June 2014 : QE2 Story presents plaque to Cunard on board Queen Victoria

[Rob Lightbody]

QE2 Story members present special plaque to Cunard on board Queen Victoria

On the 31st of May, more than 20 members of the QE2 Story were invited by Cunard on board Queen Victoria in Liverpool, where the ship was commemorating the centenary of Aquitania's maiden voyage with a number of events.  This was part of a weekend of events for Forum members, including drinks on Friday night, and lunch and dinner together on Saturday.

After a fantastic guided tour of the ship, a champagne reception was held in the Commodore Club on board, overlooking the Liverpool skyline including the Cunard building.

John Little had a beautiful plaque made especially for our visit, and former QE2 engineering officers Andy Kilgour (left), Ronnie Keir (centre) and Tony Amos (right), who are all now officers on QV, attended the reception and accepted the plaque on behalf of the ship. Also joining us was Michael Gallagher of cunard.

Amongst the Forum members going aboard were Graham and Alan, both former QE2 crew members who have not set foot aboard a Cunarder since they left QE2 decades ago.  All the members were glad to see QE2 remembered in various places on board QV, and enjoyed learning about the ship and seeing all that she has to offer.





Following the reception, members left the ship and got an exclusive tour of the spectacular Cunard building, by the building's manager, which included a trip into the basement and onto the roof, before lunch nearby, and then joining the thousands of people watching the Queen Victoria sail.  Most of us wished we were going with her!







Special thanks go to Michael Gallagher of Cunard for arranging our visit, the tours and the reception. Also to Lynda Bradford for organising our side of things and getting in touch with the officers, and to John Little for the idea of the plaque, then making it happen - his generosity is noted!  Also, of course, to all the forum members who joined us.

The discussion topic for the event is here -https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,5819.0.html

And our special photo gallery is here - https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=118

Keep an eye on the Get Togethers section of the forum so you don't miss the next one!  Also feel free to suggest your own get together.

And of course, look out for our plaque next time you're aboard QV - take a photo of yourself with it!!

[Cunarder Man]

I have just returned from Queen Victoria having had the great honour of being part of the Cunard 175 celebrations in Liverpool. Queen Victoria was ideally positioned between QM2 and QV as we entered the Mersey and her our position as part of the arrowhead formation allowed great views of the sister ships with the Liverpool skyline in the background. Cunard, the city of Liverpool and all those involved in the organisation are to be congratulated.

However, I managed to have a look at The QE2 Story's Centenary Plaque to the maiden voyage of Aquitania and I was well impressed! It has been mounted on a specially made mahogany tablet and it is positioned in pride of place amongst QE2 memorabilia in the Officer's Wardroom. The picture above the plaque is a 360 of the Rotunda on QE2. I was grateful to Tony Amos ,who was present at its presentation ceremony last year, for taking time to show me the plaque in situ. Tony is now the proud owner of a QE2 Story pin badge!

I met a number of Ex QE2 crew on board and I was somewhat surprised that only a few were aware of The Story. Not withstanding, they were presented with a flyer and a card reminding to look online. In addition, a few flyers were left with Tony to pass to colleagues on board.

[Rob Lightbody]

Hi John,

Thanks for revisiting the plaque which you, of course, were responsible for in the first place, and we continue to be grateful for!  It looks great in situ and its nice to see a 'QE2 Corner' in the wardroom on QV.

I look forward to seeing it again sometime!

We maybe need to do a more generic flyer, rather than the current one which is 'of the moment'.

Thank you for your continued generous support John.

- Rob

[Cunarder Man]

We were all lucky to visit The Wardroom on Queen Victoria this year and see the The QE2 Story's gift to the ship - it remains in pride of place alongside other QE2 memorabilia.

[Andy Holloway]

Missed this the first time around but to look at the initial photos and see our old friend Ronnie Kerr again is brilliant, thanks for bringing this thread back up to the top again.