RMS Titanic (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Wednesday, June 01, 2011, 18:08 (4992 days ago) @ Roger Griffiths

Don't worry Roger,
I was part-jesting re the Theories, but I can imagine today's press thinking that way. Yes agree entirely re the ship's ability to withstand the collision, it was not a bad design at all. Also some say the order to steer away from the berg was confused so the ship turned too late. Either way with a gash that length she was doomed. A few months back I enjoyed what was intended as a kids programme on one of the freeview channels which discussed the design and the heroics of the ship's engineers keeping her afloat, using those compartments, while others could live. It concluded in them helping with the renovation of a truly beautiful Engineer's Memorial in Southampton, see photo.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/23237

I was almost surprised such a Memorial existed, before I was reminded that in those days engineers were afforded a deserved status in life that I've always felt they lack in modern times, even in the 1980s I recall chatting to a young local Doctor at our Romanian holiday hotel who was genuinely impressed I'd just qualified as an engineer, to him even pre Communism that was seen as on a par with himself. Now we're just thought of as car bodgers... particularly by the all-too-many doctors I've met over the last 10 years. Ah well.

This is an excellent article about the Memorial, nigh on 100,000 spectators attended it's unveiling in Spring of 1914, what a sad year for humanity. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/heritage/hampshireheritage/8353018.Memorial_for_brave_Titani...

I would love to think that your London basement is still there, a quiet memorial in itself.
Sadly I suspect with the army cuts etc it's now a Bistro and the artifacts went into the builder's skip.

In fact I've just goggled this Regimental Newsletter from 1990, so post your visit. It mentions their "recent" move to a new HQ in London, as the regiment had merged with I think three others to become "The London Regiment". The last paragraph is an obituary to an old soldier, who survived all of WW1 despite being wounded to pass away aged 95!, it mentions;

"I well remember him visiting ‘59’(the old London Reg HQ) in 1980 and telling me that they used the model of the Titanic (there for the enquiry held at our Headquarters in 1913) for evening target practice."
Hopefully that was just against bread rolls not live ammunition ?!

http://www.gcompany.org.uk/images/1990s/Gazettes/gaz1990-1s.pdf