LAUNCH OF A QUEEN Commemorative brochure gives insight into liner’s launch
More than 80 years have passed since the launch of RMS Queen Elizabeth, then the world’s largest liner. The naming ceremony, at which HM Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) christened the ship, took place at John Brown’s yard at Clydebank on 27 September 1938 and, to record the event, a prestigious commemorative brochure was produced. It provided a fascinating glimpse into the construction of the ship.
The keel plates for hull no.552, as the ship was initially identified, were laid down on 4 December 1936. She was to be the second liner to follow RMS, which was launched in 1934 from the same yard. While the brochure talks about the naming ceremony taking place in the presence of both the King and Queen, George VI did not travel to Glasgow because of the threat of impending war.
