Chief Purser Curt Dawe

Four pages with photos have been added, see link below

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.

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. 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 >>

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