KING EDWARD VISITS GIANT LINER

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 139, 7 March 1936, Page 9

KING EDWARD VISITS GIANT LINER

Thorough Tour of Ship ABSENCE OF FORMALITY AND CEREMONY (Press Assn. Cable and British Official Wireless.) London, March 5. Absolute lack of ceremony and formality marked the King’s visit to the liner Queen Mary. He drove from Clydebank railway station to the shipyard through lines of cheering people. The Queen Mary was not decorated for the occasion. The King used an ordinary workman’s gangway in its workaday condition of grime and coaldust. Hundreds of workmen crowded the sides of the liner and cheered as the King went aboard. His Majesty acknowledged the salute by removing and waving his bowler hat. Attended by the President of the Board of Trade, .Mr. Walter Runejinan, and the Secretary for Scotland, Sir Godfrey Collins, his Majesty travelled from London during the night and arrived this morning at Glasgow, alighting at a station close to the shipyard where the giant Cunard-White Star liner is nearing completion. The object of the visit was to inspect the new liner, and the chairman of the shipping company and representatives of the builders were waiting to receive the King at the gangway. As his Majesty walked aboard the Royal Standard was broken in the shipyard, but this was the only sign that Royalty was in the yard. Men Continue Work.

At the King’s express wish, no formality attached to the visit, and the men in various parts of the yard continued their work. While the King was making bis tour of the vessel one of the great turbines of the Queen Mary was running. On mounting the main bridge the captain of the vessel, Sir Edgar Britten, was presented to l)is Majesty, and when he went into the enginerooms a number of workmen and engineers were also presented, and the King conversed with the men for a few minutes.

The exceedingly thorough tour which the King made of the great liner is said to have covered seven miles. He inspected almost every part of the ship, from the boiler rooms, which he climbed down steel ladders to reach, to the searchlight platform. The cabin, tourist and third-class accommodation were inspected with equal thoroughness, as were also the swimming pools, the gymnasiums, the lounges, and the libraries. The Ring showed his interest by the numerous questions he asked, and he was informed among other facts that the vessel has 24 lifeboats, self-propelled with Diesel engines, and each accommodating' 145 people; that the oil plant could pump 106,000 gallons of oil per hour to lubricate the engines; and that the liner’s service speed would be 29 knots. Men Presented to King. The King stood for.some time on the bridge, fascinated by the scene below him in the shipyard and out over the Clyde. While he was on board many of the men who had helped in the liner’s construction were presented to him, and when he came ashore there were remarkable scenes of enthusiasm, cheering workmen breaking through the police cordon and surrounding him. His Majesty declared that the thirdclass accommodation was equal to the first class before the war, and at the conclusion of a 2} hours’ tour of the liner said he was very pleased with everything he had seen. He expressed the hope that he would see the liner again before she goes Into commission, and it is thought there is a possibility that he will make a short trip in her on one of the trial runs' IN GLASGOW SLUMS King Visits Tenements TALES OF MISERY HEARD (Received March 8, 7.55 p.m.) London, March 6. After inspecting the liner Queen Mary, the King visited the corporation housing scheme at Glasgow and entered six tenements. His visits to the tenements unforgettably fulfilled his broadcast declaration that he is still the same man as the Prince of Wales.

The King strode over muddy cobbles and along dark alleyways in a district generally regarded as one of the roughest tn Glasgow. He stood in dimlylighted rooms and listened with obvious distress to the miseries of families of seven or eight living in two rooms. He visited a family of four where a fortnight-old baby was in bed and tho washing drying in the corner. The father, who was blinded in a steel works accident in 1901, asked, “Who’s there?"

King Edward replied "The King," and warmly shook hands with him. His Majesty listened to the wife’s complaints that rats were everywhere and the rooms were so dark that artificial light was necessary almost all day. The King was relieved when he was told that they would be rehoused soon. He met a five-year-old boy who asked “Are you the new King?” King Edward replied, patting the boy’s head, “Yes. sonny.”

He told officials that conditions were appalling, hut he had seen worse in Durham, He added that Glasgow must redouble Its rehousing efforts. The King, on leaving the Queen Mary, was surrounded by cheering workmen who demanded a speech and shouted “Good old Teddy,” which was reminiscent of his grandfather’s nickname.