Queen Mary's maiden voyage recalled by centenarian passenger

29 January 2022

A woman who was on the maiden voyage of legendary cruise liner Queen Mary has recalled the trip as she turns 100.

Heather Beagley was 14 when she was a passenger on the ship sailing from Southampton to New York in June 1936.

Now living in Royston, Hertfordshire, and celebrating her birthday on Saturday, she said the experience was "as exciting as anything".

The ship has been moored in Long Beach, California, since ending transatlantic sailings in 1967.

Mrs Beagley made the journey with her parents who were sailing to New York as they wanted the experience of transatlantic travel.

"Boarding the ship at Southampton was as exciting as anything because first of all it was absolutely enormous.

"Coming up to it was like coming up to a huge block of flats."

Queen Mary and Southampton

Launched in 1934, RMS Queen Mary entered service with the Cunard White Star line two years later
The 81,000-tonne luxury liner offered first-class passengers fine dining, Turkish baths and a cinema on weekly crossings between Southampton and New York
Celebrity passengers included playwright Noel Coward, actress Mae West and future US president John F Kennedy
In 1967 the ship departed Southampton for the last time for a permanent mooring in California

While on board, Mrs Beagley shared a second class cabin with three other passengers.

"I danced every night. There were lots and lots of film stars on board," she said.

"We enjoyed ourselves every evening. I felt I was very, very lucky."

The ship was welcomed by huge crowds on its arrival in New York, which Mrs Beagley described as "absolutely gobsmacking".

"Every ship, every boat that was there, came out. It was such an occasion, it was like a huge regatta," she added.

Queen Mary remains in Long Beach and is currently closed to the public awaiting restoration.

An engineers' report in 2021 said it needed repairs costing more than $23m (£16m).