National Museums Liverpool Blog - Wednesday, May 16, 2012

We're all very excited about the forthcoming visit by Her Majesty the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh to the Merseyside Maritime Museum. To mark this momentous occasion, one of the museum’s fantastic paintings will be displayed as a centrepiece for the visit, alongside some objects from the Ismay silver collection which is currently on display in the Titanic and Liverpool exhibition.

‘Campania at the Spithead Review, 1897’ by Parker Greenwood depicts one of the greatest naval occasions, ‘The Review of the Fleet’ for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee on 26 May 1897. Famous merchant vessels attended and accommodated guests celebrating this exciting occasion.

Campania was the most impressive of the Cunard fleet at the time and was ordered in 1891 along with sister ship Lucania as a response to the competition in the ever competitive transatlantic service business. The artist has painted Campania in the centre foreground, flying a blue ensign flag which indicates the Captain and crew are members of the Royal Naval Reserve.

When looking close up at the painting it is clear to see it’s a celebratory occasion and the artist has captured this perfectly. Patriotic blue, white and red bunting flies happily in the breeze, Union Jack flags adorn the other vessels in the background. The event is well attended with crowds of people cheering and you can almost hear the clinking of glasses. As Curator of Maritime Collections (ship models and paintings) I shouldn’t really admit to favourite objects but this painting is especially enjoyable.

Liverpool has an impressive maritime painting history which is represented in the museum’s collection, more of which can be viewed in the Art and Sea gallery.

Marketing Officer Andrew Winder has news of how National Museums Liverpool will be one of 50 organisations marking the city’s International Day Against Homophobia on 17 May:

Many of the organisations involved will fly equality flags, host planters containing pansies created by artist Paul Harfleet and programme events.

At National Museums Liverpool, we plan to mark it with a special tour of Hello Sailor! at Merseyside Maritime Museum. The exhibition uncovers gay life at sea, particularly pre-decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. For many gay people, cruise ships and the merchant navy provided refuge that could not be found on land. A date for the tour of Hello Sailor has yet to be confirmed.

National Museums Liverpool is proud to support Homotopia’s IDAHO 50 initiative and is committed to ensuring that there is lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender visibility in our collections, exhibitions and events.

Currently, at the Museum of Liverpool in the People’s Republic gallery, we display the equality flag flown over Liverpool Town Hall for the International Day Against Homophobia in 2009. Our Maritime Library contains the Sailing Proud archive of oral histories of gay seafarers. Some of Liverpool’s gay landmarks feature as part of the online interactive Mapping Memory pages with accompanying videos and photographs."

Many flowers were left at the Lusitania's propeller at the service to mark the 97th anniversary of the sinking

On Bank Holiday Monday, Merseyside Maritime Museum held its annual commemoration for the sinking of Cunard liner 'RMS Lusitania'. Ellie Moffat, Curator of Maritime Collections, explains why this is an important event for the museum:

'Lusitania' had strong ties to Liverpool. She was registered in Liverpool, her home port, and was owned by Cunard, still based in the city at that time. The ship, referred to affectionately as “Lusie” by local people, was a familiar sight at the landing stage. In 1907 she sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage, bound for New York. Over 200,000 people came down to the Mersey to watch her depart. For the next eight years she provided a regular service across the Atlantic, breaking speed records along the way.

The sinking caused outrage and led to rioting in Liverpool and Birkenhead, and other cities across the world. It struck a tragic blow to the dockland communities in north Liverpool, where most of “Lusie’s” crew lived. 404 crewmen perished.

One of the most iconic objects in our collection is the port side four-bladed propeller that was salvaged from the wreck of RMS Lusitania by Oceaneering International Services Ltd, later acquired by the museum. It was one of four that drove Lusitania across the Atlantic. When she was launched in 1906, she was originally fitted with three-bladed propellers, but they were replaced with the four-bladed propellers in 1909 to improve her speed.

Each year on the anniversary, we hold an annual commemoration to remember those men, women and children who lost their lives. It was particularly poignant this year as were we are able to hold the commemoration around the propeller for the first time in several years.

During the event Ian Murphy, Deputy Director of Merseyside Maritime museum, gave an introduction. David Roberts, maritime historian and author, then gave a historical overview of “Lusie”. A short religious service was led by Father John Williams and a minute’s silence was held. To mark the end of the commemoration Ian Murphy laid a wreath at the base of the propeller on behalf of the museum. Many people attending also left flowers.

With the centenary only three years away, curatorial staff at Merseyside Maritime Museum are carrying out new research in to the 'Lusitania' and her connections to Merseyside. As part of this work, we would be very pleased to hear from local people with family connections to the famous ship and would encourage anyone to email us at:

lusitania@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

Find out more about 'RMS Lusitania' in our gallery Titanic, Lusitania and the Forgotten Empress."

From 'The Pickwick Papers' to 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' which is your favourite Charles Dickens story? Ciarán and Holly, Management students from LIPA, have devised a day of performance and interactions that bring some of the wonderful Dickens stories to life.

Here they tell us more:

Excitement is mounting as we put the final pieces in place for our event based on Dickens' world at Sudley House.

On Sunday 13th May from 11am until 4pm, characters from Dickens’ classics will roam the house with the accompaniment of live music and interactive activities for all to enjoy.

'I stole her heart away and put ice in its place' Miss Havisham, 'Great Expectations'

This dramatised event will showcase some of the most infamous characters from Dickens’ novels. Keep an eye out for:

• Ebenezer Scrooge from 'A Christmas Carol'
• The Artful Dodger & Nancy from 'Oliver Twist'
• Miss Havisham from 'Great Expectations'.

You can look forward to meeting Ebenezer Scrooge behind his desk within the study and if the sun is shining, Nancy may appear in the rose garden at the front of the house – we will stop there however before we give too much away!

At LIPA we are fortunate enough to have plenty of creative students studying the dramatic craft and are therefore always willing to perform and explore characters. A number of our Community Drama students will be playing some of the most well known roles within Charles Dickens’ repertoire. We look forward to seeing you there; feel free to question the actors about their lives, costume and language.

One of the most unique things about Sudley House is its wonderful grounds and the garden, which visitors can really make the most of now that the weather is improving! Here is Visitor Host Simon Breedon to tell us more...

Visitor Host Simon Breedon admiring Sudley's pond.

In fact most of the trees in the grounds are slowly putting out leaves, giving the whole estate a beautiful 'countryside' feel. There are two magnificent and mighty Tulip trees which are well worth heading over to see, especially in a couple of months when the lovely little tulip-like flowers are in full bloom.

Spring is a great time for children to visit Sudley House. They can keep an eye on the progress of the tadpoles in the pond and watch them as they slowly evolve into frogs. The courtyard area is also a good place to watch the amazing variety of birds, ranging from Long-Tailed Tits to Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. If you’re very lucky you may even spot a Sparrowhawk or Kestrel.

If it's a fine day visitors can just go into the courtyard - if the weather is bad, then ask a member of staff for assistance.

A contemporary postcard of Lusitania

This is probably my last Maritime Tales blog as I voluntarily leave the museum service in July 2012 to become a freelance.

The Lusitania story is one of my favourites because not only does the disaster seem unbelievable to this day but because this was Liverpool’s favourite liner.

At my local church – St James’s in West Derby – you can see a unique glass memorial with an image of Lusitania prominently included to symbolise Liverpool’s suffering in the Great War.

The strange behaviour of a passenger was followed by one of the great maritime disasters.

Robert Timmis was strolling along the deck with his work colleague Ralph Moodie when they saw a man strap on his lifebelt and climb into a lifeboat.

No-one could persuade the passenger – 43-year-old Michael Pappadopoulo,  from Greece - to get out.

Did he have a premonition? He must have been overcome with some overwhelming fear to take such drastic action.

Pappadopoulo spent an uncomfortable night in the lifeboat and presumably was relieved when the day dawned and everything was running smoothly.

It was 7 May 1915 and a glorious spring day as the Lusitania headed for Liverpool, the Irish coast on her port side

Timmis was a British cotton trader who was based in Gainesville, Texas. He and Moodie played medicine ball before going to lunch.

While they were eating, a U-boat submarine had stalked the Lusitania and fired a torpedo. Timmis later described the impact as a “penetrating thrust” – the ship was already listing when they had left the dining room.

Chaotic scenes followed as people scrambled for the boats as the great ship settled deeper and deeper into the water. Timmis was a big, solidly-built man and people sought reassurance from him.

Steerage passengers crowded around, many of them Russians who could not speak English.

Just 18 minutes after being struck by the torpedo, Lusitania took her final plunge. Both Timmis and Moodie were dragged down with her.

Timmis, a strong swimmer, remained remarkably calm and counted the 32 strokes it took to get back to the surface - he reckoned he had been sucked down 60 ft. He was later rescued by the Lusitania’s carpenter, Neil Robertson of Bootle. Moodie was never seen again.

At Merseyside Maritime Museum there is an inscribed photograph given by Timmis to his rescuer.

It reads: “To Neil Robertson, carpenter, Lusitania who took me into a damaged collapsible Lusitania boat about two hours after the ship had been torpedoed May 7 1915. I being in the water without a lifebelt. He acted as a good seaman and a brave man.”

Michael Pappadopoulo, whose forebodings had proved so correct, was also among the 1,200 people who died.

His wife Angela, wearing a sweater and trousers given by a crew member, swam a long way towards the distant shore before being rescued.

This is a version of my Maritime Tale that originally appeared in the Liverpool Echo,

This month paintings from across the UK will be arriving in Liverpool for the second stage of judging for John Moores Painting Prize.

One person who knows exactly how the entrants will be feeling right now is Nick Fox who was a prizewinner in 2010 with the beautiful painting 'Metatopia'.

Nick has recently very generously donated the painting to the Walker Art Gallery where it joins an outstanding collection of contemporary art.

Nick Fox with his prizewinning painting, 'Metatopia'

We’re thrilled the work is back on show for our visitors so we've arranged for Nick to come and discuss the painting, his practice and the Prize in more detail in a free talk on Friday 4 May at 1pm.

Here Nick tells us why he decided to donate 'Metatopia' to the gallery.

The Walker Art Gallery is one of the most important cultural institutions in this country housing a world class art collection. The historical collection and contemporary works held at the Walker were an inspiration to me when I was studying Fine Art in Liverpool. The works stimulated my fascination with the endurance of myth and storytelling, in particular the way Classical painting, Victorian visual culture and decorative craft objects, have currency with contemporary narratives of longing, seduction and romance. It felt right that I give something important like 'Metatopia', a signature work that represents this mediation, back to a city, an art gallery and a collection that has inspired me so much.

Attending the John Moores 2010 award ceremony at the Walker was an amazing experience and I was struck by the significance of the John Moores exhibition and contemporary collection in mediating and anchoring this outstanding historic collection. It’s essential that this heritage of conversation between old and new continues to provoke debate, offer critical relevance and nourish contemporary culture, particularly in light of restrictive cuts to funding across the arts sector.

I’m delighted that 'Metatopia' will be joining the Walker’s critically illuminating and world-class contemporary collection and honoured that it will be hung alongside champions of painting past and present.

Nick has a solo presentation at Volta8, Basel with Vane Gallery, opening in Basel on the 10th June.

John Moores 2012 judges George Shaw and Iwona Blazwick share their thoughts on the first stage of judging in our latest video.

Walking to the office this morning there is already a sense of anticipation and excitement for the Sea Odyssey event which starts today until Sunday. I saw the diver puppet half submerged in Salthouse Dock.

The event was inspired by May McMurray’s letter which is part of the Merseyside Maritime Museum archives and library collection. May wrote a letter to her father William McMurray and sadly he never received it. It was returned to the family unread. The letter is currently on display in the Titanic and Liverpool: the untold story exhibition.

This weekend marks the end of another successful week for the exhibition which in three weeks has received over 100,000 visitors and we are all delighted by the overwhelming positive response from visitors. The curators have also been contacted by many relatives of crew and passengers who were on board Titanic.

To keep up to date with developments at the Merseyside Maritime Museum you can follow our twitter page and join our facebook.

Titanic & Liverpool: the untold story exhibition opens from 30th March 2012- 21 April 2013