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

Three million iron & steel rivets were used in the construction of S.S. Titanic, themselves weighing 1.200 tons. This steel divot stamped on the head with “S.S. Titanic 1912”, was scrap metal being a steel plug pressed out of the hull plate hydraulically for the rivet to be inserted into the hole at a later stage.

Divots like the one illustrated here, were fragments from the construction of Titanic, many were taken as souvenirs by shipyard workers of which many felt a deep sense of shame and grief subsequent to the sinking of R.M.S. Titanic in 1912. A divot similar to the one illustrated here accompanied by a letter of provenance, was sold this year in Boston for the sum of $3,600.00

On this one hundred and second anniversary of the sinking of R.M.S. Titanic  on April 15th 1912, it is interesting to see this example of the recognition awarded by the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society in 1912, to Doctor Frank Edward McGee of R.M.S. Carpathia. The illustrated award reads as follows:

“Liverpool Shipwreck & Humane Society  Incorporated November 2nd 1888.

At a meeting of the Committee of the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society held at the Underwriters Room, Exchange Buildings, Liverpool, on the fourth day of July 1912.

It was Resolved Unanimously that the best thanks be presented to Doctor Frank Edward McGee of the “R.M.S. Carpathia” for

Praiseworthy and Humane service to the survivors of the  “R.M.S. Titanic” which foundered on April 15th 1912″

There will be on the 26th of April 2014 at 2.00 pm, at Farlam, Cumbria, the birthplace of Joseph Bell, a commemorative  service to celebrate the completed conservation of his gravestone memorial to which all are welcome.

Liverpool Shipwreck & Humane Society

The Appeal launched in April 2013 for funds to conserve the only memorial in Cumbria to the Titanic Chief Engineer Joseph Bell, in Farlam, have enabled the conservation work  to be undertaken, with a commemoration service celebrating this to be held at the gravestone memorial, on Saturday the 26th of April, at 2.00 pm, to which all are welcome.

The re-lettered memorial stone is cleaned and sealed for future generations.  Access to the location of the memorial in the Old Graveyard at St Thomas a Becket Church is now signposted, with attached  acrylic ‘QR’ code for information about Joseph Bell, a new stone plaque at the entrance  to the Old Graveyard, and a new access footpath has been established for visitors. It is hoped to add in the future an additional  information point for visitors.

The Appeal organisers Ann Freer & Barrie Hodgson thank all donors for their collective contributions that have enabled the work to be undertaken, in honouring a Cumbrian hero who, 102 years ago on the 15th of April 1912, died along with his brave fellow Engineers aboard R.M.S. Titanic. The following is engraved on his memorial:

“NO GREATER LOVE HATH MAN THAN THIS. THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS”

“A life sized replica of the Titanic will become the centrepiece of a landlocked theme park, which will feature a museum and a shipwreck simulation to give visitors a sense of the 1912 disaster.  The Chinese  version of  “the unsinkable ship” is expected to cost a billion yuan, will be built  930 miles from the nearest ocean in the central province  of Sichuan and is due to open in 2016″

If it was necessary to reprint titles like ‘The Theory of Random Clumping’ it could be a risky decision to make, but it was not so with the title ‘Tarn to Titanic: Life & Times of Joseph Bell Chief Engineer’ that has simply flown off the shelves.  It has been reprinted this month to satisfy many more requests for the book and before it sells out again, you can order your copy from the sources as set out on this website, or in addition you could order a signed copy with a message if you wanted at no extra charge from:

Ann Freer [JB],

Farlam House, Farlam,

Cumbria CA8 ILA

bgfreer@mac.com for further information about supply and payment details.