From 1982 until his death in 1996, the founder of The RMS Queen Elizabeth Historical Society HAROLD PHILPOT took on the monumental task - his "burden" as he put it - to complete a set of scale documentary drawings of his beloved ship, the RMS Queen Elizabeth . His project was in fact a labour of love.
He was a professional draughtsman for Chrysler Motors (body design) both in England his homeland and in the USA his adopted home. He migrated to the USA on this ship in 1950 and sailed on several other times. The picture at the top of this page - which is the logo of the RMS Queen Elizabeth Historical Society - was hand drawn by Harold and shows the "Queen at home in Southampton on June 23 1964, which was the last time he saw her.
The drawings are the result of his research trips to England, where he copied many of the original builders plans (what is left of them) from Lloyds Register of Shipping London and also hundreds of photographs of the ship during construction, from the University of Glasgow where the John Brown of Clydebank archives are kept and the Cunard Steamship archives from the University of Liverpool. With his enormous design and drawing skills, he produced from these original plans and photographs , the most detailed , accurate and complete set of drawings of the RMS Queen Elizabeth in existence anywhere.
Many of the original, John Brown builders plans have inexplicably gone missing over the years and no one seems to know where. Also, the ship underwent many changes during construction at Clydebank between keel laying in 1936 to 1940 when she was completed, changes which were not recorded on the builders drawings. Philpot's plans are a true representation of the ship AS BUILT and as she sailed (pre -1966 refit).
This set of 21 drawings are HALF-SIZE reductions of the originals, which were hand-drawn by Harold Philpot on professional mylar draughting film mostly at a scale of 1/4 Inch to 1 Foot. I have chosen these twenty one plans from the Philpot collection because they show all the necessary information for an extremely detailed and accurate model of the liner.
The quality and workmanship of these drawings is nothing less than stunning. The incredible amount of detail shown is due to the small scale at which they were originally drawn - 1:48 i.e, the same scale as the original builders plans which were over 20 feet long! Rivetting, shell-plating, Hull lines, body plan, full breadth plan, sections, shell openings, decking, deck houses, deck equipment and machinery , details of lifeboats, detailed deck plans and much more. There are also many informative technical and general notes relating to the ship throughout . A superb, and unique documentation of a ship which was truly a wonder in maritime architecture….The RMS QUEEN ELIZABETH.
Ringo Varisco, Curator,
rms Queen Elizabeth Historical Society
