What was it like to be a radio officer on one of the great ocean liners in the Golden Age of trans-Atlantic travel? Radio officers Brian Hill Samuel and Ken Mugridge shared their memories of working on the Queen Mary in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

During that time, the radio room was staffed 24/7 with two or three radio officers to handle the radio traffic volume. They were all berthed near the radio room, which was located in First Class. The more senior officers had nice-sized cabins with views forward, while junior officers had tiny rooms without portholes.

Telegrams were charged at $0.35/word. There was a distinction between actual and paid words. For example, CULTR (see you later) was charged as three words, always an argument with the more frugal passengers.

In addition to handling normal communications traffic, radio officers monitored the International Distress and Safety Frequency. Messages included not only SOSs, but could be requests for medical assistance. As the Queen Mary had a large medical staff, it was often called upon to divert in order attend to urgent medical situations.

Each day the radio officers copied American press broadcasts that were sent at 0300 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and ran for two to three hours. Broadcasts were continuous, stopping only for the three-minute silence periods. The Dow Jones closing prices of the stock market were also received by the radio officers. Some passengers would appear at midnight looking for the numbers hot off the wire.

The ship’s bridge officers were most interested in weather reports. Both UK and US governments sent out daily weather reports. The US report consisted of about 100 coded groups of figures that were transformed into a weather map. If static interfered with the transmission, radio officers would have to check with other ships to get correct copy. Otherwise, the captain might show up in the radio room demanding a complete set of figures.

The radio officer also recorded BBC and Voice of America voice news broadcasts each afternoon. These programs were then broadcast in the main passenger lounge at 6:00 p.m.

Most of the radio officers dined in the Cabin (Second) Class dining room. Although not as fancy as First Class, it was still excellent. Since the radio room was in First Class, and the classes were kept very separate, the fastest way to reach the Cabin Class dining room required cutting through the steward’s pantry. There was a lot of turnover in the waitstaff, because if waiters showed any talent, they would be promoted to First Class.

A notable disadvantage of serving on the Queen Mary was the perpetual fatigue. With one round trip every two weeks, there were time changes to withstand, usually five hours each way, resulting in sea lag – the equivalent of jet lag. After five round trips, radio officers would have the next trip off, enabling them to catch up on their rest.

With the growth of trans-Atlantic air travel, the writing was on the wall. Both men moved on to work as radio officers on other ships until even wireless telegraphy was overtaken by new technology.