Harland and Wolff questions

[Tom McCluskie]

It is a pleasure to be of some help Susan and in fact I recall David Geary extremely well as we met often during his time as company secretary. Unfortunately I have lost touch with him now and am unable to provide you with any contact details. As I said previously photographs of Lady Harland are available to purchase by the public from the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum under the Harland and Wolff Photographic Archive Collection. Unfortunately I am aware the museum can be rather slow at responding to enquiries and a great deal of patience is required. Another source of reference is the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland who hole the Harland and Wolff company records as well as information on prominent people such as Sir Edward and lady Harland. Both the UFTM and PRONI have web sites which my be located through the various web search engines. For example if you use Google and enter Sir Edward Harland and then click on images you will find several hundred. Good luck in your research and if I can be of any further assistance please contact me again at any time.

[Susan Wann]

Hello Tom. Both UFTM and PRONI have responded to me that no photos of Lady Harland are held. Having been told that the Harland and Wolff collection of historical material had been put in the care of UFTM I asked the person in charge of the collection to specifically check and she re-stated that there was no picture of Lady Harland. You will understand my concern that this is the case. I would appreciate an email from you. swann@bigpond.net.au I would also like to see any photo of Sir Edward and Lady Harland together so if you did find one on the internet please send me the link.

[Tom McCluskie]

Hello Susan,

I am sorry neither the Folk Museum or the PRONI were able to help you which I am sure you will agree is most disappointing. Unfortunately it is some years since I retired from Harland and Wolff so I am unable to advise you what happened to the Harland photographs which were in the company archives. Perhaps the Folk Museum or the PRONI have simply not got round to cataloguing the many thousand of items they have received. I would suggest you go back to them and ask they search the records for Rosa Matilda Wann which as you know was the maiden name of Lady Harland. I am also sure you have conducted a "Google" search under that name as under the "images" tab you will find photographs of Rosa.

[John Charles]

Hi Tom,

My Great Grandfather worked at Harland and Wolff in the 1940/50's, which over the last few years has caused considerable intrigue within our family, most recently from my Grandad.

His research has led him to your name, and more specifically, the possibility that we may be able to track down the time keeping number which was associated to my Great Grandfather. Whilst only small, there is a significant sentimental value to such a thing, and therefore should so happen to have access to this information I would be more than happy to provide his name to match the association.

Any assistance would greatly appreciated, regardless of whether we prove ourselves successful.

Many thanks, John

[Tom McCluskie]

Hi John,

Thanks for the question but I'm afraid I have only rather bad news for you... The Harland and Wolff personnel records, or rather those that still exist, form part of the collection in the Public Record Office for Northern Ireland. These records are accessible upon obtaining written permission from Harland and Wolff however it was company policy, at least during my time there, that all personnel records be kept confidential. I'm honestly not sure how that policy decision would affect your particular search as all you seek is a personnel number for a direct relation. All is not lost however as I can't think of any reason why H&W would not allow you access to these records. For more information on how to gain access to these records please visit the PRONI web site. Good luck in your research.

[Fred Hamond]

Tom - am doing some research on the 3 H&W steam cranes behind the Paint Hall. Colin Sherrard's article in 'Five Foot Three' notes them as having works numbers VS 23, VS 81 and VS 82 and engine numbers 14033, 24472 and 24473 respectively. VS 23 dates to 1941 and VS 81 and 82 to c.1958. All were built by Smith of Rodley, Leeds.
What does the prefix 'VS' stand for? Also, do you know where I might find more information on these cranes in the H&W archives (I have already culled those in PRONI to no avail)? Finally, only the engine plate of VS 23 survives; those on the other two cranes are missing. Would you have any idea where the missing plates are now?
Many thanks
Fred Hamond

[Tom McCluskie]

Glad to help Rodney, The VS plate stands for Victoria Shipyard which was their original location in Harland and Wolff. Sorry I can't help with the engine plates, probably somebody pinched them as a souvenir.

[Fred Hamond]

Thanks Tom. Victoria Shipyard seems plausible, and that's my thinking as well.
However, it has also been suggested to me by Colin Sherrard that 'VS' might possibly stand for Vertical Steam [boiler]. He used to work in H&W and has seen an 1958 boiler certificate for VS23 where the H&W works number (7472) AND VS23 are both quoted. The fact that both are cited suggests to him that VS might possibly be the boiler number.
Having said that, I came across an H&W report for y/e 1958 in which a 5-ton locomotive steam crane at the Alexandra Works was numbered 'AW8'. ...
Regards
Fred

[Fred Hamond]

A Smith (Rodley) nameplate along the side of VS23 (the north crane) has turned up in East Belfast. There were two - one along each side (you can still see their marks). Does anyone know where the other one might be?