The Cunard archive holds an almost comprehensive record of engineering staff who have worked on Cunard’s ships since 1870. These records, be it volumes or binders, tell us about who worked for the company, what ships they worked on, and which voyages they were part of. As such, they are a great resource for family, business, maritime, or local historians and researchers. But these records can also give us small glimpses into who these engineers were and what their lives were like.
What is the D42/EN/7 series?
This post looks specifically into the D42/EN/7 series. It consists of nine binders which hold staff records of most engineers who have been employed at Cunard between 1934 and 1967. Some access restrictions apply due to the personal nature of these records. Each staff member was recorded on their individual sheet or sheets which have tables printed onto them where their information was recorded. Depending on the length of someone’s employment, this can range from only a quarter of a page to six pages. These tables not only give us purely administrative data but if one pays attention to the annotations and reads between the lines, they reveal lived experiences of maritime workers.
The challenges of a life at sea.
Although living and at working at sea, breathing in the ocean air, visiting famous cities and diverse countries can be an aspirational profession for many, it also involves physical and emotional challenges.
Take James, who started working for Cunard in Liverpool as a junior engineer when he was only 22 years old.[1] Once he finally took to sea on the RMS Media, however, he had to quickly resign from his position because of the severity of seasickness he developed. He was at sea for 3 months.
Others have struggled from the emotional toll which such long voyages at sea can take. The staff records often name ‘domestic reasons’ as grounds for resignation. For most staff we can only imagine the details. Maybe they wanted to have more time with their children? Maybe they needed to stay back to care for a family member? Or maybe they just missed home too much. The record of a Liverpudlian engineer gives us a bit of a clearer example.[2] After working on the Phrygia for a couple of months, he resigned from his position because of his wife’s ill health. Presumably to be able to take care of her. Although, an entry in his record notes that he would be considered for reengagement by Cunard, he never came back. This also shows us how Cunard as a company treated their employees, giving their staff opportunities to return if personal issues become too severe.
On Cunard’s decks.
The staff records vary greatly in length. Some only stay with the company for a couple of voyages, other stay throughout their entire career.
A 26-year-old mechanic from Manchester had to leave his seafaring life with Cunard behind after only one year of working of the company. Perhaps he enjoyed the benefits of living and working on a cruise ship a little too much, because his record states how he started drinking with fellow passengers. During this course, however, he became so intoxicated that he refused to follow orders from his officers, most likely preferring the company of the vacationers. He was promptly laid-off after only his second voyage at sea.
Others seem to have used their employment at Cunard as a stepping stone to a new life entirely. Every now and then a record in between the many pages pops up which gives ‘emigration’ as a reason for resignation.[3] An engineer from Southampton, for example, worked on 18 voyages of the Queen Mary after which he decided to resign to move to another country. Perhaps one he visited on one of these voyages?
The records also include people like, Thomas Kirk, whose life had become closely interlinked with and dedicated to the company.[4] He began sailing with Cunard at the end of the interwar period as a senior engineer when he was 36 years old. Thomas stayed with the company for 30 years, filling six pages of staff records, until he retired as a chief engineer in 1966. His character score shows only straight ‘A’s showing that he had been a dedicated crew member throughout his career. Not only that, but an annotation also informs us that he had been awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1965.
He is one of the only engineers, who we have a photograph of which also shows how highly regarded he was by the company:
Conclusion.
This blog has only shown a few stories which the D42/EN/7 series can tell us. They can give us more information about a single person or the Cunard company and its staff as a whole. When having a closer look at the series, glimpses of the engineers’ lives can become visible. Such as the story of a caring husband who left his life at sea to care for his wife. Or that of an award-winning engineering officer who spent his entire working-life at sea on Cunard’s ships.
Written by Sasha Thammer, Cunard archive Project Assistant (Oct-Dec 2025)
[1] D42/EN/7/1, Gardiner, Jas. D, born 1918
[2] D42/EN/7/8, CROPPER, William Henry. Born 1939.
[3] D42/EN/7/8, REYNOLDS, Anthony, Born 1940
[4] D42/EN/7/9, KIRK, Thomas, Born 1903