The Ismay Family                                         What's new page

                                                                             Including the Honour and Glory exhibition

Ismay reunion 2000

Centred at the Elenbank Hotel, Maryport, the birth town of Thomas Henry Ismay. This event created a lot of interest within the local media with TV and newspaper interviews. The event was attended by people from around Britain and as for away as the U.S. As well as being a way of getting to know other family members, it was also used to gather information for the family tree.

It was here that the group came to the conclusion that our branch of the family are likely to be the closest connection to the Ismays of 'White Star' fame who still carry the Ismay surname.

Titanic lectures: What are they?

The lectures are provided free of any charge to schools, and at present are restricted to the Workington and Maryport areas.

The lecture starts with the childhood days of Thomas Henry Ismay including his schooling, and leads onto his adult life.         The same is also said of J Bruce Ismay, and is then followed by an account of the maiden voyage of the Titanic. There is than a short discussion, the purpose of which, is to explain why Bruce was not the coward which he was made out to be and why those untrue stories were told. The final part of the talk is to give some facts and figures about the Titanic.

The lecture then concludes with a 'question and answers' session which is planned to take 15 minutes but the number of questions asked by the children usually extends this to 30 minutes or more, depending on the school timetable.

The lecture is complemented by a slide show for schools with computer smart boards. The lecture lasts around 1hour, depending on the questions and answers period.

School officials: If your school is in the West Cumbria area and you would like to request a lecture for your school, email me at: ismayfamily@yahoo.co.uk  Subject Line: Lectures

The lectures are provided with the endorsement of Regeneration Maryport.

Titanic lecture July 2004

Left-Right: Myself, George, Callum

When Callum was in his classroom his teacher told the class that their History topic over the next few weeks would be to learn about the Titanic and the White Star Line, starting with a gentleman called Thomas Henry Ismay. At that point Callum stood up and told his teacher that he knows about Thomas Henry because he is related to him. Callum's teacher was amazed, although she realised that the surname was the same she never thought for a moment that Callum may be a relative to T H Ismay. Initially Callum's teacher contacted me and asked if I could verify that we are part of the same family. Upon verification it was arranged for George and myself to give a lecture about the history of the family and the White Star Line. The media took a great interest in the event and was attended and reported by the Times and Star and the News and Star. The event was well received by Teachers and students alike and it is now going to be an annual event, with other schools also showing an interest.

Titanic lectures 2005

Six local schools have requested the lecture for 2005, a number which we expect to increase. Again, the local newspapers have shown interest and the local ITN television studio are interested in covering the events.

Venues to date for 2005      All times are G.M.T.

Victoria Infant School Workington     14 June  09:30

Ashfield Infants Workington              16 June  13:15

Victoria Junior School Workington     21 June  13:30

Grasslot School Maryport                  15 Sept. 11:00

Harrington School Workington           28 Sept. 09:30

                                                       28 Sept. 11:00

                                                       29 Sept. 09:30

Westfield School Workington             TBA

Titanic Honour and Glory Exhibition at Whitehaven

I was honoured and delighted to have been invited to attend the official opening of the Titanic Honour and Glory Exhibition at the Beacon in Whitehaven on 25 September 2005. This fantastic and thought provoking exhibition is run a by Sean Szmalc and Margot Corson and is expected to run until 5th November 2005. It is, I believe, the first of it's kind to be held in West Cumbria which is probably the only region which can boast a strong  White Star Line history and family connection.

The exhibition focuses not only on the Titanic, but also has artefacts from the Olympic (one of the Titanic's sister ships) and also White Star Line memorabilia. There are also some very nice surprises from James Cameron's film 'Titanic' on show.

I would strongly recommend this exhibition to anyone who has an interest in the Titanic, White Star Line, local history, the Movie 'Titanic' or for anyone looking to pass a couple of enjoyable hours with the family.

For directions, opening times etc. Phone the Beacon on  01946 592302

To find out more about Titanic Honour and Glory exhibitions click on the picture.