page_title: John Treasure Jones
section_title: Post-war service
hierarchical_section_title: John Treasure Jones / Post-war service
caption_attribution_description: English: digital photograph of the Mauretania 2 at the breakers yard
context_page_description: Captain John Treasure Jones RD, was a British sea officer who became a well-known media figure in the mid-1960s following his appointment as the last master of the Cunard liner, RMS Queen Mary. He has been described as one of the 20th century's most distinguished mariners, in war and in peacetime. His forebears were men of the sea, who had captained sailing ships, and he elected to follow in their tradition.
context_section_description: Jones rejoined the Cunard Line in March 1947 as a senior first officer, serving  in RMS Samaria, RMS Scythia, RMS Britannic, RMS Georgic and RMS Queen Elizabeth. In February 1954 he was appointed staff captain RMS Caronia, until he was given his first command of cargo/passenger liner RMS Media in May 1957, followed by the 22,017-ton liner RMS Sylvania, then the 22,592-ton RMS Saxonia in 1959 to the early 1960s.
  From December 1962 he commanded RMS Mauretania. Whilst his previous commands had been solely on the North Atlantic, Mauretania was used for cruises. Even so, she was facing competition from much more modern ships and was beginning to lose money for Cunard Line.
  In 1964 Texaco completed a new oil refinery in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, just 10 miles from where John Treasure Jones was born. Texaco chartered Mauretania to take the guests from Southampton to Milford Haven and back. The opening ceremony was performed by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who travelled down on the royal train. Afterwards, the captain hosted lunch on board for the Queen Mother and the other guests.
  In the autumn of 1965 it was announced that Mauretania would be withdrawn from service and sold to Ward's ship breaking yard in Inverkeithing, Fife in Scotland. On the night of 22/23 November he navigated the mud straits of the River Forth without tugs, and made the final berthing through the shallows above the mud banks on the midnight high tide.
  He briefly commanded RMS Queen Elizabeth and then RMS Queen Mary from September 1965. 
  In August 1966, under his command, she made the fastest eastbound passage since August 1938 in 4 days, 10 hours and 6 minutes, averaging 29.46 knots (54.56 km/h). 
  On 27 September 1967, Queen Mary arrived back in Southampton having completed her 1,000th and last crossing of the North Atlantic, having carried 2,112,000 passengers over 3,792,227 miles (6,102,998 km).
  On 31 October she sailed from Southampton for the last time with 1,093 passengers and 806 crew. For the first time in his long career, this was Treasure Jones's only voyage around Cape Horn. She arrived in Long Beach, California on 9 December 1967 and the captain lowered both the Cunard house flag and his own Blue Ensign when he conducted the sale to the City of Long Beach on 11 December 1967.
  Treasure Jones retired in August 1968, aged 63, after a career of 47 years, of which he served almost 43½ continuous years at sea. He died of an aneurysm on 12 May 1993, just three months short of his 88th birthday, at Chandlers Ford, near Southampton.
caption: Mauretania at Inverkeithing
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