52 years ago today – 27 April 1969.
QE2 officially entered service on 22 April 1969 with an eight-day Preview Cruise to Las Palmas (25 and 26 April), Tenerife (26 April) and Lisbon (28 April) – sailing 3,156 miles roundtrip with some 1,350 passengers.
As QE2 sailed between Lisbon and the Canary Islands 11-month old James William Dudley claimed a small piece of maritime history by becoming the first baby to be christened on board QE2. The ship’s bell was inverted and used as a font for the ceremony, which was performed by the Anglican Padre, The Reverend Vincent Castle with Captain G E Smith in attendance.
James had been born on 13 May 1968 and his parents delayed his Baptism until their first voyage on QE2. His parents, Mr and Mrs Tony Clifton, had made arrangements to christen James on the ship in January 1969 but the various delays meant dates had to be altered several times. “We began to wonder how old he would be before he was finally christened!”.
