The Hampshire Family Historian | Volume 49 No.4 | March 2023

Member’s article

Queen Mary Maiden Voyage

amazing fire boat welcome as they entered the Upper Bay in New York. During her time at sea Edith met many Hollywood stars including Douglas FAIRBANKS Snr and his wife Mary PICKFORD . She remained as crew on the Queen Mary until she retired from the MN at the age of 53 on 16th March 1937. Edith died on 28th November 1977 in Southampton. Returning to Ena, she was never mentioned by my grandmother or her children. It was as if she never existed and it wasn’t until late 2019, through an Ancestry DNA match with a half

cousin, I knew anything about Ena. After learning of this match, I contacted the daughter of a deceased older cousin who said this explained a mystery. My cousin had told her daughter that as a child Edith had taken her to see another young girl and given her presents. The two girls were similar in age. From this it appears that Edith did keep in contact with Ena. I am now in regular contact with Ena’s daughter, my half cousin Karen, who currently lives in Scotland. Terry Gilmour

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