CHAPTERS: 0:00 The Liner Queen Mary 7:06 The troopship Queen Mary 12:13 El Alamein 14:57 Life Aboard as a G.I. 25:12 Collision with Curacoa 29:32 The Rogue Wave 32:48 Colonel Warden 39:31 The War Ends 42:52 Legacy of Queen Mary Some of my sources, references, and credits for this video are listed in the description. If you need more sources for specific information, feel free to ask.
They have been set to 'unlisted' so that UA-cam no longer promotes them. If you absolutely need to see them again, I can give you a link. But this video provides you with all the same information plus a lot extra.
On September 4th she arrived at the lightship outside of New York late at night. The light ship is considered the end of the transatlantic crossing. But actually going up the Hudson happened in the early morning hours of the 5th.
Absolutely amazing video series! I have visited the RMS QM since the early 90's. So happy all this work is taking place. She is beaming with beauty! Is there a way your series can be be shown on PBS?
This is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen! I wish everyone would watch it so they could have a better understanding of the Queen Mary and what a beautiful piece of history she is 🩵
I grew up in San Pedro just north of Long Beach. I’ve only been aboard her one time in 2009 for my wife’s 20th high school reunion. I never knew the extent of her history until this video. Thank you so much for this! It truly gave me an appreciation for the ship that I didn’t have before and brought a tear to my eye at the end. What a piece of history! Thank God she was saved. And God bless the city of Long Beach for standing by her.
A very good video and an excellent portrayal of Queen Mary. I had 2 great-uncles that shipped out aboard Queen Mary during the war. One went from NYC to Scotland. The other went from NYC to Australia. One Uncle told me a story about his trip aboard to Australia. He said the Queen was in Rio De Janeiro for fuel and supplies and that during the night the crew got word there might be German surface raiders that knew the Queen Marys location. He told me that Queen Mary backed out from the pier without tugs , no lights, and navigated her way out of the harbor. Once they had cleared the harbor he said the Queen went to flank speed. If I recall right he told me they didn't stop until they got to Cape Town. 40 plus year old memories... I wish I had tape recorded that conversation.
Thank you! And yes, your uncle was right! I came across a similar account in a book I was reading, that indeed Queen Mary slipped away in the night without the aid of tugs and took off toward Cape Town. It's really amazing to hear these old war stories, just the frightening and yet exciting times people lived in.
Yeah, we didn't know what we had available, did we?. Uncles of mine were Coast Watchers in the Pacific* and other Uncles fought from Northern Greece to Crete. I worked for a company that had a small supplier that was basically one old British ex-Royal Navy officer. And he was interesting to talk to, he LIKED to talk about it and was glad to find I was interested. He was on North Atlantic Convoy duty, and told me some exciting things, one of which was one day there were enemies planes or warships visible from his station for the entire daylight hours, attacking or patrolling and one of the other Officers told the men "That is good luck, we won't be hit now !" . . . lol. Not quite sure of his logic. He saw a freighter carrying weapons simple vanish in a flash of light during one raid by bomber planes, and told me someone swore on the bridge, and the Officer in Command calmly said "Let's not have any obscenity please" and the bits of the vessel were still falling from the sky like rain. I could have EASILY sat down with him and asked him all about his experience, with a tape recorder. * The son of one of them moved to Australia, and had kids, and HIS son earned a Victoria Cross in Afghanistan.
A remarkable achievement, given that Rio's harbour, though possessing a lot of ground for manouver, has a narrow entrance, and a lot of rocks splitting that narrow mouth further still
I also had 4 Uncles fighting in WW2, but only 3 of my Uncles Experienced a trip on both Queens, that 1 Uncle Of mine was stationed in the Alaskan Islands close to Russia Asian Siberia, he never said anything about that Island, I believe it was Kiska Island, he repaired anything The US Needed To Be Repaired, like Fighters Planes, even Bulldozers, now All 4 of my Uncles Don't Have Any More Aches Or Pains Now, God Bless Them All!
He lives as long as you honour his memory, in the only "Immortality" worth having. Did he ever teach you any cunning Engineering tricks ?. You could make a point of passing them on to his Kinsmen, in his memory. My uncles taught me Very rude words in Arabic and Greek. How to steal petrol from the vehicles in a parking lot without letting any -officers- owners see you about it. How to cook with petrol as your fuel, safely and without any sign you are doing it, using tin cans for every part of it, so you can simply abandon the process halfway through* without losing anything you need to be concerned about. How to sharpen anything, and why a fighting knife should be razor sharp for the two inches from the tip, and merely everyday working sharp for the rest of its length. How to make a sheath that will hang from a belt, for anything you want to have in a sheath hanging from a belt, out of any bendable material, without anything other than that material and a knife. * Say, if an inconvenient Quarter Master comes looking to see who is using the vital FUEL that cost LIVES and a fortune to get up to the Fighting, merely to warm their rations up . . . or if JUST as soon as you started your brew-up, the order to immediately go wait on some OTHER patch of desert is passed. @@fredklemaster3687
Fun fact: for most of her wartime service the only escort assigned to QM was Polish ORP Błyskawica, as it was the only DD that could keep up with her speed. BTW. Błyskawica is still alive and repairs are being made to make her seaworthy again
@@AlextheHistorian It seems like the only thing that was able to keep up with The Grey Ghost was The Lightning illuminating it. Yes, "błyskawica" is Polish for "lightning". Polish Navy has a thing for weather and animal names for our ships. The rumored named for the three new Polish Swordfish-class rocket frigattes are: ORP Wicher (The Gale), ORP Burza (The Storm) i ORP Huragan (The Hurricane).
Now I understand why some Americans felt they had to buy the Queen Mary. Thank you for a splendid video about one of the grandest ships in history so understandably your favourite ship and of may other people too. (I don't have a 'favourite' but would enjoy trying to list my top 10!) It's rare for any Allied merchant seamen to have their gallant actions credited so thank you for this too. You have rendered us a great service. Merchant seamen took wartime risks as all in a days work, which we today can barely comprehend. Those men all knew of the fate of the great liner Lusitania and what the U-boats were doing to merchant ships. Imagine for a moment, how would you like to man the engine room sited amidships of a slow merchantman heavily laden and separated from the sea by a mere 1/2 inch of steel while knowing your ship is a sitting duck with an essential cargo? If that's not hard enough for you, imagine carrying a cargo like iron ore. Ships with cargos like that often sank in under 3 minutes; or explosives, or oil fuel. Worse, if sunk your pay was immediately stopped. More than twenty four thousand British merchant seamen plus many allied others lost their lives. The majority have gone to unmarked graves. Thank you for this video that gives us a glimpse into the invaluable service of the Queen Mary and a hint of what it means to sail a merchant ship in wartime. Your splendid video is a memorial and celebration of the Queen Mary and more.
That was one of the finest videos pertaining to the Queen Mary I have ever seen! Truly astounding, and in my opinion, you should be making commercials for them! Great work!
It gets me every time how hospitable and accommodating the Queen Mary was to the Jewish people. I was so happy to see an exhibit dedicated to it aboard the last time I visited. More people need to know about it, I feel, despite current antisemitism hopefully not making her a target. It just makes me appreciate the ship that much more knowing all she did during World War II alone. To come aboard and imagine the wild, cinematic hubbub that must have occurred on all those decks while at war! Good idea putting all videos into one singular documentary. It really does make the impact of it all more...impactful. So many golden nuggets of information that I feel is touchingly palpable to share with friends and family so they can appreciate the ship the way we do.
I agree. The Queen Mary can be used as a vital tool to teach the people of today the damage that anti-semitism brings, and how important it is for tolerance and understanding to prevail.
@@thomasgieseler9622 The Queen Mary used bunker oil for fuel. Coal was pretty much phased out of new ocean liners by the time she was built and many older ships were refitted to burn oil since it was easier to run, faster, and cheaper.
Thank you so much for creating these videos. Queen Mary is my favourite liner, her look and history both impress me, and I love searching new informations about her. Your videos help me going back in time, imagining I was aboard her. Although I live in the other side of the globe, I hope once in my life I can visit her, she clearly is the topper of my bucket list.
Alex THIS WAS WONDERFUL!!! I cannot say enough about how I adore your long form content. You are a wonderful documentarian. So few can produce AND narrate the content. ❤❤❤❤
Thank you for this excellent collection of film and stories about RMS Queen Mary. My stepfather was a young radio operator during her troopship days on the North Atlantic run. It was his favourite vessel of the war and he told me plenty of stories of those times.
It still is in the mentality of the British people to do things that are right regardless, and that’s what the Queen Mary was about. It was British resilience, British standing up for what was right, and defending people that needed help and making sure wrongs were four against to make sure they became right. I need something to British due today, very dignified very respectfully and very quietly. We don’t shout. We don’t stand for feet whoop clap And shout by the flag cause we don’t have to the British know the history, the culture and how long and history we have stood up against things of wrong even when we have been criticised, mocked, laughed and joked. We always stood up for what was right and nine times out of 10. It always turns out to be the right thing to do when you look back at history for the British Shipdham has always been correct set the Queen Mary is British. Yes she sits in California USA, but she’s British if you cut them in half you will see the Union Jack stars and stripes. She is a British ship. She always will be and she’s gone down in history as a British ship. Even Britain’s today now love her and I’m proud of the history and what she did and how she help shorten the war
Amazing video! In the photo of the British Admiralty, the chap at the bottom right at 7:07, Sir James Lithgow, went to my school. He owned the largest shipping empire in the world and was in charge of britains shipbuilding efforts during the war. He was also on QM's sea trials and commented on her vibrationless qualities.
I agree! This was so well done. I love visiting this ship, and each of your videos make me feel like I need to return immediately because there’s always something I have missed. ❤️
Clear , concise and beautifully spoken commentry . Saw her in 2006 but no time to look inside . History of this gorgeous ship is awsome . ❤ Thanks all . Dave 47:20
Superb documentary. I visited the Queen Mary recently. I'm so glad it's still here to enjoy. It's an amazingly beautiful ocean liner. Thank you, Alex! 👍
At 3:14 floating in front of the Queen Mary is a very historic little ship! It's the SS Nomadic, built alongside the Titanic in Belfast in 1911, as a White Star Line tender ship for operation at Cherbourg to take passengers out to the ships that were too big for the harbour. Her first job had been to transport 274 1st and 2nd class passengers out to the RMS Titanic on 10th April 1912 for that ship's ill-fated maiden voyage. Helping evacuate Cherbourg in 1940, she spent WW2 as a Portsmouth, UK based naval vessel, the Nomadic returned to Cherbourg after the war to resume tendering duties, and was still being used in that role until 1968 at Cherbourg, then went to Paris where she was a floating restuarant for many years. Finally, when that business ended it was feared that she would be scrapped, so she was bought by Belfast City Council in 2006 and has now been restored as part of the Titanic Museum in the city.
Dito : “A merchant marine officer” Ships are Female, therefore, they can make you tear up, from sadnes, joy and of proudness. Seeing the captain in tears, when handig over the flag,… …😢
I'm sobbing! My grandfather joined the British army as a teenager after spending his teens in bomb shelters during the blitz. I can feel the emotion of his stories watching that documentary. He was an Irish lad, immigrants in London. He came home to Dublin shortly after the war ended. Amazing man ❤
Great documentary of the legendary Queen Mary, Alex. I respect your efforts required to recall her history. Ocean Liners like the Queen Mary prove how hugely impactful and loved they were, something which the air travel would never be able to make.
Hi Alex, this has to be the very best documentary on the Queen Mary i have ever watched i always watch your videos and enjoy them but this is 100% your finest. Thank you for your hard work.
Well its not like if I quit doing livestreams that more documentaries can be made. I do the livestreams because it helps fill in the absence of content between posting documentaries because the docs take months to produce.
Superb video of quite simply thee finest Transatlantic Liner ever built, Mary was [ and is ] a masterpiece of Naval Design, Engineering and Workmanship. Immensely strong, incredible power, and utterly reliable whatever the weather could throw at it. The old adage springs to mind, ' they don't build them like they used to ' Mary's sidekick Lizzie was equally as strong and reliable and... even more fuel efficient. but Mary had the edge [ just ] from Lizzie. In fact the trio of Queens built by John Brown at Clydebank were all incredible ships. Thankfully we still have 2 of the trio still with us. Thanks so much for making this quite superb video. Hail Queen Mary.
I took a tour of this magnificent ship in the 80`s ,in long beach and I was awestruck by it's size and beauty and watched the video they had on board, but I have never had more appreciation of this ship as I have had watching this video! This video was well done! Thanks for sharing it.
I can't help but grin with delight when I picture all those U-Boat captains cursing in German as the Queen Mary slipped out of their grasp once more. 🫡 She's just the greatest, isn't she?
An absolutely fantastic piece, almost had me in tears at the end with the goodbye from the UK and massive welcome from the US. thank you for pouring so much effort into this.
▫️Fantastic! This Queen Mary documentary may likely be one of the best historic posts on UA-cam-from start to finish it was riveting. I didn’t watch it-I just listened to its audio. The script writing and editing is amazingly good-literally exceptional. There are no needless information redundancies too common in like educational videos on UA-cam-it’s as packed as a Books On Tape recording. Finally, the evenness of the narrator’s voicing, pace and volume is absolutely stellar and impressive. Hats off for the research and confidence that’s dramatically evident. Bravo! You’ve done the great Queen Mary proud.
Alex, you amaze me. You have come such a long way since your early Disneyland videos. I can only imagine the amount of time and HARD work you put into this. Hats off to you for helping to keep the History of the Queen Mary alive........
Thanks! Yes I was thinking about my early UA-cam days just today, actually. And how I started off with nothing but a cheap little microphone, a collection of Disneyland photos and a determination to make content the way I wanted to see it done. And 6 years later, it takes a lot longer for me to produce content, but the end result is really worth it for me.
@@AlextheHistorian What got me watching your channel years back was the fact that your early vid's "Weren't" scripted. Your content today is totally different but still has your personal touch like your early stuff. Time to hit the hay, work tomorrow.........
What a wonderful, interesting, and informative documentary! My dad- an American GI in WWII- rode the Queen Mary to Great Britain in 1942, and he spoke of it so often, expressing great fondness and admiration for this magnificent ship. Many of the facts you expressed I recall him relating to me in his many stories. I only lament that he is not here now to watch this documentary (he passed away in 2015), as he would have absolutely loved it! It is my dream to someday travel to Long Beach, CA to make my own personal pilgrimage and walk the decks where my dad walked so many decades ago. Thanks for the hard work you put into creating this!
Extremely well presented and highly nostalgic. My late father, living in NZ, travelled on troopship Aquitania, but told many of these Mary stories during my formative childhood. In my child's mind, the Mary would never die but remain the tower of strength she was and in a different way now, still is.
Excellent. 1978 Wellington, NZ. Speaking with WW2 Veterans, and one of 3 Brothers, who all survived the War, and this brother was on a Mary voyage, Britain to US, with wounded and furloughed US Troops, with Australian and New Zealanders also on board for medical attention. This man spoke of a Storm, rising seas, and the Mary going right through a Wave higher than the Liner, stripping boats and railings, bucket loads of fittings. Off New Foundland.....
A wonderful and fascinating video. I remember as a youngster seeing the Queen Mary steaming out of Southampton in the 50's . As a family we had taken a boat tour of Southampton water. Wonderful memory.
I sailed on the Queen Mary - Southhampton to NY Sept. 1961, w/an all female Filipino group of 51, 43 of them College students in their late teens from a Manila girls' school, w/ the rest of the party including our nun College Dean, some faculty, and a female doctor. We traveled First Class. A co-passenger was old movie actor Clifton Webb who asked us if we were a group of orphans traveling for free. We just all laughed and told him our parents had all paid for our round-the-world educational tour!! The few other First Class passengers gawked when we all came to dinner Captain's night in formal long gowns patterned after our native Spanish-inspired long gowns, sequins, embroidery, lace, and all. Now i realize from this documentary why a few of us often felt seasick = the Queen Mary had a role in it = HER "ROLL"! BUT all in all, an unforgettable first shipride! Feel so lucky -
My dad was drafted out of high school for WWII. He went to war on the Queen Mary and returned home on the Queen Elizabeth after VE Day. These old veterans....both human and mechanical......were the greatest generation.
My dad was one of the troops in Patton’s push through France. Dad was wounded in Luxembourg and had multiple surgeries in England. He was shipped home on the Queen Mary but was in a body cast, so didn’t get to see the ship. In 2007, we took Dad and Mom to spend a weekend on the Queen Mary. Dad loved every minute of it! Dad and Mom are gone now, and I’m so happy that we have these memories.
Great documentary. Excellent narration. No stupid loud music. All documentaries, should be like this. Explained the difference between Curacoa, and Curacao, perfect. Even Google is oblivious, to the difference.
THANK YOU ALEX FOR THIS GREAT LONG VIDEO THAT TELLS THE TRUTH OF THAT LONG LIVED AWFUL WAR THAT HAPPENED IN WWII ,, THOSE GREAT BRAVE MEN AND WOMAN WHO GAVE THERE LIVES TO DEFEND THE USA .. THE GREAT QUEEN MARY WHO GAVE IT ALL SHE HAD TO FIGHT AND TO BRING SAFTEY FOR OUR TROOPS ABOARD IN THE HARD SEAS AND THOSE TIMES OF WAR.. WHAT GREAT TEAM WORK HUMANS AND A GREAT SHIP WE TRUSTED EACH OTHER TOGETHER WE COULD WIN WITH PRIDE.. TEARS I SEE SOME MOMENTS SO HARD,, ON THESE MEN AND TO SEE THE CPT. CRYING WITH THE FLAG ,, BUT I WIPE MY EYES AND SAY THE QUEEN MARY IS NOT SCRAPED SHES HERE IN LONG BEACH CA. AND I CAN VISIT HER ANY TIME AND SAY GREAT JOB OLD GIRL I AM SO PROUD OF YOU AND SO GLAD I CAN BE A PASSANGER ON HER AND ENJOY THE OLD AND NEW HISTORY TOGETHER WITH YOU,,.. GREAT THANKS, TO BOB HOPE .. AGAIN ALEX,, PUTTING THIS VIDEO TOGETHER TOOK HARD WORK AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TEACHINGS AND GREAT TALENT!!!!! RON,, VETERAN .. ALSO THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THE JEWISH HISTORY ON THE QUEEN MARY...
I definitely do. I was awake until 2am last night because I was uploading the video to UA-cam when I realized there was a minor mistake with one of the video clips. I canceled the upload, fixed the mistake, then I exported the video again and reuploaded it to UA-cam. That's dedication! hahaha
My mom and her parents took the last peacetime sailing of the QM in Aug '39 - the same voyage noted in the video. They were leaving Denmark for the US. My grandparents were from Denmark but had lived in California since 1918. They had returned to DK as the depression was difficult for them in the US (near San Francisco). They saw the storm clouds forming for what would later become WWII and (being US citizens) returned to the US. They had to travel through Germany to catch the ship. My mom was 6 years old at the time. She remembered to her last day the black uniforms with red armbands when they crossed from Denmark to Germany... The whole trip was very vivid in her memory... Years later, she and my dad stayed on the ship in Long Beach (in the 1990's I think). Even after all those years, there were numerous features she remembered from back when she sailed on her. Door knobs, the style of the windows and doors, the stairways, passageways... All sorts of things. She had a very memorable time then. Thanks for the video.....
Thank you Alex. This is absolutely the best documentary I've seen dedicated to her wartime service. I've been a fan of Queen Mary for years and you gave many facts, dates, and statistics I'd not previously heard. Great work.
Brill video on such a Grand Dame. Whilst watching this video, I felt my father+ offering some of his own commentary to what was mentioned regarding the Queen Mary being a troop ship during WWII as my father+ was one of those troops to go to the UK in early 1942. I still remember him telling me of the conditions on board. I am quite pleased to see Queen Mary look so much better after the restoration project.
The s.s. United States aka big U still holds the blue ribbon and is faster than the queen Mary.. sad we can't take care of our own ocean liner she.s rusting in Philly
@beedalton9675 True, the S.S. United States is the fastest, still the holder of the blue riband, I love that ship and worry often about what fate has in store for her. Despite all that, Queen Mary is still the queen of the seas, without a doubt. She's untouchable in my eyes.
Thanks for this, it brought back memories of my Dad. When my Dad joined the Merchant Navy in 1956, the Queen Mary was his very first ship. He was a lowly engine room dogsbody. he only had a couple of months on board but had fond memories of trans-Atlantic runs on her. A year or two before he passed away, I did some online research on all the ships he crewed. After the QM, he was on ships doing runs to South America, South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, etc. I'd no idea so many of them had history in WW2 like the QM. Probably the most famous was the Port Chalmers which was one of the few survivors of the Pedestal convoy to Malta. Dad was surprised too, he'd never known their history either...
Yes, I could not help but shed a tear for this beautiful ship. I am fortunate to have both sailed on her and visited and stayed on her at LongBeach. Her story continues, I hope she will be there to enjoy and learn about for many many more years.
Bravo, a well done piece! I grew up just down the shore from The Queen Mary and went on tours of her three times. Once with the family and then on two separate school field trips but this wonderful documentary was all news to me. Thank you and keep up the good work!👍
I was born and raised in Newport beach, Ca. As a kid I had the pleasure of going to Long Beach ,Ca and walking on her decks. when I went down below I was very amazed. At eight years old I knew at that time she was very special. The Year was 1970 my mother took my whole cub scout troop to see the grand liner. At that age I knew it was a special ship. I got to see the bunks where the troops went to sleep and the mess hall where they ate, I felt very proud of them. Today I still feel that way. This video brought back a lot of memories. Thank you for your service Queen Mary your a grand ship!!
The Queen Mary , Will Always Be The Most Beautiful And Spectacular Ship Of All Time In The World . Especially Her Service During World War 2. God Bless All Those Souls Her Had The Honor To Serve On Her.
I've stayed on her several times top deck state rooms if you listen in the dead of night she talks to you of all her adventures a truly magnificent queen she is !!
I sailed on her during the summer of 1967 from NYC to England at age 17! Lots of fun, and, as soon as we got beyond the three mile limit, we could drink! LOL!
@@AlextheHistorian she is more than that. She is a lifeboat. Historic beautyqueen. No offence but Titanic who 😂 amazing ship. I hope to see her one day
23:48 very nice, despite the fact Queen Mary alone among the "Great Lines" still exists and even is available to see, many people don't realize the important job the Queen Mary and her sister played in WWII. Thank you.
Absolutely fantastic video! Very well done. This is exactly what I was looking for, as far as information and history of The Queen Mary! We visited and stayed on this ship this past weekend, and it was amazing! Highly recommend it!
I've learnt so much about the Queen Mary just from watching two of your videos so far. Fascinating. Superbly researched and put together, and you're so articulate it's a pleasure to listen to you. I've stayed aboard the ship's hotel twice - once before the pandemic and most recently in December, and plan to go back. It's not inexpensive to stay overnight, but more than worth it to support the ship's preservation to to have the experience.
Alex, With each refinement, your videos retain the title of Best and Most Complete War History and Beyond of RMS Queen Mary. I agree with others that this should be accessible on Queen Mary tours themselves. How best can we see Winston Churchill’s favorite suite? I hope you are rewarded for all your work represented here.
Thank you Conrad! If you visit the Queen Mary and speak to a tour guide, you can ask politely if you can glimpse Winston Churchill's suite, and sometimes, if there are no guests currently staying in the suite, they may take you there to see it. But otherwise, it is open for booking and you can stay in the same room the old chap used to!
Alex, I am so grateful for your scholarship and superb presentation delivery. All of your videos are outstanding. This one goes beyond deserving praise. Thank you.
I felt moved by your video about this ship, it was wept moment and i believe that this ship is on safe hands now and forever to show the world how great it is
@@AlextheHistorianSo Basically same reasons for the Olympic class, her 3rd funnel was for looks? And also if Queen Mary and Queen Lizzy could talk I would imagine they would have sibling arguments with Queen Mary using her 3rd funnel as an excuse for all of them lol
Wait, no I never said it was for looks. You misread my comment. I said Queen Mary had more boilers and more boiler rooms than Queen Elizabeth which is why she needed 3 funnels. Queen Elizabeth had fewer boilers and boiler rooms and only needed 2 funnels
I wish I had listened more closely to my dad. He went over on the Queen Mary to fight in WWII. Sometimes I look at old pictures of her decks loaded with troops and want so badly to see my dad.
G’day Alex, I’m an Australian Military Historian from Hobart, Tasmania. I must commend you on this excellent video detailing the magnificent wartime contribution RMS Queen Mary made to the Allied WW2 effort. I was instantly reminded of the stories of my late mother told me about seeing Queen Mary on her three troopship voyages between Sydney and Hobart between the 13th of June and the 23rd of October 1941.
My mother; 27-years old at that time, had been sent by our father to stay with her parents in Hobart. Our family home was in Melbourne, Victoria. There was a real fear back then that if Japan eventually entered the war, it would be safer, for her than staying on the mainland. My father, who desperately wanted to join up in 1939, was told that as he owned a large Grocery Store, grocers were required to stay at home as they were the ‘coal-face’ administrators of the new, national rationing system that was being introduced. My sister and I were not born until the early 50s but we both have memories of Mum’s stories of how she saw, “The biggest ship in the world,” coming and going on the Derwent River that leads to the Port of Hobart. Virtually, the entire population of Hobart turned out each time her, unannounced, voyages brought her down through the ‘Roaring 40s’, a particularly rough region of the Southern Ocean enroute to ‘slipping’ in to Hobart. Her arrivals and departures, as far as she could recall, were not mentioned in the local newspaper or on the wireless; until that information was no longer useful to the enemy.
Of course it was, suddenly, no secret to the thousands of young Tasmanian men who had enlisted and were boarding Queen Mary to sail to Sydney on the first leg of their travels that would see them arrive in the Middle-East, just as their fathers and grandfathers had during The Great War. Many years later, I again remembered my Mum’s tales of the Queen Mary as my wife and I watched Cunard’s Q.E. 2 sail up the Derwent River on her final farewell visit to Hobart. On that day, I attended a farewell luncheon put on by the City of Hobart for the Skipper and Officers of the Q.E. 2. That day the weather was overcast and gusty in town but, according to the Captain of the Q.E. 2, the weather outside the mouth of the Derwent was much worse. He went on with an ever so slight nervous, ‘half-laugh’ when he told the assembled diners that, “I nearly lost her out there...”. The seasoned yachtsmen and Skippers at the lunch mentioned later on, in the bar, that they knew the “Queen’s Skipper” must have suddenly encountered one of the occasional ‘rogue waves’ that can come out of ‘nowhere’ South of Tasmania. Anyway, Alex, I’ve been involved in several documentaries and I’ve watched hundreds of them for my WW2 studies and I can honestly say your ‘info-packed’, concise story of the ‘The Queens at War’ is one of the very best I’ve seen. Thank you and cheers, Bill H.
Thank you so much Bill, I really appreciate it, given all the research and effort I put into the video. I always strive for accuracy. And wow, what a story! It always amazes me that the Queen Mary wasn't just a British ship, people from all over the world have stories of the grand old lady, eyewitness accounts! I run an online encyclopedia about RMS Queen Mary, and we're thinking of starting a page that exhibits documented personal stories about seeing or experiencing the ship in her sea-going days. Our website is non-profit and entirely volunteer built, but we would be honored if you would write down whatever memories your mother or other family passed down to you of seeing the ship. All the stuff you told me in your comment plus any extra you have. If you agree, you can email it to me at: alexthehistorian55@gmail.com One day all the people who remember the ship's sailing days will pass, and I'd like to document their stories for future generations. Here's a link to the website, rmsQMwiki: rmsqmwiki.miraheze.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary_wiki_Main_Page
Fabulous job, Alex! I think I've seen some of this before? But there is new stuff here that I've never seen before. Excellent video! I agree with everyone here who says Queen Mary should use your videos, and pay you to do commercials for them with your great narration voice! 😍
Thanks Linda! Yes this is a combination of my "Queen Mary At War" 3-part series. The problem with the series is that newcomers to the channel would drop in to see Part 2, but then never watch Part 1 or Part 3 and not get the full scope of Queen Mary's importance. I not only combined the three videos but I re-narrated it with corrections, and I added almost 15 minutes of content that wasn't in the original videos. I also upgraded 95% of the photos and footage to High Definition so it would look sharper and cleaner when I rendered my video in 4k HD. Lots of work went into this Documentary, and I'm so glad to see you enjoyed it!
Great video. I was fortunate to visit the ship in February and what a beauty she is. Thank you to all the people who have preserved the ship throughout the years.
You have a fine voice and qualities of speech, Mr. Alex. 32:45 This rogue-wave event apparently gave rise to '70s disaster film, "The Poseidon Adventure" - in which a rogue wave flips a liner.
This is quite a late comment, I watched this the hour it came out actually but I must say I have watched this 14 times already it is just that good. you have a talent and I love your passion for this ship outstanding work thank you for creating content.
Excellent work, my friend! The Queen Mary has a special place in my heart, as I love ships and history. Thank you for this video. It's revived my desire to visit and stay aboard the ship once more. Cheers.
Alex, congratulationson this absolutely superb video. It was powerful, highly educational, very interesting yet at the same time the narration was actually quite emotional, particularly at the end when you even brought a lump to my throat. The Mary and Elizabeth were two of a kind we shall never see again and the world is a poorer place for not having these beautiful ocean greyhounds in service. Thank heavens the Mary lives on. I lived in Hong Kong as a teenager in the 1970's and it was heart breaking to see the burnt out wreck of the Elizabeth lying on her side.
You have such a neat story-teller's voice! It was a good way to make even more enjoyable, the task of mowing the yard (I actually DO enjoy mowing!). Thanks for your research and attention to details!
Once again... WOW! Alex, you continuously come out with content that is utterly fantastic, and you certainly did it again! You told me last night about how you reacted watching the ending... well, I can say that it was the same for me! :-) Great job! I am very proud of you and your latest accomplishment.
My great grandmother was one of those war brides who traveled to the United States from England on the Queen Mary after marrying an American soldier. They traveled across the US and settled in Long Beach, California and it’s such a weird coincidence that the Queen Mary showed up in Long Beach and permanently docked there 20-ish years later.
Fascinating documentary. An uncle in the Canadian Army found himself tasked with escorting young Canadians to Britain, though not on the Queen Mary. Uncle, so I understand, made quite a few crossings as he was older and did a good job looking after the young soldiers. Another uncle on spouse's side also made a fair few trips across the Atlantic, but his service was in the engine room of merchant ships. We were fortunate to get them both back safe and sound.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Liner Queen Mary
7:06 The troopship Queen Mary
12:13 El Alamein
14:57 Life Aboard as a G.I.
25:12 Collision with Curacoa
29:32 The Rogue Wave
32:48 Colonel Warden
39:31 The War Ends
42:52 Legacy of Queen Mary
Some of my sources, references, and credits for this video are listed in the description. If you need more sources for specific information, feel free to ask.
They have been set to 'unlisted' so that UA-cam no longer promotes them. If you absolutely need to see them again, I can give you a link. But this video provides you with all the same information plus a lot extra.
On September 4th she arrived at the lightship outside of New York late at night. The light ship is considered the end of the transatlantic crossing. But actually going up the Hudson happened in the early morning hours of the 5th.
Absolutely amazing video series! I have visited the RMS QM since the early 90's. So happy all this work is taking place. She is beaming with beauty! Is there a way your series can be be shown on PBS?
I dont think my videos could be shown on television due to the difference between UA-cam licensing and television licensing.
Interesting that date was August 30th... Same Day as Today as I watch this....... Wow.!
This is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen! I wish everyone would watch it so they could have a better understanding of the Queen Mary and what a beautiful piece of history she is 🩵
I grew up in San Pedro just north of Long Beach. I’ve only been aboard her one time in 2009 for my wife’s 20th high school reunion. I never knew the extent of her history until this video. Thank you so much for this! It truly gave me an appreciation for the ship that I didn’t have before and brought a tear to my eye at the end. What a piece of history! Thank God she was saved. And God bless the city of Long Beach for standing by her.
A very good video and an excellent portrayal of Queen Mary. I had 2 great-uncles that shipped out aboard Queen Mary during the war. One went from NYC to Scotland. The other went from NYC to Australia. One Uncle told me a story about his trip aboard to Australia. He said the Queen was in Rio De Janeiro for fuel and supplies and that during the night the crew got word there might be German surface raiders that knew the Queen Marys location. He told me that Queen Mary backed out from the pier without tugs , no lights, and navigated her way out of the harbor. Once they had cleared the harbor he said the Queen went to flank speed. If I recall right he told me they didn't stop until they got to Cape Town. 40 plus year old memories... I wish I had tape recorded that conversation.
Thank you! And yes, your uncle was right! I came across a similar account in a book I was reading, that indeed Queen Mary slipped away in the night without the aid of tugs and took off toward Cape Town. It's really amazing to hear these old war stories, just the frightening and yet exciting times people lived in.
Yeah, we didn't know what we had available, did we?.
Uncles of mine were Coast Watchers in the Pacific* and other Uncles fought from Northern Greece to Crete.
I worked for a company that had a small supplier that was basically one old British ex-Royal Navy officer. And he was interesting to talk to, he LIKED to talk about it and was glad to find I was interested. He was on North Atlantic Convoy duty, and told me some exciting things, one of which was one day there were enemies planes or warships visible from his station for the entire daylight hours, attacking or patrolling and one of the other Officers told the men "That is good luck, we won't be hit now !" . . . lol. Not quite sure of his logic.
He saw a freighter carrying weapons simple vanish in a flash of light during one raid by bomber planes, and told me someone swore on the bridge, and the Officer in Command calmly said "Let's not have any obscenity please" and the bits of the vessel were still falling from the sky like rain.
I could have EASILY sat down with him and asked him all about his experience, with a tape recorder.
* The son of one of them moved to Australia, and had kids, and HIS son earned a Victoria Cross in Afghanistan.
A remarkable achievement, given that Rio's harbour, though possessing a lot of ground for manouver, has a narrow entrance, and a lot of rocks splitting that narrow mouth further still
I also had 4 Uncles fighting in WW2, but only 3 of my Uncles Experienced a trip on both Queens, that 1 Uncle Of mine was stationed in the Alaskan Islands close to Russia Asian Siberia, he never said anything about that Island, I believe it was Kiska Island, he repaired anything The US Needed To Be Repaired, like Fighters Planes, even Bulldozers, now All 4 of my Uncles Don't Have Any More Aches Or Pains Now, God Bless Them All!
He lives as long as you honour his memory, in the only "Immortality" worth having.
Did he ever teach you any cunning Engineering tricks ?. You could make a point of passing them on to his Kinsmen, in his memory.
My uncles taught me
Very rude words in Arabic and Greek.
How to steal petrol from the vehicles in a parking lot without letting any -officers- owners see you about it.
How to cook with petrol as your fuel, safely and without any sign you are doing it, using tin cans for every part of it, so you can simply abandon the process halfway through* without losing anything you need to be concerned about.
How to sharpen anything, and why a fighting knife should be razor sharp for the two inches from the tip, and merely everyday working sharp for the rest of its length.
How to make a sheath that will hang from a belt, for anything you want to have in a sheath hanging from a belt, out of any bendable material, without anything other than that material and a knife.
* Say, if an inconvenient Quarter Master comes looking to see who is using the vital FUEL that cost LIVES and a fortune to get up to the Fighting, merely to warm their rations up . . . or if JUST as soon as you started your brew-up, the order to immediately go wait on some OTHER patch of desert is passed.
@@fredklemaster3687
Fun fact: for most of her wartime service the only escort assigned to QM was Polish ORP Błyskawica, as it was the only DD that could keep up with her speed. BTW. Błyskawica is still alive and repairs are being made to make her seaworthy again
Oh neat! You taught me something new!
Wow! They should have used the Queen Mary for short distances, then or rescuing persons from natural disasters? 🤔
@@AlextheHistorian
It seems like the only thing that was able to keep up with The Grey Ghost was The Lightning illuminating it.
Yes, "błyskawica" is Polish for "lightning".
Polish Navy has a thing for weather and animal names for our ships. The rumored named for the three new Polish Swordfish-class rocket frigattes are: ORP Wicher (The Gale), ORP Burza (The Storm) i ORP Huragan (The Hurricane).
Now I understand why some Americans felt they had to buy the Queen Mary.
Thank you for a splendid video about one of the grandest ships in history so understandably your favourite ship and of may other people too.
(I don't have a 'favourite' but would enjoy trying to list my top 10!)
It's rare for any Allied merchant seamen to have their gallant actions credited so thank you for this too.
You have rendered us a great service.
Merchant seamen took wartime risks as all in a days work, which we today can barely comprehend.
Those men all knew of the fate of the great liner Lusitania and what the U-boats were doing to merchant ships.
Imagine for a moment, how would you like to man the engine room sited amidships of a slow merchantman heavily laden and separated from the sea by a mere 1/2 inch of steel while knowing your ship is a sitting duck with an essential cargo?
If that's not hard enough for you, imagine carrying a cargo like iron ore.
Ships with cargos like that often sank in under 3 minutes; or explosives, or oil fuel.
Worse, if sunk your pay was immediately stopped.
More than twenty four thousand British merchant seamen plus many allied others lost their lives.
The majority have gone to unmarked graves.
Thank you for this video that gives us a glimpse into the invaluable service of the Queen Mary and a hint of what it means to sail a merchant ship in wartime.
Your splendid video is a memorial and celebration of the Queen Mary and more.
Thank you! This video was definitely a passion project 3 years in the making!
Thank you for the feels. Your work is appreciated, thank you for your research & I will not look at the Queen Mary the same 👍👏👏👏
That was one of the finest videos pertaining to the Queen Mary I have ever seen! Truly astounding, and in my opinion, you should be making commercials for them! Great work!
Lol I thought about making a commercial and then just emailing it to Long Beach lol
@@AlextheHistorian at this point you should.
It gets me every time how hospitable and accommodating the Queen Mary was to the Jewish people. I was so happy to see an exhibit dedicated to it aboard the last time I visited. More people need to know about it, I feel, despite current antisemitism hopefully not making her a target. It just makes me appreciate the ship that much more knowing all she did during World War II alone. To come aboard and imagine the wild, cinematic hubbub that must have occurred on all those decks while at war!
Good idea putting all videos into one singular documentary. It really does make the impact of it all more...impactful. So many golden nuggets of information that I feel is touchingly palpable to share with friends and family so they can appreciate the ship the way we do.
I agree. The Queen Mary can be used as a vital tool to teach the people of today the damage that anti-semitism brings, and how important it is for tolerance and understanding to prevail.
Another great video about our favorite ship. You were not lying; it does bring a tear to the eye.
I got choked up quite a lot each time I had to watch it during the editing process 😅
Was she coal fired ?? 8:45 8:46 8:49
@@thomasgieseler9622 The Queen Mary used bunker oil for fuel. Coal was pretty much phased out of new ocean liners by the time she was built and many older ships were refitted to burn oil since it was easier to run, faster, and cheaper.
I agree. She's my favorite too, even more than the cruise ships I cruise on
Thank you so much for creating these videos. Queen Mary is my favourite liner, her look and history both impress me, and I love searching new informations about her. Your videos help me going back in time, imagining I was aboard her. Although I live in the other side of the globe, I hope once in my life I can visit her, she clearly is the topper of my bucket list.
I'm glad you like my videos! What country do you live in?
@@AlextheHistorian I live in Hungary.
@@hbernat Oh cool! I don't think I've spoken to a Hungarian on my channel yet, so that's a pleasant surprise!
@@AlextheHistorian my pleasure!
Alex THIS WAS WONDERFUL!!! I cannot say enough about how I adore your long form content. You are a wonderful documentarian. So few can produce AND narrate the content. ❤❤❤❤
Thanks so much!
I agree
Thank you for this excellent collection of film and stories about RMS Queen Mary. My stepfather was a young radio operator during her troopship days on the North Atlantic run. It was his favourite vessel of the war and he told me plenty of stories of those times.
My Dad went to Europe on Her and she was a grand vessel even back then!!
My da+ also sailed on Queen Mary to the UK in early 1942. My da+ told me a number of stories of what it was like sailing the QM as a troop ship.
It still is in the mentality of the British people to do things that are right regardless, and that’s what the Queen Mary was about. It was British resilience, British standing up for what was right, and defending people that needed help and making sure wrongs were four against to make sure they became right. I need something to British due today, very dignified very respectfully and very quietly. We don’t shout. We don’t stand for feet whoop clap And shout by the flag cause we don’t have to the British know the history, the culture and how long and history we have stood up against things of wrong even when we have been criticised, mocked, laughed and joked. We always stood up for what was right and nine times out of 10. It always turns out to be the right thing to do when you look back at history for the British Shipdham has always been correct set the Queen Mary is British. Yes she sits in California USA, but she’s British if you cut them in half you will see the Union Jack stars and stripes. She is a British ship. She always will be and she’s gone down in history as a British ship. Even Britain’s today now love her and I’m proud of the history and what she did and how she help shorten the war
Amazing video! In the photo of the British Admiralty, the chap at the bottom right at 7:07, Sir James Lithgow, went to my school. He owned the largest shipping empire in the world and was in charge of britains shipbuilding efforts during the war. He was also on QM's sea trials and commented on her vibrationless qualities.
Alex you should have the City of Long Beach play this Queen Mary video on a tour route, it's very well produced.
Thank you! It'd be cool if they did, I'd be 100% ok with it.
I agree! This was so well done. I love visiting this ship, and each of your videos make me feel like I need to return immediately because there’s always something I have missed. ❤️
Clear , concise and beautifully spoken commentry . Saw her in 2006 but no time to look inside . History of this gorgeous ship is awsome . ❤ Thanks all . Dave 47:20
Thank you!
Superb documentary. I visited the Queen Mary recently. I'm so glad it's still here to enjoy. It's an amazingly beautiful ocean liner. Thank you, Alex! 👍
Thank you!
Thank you for bringing more videos of the Queen Mary. I enjoy learning about the ship and hope to go on it one day.
My pleasure! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Alex, this is a wonderful tribute to Queen Mary and the service she gave during the war. Thank you and Bravo!
Thank you Peden!
At 3:14 floating in front of the Queen Mary is a very historic little ship! It's the SS Nomadic, built alongside the Titanic in Belfast in 1911, as a White Star Line tender ship for operation at Cherbourg to take passengers out to the ships that were too big for the harbour. Her first job had been to transport 274 1st and 2nd class passengers out to the RMS Titanic on 10th April 1912 for that ship's ill-fated maiden voyage.
Helping evacuate Cherbourg in 1940, she spent WW2 as a Portsmouth, UK based naval vessel, the Nomadic returned to Cherbourg after the war to resume tendering duties, and was still being used in that role until 1968 at Cherbourg, then went to Paris where she was a floating restuarant for many years. Finally, when that business ended it was feared that she would be scrapped, so she was bought by Belfast City Council in 2006 and has now been restored as part of the Titanic Museum in the city.
Wow. That IS a cool piece of history, thank you for sharing it.
Is it OK to get teary-eyed over a documentary of a ship? Asking for a friend...
This was AWESOME ☆☆☆☆☆
💪🏾🪖🇬🇧🌐🫡
Thank you!
8
Dito :
“A merchant marine officer”
Ships are Female, therefore, they can make you tear up, from sadnes, joy and of proudness.
Seeing the captain in tears, when handig over the flag,…
…😢
I'm sobbing! My grandfather joined the British army as a teenager after spending his teens in bomb shelters during the blitz. I can feel the emotion of his stories watching that documentary. He was an Irish lad, immigrants in London. He came home to Dublin shortly after the war ended. Amazing man ❤
I cried little bit alot
Great documentary of the legendary Queen Mary, Alex. I respect your efforts required to recall her history.
Ocean Liners like the Queen Mary prove how hugely impactful and loved they were, something which the air travel would never be able to make.
Hi Alex, this has to be the very best documentary on the Queen Mary i have ever watched i always watch your videos and enjoy them but this is 100% your finest.
Thank you for your hard work.
Thanks Chris! I appreciate the kind words!
I like these documentary style videos more than the livestreams. I like the livestreams too, but if I had to choose, I'd vote for theses.
Well its not like if I quit doing livestreams that more documentaries can be made. I do the livestreams because it helps fill in the absence of content between posting documentaries because the docs take months to produce.
Superb video of quite simply thee finest Transatlantic Liner ever built, Mary was [ and is ] a masterpiece of Naval Design, Engineering and Workmanship. Immensely strong, incredible power, and utterly reliable whatever the weather could throw at it. The old adage springs to mind, ' they don't build them like they used to ' Mary's sidekick Lizzie was equally as strong and reliable and... even more fuel efficient. but Mary had the edge [ just ] from Lizzie. In fact the trio of Queens built by John Brown at Clydebank were all incredible ships. Thankfully we still have 2 of the trio still with us.
Thanks so much for making this quite superb video. Hail Queen Mary.
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation!
I took a tour of this magnificent ship in the 80`s ,in long beach and I was awestruck by it's size and beauty and watched the video they had on board, but I have never had more appreciation of this ship as I have had watching this video!
This video was well done! Thanks for sharing it.
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
I can't help but grin with delight when I picture all those U-Boat captains cursing in German as the Queen Mary slipped out of their grasp once more. 🫡 She's just the greatest, isn't she?
An absolutely fantastic piece, almost had me in tears at the end with the goodbye from the UK and massive welcome from the US. thank you for pouring so much effort into this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is an extraordinary documentary. This is history that needs to be shown in schools across the nation.
▫️Fantastic! This Queen Mary documentary may likely be one of the best historic posts on UA-cam-from start to finish it was riveting. I didn’t watch it-I just listened to its audio. The script writing and editing is amazingly good-literally exceptional. There are no needless information redundancies too common in like educational videos on UA-cam-it’s as packed as a Books On Tape recording. Finally, the evenness of the narrator’s voicing, pace and volume is absolutely stellar and impressive. Hats off for the research and confidence that’s dramatically evident. Bravo! You’ve done the great Queen Mary proud.
Thank you so much!
A great documentary and a tale well told! I enjoyed it very much. Thank you.
I just shared your video and promoted it on my page as a must-see!
Thank you so much! I appreciate that a lot!
Alex, you amaze me. You have come such a long way since your early Disneyland videos. I can only imagine the amount of time and HARD work you put into this. Hats off to you for helping to keep the History of the Queen Mary alive........
Thanks! Yes I was thinking about my early UA-cam days just today, actually. And how I started off with nothing but a cheap little microphone, a collection of Disneyland photos and a determination to make content the way I wanted to see it done. And 6 years later, it takes a lot longer for me to produce content, but the end result is really worth it for me.
@@AlextheHistorian What got me watching your channel years back was the fact that your early vid's "Weren't" scripted. Your content today is totally different but still has your personal touch like your early stuff. Time to hit the hay, work tomorrow.........
WOW, Alex! I don't know what to say. Your documentary was so captivating - thank you, I love it.
Thanks!
What a wonderful, interesting, and informative documentary! My dad- an American GI in WWII- rode the Queen Mary to Great Britain in 1942, and he spoke of it so often, expressing great fondness and admiration for this magnificent ship. Many of the facts you expressed I recall him relating to me in his many stories. I only lament that he is not here now to watch this documentary (he passed away in 2015), as he would have absolutely loved it! It is my dream to someday travel to Long Beach, CA to make my own personal pilgrimage and walk the decks where my dad walked so many decades ago.
Thanks for the hard work you put into creating this!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for sharing the story about your father!
This brought tears to my eyes. This amazing documentary deserves ten times the number of views.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I believe this is one of the most beautiful videos I’ve seen snout this beautiful ship
Extremely well presented and highly nostalgic. My late father, living in NZ, travelled on troopship Aquitania, but told many of these Mary stories during my formative childhood. In my child's mind, the Mary would never die but remain the tower of strength she was and in a different way now, still is.
This is a masterpiece Alex!
Thanks Ken!
Watched all. That is a very well made documentary! Great job, Alex!
Thanks so much!
Excellent. 1978 Wellington, NZ. Speaking with WW2 Veterans, and one of 3 Brothers, who all survived the War, and this brother was on a Mary voyage, Britain to US, with wounded and furloughed US Troops, with Australian and New Zealanders also on board for medical attention. This man spoke of a Storm, rising seas, and the Mary going right through a Wave higher than the Liner, stripping boats and railings, bucket loads of fittings. Off New Foundland.....
A wonderful and fascinating video. I remember as a youngster seeing the Queen Mary steaming out of Southampton in the 50's . As a family we had taken a boat tour of Southampton water. Wonderful memory.
It’s Friday and Alex released a new vid! Life is good!
I sailed on the Queen Mary - Southhampton to NY Sept. 1961, w/an all female Filipino group of 51, 43 of them College students in their late teens from a Manila girls' school, w/ the rest of the party including our nun College Dean, some faculty, and a female doctor. We traveled First Class. A co-passenger was old movie actor Clifton Webb who asked us if we were a group of orphans traveling for free. We just all laughed and told him our parents had all paid for our round-the-world educational tour!! The few other First Class passengers gawked when we all came to dinner Captain's night in formal long gowns patterned after our native Spanish-inspired long gowns, sequins, embroidery, lace, and all. Now i realize from this documentary why a few of us often felt seasick = the Queen Mary had a role in it = HER "ROLL"! BUT all in all, an unforgettable first shipride! Feel so lucky -
Wow! Our US soldier dad crossed to Scotland on the QM in the summer of 1944. We had no idea of the context. Thank you!
My dad was drafted out of high school for WWII. He went to war on the Queen Mary and returned home on the Queen Elizabeth after VE Day. These old veterans....both human and mechanical......were the greatest generation.
WOW!! Look at my note above. MAYBE They were on the same boat at the same time. Its possible!!
@@billjoat It is possible!!
Our dad as well. Went on to the Bulge, Berlin.
My dad was one of the troops in Patton’s push through France. Dad was wounded in Luxembourg and had multiple surgeries in England. He was shipped home on the Queen Mary but was in a body cast, so didn’t get to see the ship. In 2007, we took Dad and Mom to spend a weekend on the Queen Mary. Dad loved every minute of it! Dad and Mom are gone now, and I’m so happy that we have these memories.
@@ritatomlin2962 Wow....that weekend is a great memory. So glad you got to do that!!! Thanks for the story!!
Brilliant video ! Really your best, Bravo Alex.👏
Thanks!
I really did not expect a video on this. Very nice. You keep improving your gideos. Keep it up!
Great documentary. Excellent narration. No stupid loud music. All documentaries, should be like this. Explained the difference between Curacoa, and Curacao, perfect. Even Google is oblivious, to the difference.
Excellent!, very well done Alex!
Thank you!
THANK YOU ALEX FOR THIS GREAT LONG VIDEO THAT TELLS THE TRUTH OF THAT LONG LIVED AWFUL WAR THAT HAPPENED IN WWII ,, THOSE GREAT BRAVE MEN AND WOMAN WHO GAVE THERE LIVES TO DEFEND THE USA .. THE GREAT QUEEN MARY WHO GAVE IT ALL SHE HAD TO FIGHT AND TO BRING SAFTEY FOR OUR TROOPS ABOARD IN THE HARD SEAS AND THOSE TIMES OF WAR.. WHAT GREAT TEAM WORK HUMANS AND A GREAT SHIP WE TRUSTED EACH OTHER TOGETHER WE COULD WIN WITH PRIDE.. TEARS I SEE SOME MOMENTS SO HARD,, ON THESE MEN AND TO SEE THE CPT. CRYING WITH THE FLAG ,, BUT I WIPE MY EYES AND SAY THE QUEEN MARY IS NOT SCRAPED SHES HERE IN LONG BEACH CA. AND I CAN VISIT HER ANY TIME AND SAY GREAT JOB OLD GIRL I AM SO PROUD OF YOU AND SO GLAD I CAN BE A PASSANGER ON HER AND ENJOY THE OLD AND NEW HISTORY TOGETHER WITH YOU,,.. GREAT THANKS, TO BOB HOPE .. AGAIN ALEX,, PUTTING THIS VIDEO TOGETHER TOOK HARD WORK AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TEACHINGS AND GREAT TALENT!!!!! RON,, VETERAN .. ALSO THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THE JEWISH HISTORY ON THE QUEEN MARY...
Thanks Ronald, glad you enjoyed it!
bro puts so much effort into these vids. bravo!
I definitely do. I was awake until 2am last night because I was uploading the video to UA-cam when I realized there was a minor mistake with one of the video clips. I canceled the upload, fixed the mistake, then I exported the video again and reuploaded it to UA-cam. That's dedication! hahaha
@@AlextheHistorian now thats what u call dedication. keep up the great content!
Excellent story telling! Thank you, Alex. So important to keep this bit of WWII history alive, and part of her story now. Well done.
Thank you Donald! I appreciate it!
My mom and her parents took the last peacetime sailing of the QM in Aug '39 - the same voyage noted in the video. They were leaving Denmark for the US. My grandparents were from Denmark but had lived in California since 1918. They had returned to DK as the depression was difficult for them in the US (near San Francisco). They saw the storm clouds forming for what would later become WWII and (being US citizens) returned to the US. They had to travel through Germany to catch the ship. My mom was 6 years old at the time. She remembered to her last day the black uniforms with red armbands when they crossed from Denmark to Germany... The whole trip was very vivid in her memory...
Years later, she and my dad stayed on the ship in Long Beach (in the 1990's I think). Even after all those years, there were numerous features she remembered from back when she sailed on her. Door knobs, the style of the windows and doors, the stairways, passageways... All sorts of things. She had a very memorable time then.
Thanks for the video.....
5+ stars alex. i think leviathan in ww1 also carried 10,000 + troops. your work is necessary and amazing.
Thank you Alex. This is absolutely the best documentary I've seen dedicated to her wartime service. I've been a fan of Queen Mary for years and you gave many facts, dates, and statistics I'd not previously heard. Great work.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Great video Alex.
I am glad you put it in one video. Nice job.
Thank you!
The Queen Mary sits in Long Beach California
There is t😮all of dismantling her😮
Send he Home to England ❤
❤❤❤❤
@DeborahRunnells The Queen Mary is not going to be dismantled. She's been undergoing restoration for the last 2 years.
Brill video on such a Grand Dame. Whilst watching this video, I felt my father+ offering some of his own commentary to what was mentioned regarding the Queen Mary being a troop ship during WWII as my father+ was one of those troops to go to the UK in early 1942. I still remember him telling me of the conditions on board. I am quite pleased to see Queen Mary look so much better after the restoration project.
Queen mary is the queen of the seas
The s.s. United States aka big U still holds the blue ribbon and is faster than the queen Mary.. sad we can't take care of our own ocean liner she.s rusting in Philly
@beedalton9675 True, the S.S. United States is the fastest, still the holder of the blue riband, I love that ship and worry often about what fate has in store for her. Despite all that, Queen Mary is still the queen of the seas, without a doubt. She's untouchable in my eyes.
Miss Pette Butt I Get it QUEEN OF THE SEAS !!
My grandfather went to and from the war on the queen. Many of these facts I'd never heard but I do remember him saying the food was good
Thanks for this, it brought back memories of my Dad. When my Dad joined the Merchant Navy in 1956, the Queen Mary was his very first ship. He was a lowly engine room dogsbody. he only had a couple of months on board but had fond memories of trans-Atlantic runs on her. A year or two before he passed away, I did some online research on all the ships he crewed. After the QM, he was on ships doing runs to South America, South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, etc. I'd no idea so many of them had history in WW2 like the QM. Probably the most famous was the Port Chalmers which was one of the few survivors of the Pedestal convoy to Malta. Dad was surprised too, he'd never known their history either...
Yes, I could not help but shed a tear for this beautiful ship. I am fortunate to have both sailed on her and visited and stayed on her at LongBeach. Her story continues, I hope she will be there to enjoy and learn about for many many more years.
Bravo, a well done piece! I grew up just down the shore from The Queen Mary and went on tours of her three times. Once with the family and then on two separate school field trips but this wonderful documentary was all news to me. Thank you and keep up the good work!👍
Very good video!
Thanks!
I was born and raised in Newport beach, Ca. As a kid I had the pleasure of going to Long Beach ,Ca and walking on her decks. when I went down below I was very amazed. At eight years old I knew at that time she was very special. The Year was 1970 my mother took my whole cub scout troop to see the grand liner. At that age I knew it was a special ship. I got to see the bunks where the troops went to sleep and the mess hall where they ate, I felt very proud of them. Today I still feel that way. This video brought back a lot of memories. Thank you for your service Queen Mary your a grand ship!!
The Queen Mary , Will Always Be The Most Beautiful And Spectacular Ship Of All Time In The World . Especially Her Service During World War 2. God Bless All Those Souls Her Had The Honor To Serve On Her.
I've stayed on her several times top deck state rooms if you listen in the dead of night she talks to you of all her adventures a truly magnificent queen she is !!
I sailed on her during the summer of 1967 from NYC to England at age 17! Lots of fun, and, as soon as we got beyond the three mile limit, we could drink! LOL!
Truly a wonderful experience, fascinating and deeply moving. Thank you.
Wow. This made me extremly emotional. What a ship she is
She is so unique and special!
@@AlextheHistorian she is more than that. She is a lifeboat. Historic beautyqueen. No offence but Titanic who 😂 amazing ship. I hope to see her one day
23:48 very nice, despite the fact Queen Mary alone among the "Great Lines" still exists and even is available to see, many people don't realize the important job the Queen Mary and her sister played in WWII. Thank you.
Absolutely fantastic video! Very well done. This is exactly what I was looking for, as far as information and history of The Queen Mary! We visited and stayed on this ship this past weekend, and it was amazing! Highly recommend it!
I've learnt so much about the Queen Mary just from watching two of your videos so far. Fascinating. Superbly researched and put together, and you're so articulate it's a pleasure to listen to you. I've stayed aboard the ship's hotel twice - once before the pandemic and most recently in December, and plan to go back. It's not inexpensive to stay overnight, but more than worth it to support the ship's preservation to to have the experience.
Thank you so much!
Alex, With each refinement, your videos retain the title of Best and Most Complete War History and Beyond of RMS Queen Mary. I agree with others that this should be accessible on Queen Mary tours themselves. How best can we see Winston Churchill’s favorite suite? I hope you are rewarded for all your work represented here.
Thank you Conrad! If you visit the Queen Mary and speak to a tour guide, you can ask politely if you can glimpse Winston Churchill's suite, and sometimes, if there are no guests currently staying in the suite, they may take you there to see it. But otherwise, it is open for booking and you can stay in the same room the old chap used to!
Alex, I am so grateful for your scholarship and superb presentation delivery. All of your videos are outstanding. This one goes beyond deserving praise. Thank you.
Thank you so much! That means alot to me.
Wow! This is absolutely incredible
Thanks!
I felt moved by your video about this ship, it was wept moment and i believe that this ship is on safe hands now and forever to show the world how great it is
Thank you so much! My goal has been to attract more attention to the Queen Mary by making people fall in love with her the way I did.
Absolutely fascinating!! Another great and insightful presentation. Well done, Alex!!
Thank you!
Thank you for putting this together. I thoroughly enjoyed watching.
Nicely done Alex. Always wondered why the Queen Mary had 3 funnels and the Queen Elizabeth 2 funnels.
Queen Mary had more boilers and boiler rooms, while Queen Elizabeth had fewer of both and only needed 2 funnels for ventilating it.
@@AlextheHistorianSo Basically same reasons for the Olympic class, her 3rd funnel was for looks? And also if Queen Mary and Queen Lizzy could talk I would imagine they would have sibling arguments with Queen Mary using her 3rd funnel as an excuse for all of them lol
Wait, no I never said it was for looks. You misread my comment. I said Queen Mary had more boilers and more boiler rooms than Queen Elizabeth which is why she needed 3 funnels. Queen Elizabeth had fewer boilers and boiler rooms and only needed 2 funnels
@@AlextheHistorian Don’t worry I read it correctly, I just thought they also put it there for looks too to make it look bigger
Oh. It was there because they just needed to vent all those extra boilers. It wasn't like the Olympic class.
I wish I had listened more closely to my dad. He went over on the Queen Mary to fight in WWII. Sometimes I look at old pictures of her decks loaded with troops and want so badly to see my dad.
Great video. You got me hooked up for the whole 47 minutes of it. Awesome!
Thanks!
This is the best documentary made, I’ve watched at least 6 times, brings a tear to my eyes
Thank you so much!
G’day Alex, I’m an Australian Military Historian from Hobart, Tasmania. I must commend you on this excellent video detailing the magnificent wartime contribution RMS Queen Mary made to the Allied WW2 effort. I was instantly reminded of the stories of my late mother told me about seeing Queen Mary on her three troopship voyages between Sydney and Hobart between the 13th of June and the 23rd of October 1941.
My mother; 27-years old at that time, had been sent by our father to stay with her parents in Hobart. Our family home was in Melbourne, Victoria. There was a real fear back then that if Japan eventually entered the war, it would be safer, for her than staying on the mainland.
My father, who desperately wanted to join up in 1939, was told that as he owned a large Grocery Store, grocers were required to stay at home as they were the ‘coal-face’ administrators of the new, national rationing system that was being introduced.
My sister and I were not born until the early 50s but we both have memories of Mum’s stories of how she saw, “The biggest ship in the world,” coming and going on the Derwent River that leads to the Port of Hobart.
Virtually, the entire population of Hobart turned out each time her, unannounced, voyages brought her down through the ‘Roaring 40s’, a particularly rough region of the Southern Ocean enroute to ‘slipping’ in to Hobart. Her arrivals and departures, as far as she could recall, were not mentioned in the local newspaper or on the wireless; until that information was no longer useful to the enemy.
Of course it was, suddenly, no secret to the thousands of young Tasmanian men who had enlisted and were boarding Queen Mary to sail to Sydney on the first leg of their travels that would see them arrive in the Middle-East, just as their fathers and grandfathers had during The Great War.
Many years later, I again remembered my Mum’s tales of the Queen Mary as my wife and I watched Cunard’s Q.E. 2 sail up the Derwent River on her final farewell visit to Hobart.
On that day, I attended a farewell luncheon put on by the City of Hobart for the Skipper and Officers of the Q.E. 2. That day the weather was overcast and gusty in town but, according to the Captain of the Q.E. 2, the weather outside the mouth of the Derwent was much worse.
He went on with an ever so slight nervous, ‘half-laugh’ when he told the assembled diners that, “I nearly lost her out there...”. The seasoned yachtsmen and Skippers at the lunch mentioned later on, in the bar, that they knew the “Queen’s Skipper” must have suddenly encountered one of the occasional ‘rogue waves’ that can come out of ‘nowhere’ South of Tasmania.
Anyway, Alex, I’ve been involved in several documentaries and I’ve watched hundreds of them for my WW2 studies and I can honestly say your ‘info-packed’, concise story of the ‘The Queens at War’ is one of the very best I’ve seen. Thank you and cheers, Bill H.
Thank you so much Bill, I really appreciate it, given all the research and effort I put into the video. I always strive for accuracy.
And wow, what a story! It always amazes me that the Queen Mary wasn't just a British ship, people from all over the world have stories of the grand old lady, eyewitness accounts!
I run an online encyclopedia about RMS Queen Mary, and we're thinking of starting a page that exhibits documented personal stories about seeing or experiencing the ship in her sea-going days. Our website is non-profit and entirely volunteer built, but we would be honored if you would write down whatever memories your mother or other family passed down to you of seeing the ship. All the stuff you told me in your comment plus any extra you have. If you agree, you can email it to me at: alexthehistorian55@gmail.com
One day all the people who remember the ship's sailing days will pass, and I'd like to document their stories for future generations. Here's a link to the website, rmsQMwiki:
rmsqmwiki.miraheze.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary_wiki_Main_Page
Fabulous job, Alex! I think I've seen some of this before? But there is new stuff here that I've never seen before. Excellent video! I agree with everyone here who says Queen Mary should use your videos, and pay you to do commercials for them with your great narration voice! 😍
Thanks Linda! Yes this is a combination of my "Queen Mary At War" 3-part series. The problem with the series is that newcomers to the channel would drop in to see Part 2, but then never watch Part 1 or Part 3 and not get the full scope of Queen Mary's importance. I not only combined the three videos but I re-narrated it with corrections, and I added almost 15 minutes of content that wasn't in the original videos. I also upgraded 95% of the photos and footage to High Definition so it would look sharper and cleaner when I rendered my video in 4k HD. Lots of work went into this Documentary, and I'm so glad to see you enjoyed it!
@@AlextheHistorian It looks fabulous! So professional!
Great video. I was fortunate to visit the ship in February and what a beauty she is. Thank you to all the people who have preserved the ship throughout the years.
What a beautiful video, I was born in 1958, I ve watched many World War II videos and few bring tears to my eyes, as did this one. Thank you
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!
You have a fine voice and qualities of speech, Mr. Alex. 32:45 This rogue-wave event apparently gave rise to '70s disaster film, "The Poseidon Adventure" - in which a rogue wave flips a liner.
Thank you!
Fascinating facts I never knew thanks
This is quite a late comment, I watched this the hour it came out actually but I must say I have watched this 14 times already it is just that good. you have a talent and I love your passion for this ship outstanding work thank you for creating content.
Thank you so much!
@@AlextheHistorian no, thank you!
Wonderfull Documentary preserving the memory of such an Iconic vessel ...Very well done and worthwhile...
Thank you!
Wonderful video, great job!!!! 😎👍
Thanks!
She sure is a classic beauty! Thanks for the vid, appreciate it a lot 👍
Greetings from the Netherlands, T.
Excellent work, my friend! The Queen Mary has a special place in my heart, as I love ships and history. Thank you for this video. It's revived my desire to visit and stay aboard the ship once more. Cheers.
Thanks! You'll enjoy your visit. Recent restoration has made her more beautiful than she's been in 40 years.
Alex, congratulationson this absolutely superb video. It was powerful, highly educational, very interesting yet at the same time the narration was actually quite emotional, particularly at the end when you even brought a lump to my throat. The Mary and Elizabeth were two of a kind we shall never see again and the world is a poorer place for not having these beautiful ocean greyhounds in service. Thank heavens the Mary lives on. I lived in Hong Kong as a teenager in the 1970's and it was heart breaking to see the burnt out wreck of the Elizabeth lying on her side.
Thank you!
You have such a neat story-teller's voice! It was a good way to make even more enjoyable, the task of mowing the yard (I actually DO enjoy mowing!). Thanks for your research and attention to details!
I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the video!
Once again... WOW! Alex, you continuously come out with content that is utterly fantastic, and you certainly did it again! You told me last night about how you reacted watching the ending... well, I can say that it was the same for me! :-) Great job! I am very proud of you and your latest accomplishment.
Thanks Steve! Glad you to hear you enjoyed it!
My great grandmother was one of those war brides who traveled to the United States from England on the Queen Mary after marrying an American soldier. They traveled across the US and settled in Long Beach, California and it’s such a weird coincidence that the Queen Mary showed up in Long Beach and permanently docked there 20-ish years later.
Fascinating documentary. An uncle in the Canadian Army found himself tasked with escorting young Canadians to Britain, though not on the Queen Mary. Uncle, so I understand, made quite a few crossings as he was older and did a good job looking after the young soldiers. Another uncle on spouse's side also made a fair few trips across the Atlantic, but his service was in the engine room of merchant ships. We were fortunate to get them both back safe and sound.