Titanic Designer
I was very interested in your feature (Nov. 3) on the rehabilitation of Edward Smith, the captain of the ill-fated Titanic .
The people of Comber, County Down, Northern Ireland, are not as shy as the English folks of Stoke-on-Trent, Smith’s birthplace. Thomas Andrews Jr., the designer of the Belfast-built Titanic and a native son of Comber, was long ago “rehabilitated.” The townspeople themselves raised the money to build the Andrews Memorial Hall, which functioned as a town meeting place. And a new primary school has also been named after Andrews.
Andrews’ relatives continued to play an active role in civic affairs. John M. Andrews was the second prime minister of Northern Ireland, from 1940-1943. And another John Andrews was deputy prime minister under Terrence O’Neill in the early 1970s.
The Titanic’s identical sister ship, the Olympic, continued to ply the Atlantic for many years afterward; though I understand with the provision of additional lifeboats!
DAVID McCALDEN
Manhattan Beach
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