Introduce Yourself...

[SeaTravel]

Welcome Dave. Interesting about your Great Grandfather.

[Karl Texler]

Hi All

I'm Karl. I was a long time and frequent poster in the previous incarnation of this forum. I was very sad to come back to it after a bit of a career induced pause and see it all gone, there was such a wealth of information. However I'm very also glad to see that Andrew C. has it up again and all the regulars are filling it up with responses to questions and input from the newbies - there's a lot of deja vu happening here!

I've been interested in Titanic ever since (as a 6 year old), I saw a dramatic painting of her end. This was in a National Geographic magazine article about the Ice Patrol and was painted by Harper Goff. The painting showed her upending steeply and submerged to the base of the third funnel (at first I thought she only had 3 funnels, actually).

Boats (shipping and sailing) have always been a love of mine and Titanic became an ideal subject. I believe it can appeal to the humanitarian, the social scientist, the mariner, the engineer and the forensic investigator (take your pick!).

Having worked as a veterinarian all my professional life, I now find myself working for the Australian Department of Agriculture, Forestries and Fisheries as a manager in the food exports division. My other interests include paragliding, sailing (including model yacht racing), windsurfing, snow skiing, squash. .....Oh and I'm seriously into good food and drink!!

My wife Susi and I have been blessed with 2 daughters (now grown up and left home). I'm based in the Victorian Alps in North Eastern Victoria, but spend my working week in Canberra (with a weekend commute to home).

Cheers!

Karl

[Dave Gittins]

Welcome back Karl!

I know we can count on you for some sensible postings.

[Karl Texler]

Hi Dave!

Thanks for that. Good to see that you are still on the scene (and still knocking about in that boat of yours)!

Sensible postings? Wow - the pressure is on!

Cheers!

Karl

[VW1956]

Hello Karl. You certainly were a frequent poster on the older site so much so that I thought it odd that you should be introducing yourself as a newbie. Ken.

[David Hartley]

Hello everyone. I'm David Hartley and I live in Burnley Lancashire. I'm descended from Wallace Hartley (I'm sure you all know who he is.) He grew up only 4 miiles from here and I take flowers to his grave in Colne Cemetary on the anniversary of the sinking - I just think that's a nice thing to do, if a little sentimental.
Feel free to say hello.

David

[VW1956]

Hello David. Wow, another decendent from Titanic and such a big player as Wallace Hartley. Good to see you on here. You say you take flowers to his grave each year if a little sentimental. Yes it is sentimental but a wonderful thing you do. From what I've read Wallace Hartley probably had the biggest funaral of all the people that perished that dreadful night. There were many heroes made that night and the whole of the band deserved to be amongst them. Ken.

[SeaTravel]

Hello everyone. I'm David Hartley and I live in Burnley Lancashire. I'm descended from Wallace Hartley (I'm sure you all know who he is.) He grew up only 4 miiles from here and I take flowers to his grave in Colne Cemetary on the anniversary of the sinking - I just think that's a nice thing to do, if a little sentimental.
Feel free to say hello.

David

Wow, what an honour to be descended from Wallace- a true gentleman and brave man. He and his bandmates I think comforted many passengers. I think it is wonderful you lay flowers on his grave- he truly deserves this and it is not sentimental but lovely. x

[VW1956]

Hello David. Dont know if you read through all the headings on here but Andrew Clarkson has posted a piece about Wallace Hartley in the news section. Ken.

[Daniel Lyddon]

Hello, I'm Daniel, I'm a writer & producer from South Wales currently producing a short film about a young British man who picked up the Titanic's distress call but wasn't believed.

[Dave Gittins]

Hello Daniel!

You have, of course, a contemporary primary source.

[bwj292]

Hi guys,

I'm Ben and I'm from Birmingham in the West Midlands. I've been facinated with the story of the Titanic since I was a boy and look forward to reading around the forum.

Glad to be here.

Ben

[David Hartley]

Hello David. Dont know if you read through all the headings on here but Andrew Clarkson has posted a piece about Wallace Hartley in the news section. Ken.

Hi Ken. Thanks for signposting me to that piece. I hadn't heard the concerto before and there are clips on the BBC new article, so now I've heard some of it. I'm musical myself, maybe it's in the genes, although I'm a trombonist which is far as away from the violin as you can get! I played with the Lancashire County Youth Band when I was younger and got to travel all over Europe with them on summer tours. I even had the priveledge to play a trombone concerto accompanied by the band in front of the King and Queen of Sweden. We often played concerts on board ship as we travelled to different countries which was a great experience - but not nearly as eventful as the concerts played by Wallace and his fellows.
Anyhow, it's nice to 'meet' you all and I look forward to joining in some discussions but I can't promise to know as much about Titanic herself as some of you guys obviously do. Dave

[VW1956]

Hello Ben. Good to see you on here. As always just about anything you want to know someone will be ablke to help you. o ask away. Ken.

[Marion]

Hello David, Ben and Daniel

David, I think it's lovely that you take flowers for Wallace. Maybe there's a tendency to think that sort of thing's a bit sentimental these days but that hardly matters... it's good to remember people and he was so heroic that night. And memorials were so important to the Victorians and Edwardians. I look after the grave of some relatives who died in a railway accident in the C19. The last survivor of the family left instructions in her Will that the grave be maintained with its flowers and shrubs in perpetuity, but that fell through after the original Cemetery company went bust. I had the grave repaired a few years ago and I take flowers there on significant dates. One day I want to get the plot planted properly again, but I'm a rubbish gardener and pretty broke at the moment. Meanwhile I do what I can.