www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic

100TH ANNIVERSARY TITANIC COMMEMORATION SERVICEAND UNVEILING OF THE TITANIC MEMORIAL GARDEN

Belfast City Hall Sunday 15 April 2012Belfast City Council and Belfast Titanic Society

100TH ANNIVERSARY TITANIC COMMEMORATION SERVICE PROGRAMME

Welcome by Noel Thompson, BBC NI

Eternal Father Strong to Save Performed by Harlandic Male Voice Choir and Queen’s Island Male Voice Choir

Accompanied by City of Belfast Youth Orchestra Brass Section

Address by The Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor, Councillor Niall Ó Donnghaile

Memoirs of the late John Parkinson, President of Belfast Titanic Society Read by Dan Gordon

Life, Love and HappinessPerformed by Brian Kennedy

Una Reilly MBE, Belfast Titanic Society Interviewed by Noel Thompson on the importance of this service and the Titanic Memorial Garden

Calm is the Sea Performed by Harlandic Male Voice Choir and Queen’s Island Male Voice Choir

You Raise Me Up Performed by Brian Kennedy

Reflection and prayerReverend Ian Gilpin, Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church

A Little PrayerPerformed by City of Belfast Youth Orchestra Brass Section

Official Opening of the new Titanic Memorial Garden Performed by The Right Honourable, The Lord Mayor, Councillor Niall Ó Donnghaile and Jack B W Martin, (Dr Simpson’s great great nephew) Nearer My God to Thee Performed by Harlandic Male Voice Choir and Queen’s Island Male Voice Choir

Sui La RuaPerformed by City of Belfast Youth Orchestra Brass Section

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WELCOME

One hundred years ago today, people around the world were waking up to the unimaginable news that Titanic had sunk with the loss of 1,512 lives. It was a headline that shook the world, not least here in Belfast, where the proud men and women who built that magnificent vessel had watched her sail out of the city to begin her maiden voyage just 13 days prior to that.

Sadly, we all know how the story ends. Titanic never reached its intended destination of New York. Today, on the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking, we take time to reflect and remember all those who perished – from Belfast, and across the world.

I am proud as First Citizen of this great city to share in this commemoration of such an important event in our shared history.

The new Memorial Garden at Belfast City Hall records, for the first time in the world, the name of every single person who lost their lives on board Titanic. I hope people

from Belfast and beyond share my view that this is a fitting tribute, and one which will ensure that the story of Titanic is never forgotten by future generations.

It also gives us an opportunity, as a city, to claim our rightful ownership of Titanic. While her story is one associated with tragedy, it is also one of which we should be proud. The engineering feat achieved by the hundreds of shipbuilders in Harland & Wolff is truly remarkable. We are finally coming to terms with the legacy of Titanic and her connection to this city.

This is our moment. Belfast is re-emerging as a world class city and we are capitalising on our shared history and future. There are many cities and towns around the world who are connected to the Titanic story, but only Belfast can lay claim to being its birthplace.

Titanic belongs to Belfast and we want Belfast’s Titanic story – of which this beautiful Memorial Garden is a key part - to belong to the world.

Twenty years ago in 1992, the Ulster Titanic Society was formed in Belfast.

The aim of the society, which changed its name to the Belfast Titanic Society in 2003, was to research RMS Titanic, her sister ships, the White Star Line and the development of shipbuilding in Belfast.

Of all the different aspects of the Titanic story, her birthplace and the people who built her had been largely forgotten up to that point. How far we have come since then.

During these past years, the Belfast Titanic Society has been honoured to meet with and get to know the relatives of those who worked so proudly on Titanic’s construction and also those who sailed on her.

John Parkinson, a late President of the society, turned up on the inaugural night with the tools his father had used in the building of the ship. He instilled in us the need to take pride again in our proud industrial and maritime heritage.

Another late President Marjorie Wood Frost McCormick, whose father Artie Frost lost his life in the sinking, helped focus our minds on the personal tragedy that is the Titanic story.

Today the world knows Titanic was built in Belfast and the city is proud of the magnificent technological achievement that was the construction of the then biggest man made moving object in the world.

What happened to Titanic was a disaster, but she was not. A total of 1,512 died in the sinking and it is only fitting that all of those be remembered by name in the Belfast Titanic Memorial Garden created for the 100th anniversary of the tragedy. Titanic and her story finally comes home.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE, THE LORD MAYOR OF BELFAST, COUNCILLOR NIALL Ó DONNGHAILE

BELFAST TITANIC SOCIETYUNA REILLY MBE

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DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEMORIAL GARDEN

Before After The Titanic Memorial Garden is situated on the eastern side of Belfast City Hall, and has been created around the existing Titanic monument designed by Sir Thomas Brock.

This monument with its beautiful Carrera marble sculpture was first unveiled in 1920 in the middle of the roadway in front of City Hall. In 1959 it was decided that the Titanic Memorial was becoming a hazard to the increasing volume of traffic in Donegall Square and a decision was taken to move the sculpture into the grounds of the City Hall.

The memorial is made up of a base of grey Cornish granite and some have remarked that the names engraved on the plinth were hard to read. They were written in gold lettering which does not stand out against the grey granite. As part of the garden renovation this sculpture has been professionally cleaned and the lettering restored, recarved and the words and name painted in a gun-metal grey colour.

Erected to the imperishable memory of those gallant Belfastmen whose names are here inscribed and who lost their lives on the 15th April 1912, by the foundering of the Belfast-built R.M.S Titanic, through collision with an iceberg, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

Their devotion to duty and heroic conduct, through which the lives of many of those on board were saved, have left a record of calm fortitude and self-sacrifice which will ever remain an inspiring example to succeeding generations. ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’.

INSCRIPTION ON THE TITANIC MEMORIAL, SITUATED IN THE GROUNDS OF BELFAST CITY HALL

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The main impetus for creating this garden was to help renew our memories of all those who tragically lost their lives on RMS Titanic, one hundred years ago on 15 April 1912.

The new garden is set on two levels with the upper level containing a nine metre long plinth, inscribed with the names of those who died on RMS Titanic and a lower grassed terrace surrounding the existing monument.

The garden’s memorial plinth supports fifteen bronze plaques which list in alphabetical order the names of 1,512 people who perished on RMS Titanic.

When the plaques were being designed, we believed that a complete list of names was already in existence, however this was not the case.

Many existing lists documented the First Class, Second Class and Steerage, but did not necessarily include all the crew members, the Guarantee Group, the postal workers and the musicians.

This is the first time that the names of everyone who perished have been recorded on one monument.

‘The Belfast List’ as it is now known, is a key feature of the new memorial garden.

Plants chosen for the garden have been selected to display good seasonal interest particularly in the springtime, around the period when the Titanic disaster occurred.

Whether through foliage, flowers or bark, the garden’s colour theme is predominantly a range of whites, silvers, blues and greens. These colours have been chosen to reflect the colours of water and ice and to encourage a sense of contemplation and a feeling of relative peace and rest.

Two multi-stem Betula utilis var. jacquemontii (Himalayan birch) have been planted either side of the memorial plinth. These birch trees have spectacular white bark and mature into particularly elegant and graceful trees.

Other feature plants include the beautiful Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Alba Superba’, or tulip magnolia and a selection of white shrub roses including Rosa ‘Claire Austin’ and Rosa ‘Lichfield Angel’.

Some of the plants provide hints to the background story to the garden, the blue Forget-me-nots, the fragrant rosemary (rosemary symbolising remembrance), the attractive Magnolia stellata or star magnolia, providing white star shaped flowers between March and April, and of course the birch (symbolising renewal).

THE BELFAST LISTPLANTING IN THE GARDEN

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A NUMBER OF BELFAST’S LEADING ARTISTS ARE JOINING IN TODAY’S MEMORIAL SERVICE

BRIAN KENNEDYBrian is first and foremost a live performer. His own words, “Music is my lifeblood”, are reflected in his relentless schedule, from his first gig in the ‘90s, to present time. It hasn’t been an easy ride. His journey began in Belfast in the late ‘60s, where he spent his childhood learning to survive the challenges of ‘the Troubles’. By the age of 18, he was ready to discover what the rest of the world was about, and prepared

DAN GORDON

to take on the tough London music scene. His exceptional vocal talent was his main asset but other talents emerged quickly and by 1990 he’d released his first self-penned album, ‘The Great War of Words’, containing the hit signature track ‘Captured’.

2012 is a very exciting year with news of a third book, another album in the pipeline and his role as one of the four coaches on the new series in Ireland – The Voice.

I’m so proud to honour the memory of all those lost on the Titanic a century ago. Let’s raise our voices and sing to the heavens.

GUARANTEE GROUP

Belfast City Council is honouring the skills and industry of the men who worked to build Titanic by installing a number of bronze plaques dedicated to Harland & Wolff’s ‘Guarantee Group’ throughout Belfast.

The Guarantee Group was made up of nine men, handpicked to travel on Titanic to repair any minor problems that occurred during her maiden voyage. They were:• Thomas Andrews – Managing Director;• William HM Parr – Assistant Manager,

Electrical Department;

• Roderick Chisholm – Chief Draughtsman;• Anthony Wood Frost – Foreman Engine

Fitter;• Robert Knight – Leading Hand Fitter;• William Campbell – Apprentice Joiner;• Ennis H Watson – Apprentice Electrician;• Francis Parkes – Apprentice Plumber; and• Alfred F Cunningham – Apprentice Fitter.

None of the nine men survived.

The plaques will be installed throughout Belfast during this spring on the footpaths of the streets where the men lived.

TITANIC HERITAGE PLAQUES

I vividly recall being six years old, watching our black and white television, and having to leave the room to cry. The film was ‘A Night to Remember’ with Kenneth Moore – the story of the sinking of the Titanic. My mother followed me out and comforted me and explained that our family worked in the place where it was built. I’ve taken that story to schools and to prisons, to churches and orange halls and to parish halls and city halls. We played it in the home of the Belfast Harbour

Commissioners during Belfast Festival in 2011 and most recently at the opening of the new Titanic Belfast visitor attraction in April 2012. I’ve lived in the shadow of The Boat Factory all my life. In my early days I was wakened in the mornings by its horns and in my later years I’ve been haunted by its silence. It is a heritage and a history that has all but disappeared – and with it, the skills, the memories and the men who made it great. I want to remember them – for my father was one of them.

Don’t stand and wonder how to do it – do it and wonder how you did it.

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QUEEN’S ISLAND MALE VOICE CHOIRConductor Alastair McQuoidPresident Rev. Tom Boyle

The Queen’s Island Victoria Male Choir was formed in 1974 when the two oldest choirs in Northern Ireland amalgamated. The Queen’s Island Choir was formed in 1912 and the Victoria choir in 1916, both originating in the Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast.

During the early 1970s both choirs were finding it difficult to maintain their membership as a result of “the Troubles” and rather than disband, they decided to join forces. As a result, the Queen’s Island Victoria Male Voice Choir was born. The title of the choir was changed in May 2005 to Queen’s Island Male Voice Choir.

Queen’s Island Male Voice Choir (QIMVC) is now one of the foremost choirs in Northern Ireland and it devotes much of its time and energy to charity concerts and church services.

QIVMC has performed for audiences in Armagh, Newry, Coleraine, Enniskillen, and Omagh as well as the Belfast area. It continues to grow in strength and reputation, maintaining the proud traditions of the two original choirs.

THE CITY OF BELFAST YOUTH ORCHESTRAConductor Paul McBrideManager Robert Briscoe

The brass section performing today is part of the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra (CBYO), the senior ensemble of the City of Belfast School of Music.

The School of Music is administered by the Belfast Education and Library Board as part of the music education service for the City of Belfast. Currently in its 57th season, the CBYO is the oldest youth orchestra in Ireland. The 80 members of the orchestra rehearse together once a week during term time under the direction of conductor Paul McBride.

For over 50 years, the CBYO has been part of the cultural life of Belfast. Distinguished alumni of the CBYO include international flautist Sir James Galway and concert pianist Barry Douglas.

Each academic year, the orchestra performs a season of concerts throughout the city. Every two years, the orchestra embarks on an international concert tour with the young people acting as ambassadors, projecting a positive image of Belfast and Northern Ireland.

In recent years, the orchestra has performed to great acclaim in venues including The John F Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, the Palacio Real in Madrid, La Madeleine Cathedral in Paris and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The City of Belfast Youth Orchestra and City of Belfast School of Music are very proud to be associated with today’s event and are honoured to have been invited to perform at this morning’s service.

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REVEREND IAN GILPIN, NON-SUBSCRIBING PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

The Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church in Comber is the family church of the Andrews Family.

As recorded on the memorial by Rosamond Praeger, the site was donated to the congregation by James Andrews (1762-1841) who was, along with his son (John Andrews 1792-1864), one of the founders of the congregation. The church was opened in 1840.

There are three sets of stained glass windows in the Church in memory of: Eliza Montgomery Pirrie and John Miller (the mother and uncle of Lord Pirrie), Thomas Andrews Senior and Eliza Pirrie Andrews (parents of Thomas Andrews Junior) in addition to portraits of John Miller and his wife Agnes Pirrie.

HARLANDIC MALE VOICE CHOIRConductor John LyttleChairman Tony Holmes

It was during the latter days of November 1944 that the suggestion “Let’s form a choir” was made to a group of men singing round a coke fire in the Victoria Works of Harland and Wolff during a lunch time break.

The sing songs of these men entertained colleagues and helped to break the monotony of long working days during the war years.

At the first meeting called for those interested in forming a choir, the response was so encouraging that rehearsal began the very next week.

But where would rehearsals take place? And when could the men fit them in around working twelve hour shifts? Agreement was soon reached, and an outside air-raid shelter was made available to the choir during lunch-breaks. One member, Norman Fitzsimmons, agreed to act as conductor and so rehearsals commenced.

Progress was good, so good in fact that a room in Belfast city centre was hired and the first full time Director of Music, Adam Donaghy was appointed in 1945. Under Adam’s guidance the choir grew rapidly in competence. The membership became larger and more dedicated, the scene of men coming directly from work in boiler suits and overalls was a common one, such was the enthusiasm, which remains to this day.

The decisive moment had arrived, the choir entered for Larne Competitive Music Festival and in a strong class entry won first place with an average of 92 marks.

This was the first of a succession of awards won at music festivals in the British Isles, the list is an impressive one. Harlandic have won the BBC ‘Let the People Sing’ competition a record four times and have represented the United Kingdom in the European finals of that competition on three occasions.

Lord Pirrie was a member of this church, serving for a time on the Church Committee. Following the loss of Titanic, a memorial service was held in the church for Thomas Andrews Junior in which Reverend Thomas Dunkerley paid a moving tribute to Thomas, whom he had known since childhood.

In the past number of years, Rev Ian Gilpin has officiated at the annual service held by the Belfast Titanic Society at the Memorial in the grounds of the City Hall. Since its inception in 2002, this has been a simple event at which wreaths were laid on behalf of the Society and the citizens of the city that built her. Carrying on with this tradition Rev Ian will offer a prayer and reflection before the garden is officially opened.

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UNA REILLY MBE

I have been involved with the Titanic Society since its inception in 1992. We celebrate our 20 year anniversary this year, the 100th anniversary of the ship leaving Belfast.

When Dr Robert Ballard discovered the wreck in 1985 and the rest of the world got very excited about Titanic all over again, nothing was happening here in Belfast, the place where Titanic was built and where she spent longer than anywhere else, apart from where she now lies on the sea bed.

She was only on the greater world scene for 13 days, from 2 April 1912 until she sank on 15 April. A global icon, known the world over, her name recognisable in any language, but very few knew of her Belfast connection.

Titanic has Liverpool written across her stern and she sailed from Southampton, but what about the time spent building her in Belfast from 31 March 1909 - 31 March 1912 when she was ready to leave?

I have been Chairman of the Titanic Society for a great deal of the last 20 years and I’ve taken the Belfast story far and wide.

My clarion call has always been “What happened was a disaster, she was not”. The Titanic Society has run speaker programmes, schools competitions, opened the Drawing Office to the public, and worked in partnership with Belfast City

Council on their annual Titanic, Made in Belfast Easter event since 2001.

I have established many links with the greater international Titanic family. Last year we held a convention to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the launch. The rest of the world can only commemorate the disaster. Belfast can uniquely celebrate the achievement that was the creation of the ship. We can acknowledge the skill, craftsmanship and ingenuity of the shipyards and citizens of our relatively new city at the beginning of the 20th century, as we are doing again in a different way at the beginning of the 21st century.

My personal connection with Titanic is through my great grandfather John Arthurs who was a cabinet maker in Harland & Wolff and our inheritance of a beautifully made chess board, made from off-cuts of wood from the Titanic.

There are Titanic societies all around the world, but we are unique as we meet on a monthly basis in Belfast. Some may wonder what on earth we’ve found to talk about for the last 20 years, but we haven’t finished yet!

For further information on the Titanic Society, visit www.belfast-titanic.com or e-mail info@belfast-titanic.com

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Verse One

Eternal Father strong to saveWhose arm hath bound the restless waveWho bidst the mighty ocean deepIts own appointed limits keep

Oh hear us when we cry to theeFor those in peril on the sea.

Verse Two

Oh Christ whose voice the waters heardAnd hushed their raging at thy wordWho walked on the foaming deepAnd calm amidst its rage didst sleep

Oh hear us when we cry to theeFor those in peril on the sea.

Will you walk with meThrough this worldAnd never let me down, oh listen nowCan you hear a soundLook what we have foundAnother day ends peacefully

Oh, Now tell meIs this the way it’s gonna stayOh, Don’t let go againIt’s your life, Love, Your happiness

When you sleep tonightWill you dreamAbout a brighter life, oh it’s gonna lastAnd we hope for moreBut my heart is so unsureAnother day is

ETERNAL FATHER, STRONG TO SAVE

Verse Three

Most holy spiritWho didst brood upon the chaosDark and rudeAnd bid its angry tumult ceaseAnd give for wild confusion peace

Oh hear us when we cry to theeFor those in peril on the sea.

Verse Four

Oh Trinity of love and powerOr family shield in danger’s hourFrom rock and tempestFire and foeProtect us where so e’er we go

Thus ever ‘er-moreShall rise to Thee glad hymns of praiseFrom the land and sea.

LIFE, LOVE, AND HAPPINESS

Over, So tell meIs this the way it’s meant to beOh, Don’t let go again‘Cause it’s for lifeLove And happiness I’m thinking ofNo, Don’t give up again‘Cause it’s your lifeLove And happiness

Don’t go, I’m rememberingThe time of joyAnd of loveOh Don’t let go again‘Cause it’s for lifeLove And happiness I’m thinking ofNo…Don’t give up againCause it’s your life, Your love, Your happiness

And we hope for moreMy heart is so unsureWill you walk with meAnd never let me down

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