Titanic connection

[Kammy Tribus]

I hope I have found the right place to post this. I've finally found my very own "Titanic Connection". I had a computer client several years ago, a guy who was a manufacturers rep for several different marine equipment companies. One of the companies he reps for is Welin.

I did a workboat show with this guy once and the advertising material for Welin mentioned having designed the davits on the Titanic. I think we had a poster up, or something like that, and lots of people stopped by to ask about it.

I wondered about the effect of a company associating itself with such a great maritime tragedy but in this case, Welin was seems to have been one of the involved parties that pretty much did it right. That's my understanding so far at least!

I spoke with my old client recently and he told me that Welin built a few of the davits used in the James Cameron film. I'm guessing they only needed one or two working models and that the rest were for props only but I really don't know.

I did manage to find the Welin website after much digging (and promptly lost the link) but it's under construction at this time.

Anyway, I'm pleased to finally have a Titanic Tidbit to post.

Regards,

Kammy

P.S. If there is a better place for this post, could somebody move it for me? Thank you.

Edited by Kammy, to add post-script.

[Moderator's note: This post, originally posted in another thread outside of this subtopic has been moved to here. JDT]

 

[Roy Kristiansen]

Hi, Kammy!

This is my understanding, at any rate. Welin advertised its new davits as being able to launch as many lifeboats as could be conveniently placed near them. The White Star Line, mindful that the British Board of Trade was considering increasing the number of boats required for these giant new steamships, installed the davits on both the Olympic and the Titanic in anticipation of the new requirements. Once those became law, the WSL would have complied by adding more boats. In the meantime, they opted to go by the existing lower, lopsided formula, and even threw in four Englehardt collapsible rafts for good measure.

You might say that the Titanic disaster was an inadequate test of the Welin davits' capabilities, because they were required to perform only minimal work. If anything, the number of lifeboats on the Titanic, rather than the davits themselves, influenced decisions on just how the ship was to be evacuated.

With regard to the Titanic crew's reaction to the new davits, it was favorable, in view of what they'd had to work with before then.

Welin didn't have anything to be ashamed of.

Roy

 

[Roy Kristiansen]

P.S., Kammy,

That's an interesting "connection." I have fun with elevator techies by asking them what the Eiffel Tower and the Titanic had in common. The answer, which they never get, is Otis elevators.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>but in this case, Welin was seems to have been one of the involved parties that pretty much did it right. That's my understanding so far at least!<<

I'm inclined to agree with that. The only other option in that day and age were the "radial" davits used by the Lusitania and Mauritania and these were hardly the easiest rigs to work with. As far as I'm concerned, the Titanic's crew did a magnificent job with getting as many boats away as they did with as little training as they had...and without any serious incident or mishap.

Considering all they had working against them, this was no mean feat!

 

[Roy Kristiansen]

Hear, hear!!

 

[Leigh Canavci]

I have a Titanic connection, my nanna was housekeeper to Mrs Cheape when she lived in tiroran and when she left to move to the mainland my nanna went with her. My mum has great memories of Mrs Cheape and thought of her as a wonderful lady.

 

[Kammy Tribus]

I have a Titanic connection, my nanna was housekeeper to Mrs Cheape when she lived in tiroran and when she left to move to the mainland my nanna went with her. My mum has great memories of Mrs Cheape and thought of her as a wonderful lady.

Now that is an interesting connection! Thank you for sharing with us. How fascinating to be able to speak with someone in your family who has such vivid memories of Titanic.

Cheers!

Kammy

 

[Brian Ahern]

Leigh - could you be thinking of Catherine Beatrice Cheape Cay, who died on the Empress of Ireland?

I understand her family did have homes on some Scottish isles. There's an extensive thread on her under Empress of Ireland (started by yours truly), which is frequented by a relative of hers who posted as recently as today!

There was a Titanic connection to her, however, since her sister-in-law was Margaret Ismay, Bruce Ismay's daughter.

The thread on Catherine is here:
https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/discus/messages/33551/93503.html?1155942837

If the Mrs. Cheape you're talking about was Catherine's mother, then you're grandmother would probably have met Margaret Ismay Cheape as well.

I hope I haven't confused you by talking about somebody who wasn't at all who you were referring to. But I can't think of any Mrs. Cheape on the Titanic.

Welcome aboard!

 

[Leigh Canavci]

No she wasnt on the titanic and to be honest i dont know which one of the Cheapes she was but i`ll ask my mum and let you know.

 

[Kayla Marie Demers]

i' not sure if to post this here but does anybody know if there were any O'Sullivan's on the Titanic. if so, any info on them?

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hello Kayla,

Welcome aboard.

Yes, there was a passenger aboard with that name. Unfortunately, there isn't much information on her though, but here is her biography:

Bridget Mary O'Sullivan

 

[Kayla Marie Demers]

Hey Jason,Thanks, if anyone else has any info please let me know. This women could be the key to my entire family tree on my mother's side

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hi Kayla,

Sorry, I didn't see your post earlier. You're welcome for the information and all the best with your research.