Thomas Andrews
Thomas Andrews Jr. was a British businessman and shipbuilder, who was managing director and head of the drafting department of the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. He was the naval architect in charge of the plans for the ocean liner Titanic and perished along with more than 1,500 people when the ship sank on her maiden voyage.
Early life
Thomas Andrews Jr. was born on 7 February 1873 at Ardara House, Comber, County Down, in Ireland, to The Rt. Hon. Thomas Andrews, a member of the Privy Council of Ireland, and Eliza Pirrie. Andrews was a Presbyterian of Scottish descent and considered himself British. His siblings included J. M. Andrews, the future Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, and Sir James Andrews, the future Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. Thomas Andrews lived with his family in Ardara, Comber. In 1884, he began attending the Royal Belfast Academical Institution until 1889 when, at the age of sixteen, he began a premium apprenticeship at Harland and Wolff where his uncle, the Viscount Pirrie, was part owner. Andrews' sharp wit and penchant for hard work had brought him prominence within his uncle's company.Harland and Wolff
At Harland and Wolff, Andrews began with three months in the joiners' shop, followed by a month in the cabinetmakers' and then a further two months working on the ships. The last eighteen months of his five-year apprenticeship were spent in the drawing office. Andrews worked tirelessly during the day and continued his studies in the evening hours. In 1901, boarding at 11 Wellington Place, after working in the many departments of the company, he was deeply involved in the construction of White Star's ocean liners and was serving as Assistant Shipyard Manager and was later appointed Manager of the Construction Works. That same year, he also became a member of the Institution of Naval Architects. By 1907, he had been appointed the Managing Director of Harland and Wolff and began to oversee the plans for three new ocean liners for the White Star Line:, and RMS . All three ships were designed by Andrews, William Pirrie and general manager Alexander Carlisle to be the largest, safest and most luxurious ships at sea. He was intimately connected with the design of Olympic and Titanic. By that point, Andrews had earned a reputation as a genius in the field of ship design. Andrews usually referred to his position as that of a "shipbuilder" or a "director" of the shipbuilding firm he worked at, rather than claiming the more formal title of "Naval Architect". During his long years of apprenticeship, study, and work, Andrews had become well-loved in the company and amongst the shipyard's employees. Andrews was a tireless worker; he frequently showed up at the shipyard at any time. He was always willing to pitch in and lend a hand at some physically demanding work task as the need arose. He was known to have shared his lunch with fellow workers when the need came up. Even so, Andrews was not afraid to correct workers when he saw them doing something the wrong way or breaking shipyard rules. It was said that while he wouldn't fire a worker when he found him in the middle of some such nonsense, he would give the worker "the rough side of his tongue and a friendly caution." He also enjoyed it when workers did more than just mindlessly plug away at their tasks - he encouraged them to put their minds into it. Andrews was willing to listen to input from workers who thought they had a better way to do something. Well-documented sources seemed to describe him as cheery, optimistic, and generous. One yard foreman recalled that it "seemed his delight to make those around him happy. His was ever the friendly greeting and the warm handshake and kind disposition" and one co-worker described him as "diligent to the point of strenuousness".Family
On 24 June 1908, Andrews married Helen Reilly Barbour, daughter of textile industrialist John Doherty Barbour and sister to the politician Sir John Milne Barbour, known as "Milne". The couple honeymooned in Switzerland and lived at Dunallan, 12 Windsor Avenue, Belfast, now numbered 20, and worshipped at First Presbyterian Church on Rosemary Street. Their daughter, Elizabeth Law-Barbour Andrews, was born on 27 November 1910. It is known that Andrews took Helen to view the Titanic one night, shortly before Elizabeth was born. Elizabeth died in 1973 at age 62 following a car accident. He was always willing to acknowledge the hard work of other people, and his wife recalled that he had of himself "the humblest opinion of anyone I ever knew." During the maiden voyage of, Andrews and J. Bruce Ismay made selected notes on what could be improved upon Titanic. Andrews suffered from varicose veins in his legs. According to stewardess Violet Jessop, during the voyage of, some crew members presented him with a very handsome walking stick; the crew were grateful for his ongoing efforts in making their accommodations more comfortable. She even felt that, in some way, Andrews managed to impart some of his positive personality into the ships he had designed and helped build.RMS ''Titanic''
Departure
Andrews also headed a group of Harland and Wolff workers called the guarantee group, who went on the maiden voyages of their ships in order to observe ship operations and spot any necessary improvements. Titanic was no exception, so Andrews and the rest of his Harland and Wolff group travelled from Belfast on Titanic for her sea trials on 2 April 1912. He had been assigned to head up the builder's delegation during the trials. He was accompanied by Edward Wilding and yard employees. He was booked in First Class and would occupy cabin A-36. At the time of the departure from Belfast, Andrews' father was ill and his wife Helen had not been well, either. Andrews wrote a quick line to his wife: "Just a line to let you know that we got away this morning in fine style and have had a very satisfactory trial. We are getting more ship-shape every hour, but there is still a great deal to be done."According to Edward Wilding, when the ship made its way to Southampton, Andrews "ceaselessly employed going round with representatives of the owners and of the Firm, in taking notes and preparing reports of work still to be done." Andrews did find time to eat, as Saloon Steward Frederick Ray, who had served him previously on, was assigned to wait on Andrews' table during the trip down to Southampton. At Southampton, Andrews was up early on April 4, left the South Western Hotel where he was staying, and spent the day "with managers and foremen putting work in hand". Andrews and others coordinated in order to help finish the ship by Tuesday night. On Thursday evening, he wrote to his wife, "I wired you this morning of our safe arrival after a very satisfactory trip. The weather was good and everyone most pleasant. I think the ship will clean up all right before sailing on Wednesday."
Andrews went on to mention that Lord Pirrie's doctors had refused to allow him to make the maiden voyage. From that point on, Andrews was constantly busy. Andrews' secretary, Thompson Hamilton, wrote of Andrews' activities at Southampton, that he "was never for a moment idle. He generally left his hotel about 8:30 for the offices, where he dealt with his correspondence, then went on board until 6:30, where he would return to the offices to sign letters. During the day I took to the ship any urgent papers and he always dealt with them no matter what his business. He would himself put in their place such things as racks, tables, chairs, berth ladders, electric fans, saying that except he saw everything right he could not be satisfied." On April 9, Andrews wrote to his wife, "The Titanic is now about complete and will I think do the old Firm credit to-morrow when we sail."
Voyage
On 10 April, Andrews boarded the ship, having left his room at the South Western Hotel. Immediately upon boarding, he began a thorough inspection. He was pleased with what he found, it was said. Titanic began her maiden voyage from Southampton. Before departure, Andrews took the opportunity to say goodbye to Thomas Hamilton and others were not to be accompanying the ship on the voyage. His spirits were high and he said, "Remember now and keep Mrs Andrews informed of any news of the vessel". When the ship nearly collided with the liner, Andrews thought that the situation was "decidedly unpleasant".A few hours later, the Titanic called at Cherbourg Harbour in north-western France, and Andrews wrote to his wife, "We reached here in nice time and took on board quite a number of passengers...the weather is fine and everything shaping for a good voyage." After departing Queenstown in Ireland, Andrews, at a dining table, mentioned that in certain ways, the ship was not ready to sail but they had to proceed because the prescheduled sailing date of April 10 arrived and the ship simply had to sail on time. On April 11, Third Class Steward John E. Hart recalled that at some point during the day, there was a general bulkhead inspection. He saw Andrews and Chief Officer Henry Tingle Wilde checking to make sure that the crew would close the watertight doors manually. Andrews' bedroom steward, Henry Etches, noticed that Andrews "was working all the time" taking notes on various improvements he felt were needed, primarily cosmetic changes to various facilities. Jessop said that Andrews "never failed to stop for a cheerful word, his only regret that we were "getting further from home"."
On the night of April 12, stewardess Mary Sloan conversed with Andrews in the Grand Staircase and noted Dr William Francis Norman O'Loughlin note Andrews seemed "loth to go, he wanted to talk about home; he was telling me his father was ill and Mrs Andrews was not so well...he said...he did not like was taking us further away from home...his face struck me as having a very sad expression". However, on the night of 14 April, Sloan felt Andrews was in "good spirits". Eleanor Cassebeer put on a stunning gown and arrived at the Purser's table, which she shared with Dr O'Loughlin and Andrews, a chipper Andrews let out a friendly little cheer for her choice, then he leaned over to her and said, "Now that's the way a lady should look!" Albert Dick and his wife Vera had grown attached to Andrews and noticed that "upon every occasion, and especially at dinner on Sunday evening, he talked almost constantly about his wife, little girl, mother and family, as well as of his home". After dinner, Andrews made his way aft "to thank the baker for some special bread he had made for him" and returned to his stateroom to make calculations and drawings for future use. Andrews reportedly remarked to a friend that Titanic was "as nearly perfect as human brains can make her."