THE last time Tony Bowden set foot in the Port of Southampton average homes cost £2,000 and only one in five had a washing machine.

Stationed at the medical embarkation unit at Dock Gate 10 until March 1957, Tony, now 81, still had vivid recollections of the port and when he wrote to director Alastair Welch with his memories, he was delighted to be offered the opportunity to retrace his footsteps 61 years on.

Researchers have declared 1957 was Britain’s happiest year of the last century – and Tony arrived with a list of the ships he recalled seeing during his military service.

There were the Cunard liners Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and Mauretania and you could set your watch to the familiar sound of the Union Castle ships’ horns being sounded.

Tony was welcomed to the port by Harbour Master Phil Buckley and was given a tour of the Vessel Traffic Service which manages around 150,000 traffic moves in the Solent each year.

After a tour of the port Tony said: “It was fascinating to see the cruise ships of today and to see how and big and beautiful they are.

“I am amazed with how busy the port is today and delighted to have this opportunity to see it once more.”