Mechanical pencil from ship R.M.S. "IVERNIA". RMS Ivernia was a Saxonia class ocean liner, built in 1955 by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland for Cunard Line, for their transatlantic passenger service between the UK and Canada. The RMS Ivernia was launched at Clydebank on 14 December 1954 by Mrs C D Howe, the wife of the then Canadian Minister of Trade. Completed six months later, she underwent sea trials, and then prepared for her maiden voyage. The original plan had been for her to set off from Liverpool on 26 June 1955, but industrial action forced a change of plan, and instead, she departed from Greenock on 1 July 1955, carrying 900 passengers and crew, on her maiden voyage to Quebec and Montreal. She arrived safely in Montreal on 6 July 1955. For the first year of operation, Saxonia and Ivernia shared the Canada route with the older Cunard ships RMS Franconia (1922), RMS Ascania and RMS Scythia. As the third and fourth Saxonia class ships entered service, however, the older ships were withdrawn, and by mid-1957 the Saxonia sisters were the only Cunard ships sailing the UK-Canada route. By 1962, the increasing popularity and availability of air travel was having a distinct impact on the profitability of transatlantic shipping services, and Cunard decided to refit the Ivernia for cruising. At the same time, they decided to change her name to Franconia, the older ship of that name having been withdrawn from service several years earlier. Ivernia arrived at John Brown's Clydebank shipyard on 11 October 1962 for a major refit, and emerged as the new Franconia on 25 May 1963 in "Caronia green" colours.