Titanic Centenary

We're here at the Titanic Belfast visitors' centre to commemorate the

sinking of the famous liner, Titanic, and a ships sailed from

here into history, into tragedy, a journey so horrific that at first,

no one can believe the death toll. More than 1,500 perished in the

North Atlantic when the vessel sank on its maiden voyage to New York.

It was the largest, most luxurious liner in the world and it was built

right here, in the city's shipyard. The Titanic was built in Belfast

when the city was at the height of its industrial powers. It was one

of three liners, described as Olympic class, designed to be the

biggest and most luxurious of all transatlantic ships. The Titanic

left the shipyard in Belfast at the beginning of April in 1912, bound

for Southampton, the start of its first and last voyage. After

calling at Cherbourg and Cobh, it steamed westwards for New York,

with more than 2000 passengers and crew. Four days into the crossing,

not long before midnight, it hit an iceberg. The whole was torn open.

Over the next two and a half hours, the vessel filled with water and

sank. More than 1,500 people died. Just over 700, mainly women and

children, made it to safety in the lifeboats. The Titanic was reported

to be unthinkable, so what happened that night shocked the world. Over

the next 100 word -- 100 years, this iconic of ambition and

engineering expertise never released its grip on the public's

imagination. With as we have William Blair from

National Museums Northern Ireland. He curated the major Titanic

exhibition and is Head of Human History. What is it about this

prejudice that still touches people? Fundamentally, it's because

it's an incredibly powerful story. As a story, it has everything.

Elements of great tragedy, hubris over-confidence, nemesis,

retribution, but it is an incredibly powerful human story.

The ship is a microcosm of the world at that time and we can see

all sorts of human stories being played out threat the story of

Titanic. We made an emotional and imaginative connection to those

stories and they continue to move us today. In 1912, what was the

reaction to the disaster, given that this was a boat that was

reported to be unthinkable? reaction was one of disbelief and

enormous shark. Titanic happened in an age when we had a mass media. It

was the first global story of that kind of significance and impact.

The ripples went right across the world. People were stunned. There

was a tremendous outpouring of sorrow and grief at the time.

People simply could not get enough news. They were voracious in their

appetite for news. They wanted to understand every aspect of the

story. The news media at the time thought to meet that interest.

Not everyone died on the Titanic. 705 people escape with their lives.

Over the years, the BBC has recorded interviews with some of

the survivors. One of the most vivid accounts came from Frank

Prentice, a 22-year-old storekeeper. We had orders to get the lifeboats

out. The same old order, women and children. We swung me live bowled

out -- lifeboats out and filled them up. Some of them did not have

many passengers on board, they were afraid to go down and they did not

think she was going to sink. Before I got my life belt on, I met a

young couple and I can tell you her name, it was Mrs Clark. They had

spent their honeymoon in France and we had picked them about Cherbourg.

She was having trouble with her life belt. I fixed but on to her

and I said, I think you had better get into a lifeboat. There was one

on the port side. She said no, I don't want to go without my husband.

I said, it is just a precautionary measure. Your husband will follow

later on. And I thought, well, I had done all I possibly could, I

help them all I could and I thought, I will go up and go on to the

perfect. I was getting higher and higher in the air and I thought, I

will drop in. I had a life belt on. I hit the water with a terrific

crack. Luckily, I didn't hit anything. There were bodies all

over the place. I looked up at the Titanic. The propellers were right

out of the water, the rudder was right charged. I could see the

bottom. Gradually, she glided away and that was that, that was the

last of the Titanic. By grace of God, I came across a lifeboat and

they pulled me in. I sat on the seats and I was sat next to Mrs

Clark. It was the girl I had put into a lifeboat. The first thing

she said, have you seen my husband? I said, no, I haven't. I expect he

will be all right. I was in a pretty bad way then, as you can

imagine. I was frozen solid almost. She wrapped me round with her cloak.

She had at like it or cloak. She probably saved my life, I don't

know. I saved her us. I might have died.

The wreck of the Titanic was finally found in 1985. It was a

French American expedition and one of the leaders, Professor Robert

Ballard, is with us this morning. What was it -- was it like finding

a needle in a haystack? Yes, it was a very large search area, about 150

square miles. There was a canyon that ran through the area. That

made it more difficult. Normally you would search with sonar of but

it could have been hiding in the canyon. We searched for a debris

and that led us to the Titanic. Initially, it was for scientific

reasons, was it? We had a military operation going on simultaneously.

The Titanic was to drop the public attention away from the other work

as I was a naval intelligence officer. We were also looking for

nuclear submarines that we lost during the Cold War. It was a

double mission. Even though it was that sort of an expedition, there

must have been a. Where there was an emotional attachment? Yes --

there must have been a point. can actually lower gut some of the

pictures. When you saw that, Peter Harte star Japan? -- did you a hard

start to power and? My initial reaction was one of joy and

satisfaction. Someone looked after Clarke right after we founded, it

was 2 o'clock in the morning. -- someone looked at the clock. Did it

surprise you? I was surprised at the state of preservation. It did

not look like a red you would see in shallow water. We were able to

read the manufacturer's names, we could read so many things. Things

like, first-class entrance, throughout the ship. The deeper you

go, the more preserved it is. The light fixtures are still hanging

from the sailing. You can look in the Maras. It is a museum. Our goal

is to protect the boat. Because it is now 100 years old, it falls

under UNESCO's heritage site. Because it has survived 100 years

it has more protection. One of the few floating links with

the Titanic is mature. The Nomadic was built in Belfast by Harland &

Wolff and based in Cherbourg. Its job was to very first and second-

class passengers out to the White Star Liners calling at the port,

including the Titanic. Since then it has had a chequered history and

a torturous route back to Belfast. This is a piece of maritime history

been restored to its old glory after 100 years. The steamship

Nomadic was built by Harland & Wolff and launched in 1911 to

attend the luxury passenger ships of the White Star Line. It took

French passengers on board the Titanic. During both world wars, it

saw service as a carrier for Allied forces. It also continued to be

used as a tender until being sold into private ownership in the 1960s.

Six years ago, The Nomadic was in danger of being lost for ever. Its

appearance had changed. The upper deck and final had been removed to

enable it to pass under the bridges of powers, where its last roll had

been as a restaurant. The scrapyard beckoned until the Northern Ireland

Executive Bob The Nomadic at auction and transported its to

Belfast for a restoration job now in its final stages. It now sits in

Hamilton dry., its permanent resting place, a cross from the

Titanic visitor attraction. Specialist work will condense --

comments on its interior shortly. We then the boat were the original

panels, particularly the first and second-class wall panels, which we

can trace back. As well as that, The Nomadic Preservation Society

have been able to buy back or regional panels. They have given

those back to the trust to restore. The idea is to connect paying

customers to an age when Belfast was shipbuilder to the world.

A fascination with the wreck of the ship happened more or less

immediately when the liner sank in the North Atlantic, for calamitous

down. It was not discovered until 1985. That was because of

technological and cost difficulties. There have been many dives since

then. One was in 2005 and in the submarine was prone diver Rory

Golden and BBC correspondent, Mike McKimm. -- Professor of diver.

This is what I have got to go into the Titanic in. It is an amazing

piece of equipment but it is very small. The Russians launched their

submarines over the side rather than over the stern. They say it

makes it easier to recover in bad weather. Space is limited inside.

It is just two metres in diameter her. Three people share the space

for up to 12 bars, -- 12 hours, along with all of the equipment.

What looks like rocks are in fact lumps of coal at that fell from one

of the coal bunkers once the Titanica split up. We managed to

hit the bottom three times before we could level the submarine.

Anxious moments, and not the best thing to do at this debt. It is

pitch black at the bottom and lights can only eliminate a few

dozen metres. With auction and -- oxygen and battery power limited,

time cannot be wasted. Then, the sonar picks up an astonishing sight.

You know the ship in ways that so few of us can even imagine. Few

have been within centimetres of the Titanic. Take us off from top-to-

bottom of the Titanic. When you come to the ship, we approach her

coming up to the bow because it is the safest area, there is not much

wreckage and debris, so we see it in all its majesty. You can't go

anywhere else. Then we went up high to avoid cranes and this sort of

things. All of the bits and pieces hanging from it. The railings are

still in remarkable condition. Just out of sight to the top right is a

big crane used to lift the spare anchor. These other chains from the

actual and Kath. We are looking now at the winches that would have

hoisted goods in and out from the cranes. Now we are looking at the

base of the main mast that It felt right over but remarkably,

we are about to see something that brings back the memory of what

happened on the evening, because now we are approaching the lookout,

the Crow's nest, where Frederick Fleet, the lookout, saw in the dark

at the last minute the iceberg and he rang the bell three times,

picked up the telephone, and you can probably see the cable from the

telephone there. He rang the bridge and said, I spoke ahead. If the

sides of the ship have become more recognisable with its own story to

When we went along the promenade deck, we dropped down the side of

the ship and you can see the portholes there. Look at the light.

That was a very scary moment, a shining light. That happened

frequently. It's makes the hairs on the back of your neck come up. We

are now coming up from the seabed, creeping back up. It is remarkable

condition at the bottom of the sea bed. And finally to the engine. The

ship broke in two. This is very badly damaged, this bit. If you

look at this picture Bob le Brocq a massive entanglement. -- this

picture up.... Many people do not like going up here because of this

entanglement. We spent five hours there. You do not see the time

going. And a journey that has left an indelible mark on you.

Absolutely. It won't go away. A particularly poignant Service was

held in the North Atlantic on board the Balmoral to mark the centenary.

Descendants and enthusiasts were on board and the voyage is retracing

the route of the maiden trip and at exactly the precise moment the

Titanic went down, a service was held.

Thousands of metres directly above the wreck of the Titanic, another

ship stopped to remember what happened in April, 1912.

TANNOY: Ladies and gentlemen. We are gathered here to commemorate

one of the most momentous occasions in maritime history. At this very

place in the North Atlantic, exactly 100 years ago, the world's

largest ship, Titanic, hit an iceberg. It might be because people

know it is exactly 100 years since Titanic sank but at this point

there is an eerie quiet over the ship. You see the lifeboats and you

think, for some people, they were getting help but when you look out,

you realise how isolated they must have felt. You see nothing but

darkness. The sea is out there, you can hear the waves, but there is

just nothing. ABIDE WITH ME a two separate

services had to be held inside the bar more to accommodate -- inside

the Balmoral to accommodate all of the well-wishers.

Together, they mourned for ancestors they had never known and

strangers they could never meet. remember the families torn apart by

this tragedy. Mothers separated from their children, husbands

pulled from their loved ones as calamity struck, and we remember

with pride the acts of courage, the inspiring selflessness and

sacrifice of those who gave their lives that others might live.

are 1300 passengers on the Balmoral. That is about the same number who

were on the Titanic. Around the decks, this did together in the

bracing cold and at the stern, the flag of the White Star Line was

flown once more. This ship had traced the root of the Titanic to

the site of the thinking. There its SAT, swaying side by side in the

ocean by another vessel, that had travelled from New York. Therefore

we shall not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall

into the heart of the sea. This was to mark the moment the ship's

finally sank below the surface of the water. In the Name Of the

Father, the Sun and the Holy spirit. Amen. Three and wreath were blessed

and carved into the Atlantic, a tribute to the 1500 victims who

died there. -- cast into the Walking down has just bought it so

close to mind, how 100 years ago so many people lost their lives, and

in particular I am thinking of the 900 group of people that came from

Belfast and none of whom survived. And it was at the very place that

the lives and ship was lost forever that people make sure they will be

remembered. For many, the Titanic is a story of

heroes, villains, cowardice and bravery. Thomas Andrew was a young

naval architect from County Down who helped design the Titanic and

then perished as she sank. He left behind a young wife and a child. I

have had unique access to some of He became a hero of all Titanic

heroes. Gallant to the end. Once he realised that the ship was doomed,

at Thomas Andrews met his fate briefly, giving up his own life to

save other men's wives and children. That night, his own wife, Helene,

slept oblivious to the horror She never really spoke about it.

She never mentioned the tragedy but on one occasion I was talking to

her, and she said that she hoped that the wreck would be left as a

memorial to all the people who died on the ship. 100 years on and I

have come to meet her youngest child. Now in her late 80s, Vera

Morrison can reveal for the first time wonderful memories and stories

about the woman who captured not damage the heart of the Thomas

Andrews but also her father's, another joint in the world of

shipbuilding, Henry from Hollande and waltz. They would have known

each other well. -- Harland and Wolff. Both had courted Melly who

came from another prosperous families. Nellie could not decide

on which man-to-man three until her mother made her choose. She picked

Thomas. -- which man to marry. In 1906, Thomas proposed. By all

accounts, Nellie was stunned into silence and did not give him the

answer he was hoping for. "I cannot tell you how much it grieves me to

think I frightened you last night. You acted wisely when you had any

doubts. I am to blame alone. You'll ever affectionate and loving friend,

Thomas Andrews.". Eventually, she got a her shock and agreed to marry

Thomas. -- got over her shock. is my mother's engagement ring.

This is priceless when it comes to sentimental value. I think so.

years after their wedding, they had a baby daughter. However little did

they know that very soon they are happy world would come to an end,

shattered by Titanic and Thomas's loss. Nellie was heartbroken but

chose not to focus on her own grief but on the grief of others. She was

totally devastated and she was so very fond of Thomas's parents, she

described them as being a second mother and father to her, and she

was just trying to console them. When she herself must have been

devastated. But the story doesn't end there. Despite a broken heart,

five years after Thomas's death, nearly would marry again, to none

other than her old suitor, Henry Hollande. They went on to have four

children. But it was only as an adult that Vera began to realise

the important connection to Titanic and to her mother's first husband,

Thomas Andrews. He told my mother that when they were dropping out of

the shipyard one day together, the workers were coming out and he said,

these are my mates. He was so very popular and dearly loved, I think.

By so many people. A new memorial garden has been

unveiled in the grounds of Belfast City Hall. It is being billed as

the first memorial to feature the definitive list of all of those who

died on the Titanic. Loving heavenly Father, we come together

to remember this day in history, the foundering of RMS Titanic. With

such tragic loss of life. The loss of more than 1500 men, women and

children, of diverse nationalities and backgrounds. We remember those

whose vision, whose dream, was of the largest ocean liner the world

had ever seen. We reflect upon the bravery and heroism of so many, who

did all they humanly could to help others to safety. Greater love hath

no man than this that Amman laid down his life for his friend --

that a man lay down his life. As we behold the Titanic memorial and the

memorial garden, we remember all those who perished and whose names

are here Rim inscribed. In the permanence of granite, marble and

stone, maybe there be a permanence Here in the North Atlantic

surrounded by the sea, this has been a day of reflection,

particularly for those passengers who do have direct family

connections with the Titanic. Your great grandfather, Tommy, perished

on that ship. Coming back to that point where the wreckage lies, why

was it so important and has it been worth it? It is a million times

worth it. Closure is an over-used term these days but I think it

really does apply here. It was a feeling of finally paying respect

to a man whose story represents so many that were lost on Titanic and

his body was never recovered, so to be able to come to his last resting

place and to take part in such a significant ceremony... And as the

flowers were thrown into the water above the wreckage site, what was

the atmosphere like? It was eerie. It was nearly like a funeral but

for the young lads to through the wreath overboard was a fitting

tribute. It was just perfect relief. It couldn't have been better

organised. It just felt so right of stopped thank you. The voyage for

these passengers continue. They will head on to Nova Scotia where

the graves of some of those who died still ride and after that they

will head to New York, the destination that the Titanic never