Queer and Rich!
Acquisition of a copy of the 1955 Great World Cruise passenger list has opened up a whole new world of information, quite unlike any other document in the archive. I have few clues to its provenance, the only conclusion that I can draw being that it came from a lady passenger.
The list is remarkable because it contains many annotations about other passengers whom she met on this cruise. Many comments are quite mundane, with, for example, names of other ships with whom this well-travelled lady shared a voyage. Others are quite hilarious, and one is searingly accurate!
A fair number of the men listed have annotations either about their appearance or their occupation, though by no means are all the entries complimentary. One notable remark against a man's name is “Queer and Rich!” - mark, this about someone else who's travelling on a 3-month Great World Cruise on board the Caronia… An oft repeated derogatory comment is “fast crowd”.
It was a well-known fact that the number of women on Caronia's cruises well outnumbered the men. Presumably a number were out to seek more permanent male company. The entries that this lady made certainly indicates this. Perhaps this was more of a “sport” than I'd realised. This lady's approach was assiduous!
As more bits of feedback get received, it seems that a man with a title, a multi-barreled surname, and most importantly, being recently widowed, would be the hottest target for female attention. It certainly puts this lady's passenger list into perspective, though it would also be damning evidence if it was ever mislaid!
Not all of the annotations are about the men. Some of the remarks about the other women could easily be construed as comments about the competition. Most of these show ship names or as travelling companions on shore tours. However, two unfortunate souls are recorded, one being “unhappy” and another as having “sprained her ankle”.
Many of Caronia's Great World Cruise passengers travelled for several consecutive years, indeed one annotation worthy of mention shows that Miss Jessie Katz had already been on 6 Caronia cruises. This topic will be covered in greater detail elsewhere.
Probably the most interesting entry, as far as I'm concerned, is about two passengers whom I served on a Great World Cruise some 11 years later. Yes, Mr. & Mrs. Handlebar [not their real names] were also travelling on this cruise. This lady's annotation is put very simply as - “Loud!”.
If you can contribute any information, do please get in touch…
