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LATEST NEWS Sunday 22nd March 2009 Titanic's Keel-Laying Remembered
Courtesy of Titanic Quarter Limited which has guardianship of the area, the Belfast Titanic Society gathered on No.3 slipway, Queens Yard, Belfast to remember, with pride, those men who started preparing the slipway for the ‘birth of Titanic’ on Monday 22nd March 1909. In order to lay the first steel plate which would become the foundation ‘stone’ from which the then biggest ship in the world would grow, it was necessary to do a great deal of ground work. Thousands of wooden keel blocks had to be set out along 850ft of the slipway. This work was not completed until Wednesday 31st March 1909. Upon these blocks, the steel keel or ‘spine, of the ship would be created. Those men were not to know, that 100-years on , we would be there on a sunny Mothers Day afternoon to remember them & to celebrate our proud maritime history in which they played such an important part. It was also a fitting time to remember the roles played by the wives & mothers at home. Members gathered round a group of replica keel blocks, kindly supplied by Harland & Wolff, the company which built Titanic and hundreds of other ships and which still is flourishing in Belfast today though not in shipbuilding. A steel plate will be laid on these blocks on the 31st March to celebrate the centenary of Titanic’s keel laying. The process was explained by George McAllister ex Harland & Wolff Foreman Rigger and prayers were composed and shared with us by Rev Ian Gilpin from the Andrews family place of worship, the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church in Comber. It was a time to reflect on the past but look forward to the future. Pictures courtesy of society member, Joseph Cohen.
Gathering in the Drawing Office
George McAllister explains the process. Realistic sample of the keel blocks used.
The Rev Ian Gilpin who officiated at our service. Thanks must go to our photographer, Joseph Cohen.
All those who attended. Titanic family and committee members.
16th December 2008
100th Anniversary of Keel Laying of SS No. 400 (RMS Olympic) on Slipway No 2, Former Queens Yard, Belfast. This area is now under the control and guardianship of Titanic Quarter Ltd and we thank them for access to the site.
Ian & Sandra Gilpin, Susie Miller, David Rebbeck, Una Reilly, Bill Austin, Norman Robinson.
Members gathered to remember the beginning of the Olympic Class Liner, a highlight in the history of shipbuilding here in Belfast. Olympic has been very much in the shadowed of her younger sister, Titanic. We know so much about Titanic’s tragedy and supposed failings but little of Olympic’s achievements. Olympic was the first of three Olympic Class Liners, followed by her sister ships Titanic & Britannic. (Sometimes referred to as the Beloved, the Damned and the Forgotten). When launched, she was the biggest man-made moving object on the planet. Olympic was designed for comfort, not for speed and for nearly 27 years she was a great asset to her owners, firstly White Star Line, then Cunard.
When scrapped she was still the largest British-built ship afloat, apart from the Queen Mary which was being fitted out at the time. She had set new standards in size and comfort of travel. Contrary to popular belief, she was never in competition to win the Blue Riband, awarded for the fastest time across the Atlantic.
She was a troop carrier during the war; she sank a German U-Boat. After the war she had a major refit to oil fired and returned to the transatlantic route, again “The Queen of the Seas”
Lord Pirrie, H&W Chairman at the turn of the 20th century and the person credited with the idea of creating the Olympic Class liner, has an engraving of Olympic on his memorial in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.
In the 1930s, cruising was not so popular and it was decided to scrap Olympic. In many ways this was unfair as of all the big liners left, she was still the most economical to run, even at her advanced age. She was a credit to her builders H&W.
Statistics:
Keel laid 16th December 1908 Launched 20th October 1910 Left Belfast 31st May 1911 Maiden Voyage 14th June 1911 Final voyage to be scrapped 11th October 1935 (27 years)
A Belfast built ship served her masters well. This is vividly shown in the Nomadic, the last White Star Line ship afloat, back here in Belfast and also about to celebrate her 100th birthday.
Nomadic SS No.422 Keel Laid Dec 1910 Launched April 1911 Left Belfast May 1911 Returned to Belfast July 2006.
“ Today we remember all of the men of steel, the Islandmen, all those who toiled in the shipyards, who watched with pride as their creations sailed away. We will never forget the great tragedy of the Titanic but we must also never let that overshadow all the triumphs. Let us begin to celebrate the fine maritime and cultural history of which Belfast can be so proud.”
Una Reilly Chairman & Co-Founder Belfast Titanic Society. 1st December 2008 Titanic Signature Project
The Titanic Signature Project which has been in the planning
since 2004 has
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