Titanic Study Day - 23rd April 2022 at Pear Tree Church and Church Hall
10.30 Registration
Display of Titanic artefacts & bookstall, teas & coffees available
11-12 Southampton & the Titanic
Geoff Watts, a longstanding member of the SSFC theatre, is also a tourist guide for Southampton and the Hamble Valley as well as being a member of the Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery. Geoff will set the scene for the day explaining why Titanic was in Southampton for its maiden voyage. He will look at the impact on the town and its people, including looking at the Titanic ‘graves’ in the Old Cemetery and the various memorials and buildings associated with the story.
12 noon Survivors Tales dramatic interlude
Annie Robinson, stewardess
John Diaper, fireman
12.30-1.30 lunch break, please bring a packed lunch, teas and coffees will be available.
1.30 Family Stories dramatic interlude
Join the wives and mothers of the crew as they contemplate the impact of the sinking of the Titanic
2pm A Family Story and the Titanic Fund
Dr Mary South, a founder member of the SSFC theatre, is also a Blue Badge tourist guide, and has a PhD in history. She also has direct experience of the impact of the sinking of the Titanic, as her grandfather was lost in the tragedy and her father was brought up supported by the Titanic Fund. Using her research skills, she has investigated her family history and will share this compelling story today.
3pm Pear Tree Families & the After Life of the Titanic
Dr Cheryl Butler, is also a founder member of the SSFC theatre, who writes and produces many of the shows. She is a Blue Badge tourist guide, has a PhD in history and has written a number of books about aspects of Southampton’s history. Cheryl will use family documents to illustrate the impact of the disaster on the parish of Pear Tree as well as looking at the ‘after life’ of the Titanic in films and plays including the productions of the Sarah Siddons Theatre
4pm The Inquiry – dramatic interlude, Pear Tree Church
Our day concludes with a performance of the final scene from the Sarah Siddons production of The Ship Titanic, which takes place during the first inquiry into the loss of the ship which took place in the United States in 1912. Witnesses include Fred Fleet, the ship’s lookout, Harold Bride, the ship’s telegrapher, Officer Lightoller, the highest-ranking senior officer to survive and Captain Rostron who was responsible for saving the survivors.
4.30 close