Thomas
Ismay (7th January 1837 to 23rd November 1899)
Who hasn’t heard of the Titanic liner which hit an iceberg and
sank on its first voyage in 1912? Who ran the company behind it? It was Thomas Ismay
and I thought I had found his impressive burial tomb while wandering around
Anfield Cemetery one dusky evening. It was only when I got home I found out it
wasn't a grave but a monument for the people of Liverpool. He’s really buried
across the water on The Wirral where he lived in a grand house. When returning
from a long weekend in Llandudno I decided to take a detour on the way home and
visit the grave.
Thomas was the founder of the White Star Line
shipping company. As with many owners of huge companies he had a meagre start
in life in the north east of England with three sisters. Perhaps he got the
business-building habit from his dad who bought shares in five vessels coming
in and out of Maryport. Or perhaps it was because of the view from their lounge
window was of monstrous ship ropes in the yard outside (their house was called
"The Ropery")
Aged 16 he left school and started an apprentice with a shipbrokers in
Liverpool. He started a business with a partner but it didn’t work well as they
thought wooden ships were the future (but iron ships were.) Aged 22 Thomas got
married to Margaret and they had a daughter. From age 26 he was president of
White Star Line which grew as wide as world. He was the boss for 36 years
though the burden of responsibility must have weighed as heavy as one of his 50
ships/liners. While running the empire he had a further sons and daughters. One
son called Joseph was on the Titanic
on that fateful night but was one of the 750 survivors.
It was quite an early death probably hastened by
the responsibility of running a big company. In 1899, aged 62, he started
suffering from chest pains and his health deteriorated. Two months later he
seemed to be recovering and went on holiday to Windermere in the Lake District
with his wife. The holiday was ruined by illness and months later a doctor diagnosed
a gallstone. It was an inaccurate diagnosis though and Thomas was not to see
the year 1900. Two operations to relieve pain didn’t work. He suffered a heart
attack in September 1899 and died in November. His wife never fully recovered
and endured seven miserable years until she died. They were reunited in this
tomb in a small overgrown cemetery behind a bonny church. On the tomb are the
words, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” I hope they saw
Him. Another blessing was that Titanic sank 13 years after Thomas's death. The
Ismay children aren't here; they buried in London, Hertfordshire and Tunisia.
While in Liverpool I walked down to the front to
look at the former White Star Liner office building. The building is called Albion
House though and it's now the 30 James Street Hotel (good to see a plaque
outside remembers its former use.) I peeped in the reception and though bearing
an old-fashioned charm I expected something larger. I walked back out to the
front and looked up at all the windows wonder which one was Thomas's. I guess
it was high up on the frontage so he could looked out onto the water. This must
have been a quiet place in 1912 when the Titanic went down. When news reached
the offices the officials were too afraid to leave and instead read out the
names of the deceased from a balcony. The only balcony I could see was on the
front and too high up to be within earshot. It's a charming building, knocking
spots off the neighbouring soulless contemporary things ganging up on it. The building
was hit by a bomb in the Second World War and had to be repaired. I did a
salute and left. I'd parked the car up passed the big cathedral and used its
cacophony of clanging bells to guide me back.
Bet Henry and
his wife are buried in that one up there….
Not a bad view
of the church…
The Ismay
monument in Anfield Cemetery (which was a memorial, not a grave)…
