Episode 1:

THE GREAT LINERS

sailing around the world aboard 8 of their most famous ocean liners between the 1940s and 1970s: We see just what it was like to have been a passenger or crew member aboard these most handsome ships and the days when the Red Ensign was displayed all across the world.

For a generation after World War II, before air travel became standard, these giants brought Continents together. Nostalgic ships' names - Chusan, Himalaya, Orcades, Oronsay, Arcadia, Oriana, Orsova and finally Canberra - are seen at sea and in port, above and below decks. This is a treasury for those who served and sailed on the Great Liners.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critics report:- Without a doubt, this DVD will become a collector's item in a very short time, but there will be very few passenger ship enthusiasts who will want to part with it.
(Shipping Today & Yesterday)

Episode 2:

CASTLES TO THE CAPE

To make this DVD possible, many ex- personnel from Union Castle have helped producer, Des Cox, access this rare archive material. It has been carefully renovated and restored where possible to almost original condition. Now once again we can step aboard and sail on such great ships as - Edinburgh Castle, Pendennis Castle, Windsor Castle, Transvaal Castle and Reina del Mar, with passing shots of the Pretoria Castle and many more as they make their way back and forth from Europe to South Africa and the Cape. Also includes passing sea shots and the emotional final sailing of the Windsor Castle from Capetown.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critic's report:- For all those interested in the film records of one of Britain's greatest liner companies, and would like to experience just what it was like to have sailed on their beautiful lavender hulled liners, this excellent DVD is an absolute must. (Ships Monthly)

Episode 3:

CARGO LINERS OF THE WORLD

. . . See the ports of London and Liverpool as they used to be in the 1950’s and 60’s, go through the Suez and Panama Canals; visit the small ports around the New Zealand coast; experience the full fury of a Force 12 Atlantic winter storm aboard ships of the New Zealand Shipping and Federal Steam Ship Company.

It's a difficult enough task trying to find rare archive film of what were the world's most celebrated passenger liners, but to find film of of the thousands of smaller, beautiful cargo liners is almost impossible! Yet again producer Des Cox has scoured the world to find this rarest of film, and again he has had it carefully restored to bring you another unique piece of maritime history. The end result is - We can see the world as it used to be aboard some of the ships that made the British Merchant Fleet the largest in the World.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critic's report:- Old sailors are not supposed to look astern, but I found myself getting very moist-eyed watching those ships I knew so well. NZ Co. and Federals, Port boats, Rangis, Highlands, Blue Flues- an astonishing collection of film. (Michael Grey - Lloyds List)

Episode 4:

THE GREAT CUNARDERS

. . . see ships that were a legend in their own time, ships of the merged Cunard and White Star lines. Queen Mary - Queen Elizabeth - Caronia - Franconia - Carmania -
Mauretania - Aquitania, and many more from the 1930s to the QE2. See the two great Queens pass in mid-Atlantic at a combined speed of more than 70mph.

When the Cunard and White Star Lines merged in the mid 1930s, they formed one of the greatest shipping companies in maritime history. This astonishing collection of film takes us aboard some of the company’s most celebrated ships as they vied with each other for supremacy of the Atlantic and the cruising routes of the world.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critic’s report:- It is often said that anticipation is better than the event and that one should not believe all that is written on a product’s packaging. I would advise any lover of ships and the sea to treat themselves to this DVD. Sit down, pour yourself a glass of wine, switch it on and wallow in nostalgia. (Stephen Macey - Sealines Magazine)

(See the "Queen Mary" DVD below . . .
and details of the QM website and Discussion Group).

Episode 5:

THE BLUE WATER LINERS

. . . a special 70-minute episode; a tribute to Shaw Savill and the Royal Mail lines.
Between the 1930’s and 1970’s, seaports were so full of life - of barges and tugs, trains and cranes, dockers and ships of every shape and size.

This DVD pays tribute to two of the most famous shipping companies, Shaw Savill and Royal Mail, who had their own distinctive style, reputation for innovation, style and service which grew out of more than a hundred years of continuous sailings to every corner of the world.

We sail with such famous ships as the Highland boats, Dominion Monarch, Amazon, Andes, Corinthic, Southern Cross and Northern Star. Also sail on the Gothic on the Royal Tour of 1953, and also her sister ship, Ceramic.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critic’s report:- A feast of famous passenger liners that sailed to Australia, New Zealand and South America is featured in this latest DVD, which are amongst the best in the world today, not just for the subject but also with regard to the quality and production. (Shipping Today & Yesterday)

Episode 6:

EAST OF SUEZ

. . . on British India Lines . . . one of the largest shipping Company’s in the British Merchant Navy, had over 400 ships serve with it during it’s 109-year lifetime. Their enormous network of passenger and cargo ships served even the smallest ports East of Suez.
Shunning the spotlight so much sought after by the glamourous Atlantic liners, the Company provided special service aboard such classic ships as the Malda, Dunera, Rajula, Chantala, Waroonga, Nevasa, Kenya and Uganda.

We start in 1922 on SS Malda in London’s Royal Docks for a maiden voyage to East Africa. See ships of this line right through to the final days of the Uganda.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critic’s report:- The memories come thick and fast recapturing perfectly the ambience of what was, in effect, the Raj at sea. (Ships Monthly)

During the early to mid part of this century many shipping companies vied with each other over the lucrative trade routes to East Africa, and around the Cape. Two of the most famous of these companies were Ellerman’s and Union Castle, both very different but each proud of the high standards of the services they maintained. Ships featured - City of Port Elizabeth, City of Lichfield, City of Guildford, City of Durban, Rhodesia Castle, Braemar Castle and Kenya Castle. We sail on these wonderful ships on their long voyages to Africa and around the Cape. Film aboard the City of Port Elizabeth and City of Durban includes their maiden voyages to Africa.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critic’s report:- The producers have left no stone unturned in their unrelenting search for archive footage of the closing years of a great era in shipping, creating a time capsule of those really great days of ships and people. (Best of British Magazine)

Episode 8:

ECHOES OF THE MERSEY

. . . here's the Mersey crammed full of ships of every size;
There are so many great ships to be seen in this DVD - Cunarders - White Star - Canadian Pacific - P&O - Harrisons - Blue Funnel - Orient Lines - Palm Line - Elder Dempster - Lamport & Holt - Bibby Line - Tate & Lyle - Anchor - PSNC - to mention but a few.

Sail aboard Cunard's Lancastria and White Star's Britannic. However, nothing can quite prepare you for the unique moving picture/sound experience of the the final departure of the ill-fated Lusitania’s sailing from New York in 1915, sounding her mighty sirens for what was to be the last and fatal time - this has never been made available to the public before.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critic’s report:- These maritime DVD's are not only increasing in numbers, but in quality, and the eighth in this series is no exception. Film footage, ranging widely in date, has been skilfully assembled to present a vivid, even emotional picture, of the splendour of the Mersey’s past (Ships Monthly)

Episode 9:

MERSEY BOUND

. . . continues on from Episode 8; more Mersey ships and lines; Harrison - Elder Dempster - Brocklebank - Palm Line - Blue Funnel. To the Caribbean with Harrisons; the Far East with Brocklebanks & Blue Funnel; to West Africa with Elder Dempster & Palm Lines.

Just sit back and enjoy the spectacle of the Ikeja Palm navigating the River Nigre - amazing, just how did they manage to take those tight bends without ending up grounded in the jungle!

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 10:

PORTS AND BENS

. . . Two of the most popular companies in the British Merchant Navy were Port Line and Ben Line.

Both were at the fore in having distinctively styled ships with streamlined profiles. Their stylish ships were loved by both passengers and crew alike as they sailed to every far-off corner of the world, flying the almost now extinct red ensign with pride from the sterns of these most handsome ships.

We also look at some of the Sea Training Schools; follow the boy cadets and ratings as they join their first ship and embark on voyages of true adventure. That first ship could easily have been a tramp steamer or a luxury transatlantic liner.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 11:

THE GREAT PORT OF LONDON

. . . There will be many people who remember the River Thames as it once was, the highway to the world's busiest seaport. This latest DVD in The Great Liners series turns back the clock to a time where giant warehouses stood on what is now office blocks and luxury apartments. And for those who are too young to remember those days, the DVD provides a fascinating and entertaining insight into the Port of London when it was the nation's larder. We go back to the time when London's docklands stretched for 11 miles along the Thames.

Much rare archive material has been used to bring back the days when 60,000 ships used the port every year and thousands of people worked with 1,500 turning cranes to load and unload cargoes of every description to and from every corner of the world. Ships in the countless quays bore funnel livery marking them out as; P&O or BI, Blue Star, Blue Funnels, Union Castle, Shaw Savill, Cunard, Ellerman Lines, NZCo, Port Line, Ben Line, Glen Line, Royal Mail, Harrison Line, and more. Somehow this DVD manages to bring back all those long lost scenes.

You can almost smell the fusion of malty cargo and industrial smells so uniquely characteristic of that London dockland scene. The DVD, which runs for 60 minutes, is something that will be selected from the DVD cabinet for viewing time and time again. Never before have so many ships appeared in one DVD - absolute magic.

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 12:

FURNESS WITHY and the QUEEN OF BERMUDA

. . . see the heyday of the New York to Bermuda route, the “Millionaires Run” on ships of Furness Withy. The Monarch of Bermuda and Queen of Bermuda. See many others of the 40 lines in the group, and ships and ports around the world.

'Broadway to Bermuda" The DVD's from this most excellent series just get better and better. Episode 12 "From Broadway to Bermuda" gives an insight into the Furness Withy Group, once one of the largest shipping organizations in the world. Starting from very modest beginnings in Hartlepool in the late 1980s, Furness Withy grew to become one of the most successful Shipping Organizations in the world, operating over 1500 ships in their time.

This expertly produced DVD, using very rare archive film, takes you to sea aboard some of the cargoes ships that once flew the Furness colours with pride. Pacific and Prince Line ships as well as a voyage aboard the "Newfoundland" which includes some of the best storm scenes ever on film, as it battles its way across the North Atlantic in a mid-winter hell.

The second half of the DVD takes us right back to the 1 920s to the Furness Bermuda Line, and the ships they operated from New York to Bermuda on what was once the most successful passenger liner route of all time. The marvellous old archive film, much of which the producers restored literally frame by frame, takes us right back to the founding of this service and on voyages aboard such famous liners as the "Bermuda" ~ "Monarch of Bermuda" ~ "Queen of Bermuda" and the "Ocean Monarch". We also get a short glimpse of the "Monarch of Bermuda" in her later life when she served on the Australian emigrant trade as Shaw Savills "New Australia".
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Critic’s report:- Regardless of your nautical background, this DVD is a must, showing you a life at sea which has now long gone and sadly, will never return again. - Tremendous. Paul James (Maritime Review)

Episode 13:

THE QUEEN MARY

. . . rare archive film never before made public on this special DVD documenting the building, launch, and lifetime of service of arguably the best-loved ocean liner in the British Merchant Service. The maiden voyage; follow a complete round trip, see her workings from top to bottom, from the Bridge to the depths of the engine room, and most decks in between! Truly a great DVD, and one of the best shipping DVDs yet.

Producer/writer Des Cox has searched the world for over ten years to find the rare archive film necessary to make this most brilliant production. Now, using only moving film, most of which has never been made available to the public before, you can now step back in time to an age when our nation had pride in its achievements, and experience just what it was like to have sailed aboard the world's most famous ocean liner. Feel the excitement as you arrive in Southampton to join her for her maiden voyage and a little later, on the voyage she captured the prized Blue Riband for Cunard White Star and for a whole rejoicing nation.

You will share the joy and pride of those most momentous of maritime occasions as if you were actually there in person, and see the ship as she's never been seen on DVD before: The bridge - decks - public rooms - restaurants - cabins - even crew working areas never seen before such as her secluded yet productive print-shop and her massive, cavernous engine rooms.

Sadly, there will never be another great ocean liner quite like the "Queen Mary" and there will never be another DVD made about her to equal the content and quality of this one. This DVD doesn't contain ANY still pictures - or footage of her in California today - or unnecessary interviews, only sensational, rare archive film, all shot professionally on 16mm film during her undisputed heyday as the Queen of the North Atlantic.

Produced to British Broadcast Standards, this DVD has a running time of approximately 59 mins and is widely accepted as being the only DVD ever made to do justice to the glorious "Queen Mary".

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

QUEEN MARY WEBSITE and Discussion Group

. . For those with a deeper interest in the Queen Mary, there is a magnificent website now available, as well as a Discussion Group of some 83 members, and more are always welcome. We're happy to promote them here, and applaud their ideals of making the old Queen more like something of her former self.

The group is located at: QM Discussion Group
and the website is at: QUEEN MARY WEBSITE

Bill Cwiklo and Julian Hill are the co-authors of this major website on the QM. As Bill says, "Our mission is to help people understand in some detail what was special about the QM, how she has been changed over time, and how she might be brought back to more closely resemble her original splendor for business, educational and cultural use in Long Beach. Considering the ill-conceived conversion, this is a major challenge"

Here, here! . . . I'll say it's major! And Valerie and myself welcome any of the current 83 members to our humble pages.

To join the QM Discussion Group, click on the subscribe link to join, and register with Yahoo if you haven't already (this is to give you a username and password to sign in with). Let Julian know if there are any problems with it.

Episode 14:

TANKERS

. . .another classic in this renowned set is now released, telling the story of tankers and featuring much material on the ships in the fleets of Esso, BP, and Shell. Not the most romantic of titles, but this DVD is truly superb. Using extremely rare archive film, it takes you right back to 1861 when the story of sea-going tankers first began.
Using only moving images, the DVD tells the story of the Tanker and how it evolved from frail sailing ships to the giants of today. It shows some of the very earliest motorised tankers berthing and sailing from the Persian Gulf during the early part of the last century, and in wartime service. We then join the crews aboard four tankers operated by Shell, BP and Esso during the 1940s/70s and sail with them, often through mountainous storms on their voyages around the world.

The crews of these ships had little idea when they would return home again, often receiving fresh sailing instructions while at sea. One ship we join has already been away when it receives the great news that she's to sail for the UK and home. The DVD takes you above and below decks, allowing you to experience just what it was like to have gone to sea on those ships, from the small vessels that first pioneered the tanker revolution at the turn of the last century, through to the ocean-going leviathans of today.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 15:

THE GREAT PORT OF SOUTHAMPTON

So many people have contributed rare archive film, most of which has never been made public before, to enable us to make this DVD which we believe does justice to Southampton, the United Kingdom.s premier passenger port.

We go right back to the turn of the last century and follow the story of the port through its truly glorious years when every berth was taken by the world's most famous liners, their magnificent funnels towering over all. The superb archive film in this production actually allows us to also join a German liner for a cruise to North Africa in 1938 and to cross the Atlantic aboard one of the world's truly great liners, the magnificent "Normandie".

There are so many rare ships in this DVD, big ones, small ones, coasters, cargo ships, tugs, ferries. All sights we never thought we would ever see again. We look at Southampton through the war years and through ups and downs right up to the present time and how the great ships have returned to make it one of the world's busiest ports once again.
.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 16:

A HUNDRED YEARS OF P & O . . Part 1

We start aboard today's AURORA as she takes 2,000 passengers on a Mediterranean cruise. Then, in unique archive film, most not seen before, we step back to the turn of the last century.

MOOLTAN, MALOJA, MONGOLIA, RANPURA, VICEROY OF INDIA, ORION, ORMONDE, CORFU, CANTON, MALDA and STRATHMORE. Then we look at losses suffered by P&O in WW2 and the post-war replacement period, with early voyages aboard ORCADES, CHUSAN, and SURAT.

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 17:

A HUNDRED YEARS OF P & O . . Part 2

Part 2 follows on with more of the development of P&O after WW2 with the introduction of new breeds of cargo ships. There's so much, it's a long list: CARTHAGE, STRATHEDEN, STRAITHARD, STRATHNAVER, ORONSAY, ORSOVA, IBERIA, HIMALAYA, ARCHADIA, CHITRAL and SEA PRINCESS. Last sailings of OTRANTO and ORONTES. Then the birth and launchings of ORIANA and CANBERRA, including latter's return to Southampton after Falklands War, and what it was like to work and sail on these great ships.

Then there's many other ships of other companies in the P&O group, Federal Steam, British India, Coast Lines, Strick Lines, Union Steam, NZCo, as well as see P&O's own vessels, PERIN, DONGOLA, ADEN, PATONGA, BENDIGO. The film ends with a look at modern times of the group today, North Sea Ferries, P&O Stena, Princess Cruises. All in all, another remarkable maritime DVD treat.

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 18:

SHIPS TO NEW ZEALAND : (PART 1) SAILING

. . In this story "Ships to New Zealand", (which is being made in four parts), 95% of the very rare archive film used has never been made available to the public before, and it's fantastic. Now at last you will be able to sit back and once again view those ports and estuaries just as they were in their heyday when they were crammed full of glorious ships and we really were proud to be British.

There are so many ships featured in this DVD that it's impossible to list them all here, but they include the ships once operated by such famous companies as Blue Star, Shaw Savill, New Zealand and Federal Steam, Ellerman's, Port Line and many, many more.

In episode 18, the first part of the story of "Ships to New Zealand", we visit ports all around the UK and watch the ships as they prepare to start their long voyages to New Zealand, going right back to the 1920s. We then move forward in time to what most people consider to be the most interesting period of British merchant shipping, the 1950/60s. There are ships operated by Blue Star, Ellerman's, Port Line, Shaw Savill, New Zealand and Federal Steam and many, many more. It's safe to say that never has there been such a compilation of shipping available on DVD ever before.

We watch them in the busy ports and estuaries as they made ready to sail. Then we view their departures both from the quaysides and from aboard the many ships themselves. As we sail aboard so many of the magnificent ships that once operated on the UK-New Zealand service, we leave the relative calm and safety of home waters to battle through the tremendous storms they so often encountered in the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay.

The UK-New Zealand service was the longest line voyage in the world and took the ships to some of the most exotic and exciting places on earth, places that ordinary, non-sea-going people could only but dream of. Anyone who ever had anything to do with ships has their own very special story to tell of their experiences, which were for so many of them, 'the best days of our lives'. I give you now a story about the ships that once sailed to New Zealand. It's a story I hope you will enjoy and one that will help to open the pages of your own very special book of memories. ~ Des Cox

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 19:

SHIPS TO NEW ZEALAND : PART 2 OUTWARD BOUND

Following on from part 18, we re-join the ships as they voyage to New Zealand via both the Easterly route via the Mediterranean, Suez, India Ocean and the port of Australia, and the Westerly route via Curacao, Panama, Tahiti, Pitcairn and Fiji.

We sail aboard cargo liners, cargo passenger liners and all passenger carrying liners, taking an in-depth look at their operations and experience for ourselves just what it was like to have sailed aboard those magnificent ships as a passenger or member of the crew in those glorious days.

As we cut between the many ships on their voyages to New Zealand we pass and see many other very interesting vessels in the various ports of call along the way, transitting the Panama and Suez Canals. One of the most exciting moments for ocean sea travellers in those days, and one seldom recorded on film, was the spectacle of passing other ships at sea, especially when it happened to be ones of the same line. We are very fortunate in being able to restore such rare film and in doing so, we bring to the screen those truly magical moments for posterity and for us all to enjoy.

This episode ends with the ships finally reaching the end of their long voyages and the welcoming ports of New Zealand.

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 20:

Part 3 : NEW ZEALAND

This episode witnesses the ships arriving in New Zealand and we follow them as they join all the other ships to be found in the picturesque ports of Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin, Port Chalmers, Lyttleton, New Plymouth, Timaru, Bluff and Napier. For many of the cadets from ships such as the "DURHAM", "RAKAIA" and "OTAIO", it was a great opportunity to show their sporting skills i.e. rowing, cricket, hockey and so on. There were also endless opportunities for general sightseeing and, a chance to meet New Zealand girls, often brought about through invites to the local nurse's party.

We also witness the ships as they discharge and load their cargoes and make good use of the time in port to do important engine room maintenance and repairs and to make good the ships ready for sailing. We take a look at what it was like to spend Christmas away from home and cut between different New Zealand bound ships both in port and at sea, as far apart as the UK, North America, mid-pacific and New Zealand itself, to see just how the festivities were celebrated. As we watch the ships slowly prepare for their long voyages home, we witness more and more ships arriving all the time, many on the M.A.N.Z. line service to North America.

At the end of this episode we come to the moment when it's time for the ships to sail on their homeward bound voyages. These sailing days were always very important occasions and moments we are pleased to be able to show you. But for some ships, our programme shows a particularly poignant moment as, after a lifetime of honourable service, the day finally arrives for them to make their very final departure from New Zealand.

Seldom has this moment been captured on camera before, but we have managed to do just this and capture the scenes, just as they were, when Shaw Savill's "Tamaroa" and the New Zealand Shipping Company's "RANGITIKI" and "RANGITATA" sail for the very last time. Far greater crowds than normal thronged the quayside to pay their respects and to join in the farewell celebrations, but there was no-mistaking the great sense of loss that they all felt. As the ships' whistles that had become so much part of New Zealand life, echoed around their hills in final salute, they slipped their mooring lines from the quayside for the very last time, leaving behind only memories for people to pass on to future generations.

The episode ends with the ships once again back at sea at the start of their long voyage homeward bound the England.

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95

Episode 21:

SHIPS TO NEW ZEALAND : Part 4

No-one ever thought they would ever be able to see these wonderful maritime images ever again, but in this fourth part of our story. “Ships to New Zealand” we continue to do exactly that, looking at the ships both in port and at sea. In the first three parts we watched the ships as they readied themselves for sea, and then sailed with them on what was the longest line voyage on earth, from the UK to the shores of Australia and New Zealand. Then we followed the ships as they sailed in and out of the various ports around the coast of New Zealand and looked at the exciting adventures and romance enjoyed by their crews.

In this fourth part of the story we continue to follow the ships and their crews as they sail in and out of such scenic ports as Dunedin, Port Chalmers, Lyttleton Nelson, New Plymouth, Napier, Timaru, Wellington and Auckland. Many of the ships featured in the magnificent DVD were operated by shipping Companies that were once household names, such as Blue Star, Ellerman's, New Zealand Shipping Company, Federal Steam, Port Line, Shaw Savill.

Using film recently shot especially for exclusive use in this production, we also see those same ports as they are today and draw a comparison with the way they were once. We visit the places and bars once frequented by the men (and women) who once served aboard these beautiful old ships, places where so many romances, stories and adventures began.

We watch the ships at work around New Zealand coast; discharging their cargoes of mostly UK manufactured goods and then loading refrigerated meat, cheese, butter, bales of wood and drums of tallow, ready to start their long voyages home. After many weeks spent on the New Zealand coast, working, sightseeing, partying and often falling in love, we watch the ships as they sail from the ports of New Zealand and Australia. The time has sadly come for them to sail from these shores for the very last time and we watch the emotional scenes as they gracefully leave the quayside, their paying-off pennants flying with nostalgic pride after giving so many years of loyal services.

Everyone who had anything to do with ships has their very own very special story to tell, for those days were for most of us “the best days of our lives”. I give you now another chapter in this story about the ships that once sailed to New Zealand. I hope you will enjoy the rare archive film we have somehow managed to find and restore and I hope that this story will help you to open the covers to your own very special book of memories.

For ship lovers and enthusiasts everywhere, this really is a fascinating DVD.

.... now also available on DVD .... £17.95