The Saturday briefing

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER by CAROLINE FORD

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Is there anything you're yearning to know? Send your questions, on any subject, to the contacts given below, and we will do our best to answer them...

Q My mother worked for Cunard in the 1920s and always talked about White Star. Could you tell me when the companies merged?

Carolyn Palmer, via email

A The shipping companies White Star and Cunard date to the mid 19th Century when clippers and paddle steamers ruled the waves. White Star Line merged with Cunard in 1934 but before that was one of the biggest British shipping companies. However, tragedy to one of its largest and “safest” ships hastened its decline.

With its iconic red and black funnel design, Cunard was started in 1840 by Samuel Cunard from Nova Scotia. Its first ocean-going steamers transported mail with few passengers and no cargo. At a time when a packet ship might take several weeks to cross the Atlantic, Cunard’s Britannia got to Nova Scotia in 12 days and 10 hours, before heading to Boston.

While Cunard initially built ships for speed, White Star Line opted for size and luxury. Founded in 1845 by Henry Threlfall and John Pilkington, White Star started with a fleet of sailing clippers going from Britain to Australia.

White Star Line’s biggest ships were the transatlantic liners: Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. These saw the introduction of electric lights and lifts and running water in passenger cabins.