Letter from the French Titanic Society

Dear Titanic friends,

For those who do not know me, I am the founder and president of the French Titanic society. We are trying to save the last memory of the glory of those days when it took a week to cross the Atlantic from Europe to America. I am writing to you about the salvation of the S.S. Nomadic, last tender of the White Star line still afloat today. We contacted the French Ministry of Culture and Communication last year. In a response they told us they would be very interested and would like to meet us. This meeting took place on February 22nd 2002. You will find a summary of this meeting below.

The people present were :

- Mr Goven (Assistant-Director of the service of Historical Monuments)

- Mr Jamnot (Head of the bureau for the protection of the patrimoine )

- Mr Foumier (Senior Assistant of the bureau for the protection of the patrimoine)

- Someone else whose name I did not catch

- Mr Fabrice Vanhoutte member of the French Titanic society and historian of the Nomadic

- Myself, Robert R. Shotton. .

On January 15th 2002, was held a technical meeting with 2 experts, 2 people of the Paris Port Authority, one person from the regional authority for cultural affairs, the director of the Cite de la Mer (A new museum in Cherbourg) and the people mentioned above. A call for tenders will be made in less than two weeks for cutting the upper parts of the Nomadic so it can be towed under the bridges of the River Seine. The construction of a system of floaters, installing this system to the Nomadic to prevent any disaster and the towing of the Nomadic to the town of Rouen.

The start of work is scheduled for the month of June and the vessel will be moved from its present place during the following month depending on the height of the Seine. The S.S. Nomadic will be placed in a lock in a shipyard and will stay there for its restoration or, at worst for its demolition. It can be considered for classification as an historical monument only after it arrives in Rouen, not before.

- Several meetings will have to be held in connection with the salvation of the S. S. Nomadic.

- The object of the present meeting was to ask the A.F T about the possible financial support. We are now free to contact the press.

- The Ministry of Culture and Communication is ready to help us but they cannot pay out the total sum required.

The Historical Monuments will deal with the Nomadic only after she is in dock in Rouen. The budget which the Port Authority had planned for the break-up of the Nomadic can be made available for the separation of the upper part and towing to Rouen.

A last note :  If we, the French Titanic Society had not contacted the Ministry of Culture and Communication for the salvation of the Nomadic, she would have been by now part of a lost memory. The Port Authority had planned to scrap the Nomadic by October 2001.

So there we are. We do not know just how much the French authorities are prepared to pay nor do we know the amount of the participation they would hope to get from us. What we need are some bright ideas for finding wealthy supporters who would be willing to make a significant contribution to the project. So if you are able to help in this respect please let us know as quickly as possible. We, the French Titanic Society, would like to thank all those of you from various Titanic Societies, friends and families who have supported us by signing the petitions.

Kind regards Robert R. Shotton

Founder member & president of A.F.T