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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Queen Mary
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and Queen Elizabeth The two great luxury liners built by *Cunard in the 1930s, each launched on Clydeside by a queen and named after her – the Queen Mary in 1934 by the wife of George V and the Queen Elizabeth in 1938 by the present *Queen Mother. Each was at the time the largest liner ever built, a record still held by the Queen Elizabeth (Queen Mary 311m/1020ft in length displacing 81,237 tons, Queen Elizabeth 314m/1031ft in length displacing 82,998 tons).
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The Queen Mary first sailed with passengers in 1936 and won the *blue riband in 1938 with a time of 3 days 21hr 48min. The newly fitted out Queen Elizabeth was immediately involved in World War II, in which both ships were used as troop carriers. They were retired from transatlantic service in 1967 and 1968, and were sold as hotels and tourist attractions. The Queen Mary has been moored since then at Long Beach in Los Angeles, but the Queen Elizabeth was destroyed by fire in 1972 while anchored in Hong Kong.
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