A Kungsholm Story from 1969

Big waves that changed plans

Phill Havard has shared this lovely memory of the Kungsholm in 1969
So many of us have experienced bad waether and a changed itinerary.

I am surprised how many pictures there are of folk dancers from other countries as it reminds me of a trip I made in May 1969

I am 67 yrs old. I grew up in Colwyn Bay North Wales. I joined a folk dance group in my school and one of our trips involved dancing aboard the Kungsholm in May 1969 to passengers as the ship docked in Llandudno bay. As it could not dock directly ashore, we had to be ferried aboard. Whilst dancing on the ship during the evening, the weather grew worse so much that our ferry could not dock to take us off. The ship had to sail overnight to the Isle of Man so left with us on board along with a Welsh Male Voice choir. The next day we were flown from the Isle of Man to Liverpool and then a bus took us back home to Colwyn Bay and our waiting parents. A great adventure for a 13 year old.

Many thanks to Mr Harvard for sharing these newspaper clippings from his scrapbook.

	Phill Havard in white jacket coming down the stairs.

Göran C-O Claesson avliden

Författaren och SAL-kännaren Göran C-O Claesson har avlidit
vid en ålder av 95 år. Göran skrev en bok om sin far, Carl-Otto Claesson,
som var Kapten och Överstyrman, på S/S Drottningholm och M/S Gripsholm,
från 1920-talet till 1950-talet. Göran växte upp i ett hem som präglades av
sjöfart och Svenska Amerika Linien. Som barn besökte han fartygen då de
låg i hamn i Göteborg och kände, bland andra, den legendariske
Chefsintendenten Evert Eriksson. Göran var en god vän, (tillika granne).
Vi hade åtskilliga samtal om Amerikalinjens historia.

Begravningen äger rum den 29:e mars i Silverdals Kapell i Sollentuna.
Mer information finns på Fonus Minnessidor.

Läs om Kapten Carl Otto Claesson här.

Boken finns att köpa online hos Bokus och Adlibris, även som Ebok

Farfars & Morfars resa genom livet

Ny bok av Tommy Stark

Tommy Stark arbetade ombord på Kungsholm från Juni 1971 till Maj 1973.
Nu har Tommy skrivit en bok om sin resa genom livet.

Läs om boken här.

Boken finns att köpa online hos Bokus och Adlibris,
eller be en bokhandel hjälpa dig beställa.

Läs mer om Tommy Stark här.

A Collection Of Letters

Robert Neilson sailed on SAL ships
across the oceans for months at a time, continuously from 1962 -73,
aged 9-20. He became a close friend of Captain Carl-Otto Wijkmark,
Captain Per-Erik Sjölin, and Mr Jack Fraser of the SAL Office in New York City.

In 2008 Mr Neilson kindly offered to share his personal memories of these cruises.
The texts have been compiled from several emails written in 2008.

Read about his voyages here..

Several letters from John M Fraser Jr have now been added

Merry Christmas to all friends of SAL

A Christmas Greeting

Keeping up with tradition, Lars-Erik Jansson, former Information Officer
on the Kungsholm and Gripsholm, has sent us his Christmas Greeting.

After his years on the SAL ships, Lars-Erik Jansson
joined the TT Line.

Read more about Lars-Erik Jansson here.

Joergen Areskough

Joergen Areskough, Second Purser on the Gripsholm,
and well known to many passengers and crew members,
sadly passed away in Stockholm on July 20, 2022.
Joergen also served on the Cunard line.
Rest in peace, Joergen.


Joergen Areskough

Read more about Joergen Areskough here.

Sadly we have received the news that Ingwar Gemzell passed away on January 11, 2022, at the age of 84. R.I.P.

Read more about Ingwar Gemzell here.

Ingwar Gemzell och Rolf Mayer
Två SAL-Veteraner

Nummer 2, mars 2020, av tidningen Hem & Hyra har en stor artikel som omfattar tre uppslag om SAL-trotjänarna Ingwar Gemsell och Rolf Mayer. Se länk längre ner.

Läs hela artikeln här

Läs mer om Ingwar Gemzell och Rolf Mayer här.

Kungsholm Musicians

Diane Moss has sent us this photo taken of the musicians on a July 1957 trip from New York.
The violinist resembles a young Svend Asmussen.

Many thanks to Diane Moss for contributing the photo.

Read more about Svend Asmussen and other entertainers on board here.

Dan Andersson has identified himself in this photo from Verandah Deck 1973. Dan mustered on in Gothenburg in June 1972, serving to the end in 1975. Dan was a Mess Waiter (Upper Deck and A-deck), Assistant Room Steward, Deck Waiter (as in the photo), Assistant Deck Steward and Bath Attendant.

Dan Andersson kneeling to the right in the first row.
Photo from Åke Sandahl’s collection.

Read more about the crew on Verandah Deck here

A Pleasant Memory

New Page Added
Chief Radio Operator Sune Edensvärd

Sune Edensvärd was Chief Radio Operator on the Gripsholm in the 1920's and later. In 1929 he married Valborg on board the Gripsholm. She worked in the Elizabeth Arden store (with the red door), on 5th Avenue in New York. As a young boy, Sune Edensvärd's son worked on the Gripsholm one voyage, as an Elevator Piccolo.

A new page about Sune Edensvard has been added. Read more here

Many thanks to Kristina Blakstad for contributing the photos and her grandfather's story.
More information about Sune Edensvärd may be expected.
kristinablakstad.com

Christchurch Star 1972

>Hasse Gustafsson has contributed a
newpaper clipping from New Zeeland.

Read the whole article here.

Gripsholm during WWII

Bill Archer has sent this photo, taken by his father from his Liberty Ship, of the gun crew.

Read more about the Exchange and Repatriation voyages during WWII here.

The Reunion In Stockholm 2000

In May, 20 years will have gone by since the grand reunion took place in Stockholm. P&O Cruises Victoria, ex Kungsholm was docked in the harbor. 300 friends of the Swedish American Line gathered for a wonderful celebration. Here are 3 links to pages with photos from the reunion. Enjoy the memories!

https://reunion2000.salship.se/

https://reunion2000.salship.se/#collections

http://salship.se/page2.php

Mina två tröjor från Reunion i Stockholm 2000. Det blir 20 år sedan i maj. Som medarrangör fick jag en tröja av Jörgen Areskough med mitt namn inbroderat. Jag skötte marknadsföringen, ordnade festvåningen och tog emot bokningar. Jag minns att det tog i stort sett all fritid under våren 2000 med alla telefonsamtal och email som skulle besvaras. Många ringde flera gånger och ville prata i en timme. Det var också många som ringde, men inte anmälde sig till festen. Lennart Angelmo skötte administrationen och gjorde ett jättejobb med att spåra alla som betalade in avgiften utan att ange sitt namn. Och det var många. Han fick stor hjälp av sin syster som arbetade på bank. Jörgen fixade de snygga tröjorna. Kurt Hummer arrangerade en förfest kvällen innan på sin restaurang. Franz Racsz, Rolf Sternlöf och flera andra musiker ställde upp och spelade till dansen. Svend Asmussen och Kungsholms arkitekt Claes Feder skickade hälsningar till träffen.

När vi kläckte idén om en reunion I Stockholm samtidigt som Victoria, ex Kungsholm, var på besök, trodde vi att kanske 30 personer skulle anmäla sig. Vi blev över 300. Vilket minne!

När jag har dessa kläder på mig ser jag väldigt officiell ut. Gatuförsäljare på Drottninggatan i Stockholm plockade snabbt ihop sina prylar när de såg mig komma.

Updated March 13, 2020

Chief Steward Stig Lundgren

In January 2018 we posted a request for information about Chief Steward Stig Lundgren.
Now Stig Lundgren's son, Rich Lundgren, has contributed a text and photos of his father.
See them here.

A Letter From The Drottningholm, October 20, 1943

Claire Bates has contributed a letter from her father, Alan Burley, who was in a Prisoner of War Camp in Poland – Stalag XX1.  He was repatriated on the Drottningholm.

Click on the image to read the full letter in PDF format.

Read more about the Echange an Repatriation Voyages During WWII here,

32 år på bryggan
i Svenska Amerika Linien

Radioprogram om SAL
Snedtänkt med Kalle Lind

Christmas Greeting From
Lars-Erik "Pastor" Jansson

Kungsholm and Gripsholm in Stockholm 1975

Intarsia Doors Up For Auction

Two Bar Boys Identified

Young Passenger and Waiter Rafael Morata Identified in Photo

Walter Capelli Identified in
a SAL NYC Office Photo

Updated Aug 20, 2018

SAL Reunion in Austria September 2019

Cygnet, a former Kungsholm tender,

is still in service on Coniston Water

Mats E Berg

Nils Haggård
Gripsholm and Kungsholm
Third Officer Inter

Sagaholm
Second Officer

Internee and Repatriation Reunion

Gripsholm Reunion & 75th Anniversary Commemoration
of German-American Internment during WWII

Former WWII internees and their families invite the public
to join them at these free events

New pages have been added

Håkan Askman
Assistant Deck Steward and Bath Attendant

God Jul
Merry Christmas

We have received a Christmas greeting from a SAL veteran,
with a salute from his residence in Malmö, Sweden.

Updated March 18, 2018

Lennart Angelmo

Lennart Angelmo at the SAL reunion in Stockholm in 2000.

Jörgen Areskough and Lennart Angelmo at the SAL reunion in Göteborg in 2002.

Updated Febrary 22, 2018

Going on Today
Kungsholm World Cruise 1974

See the pictures here

Updated January 19, 2018

Stig Lundgren

Updated November 13, 2017

Gripsholm Mediterranean Cruise 1928

See the pictures here

Updated July 24, 2017
Updated July 15, 2017

New photos added

Jan-Erik Johansson

Second Officer

MS Kungsholm 1962 - 1964

Jan-Erik Johansson

See Jan-Erik Johansson's photos here.

Updated July 9, 2017
Updated July 2, 2017

Photos from the Reunion in Schladming 2017

9 more photos have been added to Franz' gallery

Günther W. Hieger and Franz Havranek have contributed
photos from the reunion in Austria in June 2017.

See Günther's photos here and Franz' here.

Read about previous SAL reunions here.

Reunion 2017

Sepp Zirngast has posted this invitation to a reunion
in 2017 on several Facebook pages, among them
Lis Brokmoses' page Gripsholm Friends.

New Photos Added

Otto Friedrich
Dining Room and Cabin Steward
MS Kungsholm 1966-73

My seven year employment on the Gripsholm and Kungsholm started in 1966.
During these years I took part in cruises Around the World, Around South America,
to the South Seas, the North Cape, and the West Indies.

See Otto Friedrich's photos here.

Two SAL Veterans Have Left Us

Second Purser Ingvar Torstensson		Chief Steward Gerhard Kummer

Sad news indeed. Second Purser Ingvar Torstensson passed away
in January of 2017, and Chief Steward Gerhard Kummer in October of 2016.

Click on the photos to read more about these SAL veterans.

Johan Jarekull

Hyttnisse, Assistant Deck Steward
MS Gripsholm 1969
MS Kungsholm 1971 - 1974

My seven year employment on the Gripsholm and Kungsholm started in 1966.
During these years I took part in cruises Around the World, Around South America,
to the South Seas, the North Cape, and the West Indies. Hasse Gustafsson and
Tommy Stark have interviewed Johan and compiled his story. Read it here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas on the Gripsholm.

Archived pages from 1999

This website was originally hosted by Geocities in 1998, one of the first
communities in the world for personal web pages. An organization
in the USA placed a copy of this webside in an archive back in 1999.

The first crew pages showed pictures from
Roy Johansson, Quartermaster, and Thorsten Hansson, Cruise Director.

Have a look at the website from 1999.
The original "salship.se" at Geocities

Reunion 2017

Karl-Gösta Ekblad, ”Kalle Tårta”

Baker, Confectioner,
Cold-buffet manager

Karl-Gösta Ekblad, "Kalle Tårta", served on the Kungsholm from 1970 to 1973.
Hasse Gustafsson and Tommy Stark have interviewed Kalle
and compiled his story. Read it here.

You will also find photos from the print shop on board the Kungsholm.

Folk Dancers Identified

Anders Tidström has identified himself
and Ingwar Gemzell in a photo of Folk Dancers.
See the photo here.

WWII Exchange Voyages

Stories from two readers, J Gary Dunn and Luther Strassen,
have been added to the page about the exchange voyages.

Read their stories here.

Ray Kroc, Kungsholm and Gripsholm
Cruise Passenger

Ray Kroc was a frequent cruise passenger
on the Kungsholm and the Gripsholm.
.

Watch the trailer. Michael Keyton plays Ray Kroc.

Lars Helmer
Second Engineer Senior, Deck Engineer

Lars Helmer served on the Kungsholm from 1969 to 1973.
Hasse Gustafsson and Tommy Stark have interviewed
Lars and compiled his story. Read it here.

Broken Link Fixed

Hasse Gustafsson has reported a broken link in
Karl Glimnell's section. It is now possible to
open the 7th page about Karl Glimnell.

One More Happy Crew Member Identified

Franz Havranek has identified Bodil Zeller in two photos from this
reunion. Bocil Zeller worked in The NK shop on the Kungsholm.

Eva-Lena Christofferson has identified the crew members
in this photo from the Broström 150 years reunion.
Read their names here

Eva-Lena has also identified folk dancers
on the Kungsholm South Seas Cruise in 1969.
See the photo here

Reunion 2017

Sepp Zirngast has posted this invitation to a reunion
in 2017 on several Facebook pages, among them
Lis Brokmoses' page Gripsholm Friends.

Gripsholm Photos

Klas Ericson, son of Gripsholm doctor Sten Ericson,
has contributed three photos of the Gripsholm.
See them on the Gripsholm page.

Charles Winberg, Bandleader on the Gripsholm

I cover the waterfront

Lis Brokmose has contributed a link to the story of Charles Kalle Winberg,
who was a bandleader on the Gripsholm for seven years.

This video has been created by his daughter, Kerstin Winberg.

Happy Crew Members Identified

Eva-Lena Christofferson has identified the crew members
in this photo from the Broström 150 years reunion.
Read their names here

Eva-Lena has also identified folk dancers
on the Kungsholm South Seas Cruise in 1969.
See the photo here

Are you near Alang?

Are you in or near Alang, India?
Can you give us an update of what is happening to Veronica, ex Kungsholm?

salship@yahoo.com

Broströms 150 Years
Swedish American Line 100 Years,
Anniversary Event at Eriksbergshallen, Gothenburg

More than 1000 guests were present when Broströms, the parent company of
the Swedish American Line, celebrated its 150 year anniversary, which
coincided with The Swedish American Line's 100th anniversary.

SAL Captain Kjell Smitterberg.

See more photos here.

A Concert on the Kungsholm in 1957

"Guy" recently acquired a Sony reel to reel machine with tapes,
including a recording of the entire shipboard concert for May 20, 1957. 

He has posted one of the performances on Youtube.
Many thanks for this piece of history!

Listen here.

Kungsholm has Arrived at Alang

Despite last minute attempts to save the ship from being scrapped,
MS Kungsholm of 1966 has been towed to Alang, India.

Read more about the Kungsholm here.

The End of an Era

Kungsholm Under Tow to be Scrapped

After many years of attempts to save the Kungsholm, she has now started her
very last voyage under tow from Duqm, Oman, to be scrapped in Alang, India.

A sad day, indeed.

Maritime writer Peter Knego has written an account of
the ship's history on Maritime Matters. Read the article here.

Read more about the Kungsholm here.

There are many stories about life on board the Kungsholm on this site,
contributed by members of the crew and passengers.
Scroll down this page to find the menu. Explore!

SAL-träff i Göteborg

Den 28/11 kl 19.00 samlas tidigare SAL-are
på S/S Marieholm för middag efter Broström-mötet.

Anmälan till lennart@angelmo.se

Lennart Angelmo
Crew Purser and Second Purser

A new page has been added about Lennart Angelmo.

Lennart Angelmo served from 1967 to 1972,
as Crew Purser on the Gripsholm, and then as Second Purser
on the Gripsholm and the Kungsholm until 1975.

Read more here.

Broströms Reunion in Gothenburg
November 28, 2015

Läs mer här

Please note: The reunion starts at 12.00

Läs mer här

Two Facebook Groups for Kungsholm Preservation

Two facebook pages exist to form an opinion to move the Veronica,
ex Kungsholm, to her original home port, Göteborg, Sweden.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/kungsholm/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/387420748025150/

Kungsholm-fonden

MS Kungsholm AB, ett fastighetsbolag som har för avsikt att
äga och bevara MS Kungsholm, har en hemsida där man kan
teckna sig för andelar i fartyget. Läs mer här

Rune Dahlstrand Har Avlidit

Gripsholm - En kärlekshistoria

Rune Dahlstrand, den siste överlevande från MS Gripsholms
utväxlingsresor, har avlidit efter en tids sjukdom.

Berättelsen om Rune Dahlstrands erfarenheter från
utväxlingsresorna under andra världskriget blev en dokumentärfilm
med titeln Gripsholm - En kärlekshistoria, som har vistas på SVT under 2015.

Rune Dahlstrands liv finns också beskrivet i boken Lev din dröm.

Han gjorde en stor insats genom att berätta om utväxlingsresorna,
som i mångt och mycket varit en bortglömd del av Sveriges historia.
Tack vare Runes engagemang, samt boken och dokumentärfilmen
med hans erfarenheter, finns hans unika minnen bevarade.

Läs mer om Rune Dahlstrand här.

Läs mer om utväxlingsresorna under andra världskriget här.

Large SAL Collection Now on the Web

Mr Torsten Torstensson has digitalized his large collection of
SAL objects. The collection is one of the largest in the world,
and absolutely world class.

See the collection here.

SAL Reunion in Vienna
September 18-20 2015

Johgann Schlögl is again organizing a SAL reunion.

For more information, contact schlogl.johann@gmail.com

Read more about SAL reunions here

Anna Karin Lundström

Registered Nurse

MS Gripsholm and MS Kungsholm

Anna Karin Lundström

Karl-Gunnar Johansson, "Kalle Kli"

Bartender, MS Kungsholm 1963 — 75

Karl-Gunnar Johansson, "Kalle Kli"

Read Kalle's story here.

Berit Jacobsson (Svensson), ”Babs”

Beauty Parlor, MS Kungsholm 1971 — 75

Berit Jacobsson (Svensson)
"Babs"

Berit Jacobsson (Svensson), "Babs", was employed as a beautician
in the Beauty Parlor on board the MS Kungsholm, from the summer
of 1971 until 1975, the year that the Kungsholm was sold. Berit has
told her story to Tommy Stark and Hasse Gustafsson, two ex crew
members who served onboard the MS Kungsholm 1971-73.

Read Berit's story here.

Franz Havranek has identified musician Geza Seidl in
the photo from the Main Lounge fashion show.

En Fartygsläkares Farväl

Dödsannons i Svenska Dagbladet 2015-01-25.
Dr Sten Ericson var fartygsläkare på Kungsholm 1971 och 1975.

Det framgår tydligt hur mycket erfarenheterna från SAL
betyder, då bilden på Kungsholm illustrerar minnet
av en människa. Vi är nog många som känner så.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas on the Atlantic. Chief Purser Curt Dawe top left.
Photo from the Dawe collection.

Christmas Greetings from Lars-Erik Jansson

This year's Christmas and New Year's greeting from Information Officer Lars-Erik Jansson consists of photos from the Gripsholm's visits to Sochi and Yalta, The Black Sea, March 31 - April 1 1964.

Read more about Lars-Erik Jansson here.

B-G Nilson, SAL Freighters

Åke Nilson, son of B-G Nilson, from 1967 Vice President of SAL, freighter operations, has contributed five private photos of the Kungsholm of 1966.

See all the photos here

This contribution has inspired me to start a small section about SAL's freighters. Do you have private photos of the freighters? No postcards, please. It is a general policy of this site to publish photos that can't readily be found on other sites. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and unfortunately we can't stop anyone from copying photos from this site, even though it is considered unethical.

Email to salship@yahoo.com

Harem Ladies Identified

Lis Brokmose, Stewardess on the Gripsholm, Main Deck Midships, 1968 - 1975, has identified more Harem Ladies in Anita Poli Olsson's photo, with performer Gerrit van Triest:

From left in pink Ingrid Meier, stewardess on Upper Deck M., Christina Areskough, Stewardess on Upper Deck F. - Monica from the Beauty Parlor, Gerd Mårtenson, in green dress, stewardess on B-deck, Ewa Olsson stewardess on A-deck.

Anita Poli Olsson
NK Shop Manager

In the early 1970’s, Anita Poli Olsson served some years as a shop assistant and shop manager in the NK-boutique onboard the Gripsholm and the Kungsholm. A selection of her memories and photographs has now surfaced to be shared here on www.salship.se. Anita has made available this material and her story with assistance from Hasse Gustafsson and Tommy Stark, two ex crew members who were onboard the MS Kungsholm 1971-73.

Read Anita's story here.

More About Captain Torkel Tistrand

Through Per Tistrand, son of SAL's Sea Personnel Manager, Captain Torkel Tistrand, I have been reminded about a website named The Liberty Lady Book Project. The website has interesting information about Captain Torkel Tistrand, a key member of the Swedish American Line organization.

Per Tistrand maintains a Facebook group called **Svenska Amerika Linien**

Read more about the Exchange and Repatriation voyages during WWII here.

Read more about Captain Torkel Tistrand here.

Gripsholm Videos from WWII

Per Tistrand, son of SAL's Sea Personnel Manager, Captain Torkel Tistrand, maintains a Facebook group called **Svenska Amerika Linien**, where he has posted several links to videos of the Gripsholm from WWII.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJtV5OcLK34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO9bpqtSc7A

See more SAL film clips here.

Volker Roloff

Volker Roloff, a true SAL veteran, has passed away. Roloff worked on the Gripsholm 1962 - 1975, as Dining Room Steward, Cabin Steward, Wine Steward, Assistant Chief Steward and Chief Steward.

Read more about Volker Roloff here.

MV Azores, ex Stockholm of 1948

The Stockholm of 1948 is still sailing as the Azores. Actually it is only the hull and a few doors that still remain of the old beauty. The rest of the ship is a modern construction. Ex SAL commander, Captain Kjell Smitterberg, and ex crewmember Tommy Stark recently boarded the ship in the Swedish capital.

See more photos here.

The Man Who Designed the Kungsholm of 1966

Claes Feder

Several pages of documents and artwork from the private archives of architect and ship designer Claes Feder have been contributed by his daughters Annika Wennergren Feder and Viveka Nordling Feder. Claes Feder worked for SAL from the early 1950's to the early 1970's. From 1960 his mission was to design the Kungsholm of 1966, by ship lovers all over the world considered one of the most beautiful liners ever built. Claes Feder passed away in Portugal in 2009, leaving an unforgettable achievement in ocean liner and cruise ship history.

The pages on this website have been initiated and compiled by Hans "Hasse" Gustafsson and Tommy Stark, both ex crewmembers on the beautiful Kungsholm.

Read more about Claes Feder here.

Find Passenger Lists and Crew Lists on Ancestry.com

Through Ancestry.com I found my grandmother's cousin Arvid Norling
in this passenger list for the Kungsholm's departure from Göteborg
on March 15 1923, plus this list below, showing his arrival in NYC.

You can find many passenger and crew lists on Ancestry.com, (but not all).
I also found information about Arvid's siblings Richard and Fanny Norling,
who emigrated to the U.S. in the 1920's.

And I found my great uncle Karl Arvid Norling's US draft record for WWI,
plus several crew lists from other ships he worked on.

You can find records of births, and deaths from Sweden and the United States.
The historical documents at ancestry.com can show family members, occupations,
birth and marriage dates, addresses, and more for your ancestors. With billions of records, ancestry.com has the largest online collection of genealogical documents anywhere in the world.

"Elvis" identified

Hans "Hasse" Gustafsson informs us that the crew member ”Elvis” from Greenland has identified himself as Bendt Knudsen, and he worked onboard 1973-75 mainly in the bar section on Verandah deck.

Read more here.

Updated Dec 10, 2013

Do You have Information about SAL in Canada
and Arthur Anderson?

Regretfully we have no information about SAL in Canada on this website, even though Halifax was a regular port for SAL in North America, and several cruise passengers were Canadians. Laurel Anderson McCallum has sent us an inquiry:

My grandfather, Arthur Anderson, directed the Line for many year from the Winnipeg office in Manitoba, Canada. He also received an award from Sweden for long-time service with SAL. (The award was the Royal Patriotic Gold Medal from the King of Sweden). I know that he was directing the Line in 1949, but he also worked with the Line both earlier and later on, before becoming Swedish Consul in Manitoba and Western Canada from 1955-62.

Laurel Anderson McCallum, granddaughter.

Do you have more information? Please email salship@yahoo.com.

Lisa Roos of Calgary, a relative of Arthur's wife Maj-Lis, has informed us of a book with Arthur Anderson's poetry. Find more information about the book and Arthur Anderson's bio here: www.stoftdustofourbeing.com.

Updated May 3, 2014

More about Arthur Anderson

Laurel Anderson McCallum has sent us the following message:

I am enjoying your site, A Tribute to the Swedish American Line. In Winnipeg, this summer at our ‘Folklorama’, we are following the theme of ‘Ports of Call’ in our Scandinavian Pavilion. I am hoping we can have our Swedish room looking somewhat like the inside of the Drottningholm, based on the fantastic pictures on your site.

I am sending you a picture of one of the sailings that my grandfather, Arthur Anderson arranged on the Drottningholm in 1947. He is the smiling one in the front with his foot on the writing.

My republished book of his poetry from 1934 is selling quite well; Gallivare Secretary of Culture ordered quite a few and they are slowly starting to move throughout Sweden. You are welcome to visit my site... www.stoftdustofourbeing.com

Laurel Anderson-McCallum

Chief Engineer O Z Pehrson

Enid Rendahl, 94, daughter of Chief Engineer O.Z. Pehrson has contributed a photo of her father. O,Z. Pehrson mustered on the first Stockholm in 1915, and served on several SAL ships until he retired as Chief Engineer of the last Stockholm in 1950. He was also present at the launching of the Stockholm in Monfalcone in 1938, which sank outside Trieste in 1944, and never served for SAL.

Save The Kungsholm

Hopeful news concerning the revived plans to bring the Kungsholm of 1966 back to Gothenburg, have been posted by Mr Lars G Hallgren on the Facebook page Save The Kungsholm.

Mr Hallgren, who has been working with the project since 2006, writes that serious discussions are being held with Stena Line about docking the Kungsholm at Stigbergskajen, from where the SAL ships departed for the Atlantic crossings. If these discussions, and negotiations with the city officials, are succesful, it would be a fantastic event in time for the 100th anniversary of The Swedish American Line in 2015.

Read more about the plans to bring the Kungsholm back to Gothenburg here.

A New Guestbook

The guestbook is one of the most popular pages on this website. Unfortunately, the guestbook was not functioning well during 2013, so a new, improved, guestbook has been installed.

See the new guestbook here, and please go ahead and sign it today.

More About the Kungsholm Tenders

See the latest photos of one of the still existing Kungsholm tenders here.

Douglas Hodgson of Coniston Launch has sent us the following message:

We bought Cygnet in June 2013 from Steve Critchley at Cardiff Waterbus. I have been looking at your website a great deal  since then trying to find out about the history of Kungsholm and her tenders. I have also been looking at Horst Reichhart's videos on Youtube,

Cygnet now operates on our 'Wildcat Island Cruise' on Coniston Water. This cruise lasts about 1 hour and cruises down to Torver and Sunny Bank first, both popular stops for walkers, then Cygnet visits Wild Cat Island, then travels north to Brantwood, the former home of John Ruskin, which is open to the public. Wild Cat Island (real name Peel Island) is an island featured in Arthur Ransome's book Swallows and Amazons. The island was also used in the 1970s film Swallows and Amazons.

When not in service, Cygnet is moored at Pier Cottage, the former base for Bluebird, the jet powered boat used by Donald Campbell on his last fatal bid to better 300mph on water.

We are currently putting together some information signs/boards to put inside Cygnet to tell passengers about it's history and the history of Kungsholm. If you have any photos of the tenders (or even better of Cygnet), that are not currently on your website this would be most helpful. Any video files would also be useful. We are also trying to build up a list of all of the places that Cygnet and Kungsholm have visited in the past and help with this would also be greatly appreciated.

Cygnet runs from April 1 in 2014.

Regards

Douglas Hodgson
Coniston Launch

www.conistonlaunch.co.uk

If anyone has more photos or a video of this tender, please email salship@yahoo.com

See more photos of the Cygnet at Coniston Launch here.

Kungsholm Tenders

Peter Walker has sent us an update of one of Kungsholm's tenders
being transported from Cardiff to Coniston in the Lake District.

See two photos here.

Please note that the former tenders are sometimes sold, or scrapped,
and may not still be serving as indicated in the text on this site.

Hans "Hasse" Gustafsson, former crew member on the Kungsholm,
reminds us of Sten Hovne's text about Kungsholm's tenders.
This was published when the tenders served in Cardiff.

Picture of one of the Cygnet's sisters, 'Arklet', in Inversnaid Harbour on Loch Lomond.

Den här bilden på Inversnaid Hotel används med tillstånd av TripAdvisor

Read more about all the tenders here.

Updated March 18, 2014

Lis Brokmose
Cabin Stewardess

Lis Brokmose, Stewardess on the Gripsholm,
Main Deck Midships, 1968 - 1975, has contributed
several photos from the Gripsholm.
See the photos here.

Lis Brokmose has started a Facebook page
for Gripsholm Friends. See many more photos there,
and find old friends.

The News Archive

News posted here before January 2012 have been moved to the News Archive.

Updated March 10, 2014

How to Enjoy a Smörgåsbord

Read the instructions here.

Updated March 6, 2014

SAL Menues

See the menues here.

Updated March 6, 2014

SAL Recipes

See the recipes here.

SAL Reunion in October 2013

Many thanks to Franz Havranek for uploading photos from the SAL Reunion in 2013.

See all the photos in the Salship picture gallery here.

Read more about past reunions here.

Kjell Smitterberg
Commander

Captain Kjell Smitterberg,
commander on the Gripsholm and Kungsholm 1972-1975,
and on the Lindblad Explorer 1976-1977 (among other ships).

Read his story here.

Many thanks to Tommy Stark and Hans "Hasse" Gustafsson,
who have cooperated in producing Captain Smitterberg's pages.

Från Livbåt Till Flytande Palats
Nu Som Ebok

Boken har länge varit slutsåld i inbunden
utgåva, men finns nu som ebok.

Boken kan beställas hos de etablerade nätbokhandlarna.

Läs mer om eboken här

Läs mer om Carl-Otto Claesson här

An Atlantic Crossing on the Kungsholm in 1954

The Swedish Film Archive has posted the classic SAL film from 1954, "Semester på Atlanten", showing Mr and Mrs Axberg's voyage across the sea on the Kungsholm of 1953. This film also exists in an English language version, but this is the Swedish version.

Many thanks to Hans "Hasse" Gustafsson for this link.

See the clip here.

See more film clips here.

More News About the Kungsholm of 1966

The daily newspaper GöteborgsPosten reports today,
February 4, that the Finnish investor Johnny Sid, along
with a group of other investors, is near closing a deal
to purchase Veronica, ex Kungsholm, for 15.5 million USD.
Johnny Sid has previously been involved in turning
S/S Bore into a floating hotel and museum in Turku, Finland.

Read about previous projects to save the Kungsholm.

Visiting Broströmska Villan
and Marinmuseet in Varberg

Lars-Erik Jansson, Information Officer on the Kungsholm and
Gripsholm, has contributed photos from a trip to SAL landmarks
on the Swedish west coast in 2013. See the pictures here.

A Farewell Dinner on the Kungsholm

Lars-Erik Jansson, Information Officer on the Kungsholm and
Gripsholm, has contributed a photo from a farewell dinner
on the Kungsholm in the 1970's. See the full photo here.

Two Facebook Groups for Kungsholm Preservation

Two facebook pages exist to form an opinion to move the Veronica,
ex Kungsholm, to her home port, Göteborg, Sweden.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/kungsholm/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/387420748025150/

Patrick Zeller and L-O Rydén have reminded us that Veronica is up for sale.
http://www.qpsmarine.com/custompage.asp?pg=ships2l

Read about previous projects to save the Kungsholm.

Hans "Hasse" Gustafsson
Deck Waiter and Bar Steward

Hans "Hasse" Gustafsson, started as a potato peeler on
the Kungsholm in 1971, and advanced to deck waiter
and bar steward in 1973/75. Read his story here.

Kungsholm Tenders

Peter Walker has sent us an update of one of Kungsholm's tenders
being transported from Cardiff to Coniston in the Lake District.

See two photos here.

Please note that the former tenders are sometimes sold, or scrapped,
and may not still be serving as indicated in the text on this site.

Hans "Hasse" Gustafsson, former crew member on the Kungsholm,
reminds us of Sten Hovne's text about Kungsholm's tenders.
This was published when the tenders served in Cardiff.

Picture of one of the tenders in Inversnaid, Loch Lomond.

Den här bilden på Inversnaid Hotel används med tillstånd av TripAdvisor

Read more about all the tenders here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Ett Julminne Från 1970

From the Dawe collection. Click on the picture to enlarge.

This site is not about refurbishings, altered doorways, or funnel colors. The purpose of the site is primarily to describe the life and people on board the "White Viking Fleet" - the emigrants, the tourists, and the business passengers who crossed the stormy North Atlantic to reach America, - and the cruise members, sailing smoothly from port to port in a world of luxury, many of them coming back for a new cruise, time and time again. And, of course the crew, who worked and lived on the ships for months and years - in some cases decades - regarding them as their homes.

The News Archive

See older news in the News Archive.