GRAND & GLORIOUS: THE GREAT CUNARD LINE
Presented by Bill Miller
February 28 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
On its 185th anniversary, former PONY Branch chairman Bill Miller will take us on a grand review of the Cunard Line, quite possibly the most famous shipping company on all the seas. Few shipping lines have had the great history to match Cunard. Bill will begin just after the Second World War as Cunarders, including the legendary QUEEN ELIZABETH and QUEEN MARY, return from strenuous war duties, and the Company assembles the biggest passenger ship fleet on the North Atlantic. They would have 14 liners at one point and carry as much as a quarter of all trans-ocean passengers. Bill will review the fleet, revive the glamor and style of crossings, from film stars to steamer trunks, and take us from the likes of beloved MAURETANIA and CARONIA to the current QUEEN MARY 2 and the new QUEEN ANNE.
The whistles are sounding — all aboard on Cunard!
Called “Mr. Ocean Liner”, William Miller is considered an international authority on the subjects of ocean liners and cruise ships. He has written over 100 books on the subject. Bill, a world traveler with hundreds of sea voyages, is a much sought-after presenter and blogger. He is also a career educator. Bill is a founding member of the WSS-PONY Branch. Bill was named Outstanding American Maritime Scholar in 1994 and received the U.S. Maritime Preservation Award and the Ocean Liner Council’s Silver Riband Award in 2004. Additionally, Bill was the 2017 recipient of SSHSA’s Samuel Ward Stanton Award for Lifetime Achievement.
(Photo: Bill Miller collection)