Alan Stewart's Travelogue from 1955

Webmaster's Introduction

I have not long finished adding one travelogue, when out of the blue, up pops another. Almost 70 years after they were written, I'm thrilled to present yet another social-history gem in the form of letters home to a musician's wife.

Alan Stewart, listed as George W. Stewart elsewhere, was one of 13 musicians aboard Caronia. He had previously been aboard the Queen Mary in his first few months at sea. He joined the ship in Southampton ahead of the December 1954 Sterling Cruise.

He would go on to do two short cruises to the Caribbean ahead of two major cruises. The first is the 1955 Great World Cruise, quickly followed by the Spring Cruise ending in Southampton in June 1955.

Early Photo Proofs

It appears that Alan got friendly with one or more of the Caronia's photographers. Among several photos he sent home were a bunch of 1949 proofs that were probably sent to Cunard's pubicity department for them to choose a set of “official” photographs from.

However, among them were photos that were not chosen for the set yet can be fairly accurately dated, like the Main Lounge photo seen here. In the official photos, the tables are dressed and feature flower vases and the Balmoral Restaurant below is seen from the opposite end.

Although taken 5 years earlier, I'll place a few more of these photos in this section in simple recognition of their source.

Neither Crew, Nor Passenger

Being a musician meant that Alan strode across the invisible line between being crew and passenger. His was a room steward, ours was a glory-hole steward. Alan was served his meals in the top corner of the Sandringham Restaurant; most (junior) officers and crew had their own not quite so salubrious mess areas.

Whilst a fair bit of his life on board was mandated, like playing until the small hours each night at sea (weather permitting), he could go ashore in port almost at will. We'll also see an evolution of a man used to counting the pennies of austerity Britain. I wonder how his attitude to expense will change as he's exposed to the “rich” life.

My sincere thanks go to Alan's daughter, Kathy Unwin who is currently busy transcribing his texts on our behalf.

Pop-up Information

Two buttons below can call up extra information, shown in a pop-up window. On following pages, whenever Alan speaks at length about money matters or his fellow band members, these buttons may be found close by.

Webmaster's Note

Alan Stewart's letters are of course to his wife and weren't ever intended to be a published commentary of life aboard a luxury cruise ship in the mid-1950s. In historical context, the post WWII rationing had only recently ended in the UK. The strictures of the time were still biting and often a subject of conversation.

It is my thrill to present to you Alan's full travelogue, with a few amendments to his original text. These include minor edits and (re)consider words that keep the Timeline suitable for anyone of a reading age. So that there is no confusion with another Timeline contributor's initials, I'll be using “GWS” prefixing to reflect Alan's legal name.