Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We have gathered together ALL our FAQS here. To find answers to FAQS about our History, Collection or Archive click on the relevant links.
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Were P&O ships used in both World Wars?
P&O has a long history of war service from the Crimea to the Falklands. In both World Wars, P&O and its subsidiary companies' ships served as troopships, hospital ships and armed merchant cruisers. Several were sunk, but most losses suffered by the P&O Group - 85 ships in the First World War, 177 in the Second - were cargo ships employed in the vital service of keeping Britain supplied with munitions, raw materials and foodstuffs.
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Who were the "Ten Pound Poms"?
‘Ten Pound Poms’ was a colloquial term used to describe British subjects (including those belonging to Commonwealth countries) who migrated to Australia after the Second World War under an assisted passage scheme established and operated by the Australian Government. The scheme attracted over one million British migrants between 1945 and 1972 and represented the last substantial scheme for preferential migration from the United Kingdom to Australia.
The peak year for the ‘Ten Pound Poms’ scheme was 1969, with more than 80,000 people travelling to Australia. In 1973, the cost of assisted passages was increased to ₤75 per family. Although this was still a very cheap fare, the number of assisted migrants from the United Kingdom dropped off significantly. In the early 1980s, assisted passage schemes were gradually phased out.
Many thousands of ‘Ten Pound Poms’ travelled on P&O and Orient Line ships to their new life down under.
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How large is the P&O Heritage Collection?
The P&O Heritage Collection consists of over 30,000 items including art, memorabilia, ship models, photographs, films and an entire business archive. The P&O Archive is on permanent loan to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, UK and can be accessed via their archive catalogue
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What sorts of objects do you have in your Collection?
Anything and everything from paintings to postcards, ships bells to ship models, memorabilia to murals and much more besides!
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Is there an online catalogue of the P&O Heritage Collection?
We are working on it! The website Galleries will give you access to over 600 items in our collections but we plan to launch many more. Our ships database of almost 2,500 fact sheets is searchable online in our Archive section. An online search faicility is available for the P&O Archive which is on permanent loan to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, UK. Click here for their online catalogue.
We frequently update our site with new items from our collections so please check back regularly.
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Can I visit the P&O Heritage Collection?
Unfortunately not. The P&O Heritage Collection is housed in our offices and it is not possible to provide public access. However you can see many items here on this website and we will be continually adding to our online collections. Selected items in our collections are also available to buy as prints.
In addition the following collection links will direct to several museums where you can see loan items from our collections on public display.
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Can I buy a print of an item in your collection?
Selected items in our collections are available to buy as prints online. Simply click on the buy button of your chosen image in the Galleries section of the site. Alternatively you can go straight to the P&O Prints shop. We frequently update the site and add more items to our shop so please check back regularly.
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Can I license P&O Heritage Collection images?
If you wish to license images from our collection please fill in our online form for professional picture researchers giving as much detail as possible about how you would like to use our images. We will respond to your request as soon as possible.
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Can I use P&O Heritage Collection images in my publication?
If you wish to use our images in your publication please fill in the online form, for professional researchers and academics, giving as much detail as possible about how you would like to use our images. We will respond to your request as soon as possible.
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Can I use P&O Heritage Collection images on my website?
These images are the property of P&O Heritage Collection and are not to be reproduced anywhere, including the internet, without our permission. If you would like to use images from our collection, please fill in the online form for professional researchers and giving as much detail as possible about how you would like to use our images. We will respond to your request as soon as possible.
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What if I still need help?
Have you tried our links or research guides, viewed our timeline, explored our collections and searched our archive at the National Maritime Museum for more information? Still stuck? Use the enquiry form to contact us and we'll point you in the
right direction.
