Glory Days: Swan Hunter

Swan Hunter - a legendary name in British shipbuilding - conjures up images of some of the greatest ships ever built, among them RMS Mauretania, which held the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, RMS Carpathia, which rescued survivors of the Titanic, and HMS Ark Royal, the last Royal Navy aircraft carrier to be built in the twentieth century. From its origins in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Swan Hunter had an illustrious but turbulent history, and it was with great sadness that in 1994 the Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond became the last ship to be delivered from the Wallsend yard, bringing to a close a long tradition of shipbuilding on the Tyne.