IF Bruce Peter had a time machine, he would go back to the original QE2 as she was when she left the Clyde in 1969.
The professor of design history at Glasgow School of Art has curated a new exhibit on the famous liner, QE2 50 Years Later, at the centre’s Reid Building, which brings together original photographs, menus, brochures, models, crockery, silverware and more from the ship.
He said the ship should be remembered as a near perfect example of design that was quickly ruined by Cunard in the 1970s.
Prof Peter told the Post: “Imagine how fantastic it would be to see that original design. Of all the many large passenger ships built between the Second World War and the present, this was by far the most avant garde.
“One of the key things was this was briefly a magnificent masterpiece of British design. Liners are put to hard usage, especially in the Atlantic, a ferocious environment. She was changed in an extreme way, not long after she went into service.”
Although he doesn’t get to include much on liner design in his teaching, Prof Peter has run screenings of films from the period to inspire others.
Prof Peter added his criticism to that of MP Martin Docherty-Hughes and the QE2 Story group over the recent Channel 5 documentary on the liner, which repeated claims about a “looting epidemic” during the fitting out of the ship.
One allegation suggested the carpet of the Double Down room had a hole the exact size of a Glasgow tenement – something Prof Peter pointed out was impossible as such carpets are installed in lengthy strips.
Prof Peter said: “Ignoring what the TV programme said, one of the important things in life is your individual creative production. It is important to your personal sense and wellbeing.
“You hear the roar of approval from workers and guests [when the QE2 was launched] – ‘Here is something we made’.
“Even though there’s not structured industry anymore, whatever the field, making something gives you a tremendous sense of self-fulfilment and those are very important values for people to take.”
Channel 5 have not responded to a request for comment.
- “QE2 50 Years Later” runs until March 4 in the ground floor corridor of the GSA’s Reid Building of the Glasgow School of Art.
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