Cunard photo exhibition appeal prompts memories of shipping line

Former Cunard staff and guests have come forward with their memories after an appeal to track down the faces featured in an exhibition marking the shipping line’s 185th anniversary.

Images from the cruise line’s past were collected for the Sea of Glamour exhibition, curated by photographer Mary McCartney, which will be launched in Liverpool later this month.

After an appeal to find some of the people shown in the photos, former staff and guests got in touch with Cunard to tell their stories.

Rod Stewart was with us three times, first with Britt Ekland then Alana Stewart and then Rachel Hunter - so with a different woman every time!

Anne Logan

Anne Logan, 84, recognised herself in a photo showing staff aboard the QE2 in 1975.

The former stewardess said the picture, originally featured in British tabloid Reveille, brought back memories from her 30 years working on the seas, including serving celebrities who travelled onboard.

She said: “I looked after lots. Rod Stewart was with us three times, first with Britt Ekland then Alana Stewart and then Rachel Hunter – so with a different woman every time!

“Elton John and his wife Renate Blauel came across from New York to Southampton. He was very nice and polite but very, very quiet. He spent all of his time with his manager and she spent all of her time in the shops.”

Ms Logan, originally from near Port Talbot in South Wales, worked on 19 world cruises before settling in Southampton where she became a care worker.

She has not lost her love for being at sea and still goes on a cruise once a year.

Roy Eggleston and his then-girlfriend say goodbye before he boards the QE2 in 1982 (Mirrorpix/PA)PA Media - Mirrorpix

Another photo shows Leading Air Crewman Roy Eggleston with his then-girlfriend saying goodbye at Southampton before he boarded the QE2 as part of the 825 Naval Air Squadron in 1982, during the Falklands War.

The romantic connection captured on camera did not last and the couple later split up but Mr Eggleston, now 69 and living in Sutton on Sea, Lincolnshire, contacted Cunard to reveal himself and described his former fiancee as “a beautiful part of my life”.

The exhibition also features David Lawrence, pictured standing aboard a lifeboat from the QE2 which he kept on the front drive of his semi-detached home in Llanharry, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.

His son Geraint, 47, said he was about four when his father bought the boat, which he named Rhona after his daughter.

David Lawrence with a lifeboat from the QE2 in 1982 (Mirrorpix/PA)PA Media - Mirrorpix

“My dad was a little eccentric,” he said.

“He didn’t often follow the same path as everyone else. If you think about it not many people would buy a lifeboat to keep in their driveway, but this wasn’t the first time he had done something like this.”

Mr Lawrence, a former coal miner, has since died but his son said: “It’s great to see that despite the loss, the story of my dad and Rhona lives on today.”

Anniversary celebrations will take place in Liverpool from May 26 when Cunard’s newest ship the Queen Anne will arrive in the city.

The Sea of Glamour exhibition will be open to the public at the Royal Liverpool Building from May 28 to June 17 and will be free to view.