S.S. NOMADIC

The Belfast Child

Mervyn PRITCHARD

Queens Island Press - 2008

The Belfast Child is an important book not just for those interested in SS Nomadic but those interested in Titanic and ships in general. Built in 1911 at Harland and Wolff alongside RMS Titanic the SS Nomadic was designed to be the passenger tender for the 1st and 2nd class passengers for White Star Line's Olympic Class liners. As such much of her design inside and out echoed that of her much larger companions and serves as a time capsule of Edwardian style and beauty. As the last ship from the White Star Line still in existence SS Nomadic is historically important in her own right as well as in her capacity as a direct link to the Titanic, having carried out such passengers as Molly Brown, Benjamin Guggenheim and Sir Cosmo and Lady Lucile Duff-Gordon to the ill fated liner. This book, the first about SS Nomadic to be published in English, takes you, the reader, on a poignant tour through the whole of the ship in great detail providing a unique illustrated guide to all areas of the ship, both public and off limits crawl spaces, as they were before the start of the huge restoration project in Belfast. Containing 148 pages of text and richly illustrated with full colour pictures it is a must for Titanic and ship enthusiasts and makes a wonderful present.