Brunel's ss Great Britain

Lord Strathcona was a member of the ss Great Britain Project, which organised the salvage operation.  He travelled to the Falkland Islands to record the salvage operation.

Listen to Lord Strathcona describing the raising of the ss Great Britain

In 1970 Dr Mackenzie was bringing up a young family in Bristol. At the time, she didn’t see what all the excitement was about – but she’s changed her mind, and has been on the board of the ss Great Britain Trust for 8 years.

Hear Dr Mackenzie's memories of seeing the ship come home

Tony and Marion Morrison filmed the salvage. Working with director Ray Sutcliffe they captured every significant moment from early surveys in Sparrow Cove to the ship's re-entry into her Bristol dry dock.

Marion Morrison remembers her impressions of the Falkland Islands.

Tony Morrison describes the equipment he used to film in the remote island location.

Stuart Whatley and Lyle Craigie-Halkett were part of a small team of divers who prepared the ship's hull for floating. The success of the salvage relied on their painstaking and expert approach.

Lyle - born in the Falkland Islands - remembers going home.

Stuart describes the ship's condition and the challenges this presented.

Lyle remembers the anxious wait for the ship to float.  

Photograph: Marian Morrison

Commander Joe Blake took responsibility for the ship when she arrived in her final berth in Bristol. There was huge public interest in the ss Great Britain -50,000 visitors came to see the ship in the first four weeks.

Commander Joe Blake remembers the logistics of bringing the ship back into her dry dock

Malcolm Macleod led a group of Royal Navy volunteers who assisted the salvage.

One of their achievements was to secure an all-important supply of mattresses...  

When the ss Great Britain entered the Bristol Channel there was was a flotilla waiting to meet her, including a Royal Navy minesweeper.

Andrew Harris, the First Mate on board, remembers toasting the ss Great Britain's safe arrival.

This is an extract from Kim Hicks.  Kim was a child when the ss Great Britain returned to Bristol from the Falkland Islands.  She remembers her mother having the wonderful idea of throwing rose petals from the Suspension Bridge onto the ship when she passed underneath.

Kim recounts the atmosphere of the day and the pride she felt as a Bristolian seeing the ship return to her birth place.

Photograph: Bristol Evening Post

This is an extract from an interview with Denis Williams.  Denis was a shipwright for Charles Hill and helped mastermind the ss Great Britain’s return into the dry dock on July 19, 1970.

In this extract he discusses the logistics of the operation.

Photograph: Bristol Evening Post