Harvest Home

Her design was approved on July 29, 1908. On March 31 the following year, her keel was laid in a specially-built yard on Queen's Island in Belfast, Ireland. Her life began just fifteen weeks behind her sister, the Olympic. And like her sister, she was built by Harland & Wolff and upon completion would be passed to her owner, the White Star Line. Her name, the RMS Titanic. 

       

In this October 1910 photo the Olympic can be seen on the right in Yard number 400. Titanic can be seen on the left, in Yard number 401. This photo was taken by Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff.

     

The size of the ships was so great that no existing ship yards could hold them. So over 1907 and 1908 three existing Queen's Island yards were torn down and replaced with two new and much larger yards, numbers 400 and 401. Yard number 400 was designated for Olympic and 401 for Titanic.

     

Belfast was a center for shipbuilding and many companies produced their vessels there. The work was very dangerous, but it was expected for the life of a shipbuilder at that time. When one ship was completed, the men would sign-on with another crew and another ship. Harland and Wolff employed 15,000 men at the time of the Olympic and Titanic, and many thousands worked for about 26 months on each of the great ships.

     

The tune "Harvest Home" is an example of the hornpipes that were played on English and other sailing vessels beginning in the 16th or 17th century. This particular tune would have been well-known to the shipbuilders of Queen's Island, as it would have to most western sailors of the day.

      

    

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