Lord Pirrie, the former head of Harland & Wolff and instigator of the Olympic Class liners constructed on the Queen's Island almost 100 years ago.

FILE - John Zaller, creative director of Premier Exhibitions, discusses objects from the Titanic's Verandah Cafe on display in the "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York, in this June 24, 2009

Third class china used by passengers and the crew on the Titanic

A letter written by first-class passenger Miss Alice Lennox-Conyngham to her nephew Alan Duff on the Titanic. The letter, postmarked only three days before the liner hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, had been used as a bookmark for years by its unsuspecting owner before a chance conversation revealed its value.

Frances Godden of Bonhams auction house inspects a silver table centrepiece from the a la carte restaurant on the White Star liner Titanic which sunk in 1912.

Long-lost film footage of the Titanic, showing the doomed ship moving slowly through Belfast Lough, has been discovered in the loft of a house in Glasgow.

Long-lost film footage of the Titanic, showing the doomed ship moving slowly through Belfast Lough, has been discovered in the loft of a house in Glasgow. The Titanic moored in Belfast before it set sail on its fateful journey

Sheet music for "Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey" from the Broadway production "Madame Sherry," (1910) is shown as part of the artifacts collection at a warehouse in Atlanta, Friday, Aug 15, 2008. The 5,500-piece collection contains almost everything recovered from the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which has sat 2.5 miles below the surface of the Atlantic ocean since the boat sank on April 15, 1912.

The White Star Line badge that was given to Roberta Maioni, a survivor of the Titanic disaster, by a man she was said to have fallen in love with during the boat's maiden voyage.

This photo provided by Christie's auction house shows a life preserver from the ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic found during the initial search for survivors and owned by the same family for 90 years. Going on the auction block in June, it is the first Titanic life jacket to be offered at auction in the United States, and is one of about six believed to have survived to this day, Christie's said Thursday, May 29, 2008.

The hull of the S.S. Titanic. under construction in dry dock. The tragic sinking of the Titanic nearly a century ago can be blamed on low grade rivets that the ship's builders used on some parts of the ill-fated liner, two experts on metals conclude in a new book. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

The crew of the RMS Titanic, pictured just before her maiden voyage. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

An emigration contract/ticket, purchased by the Asplund family for passage from Southampton to New York, and used on the Titanic, is seen at the Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, England Thursday, April 3, 2008. The locket and one of the rings were recovered from the body of Carl Asplund who drowned on the Titanic, they are all part of the Lillian Asplund collection of Titanic related items.

A gold plated Waltham American pocket watch, the property of Carl Asplund, is seen in front of a modern water colour painting of the Titanic by CJ Ashford at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, England Thursday, April 3, 2008. The locket and one of the rings were recovered from the body of Carl Asplund who drowned on the Titanic, they are all part of the Lillian Asplund collection of Titanic related items.

Photographs of (from left) Felix Asplund, Selma and Carl Asplund and Lillian Asplund, are seen at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, England Thursday, April 3, 2008. The locket and one of the rings were recovered from the body of Carl Asplund who drowned on the Titanic, they are all part of the Lillian Asplund collection of Titanic related items.

A unique emigrant inland forwarding order to the White Star office in New York, is seen at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, England Thursday, April 3, 2008. The locket and one of the rings were recovered from the body of Carl Asplund who drowned on the Titanic, they are all part of the Lillian Asplund collection of Titanic related items.

A heavily water stained leather bound journal bearing notes figures relating to the Asplund family, the property of Carl Asplund, is seen at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, England Thursday, April 3, 2008. The locket and one of the rings were recovered from the body of Carl Asplund who drowned on the Titanic, they are all part of the Lillian Asplund collection of Titanic related items.

The wedding ring and locket property of Carl Asplund and the wedding ring of Selma Asplund are seen at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, England Thursday, April 3, 2008. The locket and one of the rings were recovered from the body of Carl Asplund who drowned on the Titanic, they are all part of the Lillian Asplund collection of Titanic related items.

Three loftsmen, pictured in 1910 chalking the lines of a ship on portable wooden flooring at Harland and Wolff. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Harland & Wolff, Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

A few of the 15,000 workmen employed by Harland and Wolff Ltd. at Queen's Island, Belfast, with Titanic in the background.

The shipyard men leaving Queen's Island at the end of a working day in May 1911. Some of them have boarded electric trams for parts of the city beyond walking distance. In the background the Titanic can be seen under her huge gantry. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Harland & Wolff, Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

Pipes and the captain's bathtub are shown in this July 2003 photo, of what remains of the captain's cabin on the Titanic more than two miles underwater in the north Atlantic. Recent research dives to the legendary shipwreck are showing the vessel is deteriorating faster than earlier thought.

Brilliant new footage of a first class cabin on the Titanic. A live television link-up shows spectacular footage of the captain's cabin

Brilliant new footage of a first class cabin on the Titanic. A live television link-up shows spectacular footage of the captain's cabin

White Star Wharf, Queenstown (Cobh) showing crowds waiting to embark on the tenders in a picture taken by Father Browne.

Giant starboard anchor of the Titanic is raised for the last time. 1.55pm 11th April 1912 in a picture taken by Father Browne.

A bowler hat is displayed in the Titanic: Aritifact Exhibition at the Metreon on June 6, 2006 in San Francisco, California. The exhibition opens on June 10, 2006 and will feature more than 300 authentic artifacts that have been recovered from Titanic's debris field. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

Artifacts from the Titanic are displayed in the Titanic: Artifact Exhibition at the Metreon on June 6, 2006 in San Francisco, California.

A telegraph wheel from the Titanic is displayed in the Titanic: Artifact Exhibition at the Metreon on June 6, 2006 in San Francisco, California.

People look at the 15 ton 13' by 30' portion of the First-Class C-Deck hull, one of the artifacts from the Titanic, at the Metreon on June 6, 2006 in San Francisco, California.

Lillian Asplund, the last US survivor from the sinking of the Titanic, has died.

A deckchair removed from the Titanic just moments before it set sail from Cork.

The Titanic Report at a book fair in the Wellington Park Hotel. The document, dated July 30, 1912, was the main attraction at the Belfast Antiquarian Book Fair in the Wellington Park Hotel. The report, which was published three months after the tragedy, was presented for sale by Arthur Davidson of Davidson Books at Spa, Ballynahinch

One of the images on display at the Titanic - Built in Belfast exhibition in Union Station, Washington DC.

Binoculars are displayed in the Titanic: Aritifact Exhibition at the Metreon on June 6, 2006 in San Francisco, California.

A pair of glasses is displayed in the Titanic: Aritifact Exhibition at the Metreon on June 6, 2006 in San Francisco, California.

An 18-carat gold pocket watch which is among the rare artefacts connected to the Titanic to be sold by Bonhams and Butterfields in Massachusetts in the US on May 1. The watch, which was damaged when disaster struck mid-Atlantic, belonged to Nora Keane, an Irish immigrant, living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with her brothers and sisters.

Titanic stoker William McQuillan was feared lost at sea, but his grave was subsequently discovered in Canada after 93 years... the last resting place of an Ulster-born Titanic victim.

Bow of Titanic - Photographed by Leonard Evans on 2 September 2000 from submersible Mir-1 -- 2.35 miles below surface of Atlantic Ocean.

One of the three Titanic propellers -- the stern section landed upside-down.Photographed by Leonard Evans on 2 September 2000 from submersible MIR 1 -- 2.38 miles below surface of Atlantic Ocean.

The "unsinkable" four-funnelled ship the SS Titanic. Part of the White Star Line, Titanic sank off Newfoundland on her maiden voyage to the USA after striking an iceberg (14-15/4/1912). Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

Colin Cobb's Titanic Walking Tours. The tour reaches the gates through which the Titanic workers travelled each day.

Colin Cobb's Titanic Walking Tours. The Thompson graving dock and pump house where the Titanic's hull inspection and propeller work was done

The pearl penknife, recovered from the body of Edmund Stone, victim of the Titanic disaster

A seven of clubs card is shown as part of the artifacts collection at a warehouse in Atlanta, Friday, Aug 15, 2008. The 5,500-piece collection contains almost everything recovered from the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which has sat 2.5 miles below the surface of the Atlantic ocean since the boat sank on April 15, 1912.

The work shirt of W. Allen, a 3rd class passenger on the Titanic, is shown as part of the artifacts collection at a warehouse in Atlanta, Friday, Aug 15, 2008. The 5,500-piece collection contains almost everything recovered from the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which has sat 2.5 miles below the surface of the Atlantic ocean since the boat sank on April 15, 1912.

Currency, part of the artifacts collection of the Titanic, is shown as part of the artifacts collection at a warehouse in Atlanta, Friday, Aug 15, 2008. The 5,500-piece collection contains almost everything recovered from the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which has sat 2.5 miles below the surface of the Atlantic ocean since the boat sank on April 15, 1912.

Third-class tea cup china used by passengers and the crew, is shown as part of the artifacts collection at a warehouse in Atlanta, Friday, Aug 15, 2008. The 5,500-piece collection contains almost everything recovered from the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which has sat 2.5 miles below the surface of the Atlantic ocean since the boat sank on April 15, 1912.

Lord Pirrie, chairman of H&W (left) and Bruce Ismay, chairman of White Star, make a final tour of inspection of Titanic before her launch. 31/5/1911. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

This composite image, released by RMS Titanic Inc., and made from sonar and more than 100,000 photos taken in 2010 from by unmanned, underwater robots, shows a small portion of a comprehensive map of the 3-by-5-mile debris field surrounding the stern of the Titanic on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Titanic, built by Harland and Wolff, was driven by two gigantic wing propellers measuring over 23 feet in diameter and a center propeller spanning more than 16 feet.

This composite image, released by RMS Titanic Inc., and made from sonar and more than 100,000 photos taken in 2010 from by unmanned, underwater robots, shows a small portion of a comprehensive map of the 3-by-5-mile debris field surrounding the stern of the Titanic on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.

This composite image, released by RMS Titanic Inc., and made from sonar and more than 100,000 photos taken in 2010 from by unmanned, underwater robots, shows a small portion of a comprehensive map of the 3-by-5-mile debris field surrounding the stern of the Titanic on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.

This is an undated photo showing the bow of the Titanic at rest on the bottom of the North Atlantic, about 400 miles southeast of Newfoundland. The first tourists to see the bow up close viewed it from the portholes of a tiny submersible in early September. (AP Photo/Ralph White)

Millvina Dean the last living survivor of the Titanic disaster was today Thursday April 11, 2002, due to open a rejuvenated exhibition to mark the 90th anniversary of the disaster. Ms Dean, 90, was only nine weeks old when the ship hit an iceberg in the Atlantic on her maiden voyage and sank on April 15 1912, claiming the lives of 1,500 people. The survivor will open Titanic Voices the 90th Anniversary Exhibition at the Maritime Museum in Bugle Street, Southampton. The permanent exhibition has been upgraded with new exhibits, including images from the interior of Titanic's sister ship RMS Olympic

Titanic. In this photograph of the cabinet shop, taken in 1899, a small army of cabinet-makers are at work. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Harland & Wolff, Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

Titanic. The Great gantry, Queen's Island, Belfast. This photograph shows the enormous scale of the ship, together with the complex structure of the enfolding steel gantry, from which she will soon be free. The photograph also reflects old and new maritime technologies, with the traditional wooden schooner in the foreground contrasting eith the modernity ot Titanic. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Harland & Wolff, Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

The detailed drawing of the RMS Titanic used at Lord Mersey's inquiry into the 1912 disaster.

A woman examines a leather boot in an exhibition of artefacts recovered from the wreck of the Titanic on November 3, 2010 in London, England

A page of the document written by Laura Francatelli, which is her eyewitness account of the sinking of the Titanic

Titanic, double bottom and initial plating of tank top of Olympic, with keel of Titanic laid on No.3 slip. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Harland & Wolff, Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

Titanic at fitting-out wharf with three out of four funnels fitted. Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland. Collection Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

The White Star Line, who paid the going rate for the job, mainly employed freelance workers who could be let go when the job finished.

Rather bureaucratically, the number crunchers at White Star calculated surviving staff's wages up until the exact point they entered the water and according to the records, “stopped performing their allocated job”. The company received some flak over this heartless calculation and there was a public outcry.

Belfast Telegraph