RICHARD ALLEN SCOTT - Through the Years

RICHARD ALLEN SCOTT
THROUGH THE YEARS
In the late afternoon of November 1 st 1957, Mum, Christine and I boarded the Canadian Pacific
steamship Empress of Britain with Nan and Grandpa who had travelled to Liverpool with us from
London, and who would return home that evening.
Empress of Britain
The 25,516-ton vessel had a length of 640 feet, and her beam was 85.2 feet. She had one
funnel, one mast, twin propellers and an average speed of 20 knots. The ocean liner provided
accommodation for 160 first class passengers and 984 tourist class passengers
As we sat at the dock eating dinner, I remember Mum already feeling sea-sick as the ship would
rise and fall at the pier. She would be confined to our cabin for the entire 6-day crossing, sick
as a dog. Christine and I were sick for a couple of days, but then with the help of a steward, we
were able to eat the recommended cold chicken sandwiches and drink Canada Dry ginger ale.
We were up and running around the ship by ourselves for the remainder of the journey. While
the ship had a first-class section (blocked off from the rest of ‘us’ by metal grills), we were in
‘tourist’ or third-class, probably an inside cabin with no porthole.
Crossing the North Atlantic in November was no picnic. In fact, we were delayed a whole day
due to heavy weather. Mum was not amused. There were no stabilizers on the ship in those
days, so we were tossed about like a matchstick on the ocean.
Tourist class library
Tourist class card room
June 2017
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