Building The Titanic: The Story of The "Unsinkable Ship" | Our History

this is titanic she was born in the great edwardian era of luxury liners [Music] shipyards around the world were locked in a ferocious battle who could build the biggest ships the most lavish the fastest the pride of nations was at stake and the pride of workers too every new ship carried an elite troubleshooting team to handle any problems titanic was no different her trouble shooters were called the guarantee group just eight ship workers from 14 000 who would sail on her maiden voyage their story began five years earlier this was the london home of the shipbuilder william pitty that night he was entertaining another shipping mag and competition pity was a hard-nosed ulsterman ignore the fact that it's their ship that has broken the record for crossing the atlantic bruce ismey the fastidious englishman as owner of the white star shipping line is may faced a challenge his rivals cunard were building new fast liners and as i've always said bruce speed isn't everything but surely you understand why white star must respond you really want to get caught up in some ridiculous competition with cunard i hadn't realized you were so concerned with prestige bruce without prestige the white star line and for that matter your shipyard too william has no future the lord's pursuit of speed is futile costs just don't add up but if people want scale we'll give them scale you see here as big as the mauritania no half as big again the biggest chip the world has ever seen you think it's achievable i have the best marine engineers in the world you know that what about the accommodation the most luxurious imaginable and the price our usual terms cost plus four percent that would still be astronomical and to compete with cunard we'd need two ships to trump them you'd need three [Music] the deal was made in belgravia but it was belfast where titanic would be built belfast was ireland's industrial heart and its lifeblood was the talent of its workers they'd made pity's company harland and wolf the biggest shipbuilder in the world now a handful of them were about to enter legend [Music] alfie cunningham just 16 was starting as an apprentice there's no need to be nervous selfie who's nervous his widowed mother had six mouths to feed alfie was man of the house artie frost 33 years old was moving up in the yard the hat arty form and fitter a change of status morning [Music] tommy miller aged 25 was his ship's carpenter i'll see his boys all right show me your piece you forget your head if it wasn't screwed on hi the yard was a hard place the six day week brought as little as a pound to take home later rivals were locked out [Music] discipline was the foreman's job everyone of god in ebola had a word from a foreman could mean either a job for life or no job at all i know my name is alfred cunningham sir starting today yes sir apprentice better [Applause] there were 14 000 workers in the yard and alfie cunningham was bottom of the heap tell me what you know about a ship's engine young man nothing sir then you better wish no time and learn and son or you'll be out near a year [Music] arty frost had started as an apprentice he knew how the yard worked his ability had brought steady progress but to get the foreman's job he'd had to wait until his father retired [Music] at the top of the company too it was a family affair that's a fact cunard have got ahead of us we must show them we won't let them stay there well i'm sure you'll relish the opportunity to do that william perry's chief of design was his wife's brother alexander carlisle chalk and cheese tommy roderick alexander's put you in the picture indeed it's tremendous news thomas andrews was pirri's nephew many believed he was already being groomed to take over the company an entire new class of liner it's extraordinarily bold of course it's only a roderick chisholm chief draft he told us he could have them within four to five years really william we all know how much you'd like to throw down a challenge but quite frankly that is ridiculous why these ships cannot simply be imagined into existence william of course alexander and yes i am laying down a challenge perhaps the greatest in the history of shipbuilding that's a challenge i know you'll want to take on and with tommy and roderick to help you can turn the vision into a reality kitties iron will ruled throughout the yard every second of the shipbuilding day was his [Music] even the lavatories were known as the minutes because of the timekeeper at the door seven minutes per worker per day that was the rule poor stand the yard on hi oh come on noddy listen welcome every new boy gets ah get his chargers he fails me people in less flowery said leave him baby that's right flower you wrong that's the only thing you catholics are good at just one in eight workers at the yard was catholic is that a fact now call me [Music] egypt but lord pirie frowned on sectarianism [Music] friendships across the divide with protestants like tommy miller were me commonplace charity suffereth long and this pain the dinner break threw everyone together for 45 minutes a man's time was his own to spend as he pleased in discussion and debate gambling or games and of course the bible prepare to burn in hell no one was blind to religion but more important still was the division between trades and the kings of the yard with the toughest job were the riveters michael flaherty for one thank you thanks for that our madars are riveted or healthy it's just definite duffels a what that's why you wouldn't let me follow him got me signed on as a shipwright and join her instead except for trade for us hey mr miller safer you say so but weren't you afraid to tell those fellas where to go like with them being protestants and all you're a protestant who's mr miller here should we be afraid of you no living lead live ac hi we're all irish man here even himself is that mr perry lord perry to me and you must be something mighty important to have brought him down here though mr miller with the new liners change was coming before pitty could build his giant ships he had to rebuild his shipyard completely new slipways new gantries piri was making history and to record it he appointed the finest photographer in ireland robert welch would capture every phase of titanic's construction [Music] [Music] titanic had begun with a gentleman's agreement a year on there was still nothing in writing everything depended on bruce ismae well it's got four funnels correct but you said there'd only be three engines william feels these ships will be more cost effective with only three and of course we all know that the more funnels the ship has the keener the paying public are to travel on cunard built the mauritania and the lusitania with four we didn't think you'd want your ships to have less so one funnel is an ornament correct sir well [Music] i think she's magnificent how soon can you start we can commence work on ship 400 in a matter of months 401 soon after well then i'd better sign the contract of course [Music] now they'll need names we can't keep calling them ships 400 and 401. surely since 400 is the first in the class we must call her olympic agreed and 401 she's your ship bruce william you know your classics olympus was home to the greek gods that's true but what if their great rivals the titans giants every one of them olympic's partners should surely be titanic very good titanic it is that was ever a ship more appropriately named olympic and titanic [Music] in pirrie's eyes these giant liners were ushered in an age of boundless prosperity what could possibly go wrong a storm was breaking over belfast [Music] before lord piri could build the future he had to destroy the past three entire slipways were raised to the ground to make way for two massive cradles when olympic and titanic would be laid [Music] out of the chaos pity's vision began to take shape these giant vessels would need mammoth construction gantry 6 000 tonne steel skeleton towering over 200 feet taller than westminster abbey at its heart was an intricate system of mobile cranes designed to reach every part of the ships beneath perry had promised the biggest ships the world had ever seen it was for the design team to deliver them they were led by alexander carlisle but it was piri whose word was final for him olympic and titanic would confirm harland and wolf was the world's greatest shipbuilder and even the youngest of his workers felt the same what's that face about the olympic what about the olympics you know they're laying down our kale tomorrow all right like hands only being said to do the show right honor so what come on alfie she's going to be famous all over the world who's titanic and mr frost says our crew is going to be fitting titanic's engines when olympics going to be built first so what just the ship that matters my arse she is too olympics gonna be the ship that everyone talks about right right first to start building first to be launched first across the atlantic titanic's going to be a mighty ship no one remembers the yard was full of expectation the new gantries waiting for the ships to rise within them and a handful of workers hardly daring to dream they might yet sail barely three months later titanic's own keel was being laid a gigantic steel spine to support her 880 foot length the keel plates took the height of a man easily reached by the seven ton riveting machines suspended from the gantry the wooden blocks beneath were carefully angled ready for the eventual launch [Music] meanwhile the steel frames that would form titanic's ribs were being prepared in the molding loft a room the size of a football pitch full-scale cross-sections of the ship were drawn in chalk and the steel work that would give her shape was bent to match one by one the 300 frames of the hull were reared into place [Music] and lord perry's ambitions were also growing political ambitions pity had always been a unionist happy with ireland's place in the united kingdom overnight he turned to nationalism [Music] [Applause] ireland would prosper more he argued free from rule by london many irishmen shared this vision they called it home rule but pity was playing with fire those against home rule included many of his own workers [Music] as titanic took shape a rift was developing in the shipyard [Music] is this what you call studying then young man it's just taking a wee break man some sight though isn't it there's a lot of men i know down there from the yard there's mr frost my foreman you best not let him see you taking time away from your studies then but with all the exams you've got to pass [Music] tommy miller's family had dreams of their own are they well society when you built her daddy america where's america i'll show you some here is ireland here is belfast and here's america a lot of people go there a lot of irish men go there why apple pie what they say they've got the best apple pan the world apple pie like you've never tasted covered in cream honest can we go tommy you're still not yourself are you i'm just a wee bit tired so you need to go and see dr henry you can't afford it an outside lavatory a tin bath and just about enough food on the table for the men building titanic and for the most discerning of our first class passengers there will be a choice of 39 private suites each one of which will comprise bedroom bathroom private sitting and dining rooms all fitted out to the highest standards yes gentlemen how splendid though these plans are we had agreed to discuss less exotic subjects today now then gentlemen i propose we install 16 lifeboat stations four lifeboats at each station giving us up to a total of 64 lifeboats which would exceed border trade regulations by some way does board of trade regulations stand but given the size of these ships we must surely expect them to demand greater lifeboat accommodation william i'm sure it's best to prepare for all eventualities now if we look at the first class lounge the palace of versailles [Music] it had taken a year the titanic skeleton was in place now it was time for her outer skin two thousand steel plates thirty feet long and six feet broad each one over an inch thick weighing three tons plates were fixed to the frames with rivets but the curving lines of the hull were too complex now for machines this called for hair's breadth judgment and muscle power [Music] three million rivets red-hot iron stitches would hold this ship together 1 500 tons of them as titanic's bulk grew underneath her the work of fixing the wooden shoring continued hard and dangerous [Music] beneath the activity there was unease the rift over home rule was growing the fiercest opposition came from the orange order it's alfie cunningham isn't it aye you ever thought of joining a lodge son oh well maybe i have like but bali my card lodge we made it i know where you meet well that's grand we're there every monday wednesday and friday nights i hope to see you hi maybe you will you wouldn't wouldn't what go to an orange lodge meeting who says uh what needed you look in a sash in a bowl or hat banging a stupid grid drum get lost black come on can't you take a joke i'm looking for my sister's husband tommy miller do you know him i i he's over there thomas [Music] honey what are you doing here it's genie [Music] the tide in tommy miller's life was turning i find her on the kitchen floor dr henry says his romantic favor it's a bad doctor before antibiotics rheumatic fever was common the result almost certainly would be heart disease same shape as you've been building for years isn't it francis carruthers the representative from the board of trade charged with ensuring safety standards yes i'm not disputing the size they're colossal but the hydrodynamics haven't changed at all long and narrow in beam which is why they're known as the greyhounds of the sea or coffin ships as your rivals refer to them no time for joking mr brothers we're here to discuss safety not aesthetics and these discussions a year before titanic's launch would be critical they would determine who would live who would die and they would cost the lives of two of the men in that room what would happen if she were in a collision and were to behold as a result well i think i can fairly say that our new bulkhead door system is both revolutionary and unique the damaged area will be completely sealed from the rest of the vessel hermetically sealed in theory she should stay afloat no matter what the damage the ship is in a real sense her own lifeboat nonetheless i see you've allowed for uh 16 lifeboats 16 uh have made lines for a great deal more than 16. but 16 will meet the legal requirement exactly lord perry knows that he has spoken directly to you well yes the provision of lifeboats the entire design is my responsibility for carlisle 40 years with harland and wolf this was breaking point the regulations clearly show that 16 lifeboats is sufficient for a vessel of 10 thousand tons and over agreed william but these ships are five times that size how on earth can we get more than three thousand people into sixteen lifeboats i have freely offered a further provision of four life rafts as well we are now giving them more than their regulations demand oh the regulations are out of date this is a theoretical risk only alexander the ships have been designed by you so that they cannot sink don't you see with him any human design is fallible surely the first rule of safety must be to think the unthinkable and you are happy for our passengers to do the same what has it occurred to you what they would think if the promenade decks were festooned with lifeboats you are concerned the passengers may be alarmed by the lifeboats in the numbers you recommend yes our intention is to offer passengers the experience of a lifetime not to frighten them so much they never want to travel on a white star ship again so this is one of your economic decisions these ships have to sail it's a profit alexander and i have to build them at a profit no doubt not having to provide a few dozen lifeboats will add a small but very welcome addition to your profit margin you know that's nonsense alexander it was the end of carlisle's involvement with the company titanic was the last ship he would ever design [Music] titanic would need a new chief designer for lord pity there was only one choice his nephew thomas andrews in the spring of that year 1910 halley's comet was visible in the night skies throughout europe some say it was there when andrews took his wife helen pregnant with their firstborn to show off his new liner she's my ship now helen titanic and thomas andrews would be inseparable to the very end [Music] by the spring of 1910 olympics hull was fully plated for the workers on titanic the challenge was to catch up working with hot metal speed was everything the riveters were paid on piece plate the faster they worked the more they earned danger was always close by samuel joseph scott aged 15 was the first to die on titanic 17 would lose their lives building these ships [Music] alfie cunningham was starting work on titanic's boilers theirs was the heartbeat that would pump 30 000 horsepower to the engines 29 boilers fed by 159 furnaces burning over 600 tons of coal each day [Music] the boilers dwarfed the men who built them the titanic was designed for efficiency excess steam would be diverted through a turbine to increase her power by more than half and this is where all that energy would be driven to the giant manganese bronze propellants a central one of 22 tons flanked by two more 38 tons each and four times the height of a man it was these that would drive titanic through the atlantic swell but that was still two years away [Music] first a 200 ton floating crane was needed to lower the engines and boilers into titanic a german company was supervising the crane's construction but as the monster grew so the rouse began i'm telling you bonaire if you want us up though you can whistle the belfast men were deeply suspicious of the germans the larger and it's none too safe up there and they might have a point the way they say it is a german crane let them risk their own necks see a lot of the boys are convinced they're spies come here to steal the secrets of our new ships sell them to our competitors no one was better equipped to tackle the problem than the chief draftsman roderick chisholm his way with words would eventually win him a place on titanic roddy chisholm had worked his way into management from the shop floor he could get on with anyone better still he spoke germany national pride was at stake the germans agreed to finish the crane themselves [Music] [Applause] for young men these were sterling times patriotism and religion were to be celebrated [Applause] alfie hadn't joined the orange order himself he was too busy studying but he could understand the pride felt by those who were orange men you all right there alfie fine mr frost good man he was proud too of titanic this was the launch day for olympic lord pity was never happy to see work stop those watching the launch had to forfeit their pay what are you doing here aren't you gonna come watch watch what you know what five minutes to go come on you want me to lose half a day's wages just to watch that our pin tub splash into the lagoon just my chef alfie hi and i'm trying to build mine here if you hadn't noticed you're an egypt cunningham so we are with hard work alfie might yet get onto titanic but today it was olympic in the limelight lord perry had even had her painted white for the photographs the giant floating crane was ready at last but the german flag had been raised as a finishing touch the belfast men were not impressed [Music] livestock [Music] ah [Music] [Music] so where do we stand mr chisholm they've apologized handsomely and i promised you all a drink [Applause] the germans surrendered both the crane and their flag they were even persuaded to hoist the union jack soon enough these men really would be at war but for now peace [Applause] [Music] six days a week noise from the yard echoed across belfast on sundays it stopped that's when the men brought their families to admire their work now would you call that a funnel or not you could fit a tram car in it imagine the size of the engine i'm having to build [Music] this needs a funnel that size to take away the smoke [Music] now the stage was set for titanic it was launch day and time for differences to be set aside so what's going on ah sure they've only sent me over to help knock out the shores on titanic he's working on our ship after all this time i said she was second best hi and i can be permanent son olympic seals off our sea trails this afternoon so go on then get to work i bet you'll be careful under there son that's no place for sky logging hi of course it will you're right there michael where are you too often we're traveling first class so we are you know what we'll be going down the slip hunter we'll have to help gather in the cable that's not fair no it isn't is it [Music] a last inspection for piri and isme even without engines and fittings the hull weighed 24 000 tons [Music] as the timber props were knocked away her full weight settled onto the sliding way [Music] on the launch platform captain edward j smith who would skipper both olympic and titanic 10 minutes to the launch and a red flag was hoisted to warn other river traffic to stand clear titanic now rested fully on the slipway thickly coated with 20 tons of liquid soap and train oil just two hydraulic triggers held her in check there would be no champagne no ceremonial naming for titanic that was not the white star way a simple command was enough release the triggers [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] as she entered the water with scarcely a ripple she was already traveling at 12 knots only the drag chains trailing behind 160 tons of them could draw her to a halt it had taken just 62 seconds [Music] titanic was a fluid [Music] nothing could check the chain of events that would follow now the slipways were empty for the first time in over two years titanic was in the water [Music] she was still an empty shell waiting for carpenters engineers and painters to transform her into a liner here meanwhile her sistership olympic was on her maiden voyage thomas andrews was anxious for news at last a wire from olympic yes from mr isme he's raised some real concerns about the show the springs and the mattresses are too soft and there's a lack of cigarette holders in the wc's also we are short of a potato peeler [Music] well done tommy well done [Music] but even as titanic slipway was being cleared there was another forewarning of tragedy to come get james dobbin age 43 was fatally injured by falling timbers he died the next day already titanic was at the fitting out wharf but it would be almost a year before she was ready to sail [Music] funnels and boilers decking and lighting furnishings fittings and paintings all had to be put into place everything to live up to the dream of the world's greatest liner [Music] and in that year the guarantee group would be chosen to the eight workers who'd earned themselves a trip on the maiden voyage many had scarcely left belfast america was beyond imagining shall i tell you something liam flirty what's that mr miller i think you're on your way to being a half decent shipwreck you should tell my dad that yeah that's def i mentioned it to a few other people though mr comey and the gaffer for example well that's good here mr murray i might have done you a bigger favor than you think why is that he's been asked by mr andrews to recommend a shipwreck and an apprentice to go on titanic's maiden voyage you don't mean he's thinking of recommending you and me thinking off is as far as it goes at the moment every day counted to complete titanic pity could not afford distractions there must be no led up coming none at all i understand but there was no escaping the bitterness in the yard island was heading for political crisis home rule simply means granting ireland a measure of independence it doesn't mean casting ourselves a drift in the atlantic with respect that isn't how many of the men in the yard see it and they're blind can we get this right now tommy the future of ireland will be assured for 100 years or more [Music] now have that [Music] the removed has come not just to stand up for kmrt most of pity's workers were against home rule unionists were determined to resist irish independence by there will be no surrender [Applause] the workers of this shipyard will be at the vanguard the talk was a treachery and for pity's workers there was one man they could not forgive [Music] [Applause] come on ready to deal with the devil to sell his own soul of institution there was poison they were not i might successful going to new york new york what are you talking about oh it's not definite but mr miller thanks for your real chance of being asked get lost liam hi so you get 100 yards in the falls road and you don't know where the hell you are did not take you to new york son but she's not even your ship olympics always been your ship yeah well titanic's my ship now whatever happened to you alfie cunningham mr curzin how long is it since you promised to come to one of our lodge meetings oh well i didn't exactly promise it's just difficult i've classes up at the institute most nights well study's a fine thing but you should be studying the history of your own people your own traditions i'm sure you're right mr gazing well it's not just all talk these days believe me we're having drill most nights ready for all eventualities who does he think he is drill there's a lot of that going on at the lodges these days there's talk they'll be getting rifles aye it's madness why some of us want this kingdom to stay united there's a lot of irishmen who don't want home rule so you're gonna fight too i haven't said that start a civil war we don't want to start anymore we just want to stay loyal to our country you're starting to sound more and more like your man guilty [Music] so is this true you really might get asked to go to new york maybe but i've been thinking whether i do go or not we should go as a family america to live the doctor says you need dry air clear air all it does is rain in this city you can't leave belfast why not because this is our home we can't give that all up just because of me people leave ireland every day and it wouldn't be just because you this city that yard there's something bad in here it's not the place i want to be anymore [Music] only on titanic now did the real world seem far away piri's vision was coming to life [Music] to those who'd built her titanic had turned into a ship of dreams would you look at her titanic's magnificent did we really build all this you me and one or two more she didn't build herself that's for sure but isn't she grand solid like she's always been here and always will be [Music] maybe she's too good for the likes of us neither alien [Music] then disaster [Music] titanic's sister ship olympic was hold in a collision with the royal navy cruiser hms hawk the impact was felt back in belfast because the man responsible was the skipper who would soon also command titanic captain smith the captain of hms hawk quite simply got too close and lost control the concern now was that these liners were monster ships too big to be handled safely and it's plain from which vessel came off worse titanic's builders were past masters at handling the press that olympic comfortably survived the collision consider what would have happened to any other vessel which had suffered such severe damage say the mauritania as water flooded in her poor crewman would have scurried around frantically trying to close the doors between all her separate compartments and stem the flow a vain endeavor but we at harland and wolf gentlemen have introduced automatic watertight doors a simple flick of the switch suffices to seal the entire ship and render her safe mulch had been made of the watertight doors a design that harland and wolf had actually borrowed from a german rival what was undeniable was that they worked as soon as water is detected in the ship an electric switch is automatically thrown causing all the bulkhead doors throughout the ship to close at once mr frost i should come to this side of the door mr green or you may get very wet there we are home with her automatic doors in place olympic had stayed afloat even with two compartments completely flooded so this in your view makes the ship what unsinkable captain smith had long argued exactly that i cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel modern shipping has simply gone beyond that look if there's a ship safer we don't know of it as far as i'm concerned she is practically unsinkable practically unsinkable was the phrase used to sell titanic to most people it meant simply the titanic was safe the fact that her sister ship had survived a collision with a cruiser only reinforced that titanic's completion schedule had been critically hit one of her propeller shafts was now needed to repair olympic lord pity pushed the date of titanic sailing back into april 1912. a fatal move by then the melting ice pack would lie directly in her path [Music] piri was on a collision course of his own bent on home rule come what may he intended to stage a rally in the heart of belfast his choice of speaker would outrage his opponents it has to be mr churchill margaret you know they'll hate you for it we'll make them see the error of their ways winston churchill the lord of the admiralty was a hate figure for ulster loyalists like piri he had a unionist pedigree he too was seen as a traitor it coming good man holster's future was in the balance but titanic at last was in dry dock unionists or not for some workers it was finishing the ship that mattered mr frost what uh you know how there's always a bunch of fellas sent with a ship on its maiden voyage the guarantee group aye i have a pal who reckons he might be chosen is that a factor i i was wondering if like you know his four man might be kidding him on why would he do that now well for a start this pal is a catholic no but i mean there's some people in this yard who say if you're not a protestant and a member of an orange lodge for that matter you're lucky to have a job at all let alone go to america on titanic there's no place for sectarianism in this yard the job's what matters i say that as a protestant and an orange man so it could be true new york i wouldn't know i'd only know which engineers would be going you might also have a short list of apprentices in mind to take with me you don't mean take nothing for granted our faith just get on work hard see what happens for alfie cunningham new horizons but tommy miller's prospects were darkening [Music] honey oh no [Music] jeannie miller was just 32 when she died [Applause] titanic's maiden voyage was only weeks away the guaranteed group was on everyone's mind you're lying i am not maybe we'll both get to go to new york well he's just stringing you alone mr frost knows i'm good at my job and you're a fraud like his what's that got to do with it do your chances any harm will it be ready what do you mean are you saying mr frost's a bigot of course i'm not well might just say it was a joke alfie no it wasn't alfie i know arthur frost's not a bigot i shouldn't have said anything i will you did searches were routine but the loyalists were preparing to fight with whatever came to handle rivets had stitched titanic together they also made lethal ammunition [Music] as perry prepared to welcome churchill the mood in belfast was ugly ten thousand troops have been drafted in margaret if i thought it would come to this i'm not sure that i'd even the threat of violence is a disgrace william it's an attempt to stay for free speech you'll not let them succeed i most certainly will not pirie and churchill found themselves facing the full fury of the unionists [Music] and rivets were their [Music] churchill were lucky to escape with their lives pity had never been bettered in any confrontation but that day changed everything [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] lord piri fled ireland humiliated [Applause] [Music] the man who had conceived titanic the greatest shipbuilder in the world would never see her again [Music] after five long years titanic was almost complete in the dry dock but with lord petty's departure all order had gone it was no longer safe if you didn't belong excuse me what's wrong with you took some manners with you i don't take any lessons and monitors from you dirty little tig get away you two think you're safe don't you well not anymore perry ran away in case he didn't hear all catholics run away in the end perry's not a catholic why he's a catholic lover even worse come on son leave it you're better than this to the unionist titanic had become a british ship to the nationalists an irish ship the world was shifting [Music] it's about the guarantee group who still haven't heard anything oh that's all right all right but the thing is if you're chosen you'll not be going with me what you mean you've heard you're not going no i'm giving this job up why this yard never did feel safe but now it is i don't know i get a bad feeling about the place and i have two weens to look after but with our mother gone taking a job as a decon with a white star lane last grand but it'll take you away from home oh my sister-in-law i need to look after the boys when i'm saved enough i'm going to bring him out to america new life oh good luck hi thanks [Music] titanic had been conceived in london's belgravia that's where pity had taken refuge uncle william thomas thank you for coming over it's the best thing until things settle down in belfast and you're able to return there'll be no return i've done with belfast you're not saying you've done with shipbuilding there must be more to life than building ships tommy but i'm gonna need you to run the belfast shipyard for me from now on no arguments you're a unionist and the best liked man in holland and wolf something else i want you to do titanic's meeting voyage i was supposed to sail with her i can't now why my health a small tumor my doctor insists i must have an operation but you will recover i want you to take my place on titanic esme is going to between the two of you you can decide if this whole enterprise was worth it i'm not sure if i know anymore there was a different sickness in belfast politics were being fueled by anger and fear and in the shipyard there were scores to be settled lord perry regrets to inform you that you're out of a job and tell him to come down here and tell me so himself walt flurry you're not that deaf you touched me one more time you know what uh what's going on liam get out of here some news for you titanic sales on april 1st and we're honored we're in the guaranteed group go on boy just go what are you doing your old man has just been sacked we're after escorting them from the yard april thursday aye but it's not a joke and neither is this your pal leem flaherty's definitely going with us does he know i [Music] where are you going died pickett's beat up he just didn't hit hey keep it moving all right i'll not take you all away you'll want to walk out unassisted like the prey man you are these men have decided to look for work elsewhere what [Music] you've done this to them because they're catholics they got what was coming you make me sick launcher you can't let them drive you out like this that's what i saw liam you can't you've been picked for the guarantee group it's definite we're on titanic together tell them they'll need to get someone else will you in the face of bigotry many friendships were coming to an end titanic now was ready to leave the city of her birth and to face her final test her sea trials five years of endeavor for one moment not the engines away we go boys [Music] the steam from the boilers drove the main engines at a pressure of over 200 pounds per square inch [Music] gentlemen titanic is underway [Music] and with her turbine engaging the central propeller she was brought up to cruising speed [Music] there had been last minute changes more first class state rooms and private promenades they'd made her heavier a thousand tons heavier than her sister ship at over 46 000 tons titanic was now the world's biggest ship the sea trials were not a formality how to stop them [Music] francis carruthers from the board of trade was on the bridge in three years of construction he'd inspected titanic almost two thousand times i don't expect her to turn on a six-month captain smith just within reasonable limits it was for him to sign her safety certificate on that april day in the irish sea titanic was put to the crucial test at her full speed 21 knots how quickly could she stop full speed a stun full speed [Music] as the great ship slowed the hopes of all who'd built her quickened [Music] [Music] well mr crothers 850 yards well done that's quite acceptable excellent excellent she'd stopped in under half a mile less than three times her own length her passenger certificate was endorsed good for one year titanic was free to take on the world and chance had brought aboard someone who knew her very well mr miller perfect two months earlier thomas miller had left the shipyard but white star was short of crew he was back on the ship he'd helped to build lay it in only my second job was a deck hunt in new york on titanic and they were short-handed make good luck well isn't that the best news and you're going through hi so we'll be seeing plenty more of each other for well you're all faith i'm gonna buy you some apple pie in new york [Music] with the fading light titanic prepared to leave her birthplace for good and thomas andrews gathered his prized guarantee group the troubleshooting team for the maiden voyage eight trusted men among them roderick chisholm arty frost look out there mommy for me okay alfie cunningham [Music] the tommy miller was also there must have seemed a happy accident a penny each they're this year's don't spend until they come back would be even richer then all right artie frost we know was sure of promotion on his return and alfie's hard work had also paid off the shipyard had named him apprentice of the year his future was secure [Music] mr welch goodbye goodbye and good luck [Music] every man boarded titanic in hope and expectation we'll see you in a couple of weeks [Music] 12 days later on the night of april the 14th 1912 titanic the biggest ship in the world met her iceberg shaped by nature six times her size she carried over two thousand two hundred passengers and crew but lifeboats for only half that number as rivets popped and steel plates parted half a dozen gashes left titanic mortally wounded she had been designed to stay afloat with up to four compartments flooded under the iceberg's impact six sprang open five years in the making titanic sank in two hours and 40 minutes [Music] thomas andrews is said to have helped many to escape he was last seen alone in first class [Music] artie frost was witnessed heading down into the engine room the body of roderick chisholm chief draftsman was never recovered [Music] alfie cunningham 21 years old was reported among the survivors it was a case of mistaken identity and tommy miller died alongside his former workmates all of the guaranteed group the man who built titanic died on board their ship one thousand five hundred more people died with them titanic's owner bruce is made did find a place in the lifeboats a disgrace that finished his career the titanic inquiry cleared the shipbuilders of blame but lord petty's health was broken he died with his business almost bankrupt [Music] in belfast the men who built and sailed on titanic are remembered by name [Music] their families still cherish their memories and keepsakes from thomas andrews a telescope from roderick chisholm a book presented for titanic's launch from arty frost his foreman's whistle and slide rule and from tommy miller the two pennies he gave his children [Music] those who built titanic believed they stood at the dawn of a new era sadly they were right [Music] within two years the entire world would be at war the edwardian dream was over but the dreams of the men who brought titanic to life would never die have become part of her legend [Music] you

Channel: Our History

Views: 3,837,310

Keywords: our history, documentary, world history documentary, documentary channel, award winning, life stories, best documentaries, daily life, real world, point of view, story, full documentary, history

Id: nBVa2TFKHco

Length: 67min 31sec (4051 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 30 2021