THE order-books at Barclay, Curle and at Harland and Wolff – if not most other yards, for that matter – looked pretty full back then, in 1957. And on the same day – Tuesday, October 8 – both of these Clyde yards launched cargo motorships for British owners.

From Barclay, Curle & Co at Scotstoun was launched the Weybridge, a 9,300 gross-ton vessel, the first of three ships of a new series for the Britain Steamship Company. The Weybridge included a number of advanced features, including a permanent open-air swimming pool.

From the Govan yard of Harland and Wolff ventured the Alaric (6,500 gross tons), the 19th vessel to have been built for the Shaw Savill Line since the war. The shipbuilder had had a long bond with Shaw Savill, stretching back to 1904. It had carried out conversions to a number of Shaw Savill ships and was already working on another cargo vessel for the company, to be delivered in 1960.

Dr Denis Rebbeck, deputy managing director at Harland and Wolff, cast his eye over British shipbuilding’s passenger liner orders: the total aggregate tonnage, he revealed, was around 325,000 tons gross, and the total value was in the vicinity of £90 million. And of the 11 liners involved, five were on order with Harland and Wolff, including three 20,000-ton passenger liners for Royal Mail Lines.