Over the Seas to Belfast (1946)

• 61%
• 1946
• Documentary
• James A. FitzPatrick
• Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
• Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

This Traveltalks entry begins aboard the RMS Scythia as it exits Halifax Harbor. The Scythia is an ocean liner that was converted to a troop transport during World War II; in 1940 it carried children from Liverpool to New York as part of an evacuation program set up by the Children's Overseas Reception Board. The present voyage is among the first to carry civilian passengers from North America to the British Isles following the end of the war. Among the passengers are 150 child evacuees, who have spent several years growing up in Canada or the USA. Narrator FitzPatrick can be seen on the deck of the ship conversing with a female passenger. At Liverpool the evacuee children disembark, and FitzPatrick and his party change ships for the voyage across the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland's capital city. We arrive at the port of Belfast, one of the busiest in the British Isles. We then see the city hall, the downtown area, the city's botanical garden, and the parliament building outside the city proper. Fortuitously, three members of the British royal family make a "victory visit" to Belfast to thank the people of the city for their efforts during the war. The last four minutes of this travelogue document activities of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (then Queen Elizabeth), and Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) during their stay.