(Geoffrey Farmer, a long-time resident at Stittsville Villa, poses with the 3-D puzzle model of the famous ship, the RMS Titantic that he created. This project was one of passion for Geoff and he is pleased to see the ship has risen again. Photos: Stittsville Central)
It was the largest and most luxurious passenger ship of its time and was reported to be ‘practically’ unsinkable prior to her sinking. The RMS Titanic, launched on May 31, 1911, and set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10, 1912, with 2,240 passengers and crew on board; thirty of which were Canadians. The ship was the pride of the White Star Line – nicknamed the Ship of Dreams. The RMS Titanic was the second of what was intended to be three sister ships: Olympic, Titanic and Gigantic. Presumably the names were given by Ismay and Lord Pirrie, owner of Harland and Wolff, the shipbuilders from Belfast, Ireland. The RMS Titanic was a carrier of the Royal mail, explaining the RMS rather than HMS and had made 40 voyages doing so before it’s maiden voyage as a luxury liner.
In April 1912, when the Titanic hit the iceberg in the Northern Atlantic, there are reports that the evacuation was “a largely disorganized and haphazard evacuation”. Lifeboats were not filled to capacity and boarding them was not orderly. There were only enough lifeboats for a third of the people on board of the Titanic. Due to this, only 706 passengers survived and three dogs. As with all ships of that era, a cat was ever present to tend to any mice on board. Jenny, the Titanic’s cat, did not survive. The Captain, Edward J. Smith, went down with his ship in the cold waters of the Northern Atlantic.
One of the affluent Canadian passengers who did not survive was Charles Melville Hays, the man who played a leading role in building the Chateau Laurier, a magnificent hotel here in Ottawa, his dream quickly vanishing to attend the opening of the grand dame. The hotel was designed and built by Hays, one of the prime architects of the great Canadian railroad expansion and general manager of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. At the time, Hays and his company were in direct competition with Canadian Pacific and the Canadian Northern Railway. The Chateau Laurier opened its doors on June 1, 1912.
In a daring rescue of avoiding a field of icebergs, the RMS Carpathia was the lone transatlantic passenger steamship to respond to Titanic’s distress signals. The Carpathia’s passenger manifest includes the names of the 706 persons and three dogs it picked up from Titanic’s lifeboats on the morning of April 15, 1912.
Fast forward to 2024, the Titanic has been raised once more. Geoffrey Farmer, a resident at the Stittsville Villa, took up his interest in the nautical world as an amateur scuba diver off the coast of Newfoundland. During his dives, he came across sunken Basque galleons and other interesting marine life. More on that later.
Geoff has been a resident at Stittsville Villa for five years and is dearly respected and cherished. With his background of diving and navigating the northern Atlantic, he wanted a project that would reflect his interest. Well, “why not a 3-D puzzle model of the Titanic complete with LED lighting – it sank in the same waters where I scuba dived”, he said. The puzzle consists of over 266 pieces, “some were leftover” chuckled Geoff.
“I had to build the ship in layers, and would get to a point where something wasn’t just right so returned to the previous layer or layer before that to ensure that everything was installed correctly and do it all over again. It took a lot of patience and dexterity and I’m lucky to have both of those traits,” smiled Geoff.
Overall it took close to two months to build and now sits proudly in the main foyer at the Stittsville Villa, complete with a bottle of Prosecco, for all to see in its glory. It is an incredible vision at just shy of three feet in length and over a foot high with its four funnels – the lighting bringing more grandness to the ship.
Most ships of this era usually had three funnels, but to make the Titanic appear grandiose, a fourth funnel was added after the ship’s initial construction. This funnel served to circulate the air from the ship’s kitchen coal stoves and engine room through vents. A massive ship, the Titantic measured 883 feet long, 92 feet wide and 175 feet tall from the keel to the top of its four funnels. Of this bulk, 35 feet was below the waterline. It weighed in at 52,319 long tons.
A little back story of Geoff’s lead-up to re-creating the Titanic –
Having studied Arts and Science at the University of British Columia, University of Alberta, Geoff found himself moving to Newfoundland where he raised his family with his wife Mabel. He was a Geography Professor in the Faculty of Arts for 23 years at Memorial University. In 1992, he received Memorial University’s prestigious President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.
When retired and using his scuba diving experience, Geoff collaborated with Selma Barkham over the years. Barkham had discovered the connection between Red Bay and the 16th-century Basque cod and whale fishery, which led to the town of Red Bay, Newfoundland being declared a UNESCO world heritage site. A virtually unknown chapter of Canadian history. Eventually she made world-class archival, historical and archaeological discoveries that sparked a wholesale revision of 16th-century Canadian history. She discovered the existence of a 16th-century Basque whaling industry – the world’s first – in southern Labrador and adjacent Quebec, their whaling ports (one of them Red Bay), archaeological remains of their bases, as well as the presence of Basque galleons sunk in those ports. Geoff said “she received criticism for her work and had trouble getting grants for her research, but she didn’t let it stop her”. He said, “she was a remarkable woman who did a tremendous amount of legwork and earned the prominence she achieved”. Geoff lost his dear friend and collaborator Selma Barkham on May 3, 2020 at the age of 93.
From his past, it makes perfect sense that Geoff would want to re-create the Titanic and share it with his family and friends. Geoff’s dedication and enthusiasm is demonstrated in the hours he worked re-creating one of the most famous ships in history. During our afternoon of sharing stories, Geoff also let us in on his next incredible project and we can hardly wait to learn more – when we do, you will hear all about it.
Although the Titanic never visited Liverpool, Titanic had strong links with her home port. Titanic’s managing company, the White Star Line, had its head office in James Street, Liverpool. White Star’s main New York service sailed from Liverpool until 1907, when it was transferred to Southampton.
A beautiful model by Mr. Farmer; he should be very proud of his workmanship.
A few comments on the write-up: the three sister ships were Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic. The Titanic’s maiden voyage was as a luxury liner, she never made 40 previous voyages as a mail carrier.
Bob Smyth. Stittsville.