:00:45. > :00:50.We're here at the Titanic Belfast visitors' centre to commemorate the
:00:50. > :00:56.sinking of the famous liner, Titanic, and a ships sailed from
:00:56. > :01:00.here into history, into tragedy, a journey so horrific that at first,
:01:00. > :01:05.no one can believe the death toll. More than 1,500 perished in the
:01:05. > :01:09.North Atlantic when the vessel sank on its maiden voyage to New York.
:01:09. > :01:15.It was the largest, most luxurious liner in the world and it was built
:01:15. > :01:20.right here, in the city's shipyard. The Titanic was built in Belfast
:01:20. > :01:24.when the city was at the height of its industrial powers. It was one
:01:24. > :01:30.of three liners, described as Olympic class, designed to be the
:01:30. > :01:34.biggest and most luxurious of all transatlantic ships. The Titanic
:01:34. > :01:41.left the shipyard in Belfast at the beginning of April in 1912, bound
:01:41. > :01:45.for Southampton, the start of its first and last voyage. After
:01:45. > :01:50.calling at Cherbourg and Cobh, it steamed westwards for New York,
:01:50. > :01:57.with more than 2000 passengers and crew. Four days into the crossing,
:01:57. > :02:00.not long before midnight, it hit an iceberg. The whole was torn open.
:02:00. > :02:07.Over the next two and a half hours, the vessel filled with water and
:02:07. > :02:12.sank. More than 1,500 people died. Just over 700, mainly women and
:02:12. > :02:17.children, made it to safety in the lifeboats. The Titanic was reported
:02:17. > :02:24.to be unthinkable, so what happened that night shocked the world. Over
:02:24. > :02:27.the next 100 word -- 100 years, this iconic of ambition and
:02:27. > :02:32.engineering expertise never released its grip on the public's
:02:32. > :02:37.imagination. With as we have William Blair from
:02:37. > :02:40.National Museums Northern Ireland. He curated the major Titanic
:02:40. > :02:45.exhibition and is Head of Human History. What is it about this
:02:45. > :02:51.prejudice that still touches people? Fundamentally, it's because
:02:51. > :02:55.it's an incredibly powerful story. As a story, it has everything.
:02:55. > :03:01.Elements of great tragedy, hubris over-confidence, nemesis,
:03:01. > :03:04.retribution, but it is an incredibly powerful human story.
:03:04. > :03:08.The ship is a microcosm of the world at that time and we can see
:03:08. > :03:13.all sorts of human stories being played out threat the story of
:03:13. > :03:19.Titanic. We made an emotional and imaginative connection to those
:03:19. > :03:24.stories and they continue to move us today. In 1912, what was the
:03:24. > :03:31.reaction to the disaster, given that this was a boat that was
:03:31. > :03:38.reported to be unthinkable? reaction was one of disbelief and
:03:38. > :03:42.enormous shark. Titanic happened in an age when we had a mass media. It
:03:42. > :03:47.was the first global story of that kind of significance and impact.
:03:47. > :03:51.The ripples went right across the world. People were stunned. There
:03:51. > :03:56.was a tremendous outpouring of sorrow and grief at the time.
:03:56. > :04:00.People simply could not get enough news. They were voracious in their
:04:00. > :04:08.appetite for news. They wanted to understand every aspect of the
:04:08. > :04:14.story. The news media at the time thought to meet that interest.
:04:14. > :04:18.Not everyone died on the Titanic. 705 people escape with their lives.
:04:18. > :04:22.Over the years, the BBC has recorded interviews with some of
:04:22. > :04:29.the survivors. One of the most vivid accounts came from Frank
:04:29. > :04:33.Prentice, a 22-year-old storekeeper. We had orders to get the lifeboats
:04:33. > :04:40.out. The same old order, women and children. We swung me live bowled
:04:40. > :04:44.out -- lifeboats out and filled them up. Some of them did not have
:04:44. > :04:48.many passengers on board, they were afraid to go down and they did not
:04:48. > :04:57.think she was going to sink. Before I got my life belt on, I met a
:04:57. > :05:01.young couple and I can tell you her name, it was Mrs Clark. They had
:05:01. > :05:06.spent their honeymoon in France and we had picked them about Cherbourg.
:05:06. > :05:11.She was having trouble with her life belt. I fixed but on to her
:05:11. > :05:16.and I said, I think you had better get into a lifeboat. There was one
:05:16. > :05:20.on the port side. She said no, I don't want to go without my husband.
:05:20. > :05:27.I said, it is just a precautionary measure. Your husband will follow
:05:27. > :05:34.later on. And I thought, well, I had done all I possibly could, I
:05:34. > :05:39.help them all I could and I thought, I will go up and go on to the
:05:39. > :05:43.perfect. I was getting higher and higher in the air and I thought, I
:05:43. > :05:48.will drop in. I had a life belt on. I hit the water with a terrific
:05:48. > :05:55.crack. Luckily, I didn't hit anything. There were bodies all
:05:55. > :06:01.over the place. I looked up at the Titanic. The propellers were right
:06:01. > :06:07.out of the water, the rudder was right charged. I could see the
:06:07. > :06:16.bottom. Gradually, she glided away and that was that, that was the
:06:16. > :06:24.last of the Titanic. By grace of God, I came across a lifeboat and
:06:25. > :06:31.they pulled me in. I sat on the seats and I was sat next to Mrs
:06:31. > :06:38.Clark. It was the girl I had put into a lifeboat. The first thing
:06:38. > :06:44.she said, have you seen my husband? I said, no, I haven't. I expect he
:06:44. > :06:49.will be all right. I was in a pretty bad way then, as you can
:06:50. > :06:56.imagine. I was frozen solid almost. She wrapped me round with her cloak.
:06:56. > :07:06.She had at like it or cloak. She probably saved my life, I don't
:07:06. > :07:07.
:07:07. > :07:12.know. I saved her us. I might have died.
:07:12. > :07:15.The wreck of the Titanic was finally found in 1985. It was a
:07:15. > :07:21.French American expedition and one of the leaders, Professor Robert
:07:21. > :07:28.Ballard, is with us this morning. What was it -- was it like finding
:07:28. > :07:32.a needle in a haystack? Yes, it was a very large search area, about 150
:07:32. > :07:37.square miles. There was a canyon that ran through the area. That
:07:37. > :07:42.made it more difficult. Normally you would search with sonar of but
:07:42. > :07:45.it could have been hiding in the canyon. We searched for a debris
:07:45. > :07:52.and that led us to the Titanic. Initially, it was for scientific
:07:52. > :07:56.reasons, was it? We had a military operation going on simultaneously.
:07:56. > :08:01.The Titanic was to drop the public attention away from the other work
:08:01. > :08:05.as I was a naval intelligence officer. We were also looking for
:08:05. > :08:10.nuclear submarines that we lost during the Cold War. It was a
:08:10. > :08:17.double mission. Even though it was that sort of an expedition, there
:08:17. > :08:27.must have been a. Where there was an emotional attachment? Yes --
:08:27. > :08:37.there must have been a point. can actually lower gut some of the
:08:37. > :08:37.
:08:37. > :08:45.pictures. When you saw that, Peter Harte star Japan? -- did you a hard
:08:45. > :08:50.start to power and? My initial reaction was one of joy and
:08:50. > :08:59.satisfaction. Someone looked after Clarke right after we founded, it
:08:59. > :09:07.was 2 o'clock in the morning. -- someone looked at the clock. Did it
:09:07. > :09:15.surprise you? I was surprised at the state of preservation. It did
:09:15. > :09:23.not look like a red you would see in shallow water. We were able to
:09:24. > :09:28.read the manufacturer's names, we could read so many things. Things
:09:28. > :09:33.like, first-class entrance, throughout the ship. The deeper you
:09:33. > :09:40.go, the more preserved it is. The light fixtures are still hanging
:09:40. > :09:46.from the sailing. You can look in the Maras. It is a museum. Our goal
:09:46. > :09:51.is to protect the boat. Because it is now 100 years old, it falls
:09:51. > :09:56.under UNESCO's heritage site. Because it has survived 100 years
:09:56. > :10:01.it has more protection. One of the few floating links with
:10:01. > :10:06.the Titanic is mature. The Nomadic was built in Belfast by Harland &
:10:06. > :10:10.Wolff and based in Cherbourg. Its job was to very first and second-
:10:10. > :10:16.class passengers out to the White Star Liners calling at the port,
:10:16. > :10:22.including the Titanic. Since then it has had a chequered history and
:10:22. > :10:28.a torturous route back to Belfast. This is a piece of maritime history
:10:28. > :10:37.been restored to its old glory after 100 years. The steamship
:10:37. > :10:41.Nomadic was built by Harland & Wolff and launched in 1911 to
:10:41. > :10:46.attend the luxury passenger ships of the White Star Line. It took
:10:46. > :10:52.French passengers on board the Titanic. During both world wars, it
:10:52. > :10:57.saw service as a carrier for Allied forces. It also continued to be
:10:57. > :11:03.used as a tender until being sold into private ownership in the 1960s.
:11:03. > :11:06.Six years ago, The Nomadic was in danger of being lost for ever. Its
:11:07. > :11:11.appearance had changed. The upper deck and final had been removed to
:11:11. > :11:17.enable it to pass under the bridges of powers, where its last roll had
:11:17. > :11:23.been as a restaurant. The scrapyard beckoned until the Northern Ireland
:11:23. > :11:27.Executive Bob The Nomadic at auction and transported its to
:11:28. > :11:32.Belfast for a restoration job now in its final stages. It now sits in
:11:32. > :11:37.Hamilton dry., its permanent resting place, a cross from the
:11:37. > :11:42.Titanic visitor attraction. Specialist work will condense --
:11:42. > :11:47.comments on its interior shortly. We then the boat were the original
:11:47. > :11:54.panels, particularly the first and second-class wall panels, which we
:11:54. > :11:57.can trace back. As well as that, The Nomadic Preservation Society
:11:57. > :12:05.have been able to buy back or regional panels. They have given
:12:05. > :12:09.those back to the trust to restore. The idea is to connect paying
:12:09. > :12:14.customers to an age when Belfast was shipbuilder to the world.
:12:14. > :12:19.A fascination with the wreck of the ship happened more or less
:12:19. > :12:26.immediately when the liner sank in the North Atlantic, for calamitous
:12:26. > :12:30.down. It was not discovered until 1985. That was because of
:12:30. > :12:36.technological and cost difficulties. There have been many dives since
:12:36. > :12:43.then. One was in 2005 and in the submarine was prone diver Rory
:12:43. > :12:47.Golden and BBC correspondent, Mike McKimm. -- Professor of diver.
:12:47. > :12:52.This is what I have got to go into the Titanic in. It is an amazing
:12:52. > :12:59.piece of equipment but it is very small. The Russians launched their
:12:59. > :13:04.submarines over the side rather than over the stern. They say it
:13:04. > :13:10.makes it easier to recover in bad weather. Space is limited inside.
:13:10. > :13:18.It is just two metres in diameter her. Three people share the space
:13:18. > :13:23.for up to 12 bars, -- 12 hours, along with all of the equipment.
:13:23. > :13:28.What looks like rocks are in fact lumps of coal at that fell from one
:13:28. > :13:32.of the coal bunkers once the Titanica split up. We managed to
:13:32. > :13:37.hit the bottom three times before we could level the submarine.
:13:37. > :13:41.Anxious moments, and not the best thing to do at this debt. It is
:13:41. > :13:48.pitch black at the bottom and lights can only eliminate a few
:13:48. > :13:54.dozen metres. With auction and -- oxygen and battery power limited,
:13:54. > :14:04.time cannot be wasted. Then, the sonar picks up an astonishing sight.
:14:04. > :14:08.
:14:08. > :14:14.You know the ship in ways that so few of us can even imagine. Few
:14:14. > :14:19.have been within centimetres of the Titanic. Take us off from top-to-
:14:19. > :14:24.bottom of the Titanic. When you come to the ship, we approach her
:14:24. > :14:31.coming up to the bow because it is the safest area, there is not much
:14:31. > :14:36.wreckage and debris, so we see it in all its majesty. You can't go
:14:37. > :14:42.anywhere else. Then we went up high to avoid cranes and this sort of
:14:42. > :14:48.things. All of the bits and pieces hanging from it. The railings are
:14:48. > :14:55.still in remarkable condition. Just out of sight to the top right is a
:14:55. > :15:00.big crane used to lift the spare anchor. These other chains from the
:15:00. > :15:05.actual and Kath. We are looking now at the winches that would have
:15:05. > :15:14.hoisted goods in and out from the cranes. Now we are looking at the
:15:14. > :15:19.base of the main mast that It felt right over but remarkably,
:15:19. > :15:23.we are about to see something that brings back the memory of what
:15:23. > :15:29.happened on the evening, because now we are approaching the lookout,
:15:29. > :15:33.the Crow's nest, where Frederick Fleet, the lookout, saw in the dark
:15:33. > :15:39.at the last minute the iceberg and he rang the bell three times,
:15:39. > :15:46.picked up the telephone, and you can probably see the cable from the
:15:46. > :15:50.telephone there. He rang the bridge and said, I spoke ahead. If the
:15:50. > :16:00.sides of the ship have become more recognisable with its own story to
:16:00. > :16:03.
:16:03. > :16:08.When we went along the promenade deck, we dropped down the side of
:16:08. > :16:13.the ship and you can see the portholes there. Look at the light.
:16:13. > :16:18.That was a very scary moment, a shining light. That happened
:16:18. > :16:24.frequently. It's makes the hairs on the back of your neck come up. We
:16:24. > :16:29.are now coming up from the seabed, creeping back up. It is remarkable
:16:29. > :16:35.condition at the bottom of the sea bed. And finally to the engine. The
:16:35. > :16:42.ship broke in two. This is very badly damaged, this bit. If you
:16:42. > :16:48.look at this picture Bob le Brocq a massive entanglement. -- this
:16:48. > :16:55.picture up.... Many people do not like going up here because of this
:16:55. > :17:01.entanglement. We spent five hours there. You do not see the time
:17:01. > :17:08.going. And a journey that has left an indelible mark on you.
:17:08. > :17:15.Absolutely. It won't go away. A particularly poignant Service was
:17:15. > :17:19.held in the North Atlantic on board the Balmoral to mark the centenary.
:17:19. > :17:25.Descendants and enthusiasts were on board and the voyage is retracing
:17:26. > :17:30.the route of the maiden trip and at exactly the precise moment the
:17:30. > :17:33.Titanic went down, a service was held.
:17:33. > :17:41.Thousands of metres directly above the wreck of the Titanic, another
:17:41. > :17:47.ship stopped to remember what happened in April, 1912.
:17:47. > :17:52.TANNOY: Ladies and gentlemen. We are gathered here to commemorate
:17:52. > :17:58.one of the most momentous occasions in maritime history. At this very
:17:58. > :18:06.place in the North Atlantic, exactly 100 years ago, the world's
:18:06. > :18:14.largest ship, Titanic, hit an iceberg. It might be because people
:18:14. > :18:18.know it is exactly 100 years since Titanic sank but at this point
:18:18. > :18:23.there is an eerie quiet over the ship. You see the lifeboats and you
:18:23. > :18:28.think, for some people, they were getting help but when you look out,
:18:28. > :18:33.you realise how isolated they must have felt. You see nothing but
:18:33. > :18:43.darkness. The sea is out there, you can hear the waves, but there is
:18:43. > :18:43.
:18:43. > :18:50.just nothing. ABIDE WITH ME a two separate
:18:50. > :18:54.services had to be held inside the bar more to accommodate -- inside
:18:54. > :19:03.the Balmoral to accommodate all of the well-wishers.
:19:03. > :19:08.Together, they mourned for ancestors they had never known and
:19:08. > :19:12.strangers they could never meet. remember the families torn apart by
:19:12. > :19:16.this tragedy. Mothers separated from their children, husbands
:19:16. > :19:20.pulled from their loved ones as calamity struck, and we remember
:19:20. > :19:29.with pride the acts of courage, the inspiring selflessness and
:19:29. > :19:34.sacrifice of those who gave their lives that others might live.
:19:34. > :19:38.are 1300 passengers on the Balmoral. That is about the same number who
:19:38. > :19:42.were on the Titanic. Around the decks, this did together in the
:19:42. > :19:48.bracing cold and at the stern, the flag of the White Star Line was
:19:48. > :19:53.flown once more. This ship had traced the root of the Titanic to
:19:53. > :20:02.the site of the thinking. There its SAT, swaying side by side in the
:20:03. > :20:07.ocean by another vessel, that had travelled from New York. Therefore
:20:07. > :20:11.we shall not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall
:20:11. > :20:18.into the heart of the sea. This was to mark the moment the ship's
:20:18. > :20:25.finally sank below the surface of the water. In the Name Of the
:20:25. > :20:31.Father, the Sun and the Holy spirit. Amen. Three and wreath were blessed
:20:31. > :20:41.and carved into the Atlantic, a tribute to the 1500 victims who
:20:41. > :20:47.
:20:47. > :20:53.died there. -- cast into the Walking down has just bought it so
:20:53. > :21:02.close to mind, how 100 years ago so many people lost their lives, and
:21:03. > :21:09.in particular I am thinking of the 900 group of people that came from
:21:09. > :21:13.Belfast and none of whom survived. And it was at the very place that
:21:13. > :21:21.the lives and ship was lost forever that people make sure they will be
:21:21. > :21:27.remembered. For many, the Titanic is a story of
:21:27. > :21:30.heroes, villains, cowardice and bravery. Thomas Andrew was a young
:21:30. > :21:36.naval architect from County Down who helped design the Titanic and
:21:36. > :21:45.then perished as she sank. He left behind a young wife and a child. I
:21:45. > :21:50.have had unique access to some of He became a hero of all Titanic
:21:50. > :21:55.heroes. Gallant to the end. Once he realised that the ship was doomed,
:21:55. > :22:01.at Thomas Andrews met his fate briefly, giving up his own life to
:22:01. > :22:11.save other men's wives and children. That night, his own wife, Helene,
:22:11. > :22:12.
:22:12. > :22:17.slept oblivious to the horror She never really spoke about it.
:22:17. > :22:23.She never mentioned the tragedy but on one occasion I was talking to
:22:23. > :22:29.her, and she said that she hoped that the wreck would be left as a
:22:29. > :22:35.memorial to all the people who died on the ship. 100 years on and I
:22:35. > :22:38.have come to meet her youngest child. Now in her late 80s, Vera
:22:38. > :22:43.Morrison can reveal for the first time wonderful memories and stories
:22:43. > :22:49.about the woman who captured not damage the heart of the Thomas
:22:49. > :22:53.Andrews but also her father's, another joint in the world of
:22:53. > :22:58.shipbuilding, Henry from Hollande and waltz. They would have known
:22:58. > :23:03.each other well. -- Harland and Wolff. Both had courted Melly who
:23:03. > :23:07.came from another prosperous families. Nellie could not decide
:23:07. > :23:17.on which man-to-man three until her mother made her choose. She picked
:23:17. > :23:21.Thomas. -- which man to marry. In 1906, Thomas proposed. By all
:23:21. > :23:29.accounts, Nellie was stunned into silence and did not give him the
:23:29. > :23:33.answer he was hoping for. "I cannot tell you how much it grieves me to
:23:33. > :23:40.think I frightened you last night. You acted wisely when you had any
:23:40. > :23:45.doubts. I am to blame alone. You'll ever affectionate and loving friend,
:23:45. > :23:53.Thomas Andrews.". Eventually, she got a her shock and agreed to marry
:23:53. > :24:01.Thomas. -- got over her shock. is my mother's engagement ring.
:24:01. > :24:07.This is priceless when it comes to sentimental value. I think so.
:24:07. > :24:12.years after their wedding, they had a baby daughter. However little did
:24:12. > :24:17.they know that very soon they are happy world would come to an end,
:24:17. > :24:22.shattered by Titanic and Thomas's loss. Nellie was heartbroken but
:24:22. > :24:29.chose not to focus on her own grief but on the grief of others. She was
:24:29. > :24:37.totally devastated and she was so very fond of Thomas's parents, she
:24:37. > :24:42.described them as being a second mother and father to her, and she
:24:42. > :24:49.was just trying to console them. When she herself must have been
:24:49. > :24:54.devastated. But the story doesn't end there. Despite a broken heart,
:24:54. > :25:00.five years after Thomas's death, nearly would marry again, to none
:25:00. > :25:07.other than her old suitor, Henry Hollande. They went on to have four
:25:07. > :25:11.children. But it was only as an adult that Vera began to realise
:25:11. > :25:16.the important connection to Titanic and to her mother's first husband,
:25:16. > :25:22.Thomas Andrews. He told my mother that when they were dropping out of
:25:22. > :25:30.the shipyard one day together, the workers were coming out and he said,
:25:30. > :25:36.these are my mates. He was so very popular and dearly loved, I think.
:25:36. > :25:41.By so many people. A new memorial garden has been
:25:41. > :25:45.unveiled in the grounds of Belfast City Hall. It is being billed as
:25:45. > :25:52.the first memorial to feature the definitive list of all of those who
:25:52. > :25:59.died on the Titanic. Loving heavenly Father, we come together
:25:59. > :26:09.to remember this day in history, the foundering of RMS Titanic. With
:26:09. > :26:09.
:26:09. > :26:16.such tragic loss of life. The loss of more than 1500 men, women and
:26:16. > :26:24.children, of diverse nationalities and backgrounds. We remember those
:26:24. > :26:34.whose vision, whose dream, was of the largest ocean liner the world
:26:34. > :26:34.
:26:35. > :26:42.had ever seen. We reflect upon the bravery and heroism of so many, who
:26:42. > :26:50.did all they humanly could to help others to safety. Greater love hath
:26:50. > :26:57.no man than this that Amman laid down his life for his friend --
:26:57. > :27:05.that a man lay down his life. As we behold the Titanic memorial and the
:27:05. > :27:12.memorial garden, we remember all those who perished and whose names
:27:12. > :27:22.are here Rim inscribed. In the permanence of granite, marble and
:27:22. > :27:42.
:27:42. > :27:46.stone, maybe there be a permanence Here in the North Atlantic
:27:46. > :27:51.surrounded by the sea, this has been a day of reflection,
:27:51. > :27:55.particularly for those passengers who do have direct family
:27:55. > :28:03.connections with the Titanic. Your great grandfather, Tommy, perished
:28:03. > :28:09.on that ship. Coming back to that point where the wreckage lies, why
:28:09. > :28:14.was it so important and has it been worth it? It is a million times
:28:14. > :28:20.worth it. Closure is an over-used term these days but I think it
:28:20. > :28:25.really does apply here. It was a feeling of finally paying respect
:28:25. > :28:31.to a man whose story represents so many that were lost on Titanic and
:28:31. > :28:37.his body was never recovered, so to be able to come to his last resting
:28:37. > :28:41.place and to take part in such a significant ceremony... And as the
:28:41. > :28:47.flowers were thrown into the water above the wreckage site, what was
:28:47. > :28:52.the atmosphere like? It was eerie. It was nearly like a funeral but
:28:52. > :28:57.for the young lads to through the wreath overboard was a fitting
:28:57. > :29:03.tribute. It was just perfect relief. It couldn't have been better
:29:03. > :29:07.organised. It just felt so right of stopped thank you. The voyage for
:29:07. > :29:11.these passengers continue. They will head on to Nova Scotia where
:29:11. > :29:15.the graves of some of those who died still ride and after that they
:29:15. > :29:19.will head to New York, the destination that the Titanic never