Olympic’s keel, yard No. 400, was laid towards the end of 1908, and just over three months later, the keel of Titanic , No. 401, was laid alongside, under the massive Arrol Gantry at Harland & Wolff’s yard in Belfast. With a construction period of about three years, the two liners’ massive hulls became almost a part of the skyline on the …
After her delayed but highly successful sea trials, Titanic immediately made her way to her port of departure, Southampton, arriving just before midnight on the 3rd April. However, there was still much, much work to be done before the ship could depart on April 10th, and the majority of this work involved stocking the vessel with ton after ton …
On Sunday, 19th May, 2002, the acclaimed author, historian and Titanic enthusiast Walter Lord passed away. He’d contracted Parkinson’s Disease, and although his death didn’t really come as a shock to many, the wave of affection that swept around the world in the hours and days and weeks soon after he died showed just how revered Walter Lord was, …
In 1907, the White Star Line inaugurated Southampton as its primary port for transatlantic steamers arriving in and departing from England. This placed the French port of Cherbourg about 80 nautical miles away, or about 5 hours at the speed ships traveled in 1907. Cherbourg did not have the full facilities to accommodate the large steamers in her docks, …
Herbert John Pitman was Titanic’s Third Officer. He had been at sea for almost nine years, and the last five of those had been with the White Star Line. He received a telegram, as did all the junior officers, informing him to report to the White Star Line’s Liverpool offices at 9a.m. on 26th March, in order to pick up their …