Joseph Bell, Chief Engineer on the R.M.S. Titanic

On a recent visit to Southampton, I visited the Titanic Engineers’ Memorial that is sited in East [Andrews] Park that is dedicated to Joseph Bell the Chief Engineer and his staff, that consisted of 24 engineers, 6 electrical engineers, two boilermakers, a plumber and a clerk who died in the RMS Titanic disaster on the 15^th April 1912.  Sir Archibald Denny, president of the Institute of Marine Engineers on the 22nd of April 1914, unveiled the bronze and granite memorial. An estimated 100.000 Southampton residents attended the event.

On unveiling the statue, Sir Archibald Denny said: “By the manner of their deaths the Engineers carried out one of the finest traditions of our race”.“They must have known that pumping could do no more than delay the final catastrophe, yet they stuck pluckily to their duty”. “Driven back from boiler-room to boiler-room, fighting for every inch of draught to give time for the launching of the boats, not one of those brave officers was saved”.

Ferdinand Victor Blundstone was the sculptor of the memorial that is a Grade 11 listed building. It features a bronze statue of Nike, the Greek Winged Goddess of Victory, created by Trieste born sculptor Romeo Rathmann, and carvings that represent the engineer officers of the ship who died in the disaster.

The inscription on the Titanic Engineers’ Memorial reads:

Greater Love Hath No Man Than This,

That a Man Lay Down His Life For His Friends

ST. John 15^th CH. 13^th Verse

 TO THE MEMORY OF THE ENGINEER OFFICERS

OF THE R.M.S.TITANIC WHO SHOWED THEIR

HIGH CONCEPTION OF DUTY AND THEIR

HEROISM BY REMAINING AT THEIR POSTS

 15^TH APRIL 1912

ERECTED BY THEIR FELLOW ENGINEERS AND FRIENDS

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

    Images below are carvings from each side of the the bronze statue of Nike

For those who may not have seen them, here are a selection News Reviews & Notices that have appeared for the new biography of Joseph Bell, Tarn to Titanic: Life & Times of Joseph Bell Chief

 CUMBIA MAGAZINE:

Mr John Lightfoot MBE, former Marine Engineer and donor to the Joseph Bell Memorial Appeal recently visited the Memorial Gravestone dedicated to Joseph Bell in the old  Churchyard of St Thomas a Becket near Farlam Cumbria.  Ann Freer, joint author of the recently published and first biography of Joseph Bell, is accompanying him here.

Titanic violin could fetch record price at auction

The guide price for the violin is £300,000 making it the single most valuable piece of Titanic memorabilia, which has yet come to the market

The violin that was played to calm passengers on the Titanic as the giant liner sank is to be auctioned in Wiltshire later.

Bandleader Wallace Hartley, who died along with 1,517 others as the ship went down played it, it has a guide price of £300,000. Other items up for sale include his sheet music and the bag he kept it in.

Auctioneer Alan Aldridge said the violin was the “rarest and most iconic” piece of Titanic memorabilia. It has taken seven years for the auction house, Henry Aldridge & Son, to authenticate the instrument using several experts.

The Titanic violin

The German-made violin was an engagement gift to Wallace Hartley from his fiancée Maria Robinson

A violin was not on the inventory of items found with Mr. Hartley’s body

The violin underwent a CT scan to check its composition and any damage

The auctioneers declared its authenticity in March

These included using forensic science experts who are said to have found the wood still contained salt deposits from the seawater. Some people still doubt whether the violin is the genuine article and believe it could not have survived being submerged in seawater.

But is claimed the violin survived in a leather case strapped to Mr. Harley’s body who was found wearing his cork and linen lifejacket. A diary entry by his fiancée, Maria Robinson, said it was saved from the water and returned to her.

Following her death in 1939, the violin was given to her local Salvation Army citadel and was later passed on to the current anonymous owner’s mother in the early 1940s.

The auction house said it had attracted interest from collectors all over the world and added that more than 315,000 people viewed it during a three-month exhibition in the United States.

The auction is due to start at 13:00 BST 19^th October 2013 in Devizes.

Tarn to Titanic

Lunchtime illustrated talk 30the October 2013

Time

12:30

The Life and Times of Joseph Bell, chief engineer on the Titanic, who was born in Farlam.

Illustrated talk by Barrie Bell Hodgson and Ann Freer 

Wednesday 30 October, 12.30pm 

Tickets £1 (include refreshments) available from Carlisle Library. 

01228 227310  or email: carlisle.library@cumbria.gov.uk

Venue

Carlisle Library, Globe Lane.

Report of the event:

The joint authors of the new biography of Joseph Bell, ‘Tarn to Titanic’, at their Illustrated Talk in Carlisle library yesterday, expressed their thanks to Carlisle library’s Stephen White  for organising the event for them, and all attendees for being there to see and hear more about Joseph Bell the erstwhile Chief Engineer of R M S Titanic.

There was some special interest expressed in the audience by ex-Liverpool residents as well as former Marine Engineers from Cumbria.  Copies of the book were on sale provided by ‘Bookends’ of Carlisle and there were donations received for the Joseph Bell Memorial Appeal.

The up to date good news about the Joseph Bell Memorial Appeal, is to announce the great support that has been received from the following Companies & Trusts, in addition to individual donations since the  Appeal was launched in April’13.

SOLAR SOLVE MARINE

THE MAERSK COMPANY

NORTH EAST COAST BRANCH OF THE  IMarEST

CN GROUP LTD CHARITABLE TRUST

FARLAM PARISH TRUST

CARLISLE STONECRAFT

The bad news is that in spite of the donations so far received, we still have some way to go to fulfil our ambition to undertake the necessary conservation with the memorial gravestone for present and future generations.

The aim of conservation is to slow down the natural rate of deterioration and remove any causes of instability, while preserving as much of the historical significance and original material of the monument as possible.  Natural weathering is inevitable and often attractive, so the objective is not to restore it to a pristine state.  This memorial is important for historical reasons, and marks a unique record of a dramatic event of 20th century history of which Joseph Bell, played such an important role.

Can I ask for your help in providing the Appeal with  more individual contributions from both home and abroad to swell the funds of the Appeal?  This website has over the last year received over 5000 hits from the UK, 2500 from the USA and1700 from Canada with additional 100’s from countries around the world.  Overseas donations can be received by the use of PayPal, the account info to enable you to make a donation from both home and abroad is available on request from  tarntotitanic@gmail.com

The Appeal will succeed with the help of additional support from  home and abroad, together with donations and grant aid from Companies & Businesses .  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Barrie Hodgson.

Harland and Wolff Belfast built ‘Nomadic’ for White Star on the Queens Island site where the Titanic was also in mid construction. She was launched on 25th April 1911 and delivered to the White Star Line on 27th May that year. The ship was 233.6’ long, 37.3’ wide with a speed of 12 knots and gross tonnage of 1273. She was powered by two steam driven engines serving twin three bladed props that each had a diameter of 5.9 feet. ‘Nomadic’ was in attendance on the departure for Liverpool on the 31^st May 1911 of ‘Olympic’ whose Chief Engineer was Joseph Bell, the same day as ‘Titanic’ was launched.

‘Nomadic’ and her sister-ship ‘Traffic’ were built to ferry the passengers embarking on transatlantic voyages from Cherbourg out to the awaiting liners lying off the coast. In particular ‘Nomadic’ and ‘Traffic’ were built to service the three new White Star Line liners: ‘Olympic’, ‘Titanic’ and ‘Britannic’. Nomadic was built to carry the more wealthy 1st and 2nd class passengers and was fitted out accordingly, ‘Traffic’ carried the third class passengers and all of the mail, all these liners were awarded the prestigious R.M.S. title. On 10th April 1912 the Nomadic took on-board 172 passengers and carried them out to the awaiting ‘Titanic’, more poignantly she also returned 24 passengers to Cherbourg, how fortunate those 24 individuals.  The advent of WW1 brought to a halt the transatlantic trade, and in 1917 ‘Nomadic’ relocated to Brest where she was subsequently used to move American soldiers around the coast of France.

This small tender Titanic’s little sister survived both world wars, has had three shipping line owners and in 1974 became a floating restaurant on the river Seine, Paris. After this venture failed the owner was forced to put her up for auction. On 26th January 2006 she was bought by the Dept of Social Development for Northern Ireland for 250,000 Euros and was returning home to Belfast after a period of 95 years where she has been restored to her former glory.

Titanic-themed hotel plan for disused Liverpool building

Albion House in Liverpool could become a Titanic-themed apartment hotel

A disused building in Liverpool could be turned into a Titanic-themed hotel.

Albion House, a Grade-II listed building on The Strand, Liverpool, was once the headquarters of White Star Line, operators of the cruise liner which sank in 1912.

Developers Signature Living have acquired the building and hope to develop it as an apartment hotel.

Work could begin in October if planning permission is granted by the council.

Empty for decades

Hundreds of people gathered outside Albion House when the Titanic sank, desperate for news about their relatives.

The building has lain empty for decades.

The developers want to turn it into a 350-bed hotel with a gym, bar and restaurant.

Liverpool already has a floating Titanic-themed hotel moored in Albert Dock.