THE QUEEN MARY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 91, 17 April 1936, Page 5

THE QUEEN MARY.

AND HER STEWARDS. FOUR-FIFTHS OF WHOLE CREW MANNING STAFF ONLY 200. (By a Special Correspondent.) LONDON, March 20. The Cunard-White Star management have practically completed arrangements for the manning of the Queen Mary. It is not surprising to learn that, having regard to her size—73,000 tons —the giant liner will carry a larger crew than any other vessel in the British mercantile marine. As already announced, she will be commanded by Commodore Sir Edgar T. Britten, with Captain George Gibbons as second in command. Mr. A. E. Jones, who has been in the service of the Cunard Company for many years, will be chief steward.

The Queen Mary will have a crew of approximately 1000—about 120 officers and seamen, just over 80 engineers and nearly 800 stewards, while she has accommodation for about 3000 passengers. In the case of an ocean passenger liner, the deck and engine room staffs are respectively on the same numerical basis, regardless of whether the passengers are many or few. With the stewards, however, the position is different. If the passenger complement falls very much below the liner's full capacity, the total of stewards is reduced accordingly. It happens sometimes tha a liner outward bound from Liverpoo or Southampton in the "off" season as. unfortunately, not so many Pf, s . sc "", ' but advance information from e' side" may show that a heavy p .° rn booking 5^ s t en ca S s e e C Se stewards taken voyage. In that case t more nume-

for her maiden voyage tlie Queen Mary has been booked up in a passenger sense for a long time. Hence the need for the nearly 800 stewards who will be engaged.

As a matter of comparison, it may be interesting to state that the CunardWhite Star liner Majestic (56,599 tons) includes between 600 and 700 stewards in her crew of nearly 900, and that the Berengaria (52,101 tons) of the same fleet has, relatively, about the same total. Passenger liners in the Atlantic trade of about 20,000 tons register each carry a crew of from 350 to 400, of whom about 220 are stewards.—N.A.N.A,