534 had been stopped for more than two years when, one morning, Mr. Adam told me to follow him to the east yard to go aboard 534. He explained that Cunard had joined forces with White Star, the government had given 9 million pounds to finish the liner. After all this time we would be the first to go on board to remove all the shutters from 2,000 port holes and let the sun shine in.

I was in absolute heaven as we walked up the wooden gangway and entered A-Deck. All was semi-gloom; there was no sound of our footsteps as we walked on a 1-inch thick carpet of dust which had gathered after more than two years of idleness. Very soon, from a silent hulk, the great liner became a hubbub of sound from happy voices, riveting hammers and caulking machines. Clydebank woke up from a bad dream and once more was full of enthusiasm and purpose.

You see, in Clydebank, we not only build ships, we build friendships. My father and my brothers were now working. My father seemed to grow in stature and my mum didn't cry anymore.

I remember the Prince of Wales visiting the liner as it was being fitted out in 1935 and 1936. The length of the Main Deck, starboard had been cleared for his inspection and I was working on the port side. But the Prince, being the chap he was, cut across some crates and pipes to see where all the noise was coming from. I can tell you, it was a strange sight seeing all the elegantly clad royal entourage scrambling over the obstacles to get back in line. I remember that the Prince spoke to a few of us and made our day.

Very soon 534 became the Queen Mary and was launched in September 1934, and although it was a rainy dreich [gray, dreary] day, thousands turned up on both banks of the Clyde to witness King George V and the Queen Mary carry out the ceremony.

I was part of a squad of shipwrights who were under the ship until the very last minute to remove the vital blocks at intervals as the launch time approached. We noticed from the tally plates that the ship was beginning to move imperceptibly and we were called out just as the button was pressed and the ship slid majestically down the slipway into the mist.