succession of merchant ships, Stuart was provided with his first merchant command, the steam freighter SS Brandon, in 1927. After a short period in charge, he was again promoted and transferred, taking up the role of staff captain on the liner RMS Empress of Australia. Ships' captain Just a year later he again moved, becoming full captain on the 15,000-ton liner SS Minnedosa – a smaller and slower ship that transported immigrants to Canada. Stuart was one of a number of Royal Naval Reserve officers employed by Canadian Pacific, part of a deliberate recruitment policy by the company. In 1929, he was given his biggest command yet as he took over the newly completed 20,000-ton ocean liner SS Duchess of York. He commanded her for five years along her route from Liverpool to Saint John, New Brunswick stopping at Belfast and Greenock. He also briefly commanded her on the New York City to Bermuda route. It was during this period, in 1929, that he was awarded the Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve (RD) in honour of his long service and in 1935 he was made a full Naval Reserve Captain. He maintained his connection with the RNR throughout his life, becoming Honorary President of the RNR Officer's Club and a part-time naval aide-de-camp to King George VI in 1941 – a position he held part-time throughout World War II. A special warrant was written in 1927 that allowed him to fly the Blue Ensign from any ship, mercantile or military, which he commanded. In 1931, while he was in command of the Duchess of York, his wife suddenly died in Toxteth. This event is said to have changed Stuart's demeanour and plunged him into a depression. He never again took time off work and left his children to the sole care and maintenance of his four maiden sisters in England. In 1934 he took over his last and most important seagoing role as Commodore of the CPS fleet and was placed in command of the 42,000-ton liner RMS Empress of Britain on her transatlantic route. After three years in command of the Empress on the England to Quebec route, Stuart was given a desk job managing the company's assets in Montreal. In 1937, he was promoted to company superintendent, a role followed by the job of general manager at Canadian Pacific's London office. He retained this job