Queen Victoria presentation to celebrate Clyde-Cunard ties

The performers were invited aboard the Cunard liner when she berthed at Greenock’s new cruise ship terminal.

The group, who have previously staged various events marking Inverclyde’s connection to the iconic cruise line, made a special presentation to ship captain Tomas Connery while aboard.

READ MORE: Greenock's £20m cruise ship terminal officially opens

A framed copy of an historic handwritten contract drawn up between renowned Scottish shipbuilder Robert Napier, Captain Henry Woodruff and Samuel Cunard, was given to the captain and his crew by their guests.

Greenock man George Byng, who helped arrange the presentation, told the Tele he and his fellow group members are keen to properly mark the area’s Clydebuilt heritage and have plans to develop a stronger association with visiting ships and their passengers.

He said: “We had a very good welcome from the captain and his officers aboard the Queen Victoria.

“We were in the beautiful champagne bar.

“We made the presentation to the captain, who said it was terrific and that he would have it up in a prominent position in the ship for the benefit of the passengers and crew.

“We then were given a short guided tour of the ship, but only on one deck because it is so vast.

“The ship is magnificent, it’s superb in every way."

George says celebrating Cunard's ties with the Clyde is important and should never be overlooked. 

He said: “Inverclyde needs to start playing on its enormous history.

“This is what we’re trying to do as a small group.

“We started this in 2013 when the Queen Mary 2 visited and we presented a plaque to Robert Moran, who was the provost at the time.

“We want to continue this and hopefully set up something with Inverclyde Council so that when other cruise ships come in we can do something.”

The document handed over was an exact copy of the contract signed in 1839 for the construction of the first four Cunard liners, with two of the vessels built in Greenock and two in Port Glasgow.

Last week's handover and Queen Victoria’s visit coincided with the official launch of Greenock’s £20m cruise ship visitor centre.

After a tour of a guided tour of the ship, the group made their way to the new terminal, where they gave an engaging performance about Inverclyde’s Cunard connection and the signing of the handwritten contract.

George Byng was given a commemorative plaque by Cunard (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Byng, who received a commemorative plaque from Cunard, added: “I think the opening of the cruise ship terminal is terrific and hopefully it’ll bring more visitors in, especially with the top-class Scotts restaurant on top of it.

“Hopefully we can tie in with the council and be a part of it going forward.

“The German ships like the Mein Schiff series carry a lot of people who are very interested in local history, and we would love that to be a bigger part of their visits here.

“We want to get Inverclyde on the map as the premier tourist arrival point and this magnificent building is a big part of that.

“The opening is just the beginning.”