Titanic Exhibition at The Duke!
Starts: Saturday 21st January 2017
Ends: Monday 23rd January 2017
From: 10:00 am
The sinking of the Titanic is a tragedy that has become fixed firmly in the popular imagination. But thanks to the dedication of Titanic enthusiast Nigel Voisey, a less well-known aspect of this historic event – involving Plymouth and the Duke of Cornwall Hotel – is being brought to light. The city’s reception of some of the Titanic’s survivors is the motivation for a new exhibition about the cruise liner starting right here at the Duke from 21st – 23rd January 2017.
The exhibition will showcase a fascinating selection of artefacts and memorabilia relating to RMS Titanic and White Star Line, the shipping company that created her. The items on display will include White Star dishes and cutlery, original drawings and documents, and even a part of the structure from the wreckage of the Titanic itself. Organiser Nigel Voisey explains that securing this artefact is particularly significant for the exhibition:
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view an original piece of the structure of the Titanic which has never been shown in the South West before. The last time an item like this was on display was in the Science Museum in London in 2002.”
As well as being an opportunity for Plymouth residents to see a fascinating range of Titanic-related objects, the exhibition also aims to acquaint visitors with an appreciation of the how the city was significant in the aftermath of the disaster. There were 215 survivors of the crew on-board, and for 167 of these, Plymouth’s Millbay Docks was their point of arrival back in England.
A further role for Plymouth in the story was in providing accommodation for 20 stewardesses from the Titanic after returning from the disaster. These women spent their first night right here at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel, taking respite after the terrible ordeal they had endured but were fortunate to survive. This poignant factor clearly makes the hotel a fitting stage for a Titanic exhibition in the city.
This latest event follows a hugely successful one-day display of Nigel’s Titanic exhibits at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel in April 2016. The scale of the response from the Plymouth public was overwhelming, with a queue for the exhibition stretching around the street. With the exhibits on show for three days this time (and a further two days reserved for school parties), Nigel is relishing the chance to share his collection with an even wider audience:
“I’m getting really excited about the next exhibition. Getting up close and personal to Titanic is something that just doesn’t happen in Plymouth.”
To give you a flavour of the day, here is some footage taken from last years exhibition as well as a selection of photographs taken by Mark Kinsey.
To learn more about the fascinating story of the Titanic, please click here to visit Nigel Voisey’s website. We can’t wait to attend the exhibition ourselves and hope to see you there!