Ferguson machinery manufacturing in Northern Ireland and the Titanic

The exact number lost is unknown but is estimated to be over 1,500. The crew suffered the biggest number of casualties with around 700 lost. Recent evidence has shown that those working in the engine rooms gave their lives knowing they were going to die in the vain attempt to keep the ship afloat. This would have been obvious to them but they did it to buy precious seconds of keeping the liner afloat. By ensuring the steam engines continued running to power the lights and pumps on the doomed ship they sacrificed their lives buying time to allow more people to be saved. Their bravery and duty of service needs to be better remembered.

On this sad day, there is a happier link that I want to mention between Harry Ferguson manufacturing in Northern Ireland and the Titanic and that is the company that supplied the steel. The famous Scottish company of Colville’s that supplied the high quality steel to construct the ill-fated liner also supplied the steel to construct all the Ferguson designed and built implements at Harry Ferguson’s factory in Moira, County Down. Harry Ferguson established the factory in 1944 with the backing of the government at Stormont in the hope with implement manufacturing, tractor assembly would follow when the war ended. Situated at Main Street in Moira it would build Ferguson cultivators, Ferguson trailers and Ferguson potato diggers. As part of the war effort the factory would also manufacture parts for Bofors guns.