John Brown Gallery

Installing Turbines

circa 1911: Huge turbine engines being hoisted into position for fitting to the Cunard luxury liner 'Aquitania' during her construction at a Clydebank shipyard owned by John Brown and Company. The Aquitania took three years to build and was launched in 1914 weighing 45,647 gross tons. The last of the Atlantic four-stackers, she went on to become the longest-serving ship this century, retiring after 35 years of service which included war duty as an armed merchant cruiser, a troopship and a hospital. Shipyards dominated Clydebank and led to rapid industrial growth until demand faltered and the area's economy slumped in 1931 with unemployment levels reaching 65%. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Riveting Work

circa 1911: Construction workers using hydraulic riveting machinery during the construction of the Cunard luxury liner 'Aquitania' at the Clydebank shipyard owned by John Brown & Company. The Aquitania took three years to build and was launched in 1914 weighing 45,647 gross tons. The last of the Atlantic four-stackers, she went on to become the longest-serving ship this century, retiring after 35 years of service which included war duty as an armed merchant cruiser, a troopship and a hospital. Shipyards dominated Clydebank and led to rapid industrial growth until demand faltered and the area's economy slumped in 1931 with unemployment levels reaching 65%. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

HMS Pegasus alongside HMS Marlborough recovering seaplane

HMS Pegasus alongside HMS Marlborough recovering her seaplane (detailed on this card as "Her small child"!). HMS Marlborough was an Iron Duke-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, named in honour of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Built at Devonport Royal Dockyard between January 1912 and June 1914 and entered service just prior to First World War. Assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet after the war, Marlborough took part in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War (in the Black Sea 191920). She was also involved in the Greco-Turkish War. HMS Pegasus was an aircraft carrier/seaplane carrier bought by the Royal Navy in 1917 during the First World War. She was laid down in 1914 by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Scotland as SS Stockholm for the Great Eastern Railway Company, but construction was suspended by the start of the war. She spent most of 1919 and 1920 supporting British intervention against the Bolsheviks in North Russia and the Black Sea. The ship remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1924. Date: 1923

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection