Stephen McGann

He could have been in an engine room, he could have been having a kip. But very quickly there was an alarm and they said, look, there's been an incident. We need everyone downstairs. There was water ingress starting to happen from near the front and then pouring into the other compartments as you went down.

He could have been in an engine room, he could have been having a kip. But very quickly there was an alarm and they said, look, there's been an incident. We need everyone downstairs. There was water ingress starting to happen from near the front and then pouring into the other compartments as you went down.

It was not a trivial thing. An engine had to be carefully fired up, and more particularly where the Titanic is concerned, carefully tamped down at the end. What we would find hard to understand nowadays is once you start a many hundred degrees centigrade, hey, you know, that thing can explode if it gets cold water on it. It's dangerous. It can blow up.

It was not a trivial thing. An engine had to be carefully fired up, and more particularly where the Titanic is concerned, carefully tamped down at the end. What we would find hard to understand nowadays is once you start a many hundred degrees centigrade, hey, you know, that thing can explode if it gets cold water on it. It's dangerous. It can blow up.

It was a filthy job. They would do four hours on, I think, real back-breaking work. Then they would take four hours off, then they might be on standby. It was a very strict rota, so you'd go back to bed exhausted, you wouldn't know where you were, what time of day it was, you'd wake up again, they'd call you beforehand and you'd go down.

It was a filthy job. They would do four hours on, I think, real back-breaking work. Then they would take four hours off, then they might be on standby. It was a very strict rota, so you'd go back to bed exhausted, you wouldn't know where you were, what time of day it was, you'd wake up again, they'd call you beforehand and you'd go down.

They had a bell, which a bit like that great scene in Ben-Hur with the Roman galley, with the galley man banging the drum. They literally used to run by a metronome, so they would then be forced, if it was full steam ahead, as it was, they would have to work to an ever more rapid noise.

They had a bell, which a bit like that great scene in Ben-Hur with the Roman galley, with the galley man banging the drum. They literally used to run by a metronome, so they would then be forced, if it was full steam ahead, as it was, they would have to work to an ever more rapid noise.

They did such a troglodyte job. You know, life for a black anger down in the engine room. Many of them went stark naked in the room because it was so hot. There'd be dangly bits everywhere because it was, you know, nobody cared. They would absolutely not meet and frighten the ordinary paying passenger. But also, When they're working, they're really working, there's no food breaks for hours on end.

They did such a troglodyte job. You know, life for a black anger down in the engine room. Many of them went stark naked in the room because it was so hot. There'd be dangly bits everywhere because it was, you know, nobody cared. They would absolutely not meet and frighten the ordinary paying passenger. But also, When they're working, they're really working, there's no food breaks for hours on end.

What used to happen was the scraps of food from the first and second class tables would be put into a sort of big dump, a mix of food, and they would eat it to keep their calories up, so they'd send it down to the black gang. But no, they weren't allowed to see them. No one was supposed to see these beasts.

What used to happen was the scraps of food from the first and second class tables would be put into a sort of big dump, a mix of food, and they would eat it to keep their calories up, so they'd send it down to the black gang. But no, they weren't allowed to see them. No one was supposed to see these beasts.

They used to defecate on their shovels and shove it into the furnace. That's what they used to do. You know, it's not delicate. When you're doing family history, this isn't Brideshead Revisit. The McGann story isn't pedigree stuff, you know. But I love this kind of detail.

They used to defecate on their shovels and shove it into the furnace. That's what they used to do. You know, it's not delicate. When you're doing family history, this isn't Brideshead Revisit. The McGann story isn't pedigree stuff, you know. But I love this kind of detail.

The ocean that night was so absolute still. There were no clouds, no nothing, no waves breaking against the iceberg summit. You could hardly see where the ocean ended and the sky started. It was as if the nature had prepared this big drama with an enormous ocean liner, as if it was floating over glass and then meeting its enemy.

The ocean that night was so absolute still. There were no clouds, no nothing, no waves breaking against the iceberg summit. You could hardly see where the ocean ended and the sky started. It was as if the nature had prepared this big drama with an enormous ocean liner, as if it was floating over glass and then meeting its enemy.

Here you have the biggest ship in the world carrying the richest people in the world and also the poorest. And this supposedly unsinkable ship sinks on her maiden voyage. It's such an unbelievable story.

Here you have the biggest ship in the world carrying the richest people in the world and also the poorest. And this supposedly unsinkable ship sinks on her maiden voyage. It's such an unbelievable story.

It's hard to believe now just how important Belfast was at the turn of the last century. It really was a huge industrial hub. My great-grandfather was a guy called Thomas Miller, and he grew up just outside of Belfast, a little town with the lovely name of Bonny before. It's more of a collection of houses, really, than anything else.

It's hard to believe now just how important Belfast was at the turn of the last century. It really was a huge industrial hub. My great-grandfather was a guy called Thomas Miller, and he grew up just outside of Belfast, a little town with the lovely name of Bonny before. It's more of a collection of houses, really, than anything else.