The Titanic Gallery

To mark the 90th anniversary, Southampton city libraries have linked up with cultural services oral history archive to provide a special gallery on the Titanic. This brings together archive photographs and sound clips of oral testimony.

In the early 1980s oral historians interviewed Titanic survivors and local people in Southampton about their memories of 'the unsinkable ship', which later formed the basis of the best-selling book 'Titanic Voices'.

The extracts in this collection describe people's excitement at the sight of the new ship in the docks, passengers' boarding, the near-collision with the New York as she left the docks. As the story unfolds, the interviewees describe the ship striking the iceberg and the events that followed - the launch of the lifeboats, the hours on the lifeboats until rescue by the Carpathia at dawn. Meanwhile, residents of the town speak of the 'great hush descending on the town'. And finally, the memories of those who lost family and friends speak of the effect it had on their lives.

About the oral history archive

The oral history archive has been recording Southampton people's life stories since the early 1980's and is now one of the largest and most well-established in the country. It covers the period from 1890 to the present day and provides us with invaluable information - both oral and photographic - about life in the city.

The archive is particularly strong in the areas of maritime history and includes interviews with seafarers, dock workers and Titanic survivors. Other recordings document life in the city over the past century, from experiences during the two world wars to post war immigration from the Caribbean, East Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

The material is presented to the public in exhibitions, talks, training workshops and popular publications with eight titles published on local communities, Southampton during the Second World War, cinemas, RMS Queen Mary and the Titanic.