We went on this walking tour this morning without knowing exactly what to expect - except rain, of course!
The tour took us round various places with Titanic connections, and as Southampton was the home port of Titanic there are many. Incredibly many of them are modest plaques, or indicated almost in passing. I was a bit concerned having seen both the films "A Night to Remember" and the more recent "Titanic" wondering what on earth we would see and hear.
Many of the crew were from Southampton, and there are some very poignant memorials to various groups of crew members. For example a memorial table in a Catholic church to the chefs and restaurant staff, many of whom were Italians living in Southampton, who would have attended Mass at that church. There was a very moving memorial which included some voice recordings of people who had survived the disaster. One lady described being rowed away as the ship finally slid under the water, and the finality of the silence which followed.
We learned that following the disaster certain changes to seagoing vessels were brought in - eg, enough lifeboat seats for all passengers and crew, ships are not allowed to turn off their comms overnight, and sightings of "fireworks" must be treated as SOS flares.
There was one substantial, multistory old building which was used to store all first-class passengers' luggage for loading on to the vessel. We saw the various hotels which first, second and third-class passengers had stayed in prior to boarding, and the Sailors' Home where many crew members stayed. We heard how three brothers had spent the night prior to embarkation in the pub, drinking and gambling. As a result they overslept the next morning and missed the sailing, which undoubtedly saved their lives.
If this all sounds a grim way to spend a wet morning, it was far from grim. The guide was the best tour guide I've ever met. He was originally from Cork, but had lived in Montreal for many years, and has worked as an actor and comedian. So he was funny without being disrespectful, his voice carried over all sorts of traffic noises, and his presentation kept us riveted for two hours.
The finale was, of course, lunch in a pub with seagoing connections. Excellent fish and chips.
The tour took us round various places with Titanic connections, and as Southampton was the home port of Titanic there are many. Incredibly many of them are modest plaques, or indicated almost in passing. I was a bit concerned having seen both the films "A Night to Remember" and the more recent "Titanic" wondering what on earth we would see and hear.
Many of the crew were from Southampton, and there are some very poignant memorials to various groups of crew members. For example a memorial table in a Catholic church to the chefs and restaurant staff, many of whom were Italians living in Southampton, who would have attended Mass at that church. There was a very moving memorial which included some voice recordings of people who had survived the disaster. One lady described being rowed away as the ship finally slid under the water, and the finality of the silence which followed.
We learned that following the disaster certain changes to seagoing vessels were brought in - eg, enough lifeboat seats for all passengers and crew, ships are not allowed to turn off their comms overnight, and sightings of "fireworks" must be treated as SOS flares.
There was one substantial, multistory old building which was used to store all first-class passengers' luggage for loading on to the vessel. We saw the various hotels which first, second and third-class passengers had stayed in prior to boarding, and the Sailors' Home where many crew members stayed. We heard how three brothers had spent the night prior to embarkation in the pub, drinking and gambling. As a result they overslept the next morning and missed the sailing, which undoubtedly saved their lives.
If this all sounds a grim way to spend a wet morning, it was far from grim. The guide was the best tour guide I've ever met. He was originally from Cork, but had lived in Montreal for many years, and has worked as an actor and comedian. So he was funny without being disrespectful, his voice carried over all sorts of traffic noises, and his presentation kept us riveted for two hours.
The finale was, of course, lunch in a pub with seagoing connections. Excellent fish and chips.
Comment