Part 2: The Port in the Modern Era

The repair and rebuilding of the Eastern Docks and Western Docks at Southampton after the ‘blitz’ of German bombing got underway in 1945. The lavender hulls of the big Union Castle Line passenger liners were seen again in the port from 1st January 1947, sailing under a new passenger and freight contract to Cape Town. The Cunard White Star service to New York reopened with Queen Elizabeth in commercial service on 16th October 1946, and Queen Mary on 31st July 1947, both completing extensive overhauls after long worldwide war service. In the case of the Queen Mary, the hull was refitted at Glasgow, and her luxurious fittings, which had been in wartime storage, were reinstated at Southampton.