WWII Liberty Ship Launching Set - S.S. John Walker / Launched from Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Inc Baltimore Md

[danno81]

Hi Folks, Here is a find I made on eBay which is a somewhat different type of WWII item. It is a WWII Liberty Ship Launching Presentation Set which includes the broken glass champaign christening bottle encased in a Red, White and Blue silk wrapping, in a custom made wooden presentation box with a silver plate affixed about the Launching, a presentation book with photos of the actual launching which took place on July 22, 1942, a copy of the ships owners paperwork and an old copy of the ships travel log. The Ship, the S.S. John Walker, saw service in England, Iceland, Murmansk, Gibralter, Tunis, Oran, Naples, and all over the Mediterranean, Channel and so forth, with trips back to the States. The Ship's Sponsor was was Mrs. Faye Williams, the wife of the U.S Maritime Commissioner at the time. You will see the initials "USMC" but in this posting that stands for the United States Maritime Commission instead of the United States Marine Corps. The ship was launched in the Baltimore Maryland Shipyards so I hope to go find the actual launching berth if it still exists later this spring or summer. If anyone has additional photos of this ship I'd appreciate seeing them. Thanks.

[kiwiwreckdiver]

Interesting items , just looked up the name and heres what I found
SS John Walker, MC Ship Number-305, ship type -standard, Laid down-1 June 1942 , Launched-22 July 1942, Fate-Scrapped 1961

[Glenn66]

Very interesting! Thanks for showing!

[lithgow]

I wonder if they kept up with using the champagne for christening given how many and how quickly Liberty ships were built-the fastest build was 4 and a half days if memory serves.

[Scout]

Fantastic ships and a nice set

[qtfish]

Imagine my surprise when I saw this while doing some family research. My paternal grandmother, Faye Williams, was the sponsor of this ship. This box was on the piano in her living room when I was growing up. It appears that my mother sold this after my father died without consulting any of the family. We thought she still had it. That's a shame as I would have loved to keep this.

My grandfather was Secretary of the US Maritime Commission under Joseph Kennedy who was the Director. The Maritime Commission built these ships at such a rapid pace that practically every female relative of my grandfather's christened one. I would have loved to at least have a copy of that book that came with the. I have a copy of one the pictures taken that day and was trying to find that date when I came across your post. My aunt is in the middle in back with a bow on her hat.

I would be very interested in buying this back so we can keep it in the family.

Thanks

[rbminis]

I would be very interested in buying this back so we can keep it in the family.

Thanks

Hello and welcome to the forum!
Please contact the member that currently owns this through private messages, (PM's) as we don't condone the buying and selling of items through our regular forums.
Thank you,
Ralph.
P.S. Good luck!

[qtfish]

Hello and welcome to the forum!
Please contact the member that currently owns this through private messages, (PM's) as we don't condone the buying and selling of items through our regular forums.
Thank you,
Ralph.
P.S. Good luck!

Sorry, it's not clear how to use the PM system. I don't want to violate the rules!

[rbminis]

Sorry, it's not clear how to use the PM system. I don't want to violate the rules!

Simply click on the member's name and view profile. There you will find a link that says, "Send Private Message". Click this and you will now have a window to send whatever you wish.
Ralph.

[qtfish]

Thank you!