Council Commemorates Titanic

Belfast City Council is holding a commemoration of the sinking of the doomed Titanic vessel in the capital today.

Friday marks the 99th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and a simple ceremony commemorating all those who lost their lives that fateful night will take place at the Titanic Memorial in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.

This event is hosted by the Belfast Titanic Society, who are also holding an International Convention this May.

A spokesman for the society said: "As the 100th anniversary of the Launch of Titanic approaches, we would like to invite anyone with an interest in the Titanic story, especially those who have never been to Belfast, to come to celebrate this event with us.

"We are all preparing, in our own way, to remember and commemorate the sinking of Titanic in 2012 but the launch gives us here in Belfast a chance to celebrate the skill and craftsmanship of our shipyards and to proclaim our pride in our maritime history."

The convention begins on Friday May 27 and includes select dinners, wine receptions and dances.

Today, a noon, a simple ceremony will remember all those people – and especially the 28 men from Belfast – who lost their lives on 15 April 1912.

The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Pat Convery, will join John Andrews, President of the Belfast Titanic Society, to lay wreaths at the Titanic Memorial in the City Hall grounds.

Following the wreath-laying, a minute's silence will be observed and prayers will be said.

When Titanic left Belfast, on board were nine men from the Harland and Wolff Guarantee Group, led by the ship’s designer, Thomas Andrews.

They were some of the shipyard's finest engineers, travelling to address any problems which may have arisen on the ship’s maiden voyage to New York.

Unfortunately, all nine men – along with some 1,500 other souls – lost their lives on the night.

In addition to Thomas Andrews, the Guarantee Group was made up of William Campbell, an apprentice joiner; Roderick Chisholm, the chief draughtsman at Harland and Wolff and a man who would have known Titanic almost as well as Andrews; Alfred Cunningham, an apprentice fitter; Artie Frost, a foreman fitter; Robert Knight, a leading hand fitter; Frank Parkes, an apprentice plumber; William Parr, assistant manager of Harland and Wolff's electrical department; and Ennis Watson, an apprentice electrician.

As well as the Guarantee Group, the memorial contains the names of 13 other Belfast men – all of them members of Titanic's crew - who went down with the ship: Joseph Beattie, Hugh Calderwood, Henry Creese, Albert Ervine, Hugh Fitzpatrick, Herbert Harvey, Matthew Leonard, William McQuillan, William McReynolds, Thomas Millar, Archibald Scott, John Simpson and Richard Turley.

Today's service also will remember six other men - J Blaney, John Harper, James Heslim, Thomas Morrow, James McGrady and W Swann - whose names were not known when the memorial was commissioned and so are missing from it.

The memorial - depicting the female figure of Thane looking down on two sea-nymphs rising from the waves with the body a drowned seaman in their arms - was first unveiled in June 1920, having been paid for by public subscription.

Originally located in Donegall Square North, it was moved to its present location, on the eastern side of the City Hall grounds, in March 1960.

(DW/BMcC)