuming that last part was there, that was literally all I knew, thanks to the 1997 film. And I also thought that its name was "Titantic", and I thought that it's funnels were completely black instead of being buff with black caps.

So it was pretty confusing to me when I found a book labeled "Titanic" in the school library, on the centennial of the ship's life. The appearance, let alone the name, sounded completely different than what I first thought. But it resembled my original thoughts enough to where I, being as curious and a book lover as I was/still am, decided to take a look. And BAM!!!! Titanic instantly became one of the things that opened my mind to new thoughts, to where it became even easier for me to dream up ideas, and ultimately, learn and appreciate ships, for I had been on quite a few, from the USS Constitution, to the Steamships that run from Woods Hols to Martha's Vineyard, which I travel on so often, but never really considered to be nothing more than boats: I took them for granted.

Remembering now a picture poem of the SS United States from the Big U's perspective, written by user RMS-OLYMPIC on DeviantArt, and how the great ship mentioned how most people don't think of ships as being anymore than ships, I feel pretty guilty knowing that at one point, I was one of them (but hey, I was only 9, so my case was an exception, right? )

So yeah, I have to thank the infamous liner for opening me up to this new topic. I have, since then, collected films, watched the James Cameron's movie about 4 times, own many books, includingA Night to Remember, which I'm nearly finished with, and have a Minicraft 1/350 model of the ship which I'm also close to completing (with the exception of paint; that's one of only 2 knocks on this kit, the other being how they could've done a better job with the interiors...). It is also why I want Titanic to finish what she never had by either raising the wreck or building a fully-functioning replica, for when I read about how she sunk, it broke my heart, and even more so when I saw the wreck and learned that within a few years, she'll be gone. So I'm working now to not only save her, but the breed of ocean liners as well.

I might've been able to do this in less words, but yeah, that's how I got introduced to liners (including QE2.)

[Oceanic]

I recall seeing QE2 entering and departing from Southampton as a boy, she had a almost tangible presence whenever she moored; After the first time seeing that majestic red funnel and her sweeping lines I was hooked.

[Brandon Sterkel]

How am I just now finding this topic?

In Mid-Late 2008, I was just starting the 3rd Grade. At this time, I was not really interested in anything. During a silent reading day, I had no book to read and I found myself at my teacher's personal library. One of her books was an easy-to-read book called "Survivors: The Night the Titanic Sank." I read it and was instantly hooked on Titanic. I proceeded to check out every Titanic book from my school library learning all this information about the famed ship. A few months later, I saw the 1997 film for the first time. During all this, I learned that my 3rd grade teacher had (And still does) have a Titanic obsession. It was because of this that our class came together for our own "First Class Dinner."

Around early 2009, I started to venture out and learn more about the ship that rescued the Titanic survivors, RMS Carpathia. I was stunned to learn that Cunard was (somewhat) still in existence. That same night, my grandparents handed me a Cunard brochure which they received thru the mail. Because of this, I took to my computer wanting to learn more about the Cunard Line and after digging through their history, one ship in particular stood out, the QE2. And the rest is history!

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Hi Brandon, what a story! Thank you for having shared it here.

That Titanic film (which for me has memories of my father being very ill at the time and nearing the end of his life -- it was a welcome distraction without any other significance for me) has a lot to answer for! Many of our members here were greatly influenced by it...

Maybe for me the film "Gravity" had a similar influence -- I had never given a moment's thought to the International Space Station before watching that -- now I watch out for it when it crosses my part of the world at dusk (when it is easily visible to the naked eye). But I digress....

I learnt about Carpathia on QE2, in one of the Guest Lectures as we approached Halifax. An extraordinary story... and so, it led you to QE2 herself .

[Brandon Sterkel]

Hi Brandon, what a story! Thank you for having shared it here.

That Titanic film (which for me has memories of my father being very ill at the time and nearing the end of his life -- it was a welcome distraction without any other significance for me) has a lot to answer for! Many of our members here were greatly influenced by it...

Maybe for me the film "Gravity" had a similar influence -- I had never given a moment's thought to the International Space Station before watching that -- now I watch out for it when it crosses my part of the world at dusk (when it is easily visible to the naked eye). But I digress....

I learnt about Carpathia on QE2, in one of the Guest Lectures as we approached Halifax. An extraordinary story... and so, it led you to QE2 herself .

Hi Isabelle, it is interesting to know that many people have have different views when they think of the Titanic film.

As for the Carpathia, I never would've known about QE2 if it hadn't been for her!

[Thomas Hypher]

My interest in ships was fostered by my Dad from a very young age (just before the Millennium, when I was 2 to 3 years old). My earliest ship memories are of reading the magazine of the Ocean Liner Society "Sea Lines", specifically reading about the sinking of the SS Sun Vista off Thailand in May 1999 in the latest news section and reading an article about a group of people visiting the wreck of the old SS America in a 1998 issue of the magazine (when the ship was much more intact, but now sadly just a memory having been reclaimed by the sea). I like many had a strong interest in Titanic initially, because of her tragic sinking, but broadened my horizons at the same time, although my strong interest in Titanic quickly fell by the wayside.

My Dad saw Queen Mary leave Southampton for the last time in 1967 with his Dad (my Grandad who was also a photography teacher and professional photographer among other things). My Dad also followed QE2's construction, making a scrapbook that he still has today. He also saw QE2 frequently in the 1970s as he worked in Southampton for a time, sometimes seeing her in the KGV drydock on the commuter train. My parents saw QE2 leave Southampton from Calshot during 2002 and that's when they decided to travel onboard as we did for the first time in August 2003 thanks to their hard work (was the most expensive holiday either of them had ever been on up to that point!). I hadn't seen QE2 in person until seeing her (the funnel first) from the taxi as we went over the overpasses in Southampton on approach to the docks. I was jumping up and down with joy and excitement (as a 6 nearly 7 year old) as QE2 had been my favourite ship for some time before through my Dad's interest and I'd studied the ship beforehand for a time through various books (before I had access to the internet) such as David F. Hutching's excellent QE2 book (the late 1990s/Millennium edition).

My Grandad (Dad's Dad) was born in Delhi, India in the mid 1920s as my Dad's side of the family were Anglo - Indian civil servants in India at the time. His Dad designed some of the railway bridges in the foothills of the Himalayas and they had a summer residence in Simla (now called Shimla) also in the foothills of the Himalayas (to escape the searing heat in Dehli - and perhaps the Mosquitos?). My Grandad, his parents and siblings came to the UK permanently when my Grandad was a young child - onboard P&O's RMS Maloja (his Dad died shortly after in his late 20s/early 30s we think from TB). One of the reasons I mention this is because my Grandad became a very good model maker in retirement, scratch building a large scale model of RMS Maloja (as she appeared on his journey) on an open ocean diorama in a glass case. My Dad now has the model and has offered it to me as I no longer live at home, but space is an issue for both me and my Dad where we each live. My Grandad also scratch built a reasonably large scale model of RMS Aquitania also on an open ocean diorama and in a glass case which my Auntie (Dad's younger sister) has. He also made me a cardboard and paper fairly large scale model of SS Bremen from a kit, which my Dad has at home. My Dad has assembled various plastic kits of ships (such as the Airfix QE2 kit) among other creative making things (such as a large scale wooden chess piece) to a very high standard but the model making skill has ended with him as my model making skill leaves a lot to be desired!! My Grandad died in early 2008 but managed to travel on QE2 once, in June 2005, and he also travelled on Caronia at least once.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Maloja



Mum's digital photos from August 2003 QE2 trip by Thomas Hypher, on Flickr

The above photo was around the time of my first lifeboat/muster station drill, on our first voyage in August 2003. The drills lose their appeal over time after the first few voyages, although they are a necessity and we always attend!


Sorry for the essay, I think that covers a lot of things!

Thomas

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Wow, Thomas, you came to ships at a very young age and must have inherited the interest (though not the model making skills)! I feel that the photo shows you quite overawed with the experience of finally having made it on board -- and your parents must have been so proud to have succeeded in making their dream (and yours) come true!

I have always liked the sea, and the ships that sail in her, without having been particularly interested in any of these ships as such. As children, we used to holiday on the wonderful islands off the North German coast, and we all loved the ferry crossing and particularly any roughness of the sea that there might have been. And in Ireland, there is a favourite ferry which I have used many times in preference to the road -- the ferry that links  Portaferry with Strangford at the end of Strangford Lough (a large inlet of the Irish Sea). The much larger Irish Sea and the Channel ferries also spring to mind.

I really only came to QE2 because my mother did, and she wanted a travel companion. Over several years (yes, it did take that long!) I grew to love QE2 and was extraordinarily sad when she retired.

But from today's point of view, I think my preference is still for the smaller ships, and for the sea as such. QE2 was an adventure, and a wonderful one, but I am not seeking for anything that would replicate her. And in any case, I live far from the sea and am not daily exposed to the presence of big ships, which might just tempt me back to cruising (or enjoying a passage on a cargo ship).

It is so interesting to read of our various experiences here -- how such diverse people all came to know and love one single ship! I would really appreciate reading some more of our stories here .