Great French Passenger Ships by William H. Miller.

The great liners which crossed the Atlantic have always held an interest for me, quite possibly since I first heard the story of the Titanic in my youth. In recent years the history of many of these ships have come to my notice during my studies in nineteenth and twentieth century transport, including their part in the two World Wars. However the majority of those I was familiar with were owned by Cunard and White Star Lines,  so I was interested to have a look at this book which concentrates on the vessels operated by the great French shipping lines.

To be fair this the book is not just about the ships, although it is not short on specifications and descriptions, but also encompasses those who travelled on them, the decline of the transatlantic services with the increase in air travel and the move into cruise ships amongst other topics. It is also very well illustrated catching everything from the opulence of the ships, the heyday of the liners, (the sight of eight  lined up together in New York harbour in the late 1950's is unlikely to ever be seen again), to the burnt out hulks of some who finished their service abruptly.

The author opens with the Launch of the 'France' in 1912, just a few days after the sinking of the Titanic, through to the 1970's ending with the last of the great French liners, aptly also called The France which was launched in 1962. Every vessel mentioned has a history to accompany it, all of which are interesting and many quite dramatic, certainly I was stunned to find out just how many French liners caught fire over the years.

Personal recollections are used within the pages, which add a great touch of reality to the operation of the ships, I particularly enjoyed the mentions of matching sets of Louis Vuitton luggage and hefty trunks, items which are sought after to this day. War time service is also covered, with many of the liners of this period being used as troop ships it is an important part of their history, particularly as many were sunk and never returned to the shipping lines.

It is a thoughly interesting book on any level and would make a great introduction to the world of the great liners which plyed their trade during the twentieth century. What is made very clear by this informative study is that many, if not all, of the ships mentioned probably deserve a book of their own. As I mentioned earier the Titanic is undoubtably the most written about vessel in history for obvious reasons, however many of these ships led equally facinating and much longer lives.

This is an interesting and informative book, but even more importantly it is a good read. Certainly if you have an interest in the travel, society and ships of this period you will enjoy it, but even if these are not your normal requirements in a book it still has plenty going for it. If I have any complaint, apart from a few harmless proof reading errors, it is that the book is not much, much thicker and even more comprehensive, as I could certainly read more about all of these ships and their lives.

Andy

The Interesting Things That Books Contain.

One of the many great things about having numerous old books pass through your hands is the interesting discoveries that you make within the covers.

Obviously there are stories, knowledge and tales of adventure inside, but sometimes other items have found their way between the pages, creating in some cases a whole new story.

Without doubt pressed flowers are the most common discovery, particularly in large heavy books, but even these may have their own tale. They may just be a garden collection, possibly from a holiday abroad, or maybe they were accumulated during a series of travels. By whom, when and what for are reasons that may never become clear, but certainly there is another story with each collection.

Sometimes more material products turn up, the pound notes which are pictured all came from one book, between separate pages. Did they belong to a collector, or were they being tucked away for a rainy day?

Letters also make regular appearances, some of which are more interesting than others, but recently I found one which made me investigate further. At first glance it is just a regular note, written on shipping line paper, from somebody away on their travels in the 1960’s.  However on closer examination it becomes clear that this is from a couple emigrating from the United Kingdom to Australia in 1965, a time when many went to seek new horizons in these regions.

In reality this is not too unusual, but it is interesting to read a first hand account and the letter itself is very well written. Without the benefit of a surname it is quite difficult to actually trace who wrote the letter, although it would be interesting to know just how their new life turned out. I may in time manage to trace them through the shipping line passenger lists, but I do not hold out too much hope.

However that is only part of the story that this letter reveals, as the ship itself has an interesting history stretching over forty years. I probably should point out at this stage that I am a Historian by training, which makes it practically impossible to pass up the opportunity to dig into the past.

Nevertheless the ‘Castel Felice’ appears to have been an interesting vessel which completed 101 voyages carrying over 100,000 immigrants to New Zealand and Australia between 1952 and 1970, (source: Victoria Museum). There are numerous accounts of conditions on the vessel and tales of the journey around and I suppose the ship is a little bit of history, in the lives of these people.

The story of the ship though begins a lot earlier, 1930 was the launch date to be exact, and in its early days it was used on the India to Africa route by the British-India Steam Navigation Company under the name of ‘Kenya’. The dates may give away the next part of the ship’s life as World War II intervened.

At this point the vessel was refitted and seems to have sailed under the names of HMS Hydra and HMS Keren, being involved in landing operations in Sicily, North Africa and Madagascar. Following the war the ship was unused for a few years before being refitted for the immigrant trade, which is where the letter came in.

So a story within a story, if you see what I mean and one day maybe the identity of the writer will become clear, providing an end to the tale.  In the meantime I would be most interested to hear of any other interesting discoveries tucked between the pages of old books, who knows there may be another tale to investigate.

Andy