The Titanic Memorials Around the World
Belfast, Southampton,New York and Halifax Have Main Monuments
May 8, 2009
There are memorials to passengers and crew of the ill-fated Titanic in cities of the world as far-flung as Ballarat, Australia , yet, as might be expected, most memorials are concentrated in those cities most closely associated with the liner . She was built in Belfast, Ireland, sailed from Southhampton, England and was due to arrive in New York, USA. Halifax, Nova Scotia completes the tragic tale with graves of the recovered victims, and flotsam from the wreckage in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. The following are brief descriptions of the memorials that are placed in these cities. Oddly, there is a history of Titanic Memorials needing to be moved from their original placements.
Titanic Memorials in Belfast
The people of Belfast felt enormous pride in the Titanic. It was their ship: worked commenced on it in 1908 and so the ship was a feature of the city for 6 years. The contractors, Harland and Wolff, employed 3000 men on the job. Dr. Robert D. Ballard, who discovered the wreck in 1986, writes that, when the hull was run down the slipway, the largest man-made object ever to be moved, 100,000 people turned out to witness the event.
It is no surprise, then, that Belfast erected a memorial to those lost in the disaster. The money was raised by public conscription and the biggest contributors were the workers at Harland and Wolff, the White Star Line (the owners) and the family of the ship’s chief designer, Thomas Andrews.
The memorial was specially dedicated to the 22 crew members from the Ulster region and the hand-picked engineers of the Harland and Wolff Guarantee team who travelled (and died) on the ship. It was placed in the middle of Donegal Square, but due to the number of cars that ran into the monument over the years, it had to be moved to its present location in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.
The Titanic Memorials in Southampton
Southampton witnessed the enormous excitement and celebration of the Titanic’s maiden voyage. Most of the crew members were recruited there. Consequently, 549 of those who lost their lives in the disaster were from Southhampton. As such is the case, there are several Titanic memorials in this city.
In East Park, the unveiling of the granite monument to the Engineering Officers, who stayed at their posts and died, was attended by a crowd estimated at 100,000, according to Titanic-titanic.com.
The Members and Friends of the Amalgamated Musician’s Union, Southampton Branch erected a memorial at the city library to the Titanic band members who played on till the last. The library and the plaque were bombed out of existence in World War II, and a replica of the memorial was only erected in 1990.
Southampton also houses the Titanic Stewards Memorial Fountain. The dedication is a little broader than the name would suggest: it is to the crew, stewards, sailors and firemen who lost their lives in the disaster. Inexplicably, the memorial was subject to neglect and repeated vandalism, so in 1972 it was given a safer home in the ruins of Holyrood Church.
Titanic Memorials in New York
The Titanic was bound for New York on her maiden voyage and many US citizens were on the passenger list. Two of the most celebrated passengers were the co-founder of Macy’s Department Store, Isidor Straus and his wife Ida.
Their love story is part of the Titanic legend. Isidor was offered a place in the lifeboat with his wife and refused it; Ida then refused to be parted from her husband and gave her place (and her fur coat) to her maid. The couple are remembered by a memorial bronze of a reclining woman at a park bench in Straus Park, Upper West Side, New York.
The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse was originally erected on top of the Seamen’s Church Institute. It was not actually a light house but had a large black ball in a spire which was set to plunge down at 12 midday each day , for the benefit of ships in the harbor.
The building was demolished in 1968, and the demolishers kindly donated the lighthouse to the South Street Seaport Museum. Nicholas Zvengintov of Staten Island indicates that it was moved again in 1976 to the entrance of the Seaport tourist area.
Memorials in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Three ships from Halifax were involved in the sad task of recovering bodies of the victims. According to the Government of Nova Scotia website, 328 bodies were recovered but only 209 were in a fit state to warrant return to Halifax for identification.
Of those victims, 150 are now buried in Halifax, the majority forming a block of black headstones in the Fairfield Lawn Cemetery. Some, according to the wishes of family, are buried in the Jewish and Catholic cemeteries. One poignant headstone is dedicated to the memory of an unknown child.
There are also memorials at Cherbourg in France, and Cobh in Ireland where the Titanic berthed to take on passengers. Other memorials exist in Glasgow, Liverpool, Washington DC, and Ballarat, Australia.
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