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and the Queen of Bermuda |
| Following World War I, in 1919, the Furness Bermuda Line was awarded the New York-Bermuda contract and began the service with the Fort Victoria and the Fort Hamilton; the latter being the former Bermudian of the Quebec Steamship Line. Thus began the service which, at its peak before World War II, had the Monarch of Bermuda and the Queen of Bermuda, two of the world’s luxury liners, docking at Hamilton each week. Known as "the millionaires ships" they were both built by Vickers-Armstrong Shipbuilders Ltd, Walker-on-Tyne, England. |
| The Monarch of Bermuda (ship order #1) was 579 feet long with a beam of 76 feet. Completed in 1931 she was 22,424 gross tons and powered by steam turboelectric propulsion (engines by Fraser & Chalmers, Erich (turbines), and by General Electric Co Ltd, Birmingham (motors)), driving 4 screws. She was fitted with 3 funnels, had 2 masts and a cruiser stern. her service speed was 19 knots. | 
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Accommodation was
provided for 799 passengers in 1st class and 31 in 2nd class. She
carried a crew of 456.
The Monarch of Bermuda was launched on 17 March 1931 for Furness, Withy & Co's New York-Bermuda service, and served this run from 1931 to 1939. |
| Her sister ship,
the Queen of Bermuda, completed in 1933, was slightly larger at 22,575
gross tons and a foot longer at 580 feet. Service speed for both ships
was 19 knots. She had capacity of 731 first and 31 second class passengers.
In an interesting little twist of history, while Furness-Bermuda Line awaited delivery of the Queen of Bermuda in 1933, they chartered the Duchess of Bedford from Canadian Pacific Lines |
 Queen
of Bermuda
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| as a temporary running mate for the new Monarch of Bermuda. This is the same ship that had carried another member of the family, Josephine Murphy, to Canada in early 1933. Once the Queen of Bermuda was delivered to Furness, the Duchess of Bedford returned to the Canadian Pacific Lines. |
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| The Monarch of Bermuda
and the Queen of Bermuda were both used for 3 week cruises to Bermuda for
Furness-Bermuda Line.
Beautifully proportioned vessels with 3 funnels, they were amongst the few ships of their day to have private facilities in their cabins. The run between New York and Bermuda took only 40 hours in each direction and that allowed 4 days to be spent on the Island. The ships were very popular with honeymooners. A 6 day round trip could cost as little as US$62-00 per person. |
Monarch of Bermuda Deck Plan |
 A model of the Furness Bermuda Line Q.T.E.V. Queen of Bermuda. (L. Webb)
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Left
A luncheon menu from the Monarch of Bermuda, presented to the table on Friday, April 23, 1937. The illustration shows a mermaid riding on the back of an albatross, while a myriad of "merbabies" hold aloft a bubble of sea and sky, which frames the airborne pair. Two Spanish Galleons sail below. The illustration is illuminated with silver metallic ink.  The Monarch of Bermuda and the Queen of Bermuda at Hamilton, Bermuda |
| On the 8th of September 1934 the Monarch of Bermuda helped rescue the passengers and crew of the burning Morro Castle off the New Jersey coast. The Morro Castle was a luxury liner on the New York to Havana run. One hundred and thirty three lives were lost from the Morro Castle. |
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| From November 1939
until 1946 the Monarch of Bermuda saw service as a troop transport, while
the Queen was converted to an armed merchant cruiser, loosing one of her
funnels as a disguise.
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| On 10 December 1939
the Monarch of Bermuda sailed from Halifax, Canada and on December
17th 1939, landed the first members of The Canadian Active Service Force
at Greenock, Scotland. The first Canadian soldiers to set foot in
Great Britain at the start of World War II.
On April 14th, 1940 the Monarch of Bermuda participated in the landing of British forces at Narvik in Norway, carrying Scots and Irish Guards on this occasion. In July 1940 the Monarch of Bermuda sailed in convoy from Greenock, Scotland, with an escort of British and Polish warships to Halifax, Canada, landing there on 13 July, 1940. This convoy was transporting priceless treasures from Wawel Royal Castle in Poland as well as millions of dollars in gold bullion from the Bank of England to be deposited in the Bank of Canada for safekeeping. Between 5-7 May 1942, the Monarch of Bermuda took part in the allied landings against the Vichy French in Madagascar. On November 27 1942, the Monarch of Bermuda embarked troops at Liverpool for the British action against the Vichy French, arriving at Oran, Algeria on December 6, 1942. On 9 July 1943, the Monarch of Bermuda boarded troops destined to take part in Operation Husky, the allied invasion of Sicily, landing them at Pachini on 17 August 1943. An American newspaper report of British activities in Sierra Leone at the time advised that “Word reached the U.S. last week that the British, conscious of Freetown's new strategic importance, were taking steps to strengthen it. The 22,424-ton Monarch of Bermuda, late of the pleasure trade, deposited between 3,000 and 5,000 troops there, adding to the port's reputed garrison of 30,000. Freetown would never become a Singapore, but it was rapidly becoming Africa's Hong Kong base dedicated to defensive harassment and delay.” On leaving Freetown, the Monarch of Bermuda sailed south to St Helena for oil and to land mail, and sailed for Cape Town. In 1946 the Monarch of Bermuda was used to carry Canadian War Brides across the Atlantic. |
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| Monarch of Bermuda |
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