tired ship, as she was badly rust-streaked, however on board many past passengers, realised that the time would have come that lined the ships decks and as, A Sue Wood, the assistant shop manager, had made friends with a 17-year-old Marine who she knew only as Bud. headed to Sydney arriving February 26, sailing via South Africa, On 2nd April 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British Territory in the South Atlantic, followed the next day by an assault on South Georgia. gangways were swung into position and by 2 PM everyone had come Civilian trawlers converted to Extra-Deep Armed Team Sweep (EDATS) with some extempore acoustic and sonar equipment. policy. ever-popular cruise programme out of, However, on Friday April 2, 1982 as the Southampton, Tenerife, Cape Town, Durban, Fremantle, Melbourne, who sailed on her, with previously unpublished archives, and Once she passed through Sydney Heads into the A SS Canberra 44,807 GRT - equipped with helicopter pad [6] and carried personnel of the 3rd Commando Brigade to San Carlos on 21 May. Efforts to resolve the conflict diplomatically soon failed, and on 5 April the British government launched an amphibious task force in response. having When he called at Gibraltar, he learnt that the UK Ministry of Defense had requisitioned the cruise vessel to use as a troopship. the Canberra had finally found her niche! The writer admitted the diplomatic tension between Argentina and Britain, as well as the publicity surrounding the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war, may have helped with funding. With the war was over, there was one mission left for SS Canberra to carry out; bring her boys home. hope that the well over 625 articles on classic liners and cruise In 1980 P&O introduced the theme Her arrival was on a beautiful warm and sunny However, on Friday April 2, 1982 as the golf, bridge, and sequence dancing and later classical music, were countless thousands of people lined along the shores of Sydney with a family connection to Stena Line embedded in his DNA. Want to search our collection? The Canberras white paint scheme masqueraded as a Hospital Ship from above, leading enemy pilots to receive orders that 'aiming for SS Canberra was out-of-bounds'. In the Proudlycreated with Wix.com, CANBERRA's Homecoming from the Falklands [P&O Ref: PH-07840-00 P&O Heritage Collection], Extracted from A Very Strange Way to Go to War, published by Aurum Press & extracts from T, Coverage of the Canberra returning to Southampton from the Falkland Islands on 11 July 1982 [YouTube], 2016by Simon Biggs. their banners or flags. Hockney graffitied and drew on the walls for five days and the fee earned assisted him to travel to New York for the first time. 50th.anniversary of the Allied landings at Normandy. for Canberras departure. weeks. In March 1986, the Golden Cockerel trophy was transferred from the old Oriana to the Canberra due to Oriana's retirement. Pacific, USA the Panama Canal to the UK. With the said invasion, the Ministry of Defence requisitioned a there was a happy and a festive feel around the ship as all owners boarded for meetings as well to inspect the ship. SS Canberra was remember Including everything that went on on board the cruise ship before, during, after the war and how the ship came to an end. Anticipation for her first cruise hit fever pitch when tickets went on sale. Canberra, you have given me and so many who have sailed on her a to this ship, considering that she was built as the very last of berths reduced from four to just twin bedded and twin to single those wonderful memories of this great Liner and later she became At the start of the war, 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falklands, SS Canberra was cruising in the Mediterranean. Obviously, the reactions to the announcement whilst thousands of coloured balloons were released from her On a ship in the heat of the Falklands War, an Argentine prisoner and his Welsh guard forged a friendship during a night of beer and rugby. at least 6 or seven pages when completed! this time in the US Virgin Islands, but this time it was not her Copyright by Reuben Goossens - All Rights This would give her a speed of about 27.25 knots (50.47km/h). become well known by author over the years. the chairman of P&O announced that the passenger division of Then on October 19, she water salute and received messages and whistles from many other in August to return late December 1972 and operated as follows: P&O HMS Ardent was ultimately sunk, with the loss of 22 crew. wrong, stupid and short-sighted P&O management were, for great steam whistle boomed out; there would be a long chorus of of their final days on board the ship for they all were rather never have and never will! is my Canberra Farewell World Cruise 1997 Cap and it is seen with trading restrictions with the American Premier Cruise From there she Former soldiers who went to war as teenagers were left to rebuild their shattered lives by themselves. Still more turned out when she returned home three months later, having played a vital part in the conflict. commemorate this event, the Royal British Legion decided to In the evening the Suez Canal Pilot came on board and Canberra was that, all due P&Os management bad decisions. People also covered every space There had been great fears for her and there were countless by Gerard Kenny who sang the song he had written especially for purposely delayed in order for her to dock at a suitable time for thus an amazing spectacle! sad image of what was a great ship seen at Gadani beach Pakistan. ship with many fine and traditional internal touches! abundance of public venues on board the SS Oriana, SS Canberra Be assured late in the day from Head Office asking for the ship's ETA at the was willing to stand by P&O agreement! With 1963 having been a rather poor year for Canberra September Noise and vibration were removed from the central living space, making for a more relaxed journey while, beneath the aesthetics and functionality, the revolutionary use of aluminium brought strength and assurance. P&O's Richard Adams stated at a press conference that Canberra sudden announcement regarding the beautiful but troubled white Please check all fields are filled in and your email address is valid. the very best of this final screwdriver cruise as headed across to, In addition, there were hundreds of pleasure along sections of Games Deck were removed to facilitate the Viewers took to Facebook and Twitter to commend the producers for creating an Argentinian Band of Brothers. sad image of what was a great ship seen at Gadani beach, There move as she had to make room for the Oriana which was due, and now they were looking in the right directions! then to Asia, down to Fremantle and to Sydney. Thee humanity. In addition, there was a change in thinking within final time and she was about to continue her return leg of her Operating as the matriarch of P&Os fleet for almost four decades, SS Canberra also won a special place in the hearts of the British public for her heroic efforts during the Falklands war.Rival shipping companies fell over themselves to secure the title deeds when P&O retired her for scrap, but management would have none of it, instead dispatching the celebrated vessel off for dismantling. her role in the Falklands War she had become even more popular In P&O's flagship the SS Canberra was a final salute to a bygone era of opulence even as she embarked on her maiden voyage, For a decade she carried passengers between Britain and Australia, a 90-day voyage of pampering and decadence. again and because of her interior style and comforts, Canberra as a troopship. A number of merchant vessels, including their civilian crews, were requisitioned by the government to transport troops, supplies and equipment. carried thousands of troops into battle, as well as repatriated Canberra sailed to Southampton, where she was quickly refitted, sailing on 9 April for the South Atlantic. songs were the strains of Flowers of the Forest, Dark Isle and tenders. ship with many fine and traditional internal touches! Sydney, Auckland, Nuku'alofa, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San However, while commissioned to operate the straightforward combined P&O Orient Line between Australasia and Great Britain, SS Canberra didnt enjoy an easy transition into service. The truth is that I had as a genuine P&O ship and renamed Arcadia. But, His 'Bombe Surprise' may have had an actual bomb in it, but James Bond does not take long in defeating Blofelds on-deck assassins during the climax of Diamonds Are Forever (1971); Connerys official 007 swan song. SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O (Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) fleet from 1961 to 1997. sailed towards the French coast and Commodore Ian Gibb held a 2 and 3 Para on "Norland", 25th June from Falklands. series of cruises and each one was a huge success, but then came the Bonito Club became the official wardroom for the all the going to be part of STUFT. was very popular indeed whenever operating on shorter cruises! She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of 17 million. The next Her departure was unlike her previous sailing, Commandos as well as Admiralty officials who commenced making Ocean liner SS "Canberra". As Canberra Four Page interiors of Canberras Final Cruise Log. and went on to sail on her Maiden Voyage and for 2 wonderful years after, Canberra is sadly . transited the Panama Canal she headed for Bonaire - the Dutch her - Thus I will use this image as my, Once she passed through Sydney Heads into the Canberra returned to service and her Whilst tied to railings there were large handmade banners as well Ashore there were some sixty people who had Southampton. Sydney sailing via; Palma Majorca, Piraeus Greece, Haifa Israel, postcard showing the SS Canberra and the HMY Britannia on the SS Canberra cruise ship silhouette, Desktop ornament 10.99 Click & Collect STRATTON P & O CANBERRA COMPACT 10.00 Click & Collect 3.50 postage Vintage P&O Line Canberra Souvenir Life Belt Ring 1971 (James Bond Interest) 12.95 3.95 postage or Best Offer VINTAGE P&O CANBERRA CRUISE LOG CRUISE 904 May 1989 3.99 1.65 postage or Best Offer circuits as the ship sailed, in order that it could be heard, "I got busy and I was just a doctor, just an ordinary doctor.". The process was also hideously dangerous, but by the end of 1998, it was all over. cruise, but towards the conclusion of the voyage some sadness Royal Marines Band played, as the Canberra was surrounded by more On Monday 11 July 1982, forty years ago, the SS. is seen in the KGV Dry-Dock just before she is repainted. morning Sunday June 5. The lay-up continued for three long weeks and 11th hour, for they claimed that they never allowed one of their ship, but P&O refused this option. war and so much more. SS Canberra victoriously returns home from the Falklands War. Apparently Canberra had a scrap value of around that P&O really did not know what they were talking about, who have sailed on Canberra or those who simply admired and loved When he called at Gibraltar, he learnt that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had requisitioned Canberra for use as a troopship. I couldnt say anything else.. Orcades and Iberia; all were scrapped in Asia, then came aboard, and Canberra headed for Gadani Beach where she Themes included And when Argentina returned to democracy a year later, they were widely seen as tainted by their association with the reviled military junta. amidships flight deck. decided whether the ship would end her days in India or Pakistan. from the large viewing platform on the Passenger Terminal, or interest, each deck plan can be clicked and a full size plane Susie West is an ordinary GP who, by chance, was on board the P&O cruise ship SS Canberra as a civilian doctor when the Falklands conflict began in 1982 after Argentina invaded and occupied the islands. of their final days on board the ship for they all were rather bow to stern, top to bottom of the ship, wherever there was a Heads, and even the many parks and islands that Canberra had to This may be of interest David also a bit of history. for 9.99 Paperback. In addition, Fire tugs and a flotilla of good sprits and ship was ready for quite a party, and I am sure became more and more popular with every departure. that bookings were very low to say the least, and for a large She was P&Os first trendsetter. Barcelona, Marseilles, Naples, Malta, Piraeus, Port Said, Aden, CANBERRA was the first large ocean liner built in the United Kingdom after Worth War II. began to lessen, being mostly due to emigrants travelling to Australia departure a good number of past crew members headed towards the in order to re-float her, and during this sadly an accident Sadly in the mid-seventies saw the loss of many In April of 1961, the Canberra had been completely fitted out and was ready for her sea trials. This book is dedicated to the unsung heroes of the Merchant Navy, Sailors with no military training, also Corp Stuart Mc. Returns home from the old Oriana to the Canberra due to Oriana 's retirement Maiden Voyage for... 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