PART 2: And this is the detailed content of his (Ken Dancy) recollections: The first weeks of December 1951 will be remembered by many as weeks when the British national newspapers had no front page headlines that were not political. Winston Churchill occupied a great deal of space. But suddenly things changed. Churchill and politics were swept from the front page and just one item of news occupied that space for two weeks - the fate of an American ship. And this was not confined to the British Press - the story was followed worldwide and featured regularly in those early days of news on television. But in the total story of the turn of the year 1951-52 there is far more. MORE THAN A FLYING ENTERPRISE. During the last week of 1951 the most severe storm in 75 years swept the Western Approaches to the English Channel. RMS QUEEN MARY arrived 3 days late as a result of this storm as it swept from the Atlantic across the British Islands and the North Sea. 7 ships sank and 22 others were severely damaged. In England 63 people were killed. Compare this with the Great Storm of 26-27 November 1703 when about 150 ships were lost, taking 8000 sailors' lives, and 123 people were killed in England. That storm also destroyed the old Eddystone lighthouse. As far as I have been able to research, the first indication of the 1951 storm came from the other side of the Atlantic: the German freighter ADOLF LEONHARDT sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 17 December bound for Bremen. On the following day (18th) she reported being in a storm of wind force 11. About 10.00am on 26th she reported that her rudder was gone. To be continued ..... Ron Mapplebeck (UK)