Employing a New Technology

I first decided on building this Caronia Timeline at a point where I began to experience difficulties in keeping track of the items I'd gathered, such was the abundance! I could also avoid purchasing duplicates by using a technology that had become regular home equipment, rather than being confined to offices.

I also realised that within my Caronia memorabilia collection I was quite quickly amassing the basis of an important and substantial historical archive. I flirted with the idea of recording my gathered items into a computer database, though I soon discounted this solution as a rather boring exercise, with limited benefits.

At that time the existence of the new “information super-highway” was making its presence felt. It occurred to me that by building a Web site I'd probably gain much more pleasure by safely sharing digitally scanned images with others on-line. I'd also avoid having to regularly handle and potentially damage papers of a certain age.

This course of action would enable lots of people to study and enjoy these often rare artefacts. An added benefit being that it would probably put me in touch with others who had close associations with the “Green Goddess”, or who share an interest in her history.

Addressing the Information Gap

Preliminary searches on the Web showed that, despite the Worldwide fame of the RMS Caronia, the information available didn't begin to recall her proper history and, more importantly, paint any kind of picture of what it was really like to live and work on board her. Clearly, there was room to try and address this.

So, with great pleasure, I humbly present this Caronia II Timeline as my way of celebrating Caronia's glittering history and illustrating life aboard the “Green Goddess” by…

• tracing the Caronia's day-to-day position on the globe throughout her career with Cunard and beyond
• sharing the products of Cunard's publicity department from all those years ago
• sharing several photographs of my own, and from others, which show that we not only worked hard, we played hard too!
• recounting personal memories of various aspects of being an impressionable youngster aboard what was a really fabulous vessel
• gathering and publishing factual and anecdotal information from visitors to the site
• putting visitors to the Timeline and former Caronia travellers in touch with one another

Amazing Reactions

Even though it has been on-line since the start of 2004, I still wonder at the amazing responses created by the Timeline's Web presence! Considering that it's about a ship that foundered in the 1970s, the amount of interest that's still shown almost defies belief. The pages of contributor acknowledgements bear witness to this.

About the Timeline's Design

The interiors of RMS Caronia were the epitome of late 1940s Art Deco design. I have seen them described as a “Queen Elizabeth in miniature”. Probably the most difficult aspect has been in reflecting this in the Timeline's design, at least in its “look and feel”.

With the notoriously limited range of computer typefaces widely available for use on the Web, using Art Deco styles without needing images of text was impossible. Nevertheless, it has been my aim to try to keep a careful balance that does give the Timeline a “Deco” theme, with nothing looking out of place.

Small Details That Evoke Memories

You may be wondering why the fixed background image has the “orange peel” effect. Well, from a distance, the livery applied to the “Green Goddess” may have seemed evenly applied. However, because there had been so many coats of paint applied to her hull, when you got up really close, this is exactly what you saw.

The ravages of salt water exposure, several sand-blastings and all the constant roller repaints produced this effect and it's shown here as a reflection of the primary aim of the Timeline, to record even the smallest detail. For anyone who remembers clambering aboard the Caronia, I hope it evokes a reminder of seeing the ship's side close-up, before you entered another world altogether.

Wide Viewing Choices

The width of the vertically scrolling window was also a very carefully considered choice. For those with a wide-screen monitor it may seem a little narrow. However, what it really provides is the best readability in the widest possible range of viewing options on monitors of any size, from 640 pixel width upward.

On many pages there are lines that contain only very short phrases, so the narrow width maintains their context. On modern desktop technology the Timeline can occupy a browser tab with a very small footprint, yet still be in full view.

Drawing Visitors In

Placing the main Navigation Bar at the bottom of every page, rather than at the top, was another deliberate choice. The Timeline consists of well over 1,200 pages, but the last thing to do is to put visitors off by making it feel like there are that many!

Making the site appear top-heavy, which is exactly what attempting to place navigation menus both top and bottom would do, was never an option. With so much information, keeping visitor options easy and readily accessible helps in my aim of drawing people in to explore at their own pace.

A Quality Exploration Adventure

Applying the high standards required for working aboard Caronia had a life-long impact upon me, despite only a short career at sea. Stepping aboard any big ship begins an exploration adventure that can last for days!

At every turn you experience something new, be it a wonderful staircase, a work of art or a fabulously furnished and decorated room. Indeed, it could be a combination of all three! Like any temporary home, you soon find favourite places that become the regular haunts of your sojourn.

I've always felt that the quality of any Web site about the Caronia demanded, at the very least, a proper attempt to match the ship's outstanding status. Whether or not I have achieved this is only for you to judge. My hope is that you find the result pleasing. Enjoy your adventures, there is plenty to see…

About the Author / Webmaster

I'm a retired railwayman in his late 70s who spent the first three years of his working life in the British Merchant Navy. Managing to by-pass Sea School, because there were no vacancies, I found myself sailing off to South Africa, on the 12th voyage of Union Castle's RMS “Transvaal Castle” as a “Callender Boy” , in September 1963; this just three days after making my initial enquiries to become a Merchant Seaman.

Much as I enjoyed the voyages to Cape Town, (it remains one of my favourite visited places) and Durban, after 5 return trips, the last 3 being on RMS “Pretoria Castle”, I decided that it might be much more fun to visit other parts of the World. After all, why not enjoy that privilege, and get paid for it?

Again right place at the right time, just 3 days after getting back to Southampton, I managed to talk my way into a new job as a Commis Waiter on a certain RMS “Caronia”. A beautiful ship painted in a distinctive green and dominated by a huge black-topped red funnel. Now I was about to go places!

A Memorable First Encounter

I had first encountered Caronia as a lad of about 10, when on a special Christmas Shopping outing to Southampton. It was on a train trip from our local station (about 10 months before Dr Beeching closed it), so we approached Southampton Central from the Romsey direction, travelling eastward through Millbrook and Redbridge stations.

This also meant passing such famous Southampton landmarks as the King George V Graving Dock, but what had caught my eye was this big ship painted in pale green. The lasting impact of my excitement was when someone in the carriage announced that “this was a very famous ship and the only one in the World” to be painted that colour - I guess that was me hooked!

As it turned out, my first trip on the Caronia, about 7 years later, was a baptism of fire! I'd not worked in a restaurant with two meal sittings before, so this first transatlantic crossing working in the Sandringham Restaurant was quite a culture shock.

My first glimpse of the Manhattan Skyline in July 1964, seen from aft crew deck of Caronia
[Photo: © Peter Stevens 1964]

When I left the Merchant Navy, during the Seamen's Strike of 1966, the writing was already on the wall for Caronia, despite a much vaunted refit carried out in the Autumn of 1965.