From Woolwich to the Web: The Journey of Digitisation

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The First and Famous Collection

First and Famous was the Heritage & Education Centre’s earliest digitisation project. Acting as a pilot for the wider digitisation project, Project Undaunted, First and Famous concerned  documents for significant ships that were classed by Lloyd’s Register in the 19th and 20th century.

The pilot focused on ships that were either famous (Mauretania, Cutty Sark) or were innovative (Fullagar – first fully electrically welded ship). In total, over 6,900 documents were digitised as part of the pilot; all of which are now available here.

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First and Famous - Mauretania

The Mauretania, and her sister ship Lusitania, were designed by Leonard Peskett, Cunard’s senior naval architect who had also worked on the Aquitania and Carmania. She was built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson in Newcastle. Her design meant that she would be able to travel at no less than twenty-four knots and, to make her more powerful, she was equipped with new turbine technology and a fourth funnel.

Mauretania was launched by the Duchess of Roxburghe in 1906. At the time, she was the largest moving structure ever built, measuring five-feet longer than her sister ship. She operated on the Southampton-Cobh-New York City route. Her interior featured Edwardian style furnishings and décor and included a relatively new concept of lifts. On 16 November 1907, Mauretania departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage. On the return voyage she captured the record for the fastest eastbound crossing of the Atlantic. Two years later, she was awarded the Blue Riband for the fastest westbound crossing, a record that would stand for more than twenty years.

The huge engines of the Mauretania and Lusitania plagued both ships with vibrations making the second and third-class areas uninhabitable. White Star’s new Olympic Class vessels, Titanic, Britannic and Olympic were launched a few years later. Larger than Mauretania and offering more luxuries and amenities including swimming pools, Turkish baths, gyms and squash courts.

With the outbreak of the First World War, the Mauretania was requisitioned by the government as an armed merchant cruiser, but her size and fuel consumption made this impossible. She was transformed into a troop ship and used during the Gallipoli Campaign. Her speed enabled her to avoid U-Boats. She was later transformed into a hospital ship with distinctive white funnels and red medical crosses. In 1918, she was repainted with dazzle camouflage.

Mauretania returned to civilian service in 1919 but was slower than before the war. Her speed record was broken by the German liner, Bremen. In 1930 she became a dedicated cruise ship. Outdone by newer competitors, when White Star Line merged with Cunard in 1934, Mauretania was considered surplus and withdrawn from service. Her scrapping in 1937 was met with an outcry from many of her loyal passengers including Franklin D Roosevelt.

Many of Mauretania’s furnishings and interiors were saved and still adorn several buildings and locations across the world and her legacy has inspired poetry, music, literature and films.

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First and Famous - Dunedin

The Dunedin was built by Robert Duncan and Co. at Port Glasgow for the Albion Line and was launched in 1874. Her first trip to New Zealand took place in 1874 under Captain Whitson.
All seven of her trips carrying emigrants from England to New Zealand were completed in under 100 days, an impressive feat for the day.

In the nineteenth century, due to the increasing population of Britain, local meat was in short supply causing prices to increase. It therefore was vital that Britain was able to import meat from countries like New Zealand. New Zealand, meanwhile, was seeking to establish a meat export industry thus increasing trade and income and so a refrigerated ship would be mutually beneficial to both countries.

In 1881, Dunedin was fitted with a Bell-Coleman refrigeration machine. The machine would cool the entire hold, even in the warm climate of southern New Zealand.

On 15 February 1882, the Dunedin sailed with 4,331 mutton carcasses, 598 of lamb, 22 pig, 250 kegs of butter as well as quantities of hare, pheasant, turkey, chicken and 2,226 sheep tongues. On the voyage, the crew noticed that the cold air was not circulating properly. To save the cargo, Captain Whitson crawled into the hold and sawed extra holes. He almost froze to death in the process but his crew were able to save him. 98 days later, the cargo, the ship and her crew arrived safely in London. The meat was sold at Smithfield market by John Swan and Sons. There were concerns about the quality of the meat due to the experiment however, butchers were impressed by the size of the animals, and only one carcass was condemned.

The experiment had been a success which meant that New Zealand would lead the way in the refrigerated meat industry. Within five years, 172 shipments for frozen meat were sent from New Zealand.

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Survey Reports

The Fullagar was the first fully welded ocean-going ship in the world classed by Lloyd’s Register. It was built at Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead, in 1920 under special survey. She was classed *100A1 with the note “Electrically welded – subject to annual survey Experimental.” When she finally launched, she measured 150 feet in length and was 420 gross register tons. 

Click this link to view more survey reports.

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Midship Section Plans

Preussen (Preußen) was a steel-hulled five-masted, ship-rigged vessel built by the Joh. C. Tecklenborg Shipyard in 1902 and was the only ship of this class with five-masts each carrying six square sails. She was owned by the F Laeisz Shipping Company and was successfully used in the saltpetre trade between Chile and Germany. She was nicknamed the ‘Queen of the Queens of the Seas’ by sailors due to her impressive appearance and record breaking voyages including travelling from Lizard Point to Iquique in 57 days.

Click this link to view more midship section plans.

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Photographs

Lima was a swedish cargo ship constructed in 1918 by the Danish shipbuilders Burmeister & Wain. The vessel was sunk by torpedo in 1942, with a cargo of 2500 tons of magnanese, 2500 tons of tea and 1500 tons of tobacco.

Click this link to explore our photograpic collection.

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Telegrams and Letters

Letter from William Griffin to Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping regarding the chain cables for Tourquennois, 16th February 1898 (LRF-PUN-HUL415-0130-L)

Click this link to view more telegrams and this link for more letters.

 

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Certificates

Official certificates issued by Lloyd's Register and other testing and proving organisations. These document the classification, testing, quality, condition, and survey of vessels, boilers, machinery, anchors, chain cables and freeboard

Click this link to view more certificates.

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