Remembering Titanic
by Nics
Today we remember the 1,512 victims who died in the ice when The Titanic hit the iceberg, 100 years ago on April 15, 1912.
In 1911, Belfast had the largest shipyard in the world and the largest dry dock (pictured above). It makes for no surprise then that the largest ship in the world at that time - The Titanic - was built in Belfast's Fair City.
As I walked around the dry dock today a clanging of metal rang through the chilled April air. Clang. Clang. Clang. That hollow ringing sound of steel hitting steel. As I heard that sound vibrate & bounce around the dry dock, I closed my eyes and thought of the men who nailed rivets into Titanic. The surcers, the carpenters, the drawers, the welders, the painters, the joiners and the others. The thousands of men who worked on that ship. Who took pride in her creation. Who's hearts broke when she sank.
I think of those scared & alone, slipping beneath the ice.
I sang with the Belfast Community Gospel Choir today in Titanic Belfast, an immense interactive museum dedicated to the building of the ship & the men who built her. We sang a gospel version of 'Nearer My God to Thee' in remembrance of those who died. It is the piece of music that was allegedly played as the ship sank.
Titanic Belfast is a funky building. Modern yet majestic in equal measure. From the air it looks like a white star with four points. Each point is the tip of a bow. Four replicas of the bows of the Titanic form the structure of the building. These bows are huge. And the ship itself I heard a guide say would have sat another two times above them. Standing beside the building, I am immediately dwarfed by the huge structure, and I feel it really does give a physical representation, and feeling of what it would have been like to stand by the bow of the ship 100 years ago.
It was a vast vessel.
Standing below the walls of Titanic Belfast made me feel very small & helped to me remember, those that died & those that built the ship.
What are you remembering today?
Phones taken by iPhone
That's it for now...
Nics
Salt & Sparkle = Life Remarkable
Reader Comments (4)
Wow, this brought me to tears. I had never even stopped to consider the men who built the Titanic, how they were feeling when the news reached them. I enjoyed reading this and looking at your pictures.
Thank you for your comment Margaret, I am honoured that my writing moved you.
There is something remarkable about the Belfast Shipyards. I often imagine what it would have been like to live in this city in the middle of the industrial ship building boom. Thousands of men worked in the shipyards in their boom years, and most of the city, was proud of their achievements. Proud of Titanic. When that vast ship sunk, and the news was reported back to Belfast, it is said that the streets went deathily quiet.
I loved this post. Titanic holds a special place in my heart. You know I have to claim the truth. I never got it before, I mean I knew the tragedy, but it was before my time and I found it sad but that was about all. When James Cameron's Titanic movie first came out I finally got it. The desperation all of those souls must have felt knowing that death was coming and there was nothing to be done about it. There is a TITANIC museum here in TN that holds a lot of memorabilia and artifacts from that fated voyage. I have been there a couple of times and love it. I would love to see this ship yard in person, but until I can I want to THANK YOU oh so much for taking pics!
Amy, thank you for your really kind comments. I hope that you do get to visit Belfast some day, and see the shipyards and docks where Titanic was built, it truly is an amazing sight!