‘Mutiny on the Olympic’
Talk at PRONI
Date and time
Location
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
2 Titanic Boulevard Titanic Quarter Belfast BT3 9HQ United KingdomGood to know
Highlights
- 1 hour
- In person
About this event
Olympic was preparing to sail from Southampton for New York on 24 April 1912, a fortnight after her sister Titanic had left the same port on her maiden voyage. Many lifeboats had been placed aboard but plenty of people were on edge following the disaster.
Minutes before she was about to depart, some of the ship’s crew went ashore and refused to sail. They expressed concerns about the ship’s lifeboats. Olympic was moved to a safe anchorage so that these concerns could be addressed but these efforts and the recruitment of replacement crew men was of no avail. In fact, the replacement crewmen were then the cause of more unrest. These extraordinary events led to her voyage being cancelled and a number of her crewmen appearing in court.
About the author:
Mark is a maritime historian based in the United Kingdom, focusing on the great White Star and Cunard liners of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. You can keep track of his latest articles, books and presentations by subscribing to his website blog.
He has authored many critically acclaimed books, including Olympic, Titanic & Britannic: An Illustrated History of the ‘Olympic’ Class Ships (2012), The ‘Big Four’ of the White Star Fleet: Celtic, Cedric, Baltic & Adriatic (2016) and Oceanic: White Star’s ‘Ship of the Century’’ (2018) and contributed to many more. His works are ‘extraordinarily researched’ and ‘highly recommended’: ‘Once you see the author’s name on the cover you know it’s worth buying’. He has won no fewer than four ‘Ship of the Month’ awards from Ships Monthly.
He appears regularly on television and radio in the United Kingdom and internationally, including ‘Antiques Road Trip’ on BBC 1, the History Channel, RMC Decouverté; BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Ulster. Mark also lectures on the subject: ‘I am not exaggerating to say that you are one of the best lecturers I’ve heard…; so articulate, precise and unassuming as you share your in-depth and impeccably referenced knowledge’.
His website is: www.markchirnside.co.uk