Titanic Centenary

Interviews

Mike McKimm

Mike McKimm is BBC Northern Ireland’s Environment Correspondent. During the course of his work he was invited to join an expedition to film ‘The Titanic’s’ final resting place.
Mike was all too aware that he was visiting a gravesite. The bath of Captain Edward John Smith is still visible – a poignant reminder of the human cost of this tragedy.
Mike left a plaque remembering those who died. It bore the message:
“In memory of all those who died on RMS Titanic. From Harland and Wolff and the people of Belfast”.

Eleanor Thompson

Eleanor Thompson was born in 1916. Her father was Ambrose Willis and he was one of five chief design draughtsmen at the Harland & Wolff Shipyard heading up a large team that created much of the interior decoration of the Titanic. Eleanor’s father also took part in the sea trials and sailed on Titanic’s first voyage from Belfast to Southampton. When he got to Southampton Ambrose Willis received word that he was needed in Belfast to work on Titanic’s sister ship – The Olympic. Ambrose disembarked and returned to the shipyard. The other team members went on with Titanic and were all lost in the fateful crossing to New York. Eleanor’s father didn’t like to speak of The Titanic but when Eleanor looks at photographs of Titanic’s elegant interior she can recognise her father’s work from memories of furniture and fireplaces from her own family home.

Rev Chris Bennett

Rev. Chris Bennett is a Church of Ireland Minister and is Chaplain to the Titanic Quarter. There is no church building yet in this parish. But it does have Chris who is inspiring and engaging and it does have a name: “The Dock”. A feature of the Titanic Quarter is the enormous Thompson Dry Dock where the Titanic underwent its final interior fitting. Chris says it’s one of his favourite spots and it inspired the church name. Chris says: “A dock is a place to build something new or to repair something broken – or in the case of new technology, to recharge something weary”.
Chris is in the process of buying a boat which will become a “floating” chaplaincy and which will be open to all denominations.