HE had suffered burns to much of his body but the victim and assailant had again become the best of pals.

Assistant engineer’s steward Joseph Cook had been drinking when he got involved in a spat with chef John Spink on the Queen Mary after she had set sail from New York for Southampton.

Cook, 19, spilled grease on a stove as he moved a frying pan and the fat caught fire. Spink – who feared a steak might have been ruined – became angry and told him to get out of the galley. The Glaswegian responded by kicking Spink before being ejected but seconds later returned and grabbing hold of the frying pan in which fat was nearly boiling, threw the contents over him.

Though the victim tried to cover his face, he suffered burns on his scalp, neck, shoulders, chest and forearms.

“Between my nerves and the drink, the first thing I took up was the frying pan and to defend myself, I must have thrown it at him,” he told detectives after the liner had arrived in her home port.

Cook appeared before the town’s magistrates a fortnight later in 1954 when he admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was fined £10. His brother and sister, who had travelled from Glasgow, pooled £5 between them and he was allowed to pay the deficit within a week.

Spink, who had also sat in the public gallery, was asked to come forward and tell the magistrates the extent of his injuries.

“I have my arm bandaged as you can see but my other injuries are quite recovered.”

The court heard Cunard had sacked Cook but he and the victim were again friends.