0:00:04 > 0:00:08Bigger and more powerful than the Titanic,
0:00:08 > 0:00:13faster than any other ship in her class, taller than the Eiffel Tower.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16What a beautiful ship she is.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21The Queen Mary is the last survivor of the golden age of ocean liners.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22This is her story,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26intimately told by some of the many millions of people whose lives
0:00:26 > 0:00:29she touched and changed for ever.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32That ship is carved in my memory and in my soul.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Built with the blood and sweat of the master craftsmen
0:00:37 > 0:00:41of the Clydebank shipyards, she helped drag a nation from the depths
0:00:41 > 0:00:45of the Great Depression and set sail as a symbol of new hope
0:00:45 > 0:00:46and a better future.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52The great day has arrived for the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Movie stars, politicians and royalty
0:00:55 > 0:00:57crossed the Atlantic luxuriously cocooned
0:00:57 > 0:00:59in a floating palace.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04During the performance I was sliding back and forth.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09# Chances are cos I wear a silly grin. #
0:01:09 > 0:01:10I didn't have to move.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13The boat moved for me.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Designed in peacetime to link the old world with the new,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21she was transformed to challenge the fury of the Nazis,
0:01:21 > 0:01:23who brought whole armies to Europe.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26When we got there, we looked up at this huge monstrosity, you know?
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I said, "Oh, my God!"
0:01:29 > 0:01:31We knew that ships were being sunk
0:01:31 > 0:01:33and now we were going into harm's way.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37She was the British Navy's most iconic ship,
0:01:37 > 0:01:41so Hitler offered a 250,000 reward for any U-boat captain
0:01:41 > 0:01:46that could sink her. But her size and speed made her unsinkable.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49She became Churchill's War Rooms at sea.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52This is the Churchillian equivalent to Air Force One.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Damn sight better.
0:01:54 > 0:01:55Through tragedy...
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Incredible, the amount of damage it did do.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00..to triumph.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Oh, everybody was so damn happy to be going home.
0:02:04 > 0:02:0680 years after her maiden voyage,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09she continues to win the hearts of millions of visitors,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13all who want to learn the amazing story of this Queen of the Seas.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27It's early morning in the historic port city of Southampton.
0:02:29 > 0:02:3380 years ago, this famous harbour was the scene of one of the most
0:02:33 > 0:02:35eagerly anticipated events of the 20th century.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41News cameras, journalists and almost a million people turned out to
0:02:41 > 0:02:46witness the biggest ship ever to be built set sail on her maiden voyage.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Across town, a group of former bellboys, waiters, stewardesses,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56engineers and other crew members have come together
0:02:56 > 0:02:59to celebrate the anniversary.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02We're ex-crewmembers - some of us are ex-crewmembers,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05some of us are partners of ex-crewmembers.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Because we're all dying off gradually,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10it's ringing the lantern, isn't it?
0:03:10 > 0:03:14It's all old seamen reminiscing.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19My first trip - and I can remember this offhand -
0:03:19 > 0:03:22I went to Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Buenos Aires, Sydney, Freemantle, Colombo, Naples,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Port Said, Port Tewfik and back to Southampton.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30It took us three months.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32As children - we were just children -
0:03:32 > 0:03:35- we were roaming the world, weren't we?- Most certainly were.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39The Queen Mary - would have been about 1957,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41when I was young with dark hair.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Happy memories.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46It was a fantastic life.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I think I was at sea, and many of these guys,
0:03:49 > 0:03:51when the Merchant Navy was in their peak.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55This was the time when Britain built the finest ships,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57the likes of which you're never going to see again.
0:04:06 > 0:04:105,000 miles away in the heart of sun-drenched California,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12the ship that created all these memories
0:04:12 > 0:04:15is permanently moored in the port city of Long Beach.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18She's a floating hotel and museum -
0:04:18 > 0:04:22an attraction that brings in over 1.5 million visitors each year.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Honorary captain Everett Hoard has been with the ship
0:04:28 > 0:04:30for most of her life in Long Beach.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40We are now walking into the grand salon,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42which is the largest room in the Queen Mary.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Originally the first-class dining room when the Queen Mary
0:04:45 > 0:04:46roamed the North Atlantic,
0:04:46 > 0:04:51it is now our finest room and we are celebrating our champagne
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Sunday brunch, which we do every Sunday here on the Queen Mary.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57As you'll see, there are over 100 gustatory delights
0:04:57 > 0:05:00laid out for people to enjoy.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Where can you eat in a room so splendid as this?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05The room is panelled in peroba wood from Brazil.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09There is a beautiful map of the North Atlantic Ocean up there.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11It was done by a fellow named MacDonald Gill
0:05:11 > 0:05:12all the way back in the 1930s.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17If you step into the middle of the room here...
0:05:19 > 0:05:23The most famous people in the world ate in this room.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Indeed, the people that shaped the world we live in today.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Sir Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Hollywood people - Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant - they were all here.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40And so even today, if you just stop and allow yourself to wonder,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42you can almost hear them speak.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Did you see that cabaret last night? Wasn't that fantastic?
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Very funny.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51You've been here 25 times with us, have you?
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Oh, marvellous.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56There are so many ways to enjoy the Queen Mary today.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Being the very last ship of its kind on the earth,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03she is truly a pearl of great price and I would that say she is actually
0:06:03 > 0:06:07the pearl of Scotland because Scotland gave her her life.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Built for an English company, though,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11the ship stands as a reminder
0:06:11 > 0:06:14of that old song Britannia Rules The Waves.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18So, how did this ship become such an icon of Britishness?
0:06:18 > 0:06:20And end up in California?
0:06:24 > 0:06:29In 1926, the famous British shipping line Cunard made the decision
0:06:29 > 0:06:31to design a ship that was longer,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35bigger and faster than any vessel ever built before.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41She would be the height of luxury - a veritable city afloat.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45When it was finally time for the build,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48there was only one place in the world
0:06:48 > 0:06:50with the skills and craftsmen to construct
0:06:50 > 0:06:53such a monumental feat of engineering.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Scotland's illustrious River Clyde
0:06:55 > 0:06:58was the number one shipbuilding river in the world,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01with upwards of 40 shipyards on its banks.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Ian Johnston has been researching and writing
0:07:06 > 0:07:10about the industrial history of Scotland for over 40 years.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14The Queen Mary represented such a significant contract.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Everybody knew about this ship because this was an enormous ship.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21This was going to be Britain's flagship on the high seas.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25In 1930, at the height of the Great Depression,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28massive pieces of metal began to arrive
0:07:28 > 0:07:30at the famous John Brown shipyard.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34The promise of work for thousands of men was a welcome relief
0:07:34 > 0:07:36to the misery of the times.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39By the end of the year the keel was laid on Clydebank.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44The as yet nameless ship was known simply as Job Number 534.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49But the joy and lifeline she provided was short-lived.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53The depression was biting harder than ever
0:07:53 > 0:07:55and Cunard had run out of cash.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00The contract had been signed in December 1930
0:08:00 > 0:08:02and almost exactly one year later,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06the chairman of Cunard had to phone Sir Thomas Bell,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09the managing director at Clydebank, to say,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11"I'm very sorry to have to say
0:08:11 > 0:08:14"you're going to have to stop work on this ship.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17"We can't afford it."
0:08:17 > 0:08:22This was a calamity because the yard at that time was employing
0:08:22 > 0:08:26between 2,000 and 3,000 people, mostly on this ship,
0:08:26 > 0:08:31so it meant that they had to let them go and rather abruptly.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34'A shattering catastrophe for the men of Clydebank,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36'where in the December of 1931
0:08:36 > 0:08:39'began the blackest period of misery and corroding idleness.'
0:08:42 > 0:08:46The silent rusting hulk of the 534 towered above the houses
0:08:46 > 0:08:48of the unemployed.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50A sad symbol of inactivity and recession.
0:08:52 > 0:08:53While she rusted,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56news came that the French were working on another great ship,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00the Normandie, with financial help from their government.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Britain was at risk of losing its reputation
0:09:02 > 0:09:05as the world's leading maritime nation.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09It was over two years before the British Government
0:09:09 > 0:09:12put down the money to get things moving again.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16A great day for Clydeside.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Work is resumed on the Cunard Number 534.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Dockland in Glasgow is our fete and pipers are there to express
0:09:23 > 0:09:27the exuberant feelings with which the labourers enter the shipyard
0:09:27 > 0:09:29to get to work on The Boat,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32as Clydesiders call this yet-unnamed ship.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35When work resumed,
0:09:35 > 0:09:40this was seen as a symbol of a resurgence of Great Britain
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and its manufacturing capacity.
0:09:43 > 0:09:44Things were going to get better.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49After another six months of long, hard graft,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52the ship would be ready to launch.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55'Soon British news will be showing you the amazing pictures
0:09:55 > 0:09:58'of the launch of 534, pictures that will undoubtedly
0:09:58 > 0:10:00'be rated among the most wonders of the 20th century.'
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Nothing this size had ever been launched
0:10:04 > 0:10:06into the River Clyde before.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09The giant engines were not yet on board,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12so the designers were relying on mathematics to gauge
0:10:12 > 0:10:15how far the ship would travel into the narrow river.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22With both the King and Queen in attendance for the naming ceremony,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25alongside 250,000 spectators,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28these were anxious moments for everyone involved.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33I am happy to name this ship the Queen Mary.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37I wish success to her and to all who sail in her.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Now formally named as the Queen Mary,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51the half-built ship was about to face her perilous first test.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Would this mass of 35,000 tonnes of metal pull together
0:10:55 > 0:10:58as she was launched into the narrow river?
0:11:01 > 0:11:04When you release a ship which has got no power on board
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and you just let it go into the river,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10you've got to know where it's going to stop, because if you don't
0:11:10 > 0:11:13then you're potentially looking at a disaster.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19So they had to do all the calculations to make sure
0:11:19 > 0:11:23that the drag chains, the chains that were physically attached
0:11:23 > 0:11:26to the hull, which would get pulled with the ship,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28were heavy enough to stop her.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33In actual fact, they were just two feet out.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The ship stopped almost exactly where they had predicted she would.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38So, huge relief.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42HORN HONKS
0:11:42 > 0:11:44The launch was a triumph,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46but the Queen Mary still had two more years
0:11:46 > 0:11:49of finishing work ahead of her
0:11:49 > 0:11:51while the French super ship Normandie
0:11:51 > 0:11:53was already ruling the waves.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57She'd won the coveted Blue Riband prize for being the fastest ship
0:11:57 > 0:11:59across the Atlantic on her first attempt.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05So when the Queen Mary was finally ready to leave the Clyde,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08the eyes of the world were once again on Scotland.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Through the young eyes of four-year-old Eileen Gourley,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16the spectacle left an impression that's lasted a lifetime.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Dad put me up on his shoulders and just everybody was cheering,
0:12:20 > 0:12:26and this huge, beautiful thing came gliding by.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31She was the biggest ship, of course, that had gone down the Clyde
0:12:31 > 0:12:36and nobody had thought about the wash that she might create.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38And we're standing there on this flat field
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and suddenly a huge wave is coming towards us.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43That's what I do remember mostly -
0:12:43 > 0:12:45that everybody was running for their lives
0:12:45 > 0:12:47because they didn't want to get wet.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Seeing this wonderful ship go by,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57it was just amazing to my small eyes, you know.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59She was so beautiful.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04I could tell that people were really proud of it, as well.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08They were really so pleased to see her, yes.
0:13:08 > 0:13:09Very exciting.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20It was an achievement of epic proportions
0:13:20 > 0:13:24and Cunard were keen to publicise their record-breaking new ship.
0:13:24 > 0:13:30One of the most-loved documents is Cunard's book of comparisons.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38The book of comparisons was designed to show off
0:13:38 > 0:13:42the superliner's impressive credentials.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Placed upright, she was taller than the Eiffel Tower.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Ten million rivets weighing 4,000 tonnes
0:13:49 > 0:13:51had been used in her construction.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Each of the four epic propellers measured 20 feet high.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58They were so delicately balanced they could be turned
0:13:58 > 0:14:00with the touch of a hand.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04Her main engines could generate over 200,000 horsepower -
0:14:04 > 0:14:07equal to that of 50 locomotive steam engines.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10The forward funnel was 70 feet high
0:14:10 > 0:14:14and wide enough to let three of those monster trains pass through.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17This is the kind of publicity material that's memorable
0:14:17 > 0:14:20and that creates excitement amongst people of all ages,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24from small children to their grandparents.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29Seven turbo generators could deliver nearly 10,000 kilowatts per hour -
0:14:29 > 0:14:32enough energy to service a city the size of Brighton.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37This was what it took to power 30,000 lamps,
0:14:37 > 0:14:4321 electric lifts and a whopping 60,000 cubic feet of refrigeration.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46They were just full of statistical superlatives.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52The amount of inventory that went into the manufacturer was colossal.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Branches of some of the world's most famous stores could be found
0:14:56 > 0:14:58in the Queen Mary shopping centre.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01With three acres of recreational deck space, two cinemas,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04two swimming pools, two gymnasiums,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08a squash court and a ballroom that was largest room ever constructed
0:15:08 > 0:15:12inside a ship, entertaining yourself would never be a problem.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Much as a later generation perhaps
0:15:16 > 0:15:19got excited about spacecraft,
0:15:19 > 0:15:25in the 1930s ocean liners really captured the public imagination.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28They were the most newsworthy things.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33The fact that there was a rivalry between the major liner companies,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36the fact the French had built the superlative Normandie
0:15:36 > 0:15:41and that that vessel had thrown down the gauntlet to the British,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and here, a year later, was another liner,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47slightly bigger - but would it be faster?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49'At the London terminus,
0:15:49 > 0:15:51'passengers took trains for Southampton
0:15:51 > 0:15:53'to embark upon the most memorable voyage
0:15:53 > 0:15:55'in the history of Britain's Merchant Navy.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58'The great day has arrived for the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01'bound for New York in the Blue Riband of the Atlantic.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03'Good luck, the Queen Mary!'
0:16:03 > 0:16:07On the day of departure, the eyes of the world were on Southampton
0:16:07 > 0:16:10and no expense had been spared in making this a momentous sendoff.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Getting a passage on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary
0:16:14 > 0:16:16was like winning a magical golden ticket.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Amongst those lucky few was 14-year-old Heather Beagley.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25People had to put their names down well in advance
0:16:25 > 0:16:28if they wanted to go on the maiden voyage.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32It was rather like going to the moon now.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Out of the inhabitants of Bristol,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40we were the only family apart from one other that went,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and Bristol was agog with us going.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49When we arrived there and I looked up at the ship,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51I could not believe it.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Nowadays we're used to seeing these huge liners.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00but that to us, then, it was just enormous.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03HORN HONKS
0:17:03 > 0:17:05The excitement, of course, was tremendous.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08'Good luck, the Queen Mary!'
0:17:09 > 0:17:13# Hearts will flow with admiration
0:17:13 > 0:17:17# When our new liner leaves the quay... #
0:17:17 > 0:17:222,079 passengers had mounted the gangway New York-bound
0:17:22 > 0:17:25via a short stop in Cherbourg, France.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29# British labour gave its skill
0:17:29 > 0:17:33# And it's giving me a thrill... #
0:17:33 > 0:17:37A first-class return ticket cost just over £100 -
0:17:37 > 0:17:39£5,000 in today's terms.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Third-class passengers could travel for a modest £33.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48But on the decks, you were free to mingle and be amazed
0:17:48 > 0:17:52at the luxurious surroundings no matter what you paid.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54It would have seemed like another world,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58a kind of fantasy world that had emerged in reality.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00And it was British.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03# The Queen Mary takes me. #
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Evenings were very much a gala affair,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09with champagne flowing and ballgowns glowing.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13What we all loved was Henry Hall's dance band.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21The last night we danced to 2:15, which, you know,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25I'm surprised because it wasn't so laissez faire then.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28That concludes the programme of dance music played to you
0:18:28 > 0:18:31by the BBC Dance Orchestra directed by Henry Hall.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Goodbye, everyone. Goodbye, and here's to the next time.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43As the Queen Mary neared America,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46news cameras flew out to greet her and see if she was going to win
0:18:46 > 0:18:50the Blue Riband for being the fastest ship across the Atlantic.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54The whole of New York was there to witness the arrival.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03I cannot tell you how amazing the arrival in New York was.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07I don't know any other event that's equalled that.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Aeroplanes flew around above...
0:19:14 > 0:19:18..fire hoses sprayed, arcing out on the river...
0:19:20 > 0:19:25..and a lot of well-known people came out to welcome us.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30It was absolutely incredible.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Despite the joyous welcome, the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary
0:19:34 > 0:19:37took four days, five hours and 24 minutes.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39'She didn't break the Normandie record,
0:19:39 > 0:19:41'but the officers say they didn't think it wise
0:19:41 > 0:19:43'to open up her engines full.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45'Any time they want, so the Englishmen say,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47'they can take that record away.'
0:19:47 > 0:19:50A few months later, she did win the Blue Riband,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53and with the addition of a new type of propeller,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55she finally settled her rivalry with the Normandie,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58steaming to New York in well under four days.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01It was the maritime equivalent of the four-minute mile
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and a dazzling new speed record which she held
0:20:04 > 0:20:05for the next 14 years.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10But soon events in Europe would have a drastic effect
0:20:10 > 0:20:12on Britain's new superliner.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18'And in Vienna, the arrival of Hitler.'
0:20:20 > 0:20:25In 1938, Hitler swept unopposed into Austria.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29The fear that spread through Europe would see the luxury liner
0:20:29 > 0:20:33become a salvation for Jewish families such as the Tennenbaums.
0:20:36 > 0:20:37This is me in Vienna.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42These home movies show the happy life that Robert Tennenbaum
0:20:42 > 0:20:45and his family enjoyed before the arrival of Hitler.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50That's my two grandfathers
0:20:50 > 0:20:52holding my hands.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57That's our little car, the Steyr.
0:20:57 > 0:21:03Which, by the way, was the first thing stolen by the Nazis.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08It looked like a fun life.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11But Robert's father knew there was trouble ahead
0:21:11 > 0:21:14and it was time to leave Vienna.
0:21:14 > 0:21:20My dad bought a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary
0:21:20 > 0:21:25because he knew that if he didn't spend all his German money,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28it would be stolen from him.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33As we passed the border we were allowed to take the equivalent
0:21:33 > 0:21:37of four American dollars on our trip to the United States.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39That's all they allowed.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41The rest of it they would steal,
0:21:41 > 0:21:46so why not buy the best cabin
0:21:46 > 0:21:48with a private bathroom on the Queen Mary?
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Give it to the Brits!
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Give the money to the Brits and not to the damn Nazis.
0:21:56 > 0:21:57This is on the ship.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04There's Mom and the first glimpses, a look of sadness...
0:22:07 > 0:22:10..which, you know, I can understand.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18If we had stayed, there is a very good chance we would have ended up
0:22:18 > 0:22:20in the nearest concentration camp.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26So my dad made the right decision to leave as early as possible.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Here we are in good old USA.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Throughout Europe, Jewish families were fleeing Nazi persecution.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43In Eschwege, Germany, there was another family who would rely
0:22:43 > 0:22:46even more on the help of Queen Mary to make their escape.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52Ludwig Katzenstein was six years old.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54I was young,
0:22:54 > 0:22:56but I knew what was happening.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Terrible, terrible, what that Hitler did.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Ludwig's father had bought last-minute tickets
0:23:03 > 0:23:06on the Queen Mary, but they needed to get to Cherbourg
0:23:06 > 0:23:07in France to meet her.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11When we came to the border,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15the train stopped and who gets on?
0:23:15 > 0:23:17The Gestapo.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21"Let's see your passport."
0:23:21 > 0:23:25According to the Gestapo, there was a problem with the family's papers
0:23:25 > 0:23:28and they couldn't cross the border before it was addressed.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Finally, in the evening, they let us go.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36But then we would have been late to the Queen Mary.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41So my father went to the head of the train
0:23:41 > 0:23:45and asked him, he begged him to telegraph the captain
0:23:45 > 0:23:49of the Queen Mary and tell him what happened.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Could he wait for us?
0:23:51 > 0:23:55In Cherbourg, with over 2,000 passengers already on board,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57the Queen Mary was ready to depart.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03This was some request and
0:24:03 > 0:24:06that captain waited for us six hours.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Unbelievable. Miracles happen.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14What a ship!
0:24:14 > 0:24:15Oh...
0:24:15 > 0:24:18You got lost there.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23There wasn't a spot on the ship that we didn't investigate.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26From the front to the back, from the top to the bottom.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31It was Commodore Robert Irving who made the decision to wait
0:24:31 > 0:24:33for Ludwig and his family.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35The captain first of all,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39he sometimes took me where the steering wheel was.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42He let me steer the ship.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45It made me feel so good.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48I was steering the Queen Mary!
0:24:48 > 0:24:51The largest ship in the world.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56I was very, very proud because all of a sudden I was important.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01After four days of fun on the ship,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Ludwig's new life in America beckoned.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06In the morning...
0:25:08 > 0:25:09Oh...
0:25:09 > 0:25:11We saw the Statue of Liberty.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Oh, that was such a feeling.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17It's very hard to describe.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21We felt free...
0:25:22 > 0:25:26..for the first time, after so many years.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31The early crossings of 1939 were crammed full of people
0:25:31 > 0:25:34like the Katzensteins fleeing the Nazis in Europe.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42Then on the 3rd of September, Britain declared war on Germany.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47From that moment the Queen Mary was no longer just a passenger ship,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50she was a potential target for enemy submarines.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55The ship that had come to epitomise the style and elegance of the '30s
0:25:55 > 0:25:58was soon stripped down and transformed to take on a new role.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04'You've seen the life aboard Britain's mightiest liner
0:26:04 > 0:26:07'in times of peace. Today, all that has changed.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12'We are at war and it's evil things we're fighting.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14'The stake is freedom.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16'The difference between a world of whimpering,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18'soulless, goose-stepping robots,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22'cringing in the shadow of a twisted cross and a twisted mind.'
0:26:23 > 0:26:28The newly armed and camouflaged ship's speed and ability to cross
0:26:28 > 0:26:32U-boat-infested oceans unseen earned her the nickname The Grey Ghost
0:26:32 > 0:26:35and she began a vital service transporting
0:26:35 > 0:26:37British and Australian troops all over the world
0:26:37 > 0:26:41to the front lines in North Africa and the Middle East.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46But the Queen Mary would soon be
0:26:46 > 0:26:48speeding across the Atlantic once again...
0:26:50 > 0:26:55..when in December 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
0:26:55 > 0:26:56and America joined the war.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Bill Spurrier was 16 at the time.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05I graduated from high school and the next day I got a notice
0:27:05 > 0:27:09that I had been inducted into the service.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17They just said go here, do that, and that's what I did.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19You know - yes, sir, no, sir.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Ray Devau was another of those men.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30I was still in high school.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35I was supposed to graduate, but they said that Uncle Sam wants you.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39So I went to Camp Carson in Colorado for my basic training.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Although they never met,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Ray and Bill's journey to war would cross paths on the Queen Mary.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48When we got there and we looked up at this huge monstrosity,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50you know, I said, "Oh, my God!"
0:27:50 > 0:27:53They loaded us in, like, the side of the ship.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58Of course, it had been converted into a transport,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02so a lot of the beautiful woodwork and everything were either
0:28:02 > 0:28:06covered up or moved, but we could tell it was a beautiful ship.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10This was the beginning of one of the greatest movement of troops
0:28:10 > 0:28:11in history.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15The Queen Mary had been refitted to carry whole divisions at a time.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20But the Atlantic Ocean was a hazardous place.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24Record sinkings by U-Boat wolfpacks meant thousands of merchant ships
0:28:24 > 0:28:25met their end.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Among the victims, some of the world's most renowned liners.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38In those deadly days, vigilance was the price of life.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43The captain explained we're going to be zigzagging across,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46changing course about every 15 minutes.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49That really awakened us to the fact that now we were
0:28:49 > 0:28:51going into harm's way.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Realising her troop-carrying potential,
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Hitler had offered a huge bounty and the Iron Cross -
0:28:59 > 0:29:01Germany's highest honour -
0:29:01 > 0:29:04to any U-boat captain that could sink the Queen Mary.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11But she was faster than all of them and would zigzag across the Atlantic
0:29:11 > 0:29:13to throw her pursuers off course.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17It was a huge relief to the thousands of troops she carried.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25With up to 15,000 men on board, space was at a premium,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29as evidenced by the sleeping and catering arrangements.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32We had about that much room, really.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34It was like a sardine in a can, almost.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40They fed us twice a day, because there are so many troops on there.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Those poor chefs, all they did was...
0:29:43 > 0:29:46By the time they finished breakfast, it was dinner time to start.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49It was just like a continuous convoy.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53There was also the problem of how to occupy yourself
0:29:53 > 0:29:55on the five-day crossing.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Gambling was forbidden aboard the ship.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Well... That...
0:30:04 > 0:30:07didn't work out too well.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09You can't control 12,000 guys
0:30:09 > 0:30:12and their desire to entertain themselves.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15So there was card games and there was dice
0:30:15 > 0:30:18and there was poker going on all over the ship.
0:30:18 > 0:30:2120-year-old Brooklyn boy Larry Schlesinger
0:30:21 > 0:30:26was a member of the military police in charge of security on the ship.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28I was a complete neophyte.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32I'd never been on anything bigger than a ferry before.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35And being on a huge ship like this was an...
0:30:35 > 0:30:39out-of-world experience, almost.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41And it wasn't just poker-playing men
0:30:41 > 0:30:44on board that Larry had to contend with.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47'Here they are, WACS, in mounting thousands,
0:30:47 > 0:30:50'America's women soldiers, trained and disciplined,
0:30:50 > 0:30:54'fulfilling the purpose for which their corps was created.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57'Some go overseas, anywhere the Army may want them,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00'to take over vital jobs behind the lines.'
0:31:00 > 0:31:03There was a group of Women's Army Corps -
0:31:03 > 0:31:05we called them WACS - on board.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10We kept the guard on the passageway to keep any roaming...
0:31:10 > 0:31:14Romeos out of the women's quarters.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19But also to keep the women in their own area.
0:31:19 > 0:31:20One of the problems we had
0:31:20 > 0:31:23was keeping the soldiers below decks at night
0:31:23 > 0:31:27and not up on the deck where they would light cigarettes,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31which would be a dead giveaway to anybody who was looking for us.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34You know, we were all young kids.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37I was 20 years old.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40At that age, everything is an adventure.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44You really don't think about what the dangers are.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Even the danger of lurking U-boats
0:31:47 > 0:31:51isn't something that struck fear into us or anything.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53It was kind of a lark, you know? "Oh, boy,
0:31:53 > 0:31:55"that'd be interesting!"
0:31:55 > 0:31:56That sort of thing.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00Month after month, the Queen Mary safely negotiated
0:32:00 > 0:32:01the enemy-infested waters,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and never once did she come under fire.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07But on the morning of the 2nd of October, 1942,
0:32:07 > 0:32:11her wartime service was touched by tragedy.
0:32:11 > 0:32:12It was a disaster so extreme,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15it was covered up until well after the end of the war.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Travelling at over 30mph
0:32:20 > 0:32:24and powered by engines that take 20 miles to stop,
0:32:24 > 0:32:26the Queen Mary had crossed the Atlantic
0:32:26 > 0:32:29and was being escorted towards Scotland.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33The closest of the escorting ships was the ageing cruiser Curacoa,
0:32:33 > 0:32:35who was struggling to keep pace.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39On board the Curacoa were 439 men.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51Full, with around 15,000 troops, the Queen Mary was, as usual,
0:32:51 > 0:32:55following a zigzag course to confuse the enemy.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58In command was officer of the watch Noel James Robinson.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01I walked out to the wing of the bridge here.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06and I immediately saw the cruiser...
0:33:06 > 0:33:11was rather too close, much too close. In fact, dangerously close.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12ALARM BELL RINGS
0:33:12 > 0:33:17Immediately, Robinson gave the order to put the helm hard port,
0:33:17 > 0:33:19but it was too late.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22We struck her virtually amidships.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27And cut the ship... completely in half.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30That was the crushing force of 81,000 tonnes
0:33:30 > 0:33:35charging through the ocean at an unstoppable rate.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39The actual impact was not even noticed by anyone
0:33:39 > 0:33:41on the bridge at all.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45In fact, it was hardly felt by anyone on the ship.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47We just went through her like butter.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53The Queen Mary was under strict orders
0:33:53 > 0:33:56not to stop under any circumstances.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00If she did, she would be a sitting target for any lurking U-boat.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02There was nothing we could do.
0:34:04 > 0:34:05We just had to steam on...
0:34:08 > 0:34:10..on the same zigzag and the same speed,
0:34:10 > 0:34:12because we were still in the danger area.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19338 men lost their lives that day.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21101 were picked up by other ships.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32On the Isle of Wight,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Queen Mary enthusiast Jonathan Quayle
0:34:34 > 0:34:37has tracked down a unique set of documents and photographs
0:34:37 > 0:34:40which shows just how close things came
0:34:40 > 0:34:42to an even more unimaginable disaster.
0:34:44 > 0:34:50These are from the enquiry held just post-war as to who was responsible.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53"Official photograph, not to be released for publication."
0:34:53 > 0:34:56So these were effectively secret photos at the time.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58It was really hushed up.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00These pictures show that if the Queen Mary
0:35:00 > 0:35:02hadn't been built so well,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05the loss of life would have been eight times that of the Titanic,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08and a devastating blow to the war effort.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12Instantly, they shored her up by pouring concrete into this area,
0:35:12 > 0:35:14which stopped the leak.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17She sailed with that damage for a while.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21A view I've never seen before outside of this publication,
0:35:21 > 0:35:23and you can see how extreme
0:35:23 > 0:35:24the damage was.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26This stem has been bent right round.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32That, thankfully, bent around
0:35:32 > 0:35:35and largely sealed the hole.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38But incredible, the amount of damage it did do.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41The post-war enquiry into the disaster
0:35:41 > 0:35:43concluded that 60% of the blame be apportioned
0:35:43 > 0:35:47to the Curacoa and 40 to the Queen Mary.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Quickly patched up, the Queen Mary was back in service,
0:35:54 > 0:35:55fulfilling her vital role
0:35:55 > 0:35:58bringing yet more thousands of troops across the pond.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02But it wasn't just troops she was carrying.
0:36:02 > 0:36:03On several occasions,
0:36:03 > 0:36:05it was some of the most important people in the world.
0:36:07 > 0:36:12Welcome to the Churchill suite, which is cabin M119.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16This is one of the finest chambers in the Queen Mary for travel
0:36:16 > 0:36:18and for hotel guests today.
0:36:18 > 0:36:19Prime Minister Winston Churchill
0:36:19 > 0:36:23made three trips across the North Atlantic during World War II
0:36:23 > 0:36:27to meet with President Roosevelt and to plan out
0:36:27 > 0:36:31the final invasion of Normandy and the eventual victory in Europe.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42Allen Packwood, the director of the Churchill Archives in Cambridge,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45has discovered some rarely seen documents and photographs
0:36:45 > 0:36:48relating to these critical wartime journeys.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Today, he's meeting Sir Winston's great-grandson, Randolph.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Of course, your great-grandfather, Winston Churchill,
0:36:57 > 0:37:01travelled on the Queen Mary several times during the Second World War,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03over to Washington in 1943,
0:37:03 > 0:37:05and what you have here
0:37:05 > 0:37:09are the record of the proceedings of chiefs of staff meetings
0:37:09 > 0:37:12on board the Queen Mary.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16I must say, I can't believe that you've got Churchill, Alan Brooke,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Charles Portal and Lord Louis Mountbatten.
0:37:20 > 0:37:25You've got the entire high command on board one ship.
0:37:25 > 0:37:26That was quite brave of them.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Absolutely. Prime Minister, Minister of Defence
0:37:28 > 0:37:32but also the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force
0:37:32 > 0:37:34and the Head of Combined Operations.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36Yes. My goodness,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39if she had been sunk...
0:37:39 > 0:37:43On the Queen Mary, surrounded by his generals and chiefs of staff,
0:37:43 > 0:37:47Churchill could strategise and plan out some of the major events of the
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Second World War, including the invasion of Normandy.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00D-Day was made possible in no small measure
0:38:00 > 0:38:03by the troop-carrying service of the Queen Mary.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08This was the turning point to victory.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12You think of her as an incredible cruise liner.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15And it's quite a revelation to realise
0:38:15 > 0:38:19what an important military role the Queen Mary played
0:38:19 > 0:38:21in the Second World War.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23For two more important Atlantic crossings, Churchill
0:38:23 > 0:38:27chose the Queen Mary for her ability to outrun
0:38:27 > 0:38:28the German U-boats.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Randolph, I don't know whether you've seen these before,
0:38:31 > 0:38:33but I just had to show these wonderful images
0:38:33 > 0:38:37from the journey home after the second Quebec conference.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Gosh. They look so relaxed, don't they?
0:38:39 > 0:38:41They look as though they're enjoying themselves.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Of course, this was after D-Day,
0:38:43 > 0:38:45so he could be more relaxed.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47But a lovely, sunny day on deck.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51Wonderful pictures of Winston and Clementine together.
0:38:51 > 0:38:56And I think he's clear, he knew the worst was behind us by that point.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59- And doing the famous V for Victory salute over here.- Yes.
0:39:01 > 0:39:02You can see how much enjoyment he got
0:39:02 > 0:39:04out of being on the Queen Mary.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06I think it also shows what a great reception he'd had
0:39:06 > 0:39:08in the United States and Canada, as well,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11that he was able to come back in such a jovial form,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14knowing that all the groundwork for the end of the war
0:39:14 > 0:39:16had been put in place.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19I suppose it's the Churchillian equivalent of Air Force One.
0:39:19 > 0:39:20A damn sight better.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22HE CHUCKLES
0:39:24 > 0:39:27You got a decent meal onboard!
0:39:27 > 0:39:29By the end of 1945,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32the Queen Mary had transported almost a million men
0:39:32 > 0:39:34to the field of war,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37and steamed nearly half a million miles all over the globe.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39But her war duties were far from over
0:39:39 > 0:39:42and she took on the role of repatriating
0:39:42 > 0:39:44the thousands of war-weary troops.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46'As tugs got her away from the quay,
0:39:46 > 0:39:50'and the strip of water widens between ship and shore,
0:39:50 > 0:39:52'may we hope that the Americans,
0:39:52 > 0:39:53'happy as they were to be going home,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56'have retained pleasant memories of Britain.'
0:40:01 > 0:40:04Onboard one of the Queen Mary's many return trips to America
0:40:04 > 0:40:09was pilot Bob Hastie and navigator Dick Tyhurst.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12I remember the trip coming home on the Queen Mary.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15We made it in three and a half days.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19And it was so smooth, er...
0:40:19 > 0:40:24We had some turbulence, because I remember lots of guys getting sick.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28- But not our ex-Air Force types... - I don't remember any turbulence.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30I do!
0:40:30 > 0:40:33I remember everybody looking down and no whitecaps.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37Anyway, I'm not going to argue with you.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Well, it won't do you any good.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41THEY LAUGH
0:40:41 > 0:40:43- It never has! - No, it never did, no.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46Having flown over 13 missions together
0:40:46 > 0:40:48in the famous 95th Bomb Group,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51they were glad to be travelling back in style,
0:40:51 > 0:40:53despite the overcrowding.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58They told us there were something like 15,000 people aboard.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00Something like 4,000 guys,
0:41:00 > 0:41:04sleeping in the corridors in their sleeping bags.
0:41:04 > 0:41:10But with no more lurking submarines to outrun, no zigzagging gun drills,
0:41:10 > 0:41:13these homeward-bound journeys became a much more enjoyable experience
0:41:13 > 0:41:15for the troops on board.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19Oh, everybody was so damn happy to be going back home.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23- Yeah, it... - I never heard a guy bitch...
0:41:23 > 0:41:25on the way home.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Every guy I ever talked to thought it was great.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33And the ship's crew did what they could to improve the ride.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37The waiters were all dressed up and neat and...
0:41:37 > 0:41:41it was just exceptional.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44I said, I'd go round-trip, just to eat!
0:41:45 > 0:41:47For those who had been through hell
0:41:47 > 0:41:49and lived to see their homeland again,
0:41:49 > 0:41:53the hero's welcome in New York was overwhelming.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Wow! Back in the United States again!
0:41:56 > 0:41:57WILD CHEERING
0:41:57 > 0:41:59LAUGHTER
0:41:59 > 0:42:04'One soldier couldn't wait for the big ship to dock.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07'He bet his comrades he'd be the first man ashore,
0:42:07 > 0:42:09'and he had to get wet to win.'
0:42:12 > 0:42:16Among the waiting crowds were Dick's wife and Bob's girlfriend.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20I think she was so happy to have me home.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Betty and I got married as soon as I got home.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25It was great.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30The next job for the Queen Mary was to reunite 22,000 British war brides
0:42:30 > 0:42:32with their American husbands.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36The ship was once again repurposed -
0:42:36 > 0:42:40this time as the world's largest floating nursery.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Among the excited brides was 20-year-old Jean Dahler.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48It was all a big, wondrous thing.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52I was excited about going.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56Also on board was 18-year-old Annie Wichert.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59All the cabin ends, the bunk beds,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02and writing on the ceilings and the walls from the troops.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Three years before her voyage to a new life in America,
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Annie had been working in a factory.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13We were making Spitfire fighter planes, yeah.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18And I came out, and my future husband was doing cartwheels.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20I said, "Oh, my God."
0:43:20 > 0:43:23I didn't like him at first.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25He was a big show-off,
0:43:25 > 0:43:27- you know. - SHE CHUCKLES
0:43:27 > 0:43:31I used to go dancing, into London.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35In that's where I met my American husband.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38He taught me how to jitterbug.
0:43:38 > 0:43:39SHE LAUGHS
0:43:39 > 0:43:43I wasn't really into that, because I was a ballroom dancer.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46And I used to say...
0:43:47 > 0:43:49.."Couldn't you take longer steps?"
0:43:49 > 0:43:53Because Americans just shuffle around when they dance.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58The first night that we met,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01and he kissed me on the cheek.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05And I thought, "That's wonderful."
0:44:05 > 0:44:10He didn't go too far and he was just very nice about it.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12Well, we got to see each other.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15He'd come in from his camp
0:44:15 > 0:44:20and we'd have something to eat or go to the Red Cross.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22I got to like him more.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24SHE CHUCKLES
0:44:24 > 0:44:25One time, before...
0:44:25 > 0:44:27before we were married,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30my dad caught us in bed together...
0:44:30 > 0:44:33SHE CHUCKLES
0:44:33 > 0:44:37..and, er, made him go home.
0:44:37 > 0:44:42And, let's see, in a couple months, we got engaged.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46After the war in Europe ended,
0:44:46 > 0:44:49Annie and Jean's husbands were sent straight back to America.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52So by the time the two brides set sail on the Queen Mary,
0:44:52 > 0:44:55they hadn't seen their husbands for over a year.
0:44:57 > 0:45:03The boat started to roll, and we all started giggling and screaming.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05SHE CHUCKLES
0:45:05 > 0:45:09And we got a little further out and it rolled a lot more.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12A lot of them were sick
0:45:12 > 0:45:15and I kept saying to myself, "You're not going to be sick,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18"you're going to enjoy this.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21'New York City and the brides have stayed up most of the night
0:45:21 > 0:45:24'to get their first glimpse of their new home.
0:45:24 > 0:45:29'And a welcoming nation received them with happiness and warmth.'
0:45:35 > 0:45:38Everybody was there to meet their brides.
0:45:40 > 0:45:46I was most surprised to see Marshall in this grey tweed suit.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48SHE CHUCKLES
0:45:48 > 0:45:51It just... It didn't look like him at all.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01After the war, the Queen Mary was restored to her former splendour.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05Her eight-month refurbishment brought her back to life
0:46:05 > 0:46:07and a whole new generation of passengers and crew
0:46:07 > 0:46:09fell in love with her charm.
0:46:11 > 0:46:16Dave Wooders was a bellboy on the Queen Mary in the early '50s.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20I will always remember getting out of this taxi
0:46:20 > 0:46:23with my suitcase and walking along
0:46:23 > 0:46:26the side of the Queen Mary
0:46:26 > 0:46:30and there she was, 81,000 tonnes of metal.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34It was...just unbelievable
0:46:34 > 0:46:37and that will always stay with me
0:46:37 > 0:46:40because it was the very, very first time
0:46:40 > 0:46:43that I'd been close to anything like that size.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Also on board through the '50s
0:46:45 > 0:46:48was June Tate, who was a hairdresser
0:46:48 > 0:46:50in one of the ship's three beauty salons.
0:46:51 > 0:46:57So there I was, walking up this gangway of this magnificent liner.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01She was a beautiful, beautiful ship.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05Having lived through the rationing of post-war Britain,
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Dave couldn't believe the catering arrangements on board.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10'Cunard chefs are masters of the art
0:47:10 > 0:47:15'of appealing to the eye as well as to the appetite.'
0:47:15 > 0:47:18I've never seen so much food.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22There was every kind of meat you wanted, all the veg.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25And I can remember what I had.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27It was chicken.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31In those days the only time we ever had chicken was at Christmas.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34- COMMENTATOR:- 'Mmmm! Mmmm!'
0:47:34 > 0:47:39But the other side of the coin is that night,
0:47:39 > 0:47:43because it was quite rough, I was seasick.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45And let's just put it this way -
0:47:45 > 0:47:49I never ate chicken for about three years after that.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52'To many first-time ocean travellers,
0:47:52 > 0:47:55'the elegance of their seagoing home is a surprise indeed,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58'so perfectly appointed in every tiny detail.'
0:48:00 > 0:48:03The passengers lived in great luxury.
0:48:03 > 0:48:08Apart from the poor souls in the tourist, where it was rather basic.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11But the female members of the crew did not.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16We lived in small cabins, two sharing.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21Now, we were not supposed to mix socially
0:48:21 > 0:48:23with the male members of the crew,
0:48:23 > 0:48:27but, of course, rules are made to be broken.
0:48:27 > 0:48:32And so, we would have little parties in our cabins,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35and the idea was that you didn't get caught going or leaving.
0:48:37 > 0:48:42In those days, it was prior to the transatlantic flights to New York,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45so, of course, everyone travelled by sea
0:48:45 > 0:48:50and we had all the movie stars and the millionaires and the VIPs.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54And...I looked after quite a few.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59Rosalind Russell was a famous movie star at the time.
0:48:59 > 0:49:04She had great panache and she swept into the beauty parlour
0:49:04 > 0:49:06and made quite an entrance.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09She was very, very nice.
0:49:09 > 0:49:14Judy Garland came walking down with Liza - Liza Minnelli.
0:49:16 > 0:49:21Now, I had had a picture of Errol Flynn in my bedroom as a teenager
0:49:21 > 0:49:24and it was a picture that would follow you
0:49:24 > 0:49:26wherever you went in the room,
0:49:26 > 0:49:30so when I used to get undressed I used to turn it to the wall.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33And there was this man sitting there.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35I was totally, totally starstruck.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42There was so much to see and to do.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Especially when you get to New York.
0:49:51 > 0:49:56I stood there staring at the Statue Of Liberty
0:49:56 > 0:49:59as we sailed past, thinking I was living the dream.
0:50:03 > 0:50:08New York is my most favourite city in the whole world.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10It's got a buzz about it.
0:50:10 > 0:50:11Times Square,
0:50:11 > 0:50:13with all its lights.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17New York was grand, but, according to Cunard,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20getting there was half the fun.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22Throughout the 1960s, actress Millicent Martin
0:50:22 > 0:50:25travelled on the Queen Mary as she hopped between jobs
0:50:25 > 0:50:27in the West End and on Broadway.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29It was magic.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32I mean, just a fabulous, fabulous way to travel.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36I mean, the whole liner was like a...
0:50:36 > 0:50:39one great big huge beautiful hotel.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41I mean, it was just gorgeous.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Being a girl, I liked all the prettiness of it.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47You could just relax
0:50:47 > 0:50:50and the whole team would take care of you
0:50:50 > 0:50:53and she would take care of you.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56It's kind of an era when people took time to travel
0:50:56 > 0:50:59and took time to enjoy something that was beautiful.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04She was what I'd call true luxury.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06It was the best of everything was put into her,
0:51:06 > 0:51:08and that was the great thing.
0:51:08 > 0:51:13I mean, I think she was the most glamorous of all of them.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16Despite the glamour and luxury she afforded,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19there was trouble ahead for the ageing Queen Mary.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22A new threat was lurking in the skies.
0:51:22 > 0:51:23JET ENGINES ROAR
0:51:25 > 0:51:28By 1965, 95% of all transatlantic travellers
0:51:28 > 0:51:31were crossing in the fast jets of Pan Am
0:51:31 > 0:51:34and the major European airlines.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38You could now fly from New York to London in under seven hours,
0:51:38 > 0:51:39not four days.
0:51:40 > 0:51:45The 1,000 tonnes of oil that the Queen Mary guzzled each day made her
0:51:45 > 0:51:50uneconomical, and for the first time ever, she was operating at a loss.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55Speculation over the future of the ship began,
0:51:55 > 0:51:57with schemes for the Queen Mary
0:51:57 > 0:52:00ranging from being used as a floating Brooklyn high school
0:52:00 > 0:52:03to becoming a refuge for London's homeless.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Scrap dealers jumped at the lucrative opportunity
0:52:08 > 0:52:11of taking her to pieces.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Then, out of nowhere,
0:52:13 > 0:52:15the city of Long Beach, California
0:52:15 > 0:52:18placed a bid that aimed to preserve her as a maritime museum
0:52:18 > 0:52:19and floating hotel.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25It was a huge relief to long-serving captain John Treasure Jones.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31I am very delighted that she is not going to the scrapyard,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34and that she will for many years stand as, I hope,
0:52:34 > 0:52:37a symbol to British shipbuilding
0:52:37 > 0:52:41and British engineering and British seafaring in California.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44There was to be one final hurrah -
0:52:44 > 0:52:48an epic 40-day cruise around Cape Horn to Long Beach.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53On 31st October 1967,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56the Queen Mary left Southampton for the very last time,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59watched by millions.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02'From the people of the land of her birth,
0:53:02 > 0:53:04'and from the Royal Navy,
0:53:04 > 0:53:07'came the final honour for the greatest merchant ship ever built.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10'The Queen Mary had sailed from Britain, never again to return.'
0:53:16 > 0:53:20These are the personal home movies of Captain Treasure Jones,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23who captured the final voyage in all its nostalgic gaiety.
0:53:27 > 0:53:33Providing the evening entertainment was legendary crooner Johnny Mathis.
0:53:33 > 0:53:38I knew that this was going to be an iconic time in my life,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42to say that I took the last voyage of the Queen Mary.
0:53:42 > 0:53:49However, it was very calm, the first two days that we were there.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53And then on the day that we were to perform,
0:53:53 > 0:53:57they informed us that the water was going to get a little rough.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00Well, it got terrible!
0:54:04 > 0:54:11I was OK, but unfortunately, the musicians got violently ill.
0:54:11 > 0:54:16They just couldn't even get out of their beds,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20so we had to change our music.
0:54:20 > 0:54:27I do remember the microphone was not solid to the floor.
0:54:27 > 0:54:33Good idea, because during the performance, my performance,
0:54:33 > 0:54:37I was sliding back and forth and back...
0:54:37 > 0:54:40And once I got accustomed to it, it was kind of nice.
0:54:40 > 0:54:41I didn't mind it at all.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43# Chances are
0:54:43 > 0:54:46# Cos I wear a silly grin
0:54:46 > 0:54:48# The moment you... #
0:54:48 > 0:54:51And I didn't have to move - the boat moved for me.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55As chance would have it,
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Johnny had to get off the ship in the Canary Islands.
0:54:58 > 0:55:03I had this wonderful experience, and I got off the boat,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06the ship, just in time.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16The Queen Mary was not designed for the warmer climates
0:55:16 > 0:55:17of the South Pacific.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19With no air conditioning through the lower decks,
0:55:19 > 0:55:23the crew and passengers suffered an uncomfortable final stretch
0:55:23 > 0:55:25around Cape Horn and up to California.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31But the welcome she got in Long Beach more than made up for it.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42Having sailed almost four million miles in her 31 years at sea,
0:55:42 > 0:55:45the tired old Queen was retired in the California sun.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50Her giant propellers were disconnected from the engines,
0:55:50 > 0:55:54and, henceforward, the Queen Mary was classified as a building.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57She was reopened to the public in 1970,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00and has since been visited by over 50 million people.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15Today, June Tate uses her memories
0:56:15 > 0:56:18of working on the ship as inspiration
0:56:18 > 0:56:21for the romantic novels she now writes.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34I loved the life on board,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37because it was like living in a different world.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40Well, it was a different world, an entirely different world.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42It wasn't real life at all.
0:56:48 > 0:56:49In the evening after work,
0:56:49 > 0:56:54you'd walk around those decks a few times to get some fresh air,
0:56:54 > 0:56:59and you'd look out over the waves, and the sky - if you were lucky -
0:56:59 > 0:57:03would be clear, full of stars, the moon shining.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08That ship is carved in my memory and in my soul.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17For those whose lives have become forever entwined
0:57:17 > 0:57:19with the story of the Queen Mary,
0:57:19 > 0:57:23she is a living portal back to their memories.
0:57:23 > 0:57:29From her maiden voyage, she carried over 2.5 million passengers,
0:57:29 > 0:57:31safely transported nearly a million troops
0:57:31 > 0:57:33through enemy infested seas...
0:57:35 > 0:57:39..and brought 22,000 war brides to a new life in America.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44I believe this ship has a soul, very much,
0:57:44 > 0:57:48and she is one of the luckiest ships that the world has ever known.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52And may she always be a reminder that she is the Pearl Of Scotland,
0:57:52 > 0:57:55where she was created, in the country that gave her her life.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00- INTERVIEWER:- Why do people feel so emotional about this ship?
0:58:00 > 0:58:03That's a little hard to say, this...
0:58:04 > 0:58:06You know you get fond of a lady?
0:58:06 > 0:58:09Well, you can get fond of the ship the same way.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12And you like some ladies better than others -
0:58:12 > 0:58:15well, you like some ships better than the others.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18And I think this ship was the first of her class, of course.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20She was the first Queen.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23She has such beautiful decor inside,
0:58:23 > 0:58:26and I think that and the general atmosphere of the ship
0:58:26 > 0:58:28has attached her to people.