A Tribute to the Swedish American Line
The White Viking Fleet
12 Years on the Internet

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Chief Purser Curt Dawe

Work in progress

Four pages with photos have been added, see link below

Many more images will be added

A large donation, containing Curt Dawe's extensive collection of SAL memorabilia,
has been contributed by Curt Dawe's nephews, Andreas and Christian Dawe.
The collection has been donated to the Maritime Museum in Gothenburg,
Sjöfartsmuséet
, with permission for us to view the objects on this website.

Please email us if you can identify persons whose names aren't noted below the pictures. If you recognize yourself or a relative, and in any way are offended by the picture being published, please send an email and the picture will be removed.

Chief Purser Curt Dawe on his
50th birthday, September 26, 1967,
on board the Gripsholm

Curt Dawe was born in Denmark on September 26, 1917. He commenced his career working for Danish travel agencies, at Bennetts Rejsebureau and Nordisk Resebureau. He joined SAL after World War II, as Information Officer and 2nd Purser on the MS Gripsholm and the MS Kungsholm. In 1955, at the age of 37, Dawe succeeded Hugo Billén as Chief Purser on the MS Stockholm. He retained the position as Chief Purser on the SAL liners, heading the "hotel & restaurant" department on board, until 1975.

During nearly 30 years, Curt Dawe, sailed on the SAL fleet, between the most exciting ports in the world, knowing his way around Rio de Janeiro, and Hong Kong, just as well as in New York City. As Chief Purser, he entertained and dined with aristocrats, multi-millionaires and world celebrities every day, on hundreds of cruises and Atlantic crossings.

Dawe served on the MS Stockholm at the time of the collision with Andrea Doria. He was later commended by the United States Department of Justice for his actions immediately after the accident during the MS Stockholm's return voyage to New York.

Curt Dawe passed away in Denmark in 1994.
We regret that the year of his death was incorrect earlier on this page.

MS Stockholm's Christmas Voyage 1957
A First Class Farewell Dinner Menu featuring the
autograph of opera tenor Jussi Björling
and his wife Anna-Lisa.

Also on this crossing:
Professor Tor Bergeron (Uppsala University),
and his wife Vera (maiden name Romanovskaja).
From the Curt Dawe collection.
Click on the image to see what they had for dinner.

 

Curt Dawe, Charlie McCarthy, and Edgar Bergen
From the Curt Dawe collection.  
Autographs on the back of a Gripsholm postcard.
From the Curt Dawe collection.  

Ingrid Bergman visited the Gripsholm in Hong Kong,
on the Around the World Cruise 1966.
From left: Lecturer Hans Ostelius, Chief Purser Curt Dawe,
Ingrid Bergman, and her husband, theater producer Lars Schmidt.

 


Who is this mysterious woman goofing off
in an officer's cabin?
The nose, the chin, the divine pose. Could it be?

Manipulated archive photo of Greta Garbo for comparison.

 

The SAL flag, the Swedish flag, and copies of the ship's register
documents for the Kungsholm of 1966
in a leather folder. These items
are stored together in the collection. The flags are very likely from the
flag ceremony when the Kungsholm was delivered to Flagship Cruises
in Newcastle in 1975.
From the Curt Dawe collection.  


Curt Dawe and his brother Roland Dawe, the father of Andreas and Christian Dawe, who have donated the Dawe collection. Roland Dawe joined at least two long cruises, and Curt Dawe kept frequently in touch with his brother in Denmark.

 

SAL veterans Ingwar Gemzell and Gerhard Kummer,
who both served nearly 20 years on SAL liners,
assist in identifying persons on more than a hundred
photos in the Dawe collection.
October 2007.

To the next page with photos from the Dawe collection >>

Pages showing items from the Dawe collection
Start page
Photos, people page1
Photos, people page2
Photos, people page3, the Lounges
Photos, people page4, the Lounges
Photos, people page5, the Dining Room

Photos, people page6, Officers
Photos, people page7, Off Duty
The Collision page1
The Collision page2
The Folk Dance Teams, page 2
The Gripsholm of 1925, Bridge Photos
The Stockholm of 1948, Photos
Chief Purser Hugo Billén
Chief Purser Evert Eriksson

Cashier T Odenlund

Uniforms
SAL Souvenirs

Many, many, more images will be added

Back to the News Page


 

 

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Regardless of which ship we sailed on or which year - the memories we share are the same!

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Recommended Books

Updated Sep 7, 2009

Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising

John Graves

Örjan Slätte, ex Information Officer on the Gripsholm, recommends Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising by John Graves, published by the National Maritime Museum in London in 2004. It is based on photos by Marine Photo Service, which were acquired by the museum in 1996 The book features many photos from SAL cruises.

Buy at amazon.co.uk
 

Please note that the book's edition at Amazon.co.uk may not have the Kungsholm on the cover.

Örjan Slätte, Informationsofficer på Gripsholm, rekommenderar boken Waterline - Images from the Golden Ages of Cruising. Boken är utgiven år 2004 av National Maritime Museum i London som 1996 förvärvat Marine Photo Service (MPS) samlingar. Redan omslagsbilden föreställer Kungsholm 1953 med två vattenskidåkande ynglingar i fronten. MPS fanns i många rederier och där finns många mycket bra foton från SAL:s kryssningar. Våra fotografer var mycket yrkesskickliga med konstnärlig talang. Man kan förmoda att de tidvis kände för att fotografera annat än leende, välklädda pax med cocktailglas i hand. Fina miljöer från fartygens "omvärld".
Anser boken vara av god kvalité. 255 sidor, inkl. noter. Här i Göteborg hittade jag den i Haga i en butik som köper in restupplagor (remainders) och säljer till bra pris, ca 160 sek. "Böcker som vi gillar till pris som ni gillar": Bokrummet i Haga, Skolgatan 11, 413 02 GÖTEBORG, bokrummet, tfn 031-7010028. De har ett traditionellt antikvariat, Bokmalen, Haga Nygata 16.



Updated July7, 2008

MERCY SHIPS
by David Miller

Buy at amazon.co.uk
 

 


Mercy Ships

 

During World War 2 the Drottningholm and the Gripsholm were used as repatriation ships and made 33 voyages to exchange prisoners of war, diplomats, women and children, between the warfaring nations. David Miller has written a book about the exchange and repatriation voyages,with an emphasis on the British experience. It is loaded with facts about these voyages of mercy.

Read more about all the exchange and repatriation sailings during WWII here.


 

M/S Kungsholms inredning
Ett mästerverk i svensk
art deco

Anne Marie Ericsson

Första M/S Kungsholm, Amerikalinjens stora passagerarfartyg, byggdes på 1920-talet. Det gick mellan Göteborg och New York. Arkitekten Carl Bergsten fick uppdraget att hålla i den påkostade inredningen som skulle visa för världen vad svenska konstnärer kunde åstadkomma. Under andra världskriget togs fartyget i beslag av amerikanarna för att användas i trupptransporten till Europa. Inredningen revs då ner och förstördes. Anne-Marie Ericsson har letat i arkiv och museer efter beskrivningar, ritningar och gamla fotografier för att försöka rekonstruera denna makalösa uppvisning i svensk inredningskonst.
Köp boken här: Adlibris

 

Amerikabåtarna
Från emigranter till miljonärer

Christer Winberg

Christer Winberg, professor i historia vid Göteborgs universitet, har skrivit en bok om SAL som bygger på bevarat samtida material från Svenska Amerika Linien på Landsarkivet och Sjöfartsmuseet i Göteborg. Det omfattar exempelvis reserapporter, minnesberättelser och personligt färgade reseskildringar. Författaren har också samlat in eget material genom intervjuer med f.d. anställda.
Köp boken här: Adlibris

 

 

Andrea Dorias undergång
Britt-Marie Mattsson

I Andrea Dorias undergång berättar Britt-Marie Mattsson den fascinerande berättelsen om kollisionen, den heroiska räddningsaktionen och det rättsliga efterspelet till den mycket uppmärksammade olyckan - sin tids Titanic. Mattssons far var vid tiden för olyckan informationschef vid Svenska Amerika Linien. Britt-Marie Mattsson har träffat flera av de överlevande och intervjuat dem för denna bok. Hon har bland annat talat med vittnen som ger information som kan kasta nytt ljus över vad som egentligen orsakade den fruktansvärda kollisionen. Boken är rikligt illustrerad i svartvitt.
Köp boken här: Adlibris



SAL enthusiast Bob Zeschin has recommended
Kungsholm - Europa - Columbus C
by Nico Guns

A book about the Kungsholm of 1953.
Primarily Dutch text, but with English language insertions, captions and a full summary at the end of the book.


Journalist Per Fält has recommended
The Grand Cruise by Cecil Roberts, published in 1963. It tells the story of an Around The World Cruise on the Kungsholm of 1953. The book can from time to time be found on eBay.


"Såna" på Amerikabåtarna
Arne Nilsson

SAL har skildrats i böcker, dokumentär-filmer, journalfilmer och tidningsartiklar. Oftast är det glamouren som uppmärk-sammats men en grupp har alltid saknats i beskrivningarna: homosexuella män. Såna på Amerikabåtarna är en välskriven, lättläst och underhållande studie av en värld som gått i glömska.
Köp boken här: Adlibris


De Flytande Palatsen
The White Viking Fleet
Algot Mattsson

From the very inception of the line in 1915, the ships of the Line attracted much attention on both sidesof the Atlantic. Not only did they represent the bonds between the old country and the new, they also represented new concepts in service, decor, and furnishings as well as in art and handicraft. Published in 1987. This book can be found on Amazon.


 


Huset Broström
Algot Mattsson

Huset Broström för tankarna till Forsythesagan och Onedinlinjen. Inget svenskt företag har upplevt så stor dramatik som just Broströms. Detta är den dramtiska berättelsen "inifrån Huset", om det som skedde i det som syntes ske. Utgiven 1980.



Out of the Fog

Algot Mattsson

Out of the Fog is an American edition of a Swedish book by Algot Mattsson, who was the information officer for SAL, the owner of Stockholm, the ship that collided with Andrea Doria in 1956. The book describes the collision from the perspectives of both ships as well as the heroic rescue of hundreds. Testimony given at the hearing is also included as is a legal opinion by the American editors, one of whom was directly involved with the case.



Vägen mot Väster

Algot Mattsson

Detta är en berättelse om den dramatiska färden över Atlanten, från de hårda och riskfyllda överfarten med små lastskutor i mitten av 1800-talet, till lyxresorna med Amerikalinjens sista skepp. Utgiven 1982