SHE was Southampton's best loved ship, a legend that was the nation's pride both in war and peace.

Cunard's Queen Mary symbolised Great Britain's marine heritage as she powered her way backwards and forwards across the Atlantic on the traditional crossing between Southampton and New York.

Although her sailing days came to end in 1967, a victim of rising fuel costs and the switch to jet aircraft, the great Cunarder is still remembered with great affection in and around Southampton.

Today the vessel is retired under the California sun and surrounded by the palm tress of Long Beach where Queen Mary is now a tourist attraction and hotel.

Ordered from John Brown's Clydebank yard, the Mary, as she was always known in Southampton Docks, became a pawn in the politics of the early 1930s. Her construction was held up for 18 months in the slump.

An offer of a government loan to complete her and build a sister ship as well was dependent on a merger between Cunard and White Star. This took place in 1934 and building work was soon under way again.

The maiden voyage from Southampton was in May, 1936, and after a few teething troubles the liner soon recaptured the Blue Riband.

A troopship during the Second World War, Queen Mary relied on speed to keep clear of the U-boats. Her only wartime accident - a collision with the cruiser, HMS Curacao in October 1942 - resulted in the loss of more than 300 lives on the Royal Navy warship.

After the war the Cunard concept of having two big liners, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, to operate a weekly service to New York came into its own.

It was the greatest North Atlantic partnership the maritime world had ever seen. Each of the Queens could carry more than 2,000 passengers and for years they sailed with full capacity.

Once jets began flying the route the partnership was doomed and age of the two Cunard Queens' reign came to an end.