Many people could only dream of sailing on QE2, but what about the lucky children who sailed on the ship when they were young? If you were one of these children please post your memories on the forum.
Rob Lightbody’s love for QE2 stems from having the opportunity to sail with his family in 1987, on the newly refurbished QE2 from Bremerhaven to Southampton. Rob got a surprise when Cunardqueen presented him with VHS film footage photos that shows Rob and his Mum way back in 1987 ......and this memory was enhanced when Bob van Leeuwen posted a video of QE2 leaving Bremerhaven and Rob could say "he was there"
Cunarder Man’s daughter, Amy recently visited Dubai. She told us about her memories of being on QE2, when she was young. “en route I was reminiscing about the wonderful memories of many family holidays spent on board; playing table tennis with my Gran for hours on upper deck, adding to the jigsaw outside the Caronia restaurant, Captain’s cocktail parties in the Queens Room, in our formal dresses, visits to the Bridge and Wardroom parties! QE2 played a huge part in my childhood.
In 2008 whilst in Zeebrugge I had the privilege of 'having a go with the roller' and painting her hull! Seeing her, albeit from a distance last week was a truly nostalgic moment but also tinged with sadness to think that her future is so uncertain. I am very much looking forward to celebrating her 50th Anniversary in September at Clydebank along with many others who have similar fond memories.”
You can see a few photos of Amy's memories in the Photo Gallery.
Not only did Amy share her QE2 memories, but she also shared the pictures of QE2 in Dubai taken on 19 March.
Photo: by permission of Amy Little
Rosemary and Amy Little promoting the QE2 Story, QE2 50 year conference when visiting QE2 in Dubai (19 March 2017)
Photo: Fairfield
Construction of Q4: from humble beginnings grew a Queen and international icon.
If you have photos of the building of Queen Elizabeth 2 please post them in the QE2 build topic. to help celebrate her 50th anniversary.
Q4's early design was an evolving process as discussed in Original Q4 Design topic.
Did you work on the building of Q4? The QE2 Story Admin have been contacted by journalist, Paul F Cockburn, who is working on an article for The Scots Magazine. He is looking to speak to people involved in the building of the QE2. He would also like to speak to past passengers. You can find his contact details on this topic.
Join us on the 23rd of September, the day after the QE2 50th anniversary conference, for a very special, one-off return trip on the River Clyde to the Titan Crane and former site of John Brown’s Shipyard.
The River Clyde boat trip is a fantastic opportunity to sail down the Clyde on the Clyde Clipper. You will pass the two remaining shipyards on Upper Clyde, before disembarking where the QE2 was launched at the site of the former John Brown's shipyard. There will be a live commentary given on the Glasgow to Clydebank part of the cruise.
You have the option to book for only the boat trip or boat trip plus Titan Crane. Once you disembark, there will be the opportunity to walk to the Crane with Andrew Graham, a member of the Heritage Team, who will give some historical information on the John Brown's shipyard. There is a small exhibition centre "The Drawing Office" at the bottom of the crane where you can browse plus we are hoping that a short film about John Brown's can be showing (currently working on this).
On return to the Glasgow Science Centre, Gavin has arranged with the Friends of TS Queen Mary for those who are interested, a short tour of the boat to view the refurbishment in progress.
This is a fantastic opportunity, not to be missed, so if you are interested please book soon. Full booking details can be found on the Saturday events page of the website.
Conference Ticket Sales:
What you need to know:
Tickets are on sale on the Ticket page of QE2 Event website but with 80% of tickets sold and only 35 tickets left to sell, please book now to ensure your place at the conference
Tickets are purchased through an online system that will ensure a trouble free process for the purchaser and the organisers
Payment will be made through Paypal, but you do not need to register for Paypal you can purchase as a guest
E-tickets will be issued that you can print out, or file on your "smart" phone so as to gain access to the conference, on 22 September
Accommodation - Information on preferential hotel rates can be found on the Event website Accommodation page. There is also a Forum topic discussing Hotels near the event
We hope you can manage to attend and we are looking forward to meeting you in September.
Any questions?
Contact Gavin, John or Lynda The QE2 Story Events Team at events@theqe2story.com
Keep watching the event website and the forum for more news.
Photo: Courtesy of Scottish Maritime Museum
The Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, Scotland is holding a Style at Sea exhibition exploring the style and glamour of the giant Ocean Liners built on the Clyde for Cunard, by John Brown and Company, during the 20th century. Items on display will include the QE2 Ward Room log book.
The exhibition starts on 6 April and I have been told that it will run until 26 September, 2017, which would give people visiting for the conference the opportunity to visit.
There is also a fabulous Style at Sea Evening event: A night of cocktails, dancing and glamour on 20 May. Sounds like a fabulous opportunity to wear your favourite cruise evening wear and dance the night away.
We were pleased to see the response to the sale of the QE2 50 Year badges, when they went on sale last month, with half the badges selling within a short time.
Visit the QE2 Story shop to purchase your QE2 50 year badge.
We hope you will buy this special badge to show your support for the QE2 Story forum and to celebrate QE2's 50th anniversary year. This will be a lovely keepsake and a talking point, whenever you wear it.
When you visit the QE2 Story shop you should click on the up down arrows to select the number of badges and choose postage to the UK, EU or rest of the World.
Photo: Lynda Bradford
The moderator team were delighted when Bob Van Leeuwen agreed to produce the monthly desktop wallpaper calendar. We know many of you look forward to downloading the calendar image, so that you can have a different picture of QE2 on your computer each month. Bob is already coming up with some new ideas, so look out for more details.
Photo Competition
Photo: Stowaway 2K
Vote
Submit Photos
Win a Prize
Votingfor the February Photo Competition "The QE2 Mast" closes on 1 April 2017.
Submitting photos: The theme for the March competition is "QE2 at Speed", chosen by Skilly56, the winner of the December competition. We are looking forward to seeing some amazing photos of QE2 at speed uploaded to the competition album. Have a look at thePhoto Competition instructions and upload your three best photos that fit this theme. But hurry entries need to be uploaded before the deadline of 31 March.
Prize winners:Congratulation to your winner of the January competition Harev with his photo "Queens Room 2001" The runner up was Cunardqueen's photo "Lights, Camera, Action". You can see the winning photos and to add your comments and congratulations on the competition results page.
Thank-you to everyone who participates, which is helping to keep
the memory of QE2 alive!
The QE2 Story - the place to share your memories of QE2
Thank-you for your continued support for the QE2 Story Forum. We know how special the ship is to everyone onboard the forum and we appreciate the contributions that are made to keep her memory alive.
