Ben-my-Chree means "woman of my heart" in Manx, and the 1908 steamer was the third of six Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessels to bear the name. The Manx pronunciation is closer to "Ben-ma-cree" than the Anglicized form used through much of the lecture. That second pronunciation grew out of a family joke and had also circulated among Royal Navy sailors during the ship's wartime service. The naming story explains how her civilian identity and naval memory produced two familiar ways of saying the same name.
Notable Point · 6:15-10:01
A Manx name links six Steam Packet vessels
The ship's Manx name, two familiar pronunciations, and place in a six-vessel Steam Packet lineage connect her civilian identity with her naval service.