Cheshire Memories: Marine fans remember Queen Mary Marine event at Nunsmere Hall to celebrate Cheshire shipping magnate

By Chester Chronicle on Jun 29, 09 08:01 AM in 1900-1999

MARINE enthusiasts from all over Britain will meet in Cheshire later this year to honour one of the county's most celebrated adopted sons and the most famous "lady" in his life, the iconic RMS Queen Mary.

They will gather at the Nunsmere Hall Hotel, Oakmere, near Northwich to glorify the memory of shipping magnate Sir Aubrey Brocklebank.

To mark the event, the hotel has released a picture of him smoking his pipe in a rarely-seen photo from the family archive.

Sir Aubrey built Nunsmere Hall around 1900 for himself and his wife, Lady Grace. It was there he drew up the first designs for the ship and carried out seaworthiness tests in a tank simulator.

Now, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of her Clydeside launch, the hotel is to host a weekend of maritime nostalgia from September 11-13 at which head chef Craig Malone will create the original maiden voyage menus.

Guest-of-honour will be Sir Aubrey's grandson, Northampton businessman Sir Aubrey Brocklebank, who discovered the photo of his grandfather in his family album.

Among the other VIPs will be 77-year-old Harold Jupe, secretary of the Queen Mary Association, who worked as an engineer officer aboard the Queen between 1957 and 1960.

"Our members come from all over the country and also some from America, Canada and Australia," said Mr Jupe at his home in Fareham, Hampshire.

Shipping magnate Sir Aubrey was chairman of the renowned Brocklebank Shipping Line, whose origins can be traced back to Cumberland in the 1700s. It was later to become known as the Cunard-Brocklebank Line.

He became an influential director of Cunard in the 1920s and was charged with the job of designing a magnificent new liner that would become Cunard's North Atlantic flagship.

Eventually a design was chosen but sadly, Sir Aubrey died in 1929 and never saw the work completed.

On September 26, 1934, the Queen Mary was launched on Clydeside, Glasgow.
During the weekend guests will have an opportunity to visit the Cunard Building on Liverpool's waterfront and tour the famous Northwich-built tender, the Brocklebank Tug, launched in 1969. "It is almost certainly the last working vessel to bear the Brocklebank name," said Sir Aubrey.

Hotel manager Mark Huntley has also booked a young trio - who until recently were busking in Liverpool - to entertain guests during dinner with nostalgic melodies including the ship's signature tune Somewhere at Sea, written specially by the former BBC Dance Band leader, Henry Hall.

"We intend to recapture the essence of the maiden-voyage experience as authentically as possible and give our guests a taste of the life and luxury aboard this much-loved liner," he said. "The fact that we are in a stunning location surrounded by water will certainly help to create the right atmosphere"

"For anyone with an interest in maritime history it promises to be a fascinating and memorable occasion." he added

"We've had a great deal of help and assistance from the Queen Mary archive in America in gathering information and memorabilia, some of which we plan to display. We're also very keen to hear from anyone who would be prepared to loan us any memorabilia for the weekend or who knows of anyone who was among the crew or on the passenger list.

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This nostalgic picture of Cheshire shipping magnate Sir Aubrey Brocklebank marks the forthcoming event to celebrate him and the Queen Mary.