The True Tales of a Cunard Yank

I am submitting this project for my grandfather KEN COCKRAM, who has lived an extraordinary and fascinating life. Born in 1929 in Liverpool, he saw much of the devastation of the Nazi Blitzkrieg on Liverpool, and overcoming a childhood illness which resulted in him losing his hair, I fondly remember him telling me the doctor prescribed him a pint of Guinness a day (for the iron content), of which his father had half, still his hair did grow back and to this day he still has a full head of hair. During his education at ALSOP high school, he excelled in his classes and was one of the few students to be offered further education, to which he jumped on the opportunity, expanding his knowledge of the broader world, and understanding of how it works. Upon leaving school he joined the merchant navy ( a prominent industry in Liverpool at the time) where he eventually ended up working for the Cunard Line, mainly the Queen Elizabeth, where he worked his way up from common dish boy, to first class silver service. These are skills he learned he would never forget and bring with him through life, (even to the present day). Whilst at sea, he rarely got a chance to visit home, as his main port was Southampton, and public transport was nowhere near as efficient as it was today! On one of his few visits to friends and family back home, he attended a dance night at the GRAFTON ROOMS where he met a young lady name PAT, her older sister and her 2 friends. Being a true gentleman that he was brought up to be, he asked permission for a dance with the younger lady and then to return her home safely to their house in HUYTON at the end of the night. Being a seaman and frequently travelling in and out of New York, he had access to higher quality fabrics and tailors which made him suits, this in turn made him stand out like a "male peacock" in a sea of grey suits when returning home. The young lady he asked to dance with noticed this and asked him if he was a seaman, to which he agreed, and her response was "I don't like seaman" But this did not deter Ken. They danced the night away (to PAT's reluctance) and after the final dance, my Ken told Pat he would go and flag a taxi, to which she replied "Okay I just need to use the restroom first" Pat hid in the restroom for half an hour, in desperate hope that Ken would lose interest and disappear, but much like his suits this man was cut from different cloth, and so he waited for her. Once Pat thought the coast was clear, she returned from the toilets to her surprise Ken was still waiting, and so she agreed to get a taxi home. When they taxi pulled up outside her home, Ken noticed the house number and road name, and being a time when landlines to home addresses was very uncommon, naturally didn't ask for her phone number. Upon departure Ken asked if he could see Pat again to which she responded "I'm sorry I have a boyfriend" which later would turn out to be a ploy to discourage him! The following morning Ken endured the long trip back to Southampton and within a couple of days was back at sea. Still thinking about the beautiful red head he had met, he couldn't resist pursuing further, so armed with only a first name, house number and road name Ken wrote a heart felt letter, and on the envelope titled it to "Pat ? 34 Altmoore Road, Huyton". Not knowing if it would ever reach the address or indeed this special woman who had already started making a special place in his heart. To his surprise a few weeks later he got a reply and so the start of something wonderful began to bloom. Fast forward 144 letters (which Ken still has) and only 3 months of actually knowing each other, and a the ripe age of 22 (K) and 21 (P) they where madly in love and walking down the isle. Soon after they where to move to New York, where both K and P had amazing careers. Where they met many famous people at the time, and being featured in magazines such as VOUGE. This is only where the true story begins!!