EAW017461 ENGLAND (1948). Ships under construction and moored at the Hawthorn Leslie Shipbuilding Yard, Hebburn, 1948. This image has been produced from a print.

Probably Blue Star's M.V. BRISBANE STAR - you can just about make out the name here. See also EAW017462 The Royal Museums Greenwich has catalogued an album ALB0694 (not available online) of photos of repair & conversion work 1945-8 that includes Jarrow Dock and Hebburn Dock. The album apparently includes GEORGIC and BRISBANE STAR. (http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/539502.html)

Probably the GEORGIC, the last of the White-Star liners to be built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast. She was launched on 12 November 1931 and originally had two funnels, the forward one being a dummy funnel. In 1940 she was converted to a troopship and painted wartime grey. On 14 July 1941 she was bombed at Port Tewfik on the Suez Canal, caught fire and was beached. Although badly damaged, she was raised and towed first to Port Sudan for temporary repairs, and then to Karachi and Bombay for further work. She sailed from there to Liverpool on 20 January 1943 and then on to Belfast to be rebuilt. She emerged with a single funnel and returned to trooping. After the war she continued to be used to repatriate troops and on 20 July 1948 she arrived at Palmers Hebburn to be refitted for the migrant service to Australia and New Zealand. She was repainted in White-Star colours and her first trip carrying migrants was from Liverpool to Sydney on 11 January 1949. Sydney. See also EAW017462.

Hawthorn Leslies famous clock tower. I've added a photo of it taken from my website www.oldtyneside.co.uk

Swan Hunter Shipbuilders in Wallsend