QE2 flies the original Queen Elizabeth flags - 29/5/2005

[CAP]

Not too sure if this is the correct topic to place this under... mods please move at your discression.

On doing some research regarding the original Queen Elizabeth I stumbled across a comment that on the 29/5/2005 Captain McNaught agreed to fly the Cunard House flag along with the Commodore's Burgee, both from the original ship.  The only other piece of information I have is that it was the first time they had flown in 50 years.

I have no further information about this event and am currently trying to identify significant dates for QE which may relate.  At the time QE2 was a day into a Scandinavian cruise.

Appreciate anyone filling in further information as to the significance of the event.

[June Ingram]

Hi Chris - This is a very interesting find.  Thanks for presenting it here and I too look forward to hearing more information !  June   

[Lynda Bradford]

Hope we can find out more information about the flying Queen Elizabeth flag

[Stowaway2k]

I could swear I was onboard for this.  I remember being on when there was a lot of chatter about the QE flag and pennant being flown sometime during the cruise.

If my memory serves me right, it was done during a port call, while I was ashore.   So no photos.   I hope this isn't just my mind playing games with me, but I'm certain it happened while I was on this cruise.

[Michael Gallagher]

Captain McNaught recalls doing this bit thinks it was done in Liverpool as a passenger had the flags with him so they were flown in honour of the company's links to Liverpool. However QE2 did not visit Liverpool in 2005....

[Michael Gallagher]

On 29 May 2005 the two flags from Queen Elizabeth were flown from QE2's mast. The Quartermaster did a marvellous job of getting the Cunard House Flag and the Commodore Burgee secured together and hoisted with the halyard to their final position aloft QE2's distinctive mast. After almost 40 years these flags were once again flying from a Cunarder.


See also post in QE2 the Flagship on Commodore Burgee

[Brandon Sterkel]

Never thought I would see these photos!
Thank you Michael for sharing them!

[CAP]

Great to see them, thanks.  Do we know the reason for raising them?

[CAP]

Despite numerous searches haven't as yet been able to establish why the flags were raised.  This leads me to conclude that perhaps the date is not one which actually relates to a specific anniversary, rather a moment in time when the opportunity arose.

With the flying of the Commodore's Burgee I did suspect the reason may have lain with one of Queen Elizabeth's Commodore's.  I did discover one very interesting piece of information which may or may not be related.  Commodore Marr who passed away in 1997 is the only Cunard Captain to have a sea burial.  Further, I have seen commentary which states the event took place aboard QE2 and I believe the ship's captain at the time was Ronald Warwick.   Disappointingly, I cannot pinpoint when this particular event took place and therefore establishing any relationship to the flag flying.

At the risk of going a little of topic, can anyone confirm when and where the late Commodore's burial at sea took place?

[Peter Mugridge]

Commodore Marr died on 4th March 1997, so at first glance there appears to be considerable time lag between his death and the flying of the flags, but not so long that we can rule out a connection.


Now this link here http://linerlogbook.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/commodore-marr-myself.html says "ultimately buried at sea".  Ultimately suggests that the burial was not immediate.  I wouldn't expect an eight year delay, however, but there may be some anniversary or something involved.

Checking the dates on the forum's list of captains yields that Ron Warwick ceased to be the designated Captain of QE2 in April 1997 and the designated Captain in May 2005 was P Russell so was Ron Warwick back to cover Captain Russell's leave at the time?  That might narrow down the clues a bit?

[Twynkle]

Commodore Marr was buried from QE2 -
I believe that Commodore Warwick was in command at the time.