From the brush of David Bray
My ubiquitous seagull certainly has a busy panorama to gaze upon today!
Followers of my “From the brush…” series will have noticed that I prefer to paint good-looking traditional vessels. I don’t see much artistic merit in today’s bulk carriers and container ships. I have occasionally been asked which ships I consider to be the best looking of all. It’s a difficult choice, but the two Cunarders in this month’s offering must be close to the top of that list.
I’m not even going to try to summarise the histories of the two ships. The “Aquitania”, built 1914, and the “Queen Mary” of 1936 have been extensively written about, writings which need not be repeated here. I have no personal connection with either vessel, with one very tenuous exception.
When I was at school I read everything I could lay my hands on on the subject of ships ( “that boy he’s ship mad!” ). One group of books borrowed from the library and consumed avidly was the three-volume autobiography of Captain Sir James Bisset, CBE. He went to sea in sail as apprentice around the turn of the century. Later sailing in tramp steamers, he eventually joined Cunard as junior officer, working his way up to command. He commanded many of their ships, including the “Queen Mary” during World war two. He was her Captain during the period when the two Queens and the “Aquitania” were transporting huge numbers of GIs across the Atlantic in the build-up to D-day. One one voyage in July 1943 she crossed Eastbound with a total of 16,683 persons on board. I cannot imagine a greater level of responsibility to rest on the shoulders of one man. After a period as commodore of the line, he retired in 1947.
His three books; “Sail Ho”, “Tramps and Ladies” and “Commodore”, are a brilliant evocation of a life at sea in an era long gone. These tales were as instrumental as anything else in determining the direction of my career after leaving school.
I never saw the “Aquitania”, but I was on the beach at Warsash on 31st October 1967, when the “Queen Mary” made her final departure. Her magnificent whistle replying continuously to the three long blasts of farewell from every ship in port. A sad occasion.
I have painted the two ships passing in New York. I don’t know if or when they met under these circumstances. I just thought it would make a good picture!
This article, and others, follow a series which Sea Breezes magazine is publishing, featuring David’s paintings, and the stories behind them.