I know that many of you attending the QE2 50 year conference will be looking forward to hearing conference speaker, David Humphreys talk about his experience of sailing with QE2 as a member of the volunteer crew, to the Falklands conflict.

Here are some of the key dates:

• 3 May 1982 Captain Hutcheson makes a formal announcement to passengers and crew that QE2 will be withdrawn from commercial service upon arrival in Southampton as the ship had been requisitioned by the government
• 5 May 1982 work begins to convert QE2 into a troop carrier
• 12 May 1982 QE2 sets sail for the Falkland Islands
• 26 May 1982 QE2 arrives in the active war zone in the South Atlantic
• 29 May 1982 Approximately 640 survivors of the lost HMS Ardent, HMS Coventry, and HMS Antelope join QE2
• 11 June 1982 QE2 ended her longest non-stop voyage, having sailed for 6,976 miles from South Georgia