Reporting local life since 1854 Saturday, April 14, 2012
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CA PTA I NSMITH’S
DATE WITHD E ST I N Y
APRIL 14, 1912
16-PAGE TITANICSPECIAL INSIDE
BNP LEADER ONRACE CHARGE
Former city councillor asks to stand trial at crown court
Way We WereThe
INSIDETO DAY
SEN-eO1-S4 [SF] THE SENTINEL Saturday April 14, 2012 1
Way We WereThe Saturday, April 14, 2012
ISSUE 31
Family of shipengineer willnever forget
PAGE 3
Harry survivedTitanic andworld war
PAGE 6
INSIDE
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Titanic story’s sombreimpact defies the years
Introducing a special edition of Way We Were,marking the centenary of the Titanic tragedy, theorigins of the disaster are recalled by Alan CookmanO N May 31, 1911, the largest
movable man-made objectin the world slid into theRiver Lagan in Belfast.
The textbook launch of RMS Titanictook barely a minute, her journey downthe slipway lubricated by 20 tonnes ofsoap and tallow.
A crowd of more than 100,000watched the launch of the supposedlyunsinkable liner.
The biggest ship afloat had beentaking shape in Harland and Wolff’sshipyard since 1909.
She had cost £1.5m and it had taken2,000 men and three million rivets tobuild her.
During the construction and fittingout, 246 injuries were recorded, 28 ofthem serious, including severed limbs,and eight men were killed.
After the launch, she was towed to agiant fitting-out dock where thousandsof workers were waiting to prepareTitanic for her maiden voyage.
It would take a full year to transformthe empty hull into the White StarLine’s most luxurious vessel.
Workers installed her engines, funnelsand superstucture, as well as the interior
features that were designed to bringthe last word in comfort and luxury tothe new ship.
Titanic was 882ft long and, as well as
opulent cabins and the finestrestaurants, she had a swimming pool,gymnasium and libraries, whilepassengers also had access to powerfulwireless telegraphy.
But although she boasted modernsafety features such as watertightcompartments, Titanic’s lifeboatcapacity was sufficient for only a thirdof her passengers and crew.
Sea trials began on Monday, April 2,1912, eight days before she was due toleave Southampton on her maidenvoyage.
After leaving Southampton on April10, Titanic visited Cherbourg, in France,and Queenstown, in Ireland, beforesetting sail for New York under thecommand of Hanley-born CaptainEdward Smith.
Although Titanic was designed toaccommodate a total of 2,566passengers, only 1,317 boarded theship for her maiden voyage to the US.
Of these, 324 were first class, 284second class and 709 third class.
At 869, male passengers significantlyoutnumbered female, of whom therewere 447.
There were 107 children on board,mostly third class and the crewnumbered 865.
It was on April 14, only four days intothe crossing, when she was 375 milessouth of Newfoundland, that Titanicstruck an iceberg with a glancing blowthat buckled her hull plates and toreopen five of her 16 watertightcompartments.
The Titanic remained afloat for two-and-a-half hours before finallydisappearing into the icy North Atlantic.
The disaster cost 1,514 lives,including that of Captain Smith, whowent down with his ship.� Do you have a personal connectionwith The Titanic? Did a relativesurvive or perish in the tragedy?Write to Colette Warbrook atFeatures Desk, The Sentinel, ForgeLane, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, ST15SS, including your address and adaytime telephone number, or [email protected].
How Sentinelbroke the
news in 1912PAGES 8&9
The Titanic, minus its four giant trademark funnels, slips into the River Lagan, in Belfast, in 1911.
CaptainSmith,right,andLordPirrie onboardTi t a n i cin 1912.
WHITE STAR LINE WHITE STAR LINE WHITE STAR LINE WHITE STAR LINE WHITE STAR LINE WHITE STAR LINE WHITE STAR LINE WHITE STAR LINE
Titanic Centenary Special Edition
BY ALEX [email protected]
BNP leader Michael Coleman hasappeared in court on racism charges.
The former councillor will go on trialaccused of causing racial har-assment over a seven-monthperiod.
It is understood the alleg-ations relate to commentsmade on the defendant’s web-s i t e.
The 45-year-old lost his MeirNorth seat on Stoke-on-TrentCity Council in last May’s elec-t i o n s.
But Coleman remainsthe controversialpar ty’s chief organiser
in the city and presented an award toStoke-on-T rent’s BNP activist of theyear during a Christmas party lastD e c e m b e r.
The BNP today refused to confirmwhether Coleman’s party membershiphad been suspended.
Asked about Coleman’s courtappearance, BNP national spokes-man Simon Darby said: “I’m noti n t e re s t e d . ”
Coleman, of Caverswall Road,Weston Coyney, denied two charges
of racially or religiously aggrav-ated harassment,
alarm or distress
caused by words or writing betweenAugust 2011 and March when heappeared at North Staffordshire Magis-t r at e s ’ Court. He requested a crowncourt trial.
BNP activist and former city coun-cillor Steve Batkin, of Bentilee, said theparty ordinarily suspends memberspending the outcome of legal proceed-i n g s.
He said: “I haven’t discussed the situ-ation with Michael Coleman.
“He has carried on with things likeleafleting, but to be honest there hasbeen a lot of demoralisation in the localparty ever since the council groupleader Alby Walker left.”
The BNP had nine seats in 2008/09and was briefly the second biggestgroup on the council, earning Stoke-on-
CHARGES: TheBNP’s MichaelColeman.
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Trent the dubious title as the far rightpar ty’s ‘jewel in the crown’ f ro mnational party chairman Nick GriffinM E P.
Its prominence in the city sparkednational attention and the party twiceused the city as a base for launchingnationwide manifestos.
But numbers in the council chamberdwindled to five before last year’s all-out elections, where it fielded just 10candidates and won no seats.
Coleman picked up just 299 votes lastMay as he lost out to Labour’s RuthRo s e n a u .
C o l e m a n’s case will be committed toStoke-on-Trent Crown Court on May24.
He was unavailable for comment yes-t e rd ay.
