The Queen Mary announced Wednesday that David Treasure Jones, son of late Captain John Treasure Jones, gifted his father’s last uniform to the vessel. David traveled from England to Long Beach for the first time since his previous visit to the ship 35 years ago.
The uniform is the captain’s Dress Blues, attire worn during the winter in the north Atlantic Ocean. According to Queen Mary officials, the late Captain Jones would frequently entertain passengers in said uniform, which still has his World War II and Royal Naval Reserve service ribbons attached.
The suit will be displayed on the Queen Mary for the public.
“Captain Jones mentored me for 10 years,” said Everette Hoard, commodore of the Queen Mary, in a press release Wednesday. “I can picture him in his crisp Dress Blues strolling the ships halls now. We are so honored that Captain Jones’ son is sharing his father’s memorabilia with us. I too believe it’s what Captain Jones would have wanted. He once said, ‘I don’t think I’d ever want to command another ship after commanding the Queen Mary.’ It feels like a part of history has truly returned home.”
According to the press release and marketing assistant Ariyana Johnson, David contacted Hoard several months ago about visiting the Long Beach area for a vacation and chatting about “old times and his father” with the commodore.
Johnson told the Signal Tribune Wednesday that Hoard learned about the suit when he visited David’s sister, Susan, in the United Kingdom in July.
“It was then that Commodore Everette decided to reach out to see if the family […] would allow the captain’s uniform to be displayed in the Queen Mary,” Johnson wrote in an email. “It was unanimous to the affirmative. Since David had possession of the artifact, and he was coming for a visit, he graciously brought it along.”
Johnson noted that the Queen Mary did not fund David’s trip.
Following four decades of serving in the British Merchant Navy and making his way through the ranks as chief officer and staff captain, Jones served as the last and final captain of the Queen Mary from 1966 to 1967, according to officials. Jones sailed across the Atlantic in 1967 to bring the iconic vessel to her final resting place in Long Beach.
For more information, visit queenmary.com.
