In the ongoing series, read the stories of the people who designed, built and sailed on the Ship of Dreams.
This is one of many personal stories recounted as part of the Titanic Experience.
Barrie J Fuller is the grandson of John Jackopson, listed as a Fireman on RMS Titanic.
He travelled from his home in Southampton to visit family in Belfast, when he took the opportunity to visit Titanic Belfast and see where the famous ship his grandfather worked on and lost his life on, was designed, built and launched.
Barrie was only 11 years old when he discovered his family connection to the famous ship and the tragedy of losing his grandfather in the disaster. Since then, he has taken a keen interest, not only with his own family’s history but the history and story of Titanic. Having joined the Titanic Society, he has also attended events including the unveiling of the Titanic Memorial Window in St Mary’s Church in Southampton back in 2018.
There were over 170 Firemen on board Titanic who worked in the boiler room, maintaining the fires that provided the steam to power the engines. This would have been very laborious and challenging work in hot, cramped, dark and dusty conditions. Their job was to shovel coal into the furnaces, remove ash from furnaces, regulate fires and ensure the steam pressure remained with safe limits. They worked long hours and during the sinking sacrificed themselves in many instances to assist in keeping the power going for as long as possible, it is estimated that only 45 Firemen survived. The monthly salary for a Fireman was £6 in 1912 which is the equivalent to approximately £875 in today’s money.
John was born in Liverpool in 1881, the youngest of five siblings to parents Charles and Sarah. Married on 30 March 1903 to Catherine McCabe, whose father moved to Liverpool from Ireland in 1851. They had five children and it’s expected they moved to Southampton around 1907, most likely due to John’s work. Thomas (1904) and Charles (1906) were born in Liverpool, Cornelia (1908), Barrie’s mother and Catherine (1910) were born in Southampton.
Catherine was pregnant with their fifth child when John signed on to Titanic, a baby boy was born a few weeks after the disaster, named after John he sadly passed away when he was a few months old. Catherine went on to re-marry in late-1913 and had two more children, James and Clara. Catherine remained in Southampton where she died in 1951.
There is little known about John’s career prior to him working on RMS Titanic however it is understood that he worked on the merchant steamer, Highland Brae.
Cornelia was only four years old when her father died, she married her husband Robert Fuller in 1927. Barrie is the youngest sibling and one of six sons and five daughters, he and his sister Ada are the only remaining siblings still alive. Barrie has been married to his wife for 62 years and they have three daughters.
While for many years after the disaster, Titanic was never openly discussed, Barrie feels this significant historical event shouldn’t be forgotten about. He feels it’s important to talk about the story of Titanic, its passengers and crew and share it with family down the generations and also be discussed in schools. Giving people the opportunity to understand who the people were that worked on board and how their loss effected their families and communities, as Southampton was greatly affected by Titanic’s sinking.
Barrie’s experience of Titanic Belfast was an emotional one as it brought him closer to John, hearing the sounds of the Engine Rooms, he felt it was quite poignant. But overall he thought it was a beautiful tribute to Titanic and it’s story.
Similar to Titanic, Barrie also has a strong connection to Belfast, with a large part of his family living here and he was very proud when his great niece, Keela, whose mum is named after Barrie’s mum Cornelia started working at Titanic Belfast, allowing the family connection to continue.
Find out more about the hopes and dreams of those who boarded the world-famous ship in the Titanic Experience.
THE TITANIC EXPERIENCE
The Titanic Experience is the world’s most authentic retelling of the iconic story.
The self-guided tour extends over ten interactive galleries where you discover the sights, sounds, smells and stories of the ship, as well as the people and city that made her.
