Forum member, Hugh Morrison, posted when the Channel 5 Producer first brought up the topic of pilfering and made a good response on the forum, which brings it into context.
I was extremely sad to see that the only specific topic which you saw fit to suggest in the media coverage, with reference to the building of the vessel, was squirreling.
Of course there was pilfering of materials, but this was hardly specific to only the QE2. Pilfering took/takes place at all shipyards, building sites and works, not to mention distilleries. I do feel that the real amount of materials stolen is greatly exaggerated.
Why do you feel it is necessary to make it a specific point for discussion for only the QE2?
I am sure that there is also pilfering takes place on cruise ships, both by the crew and by souvenir searching passengers. If you really feel that it is a point for discussion it should be extended to crew and passengers.
The real problem is that in throwing such unsubstantiated mud around leads to a reputation which affects all concerned, most of whom, including myself, had no involvement in pilfering.
Media coverage of the conference would be a very good thing.
With respect to the building of the QE2, I feel that the vast majority of the correspondence on the media website reflects that most people involved have little or no knowledge or understanding of the huge amount of detail design and skilled construction which was performed by the shipyard in transforming the largely artistic external and interior design into a reality which has lasted so many years. The many aspects of construction seem to be largely forgotten such as the structural design of the hull - with much of the hull shaping work being performed using machinery which was over 60 years old. The design and installation of the systems which make the vessel comfortable and safe, such as the piping and sewage systems, electrical and lighting, ventilation and fire prevention and fire-fighting systems: these are only a few of the elements, mostly unseen, which made the ship what it was. Some may say that such systems are not really so special and are contained in most land based buildings. However the design of such systems becomes very much more complex if they have to work on board a vessel that is constantly moving, sometimes to fairly extreme degrees.
I feel that much more of the design and build aspects should be part of the conference to reflect what the title implies. Unfortunately there are relatively few of us left, both from the original Cunard and the shipyard teams, who were actually around at the time to relate now the stories of how things really were. Even if such aspects are minimal in the conference proceedings we should try and cover it them to some extent, in as positive manner as possible, in any media coverage.
I would therefore discourage any if not all references to squirreling in any media coverage and stick to celebrating the vessel itself.
https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,7776.msg87749.html#msg87749
Topic: Channel 5 Documentary: QE2 -The World's greatest cruise ship (Read 14694 times)
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