Thomas Andrews,
Shipbuilder,
Harland & Wolff Designer

as portrayed by Bill Tice

Thomas Andrews was born at Ardara House, Comber, County Down, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland, to The Rt. Hon. Thomas Andrews, a member of the Privy Council of Ireland, and Eliza Pirrie. The younger brother of John Miller Andrews, the future Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Thomas Andrews lived with his family in Ardara, Comber. In 1884, Andrews began attending the Royal Belfast Academical Institution until 1889 when, at the age of sixteen, he began a premium apprenticeship at Harland and Wolff where his uncle, the Viscount Pirrie, was part owner.

At Harland and Wolff, he began with three months in the joiners' shop, followed by a month in the cabinetmakers' and then a further two months working on the ships. The last eighteen months of his five-year apprenticeship were spent in the drawing office. In 1901, Andrews, after working his way up through the many departments of the company, became the manager of the construction works. That same year, he also became a member of the Institution of Naval Architects. In 1907, Andrews was appointed the managing director and head of the draughting department at Harland and Wolff. During his long years of apprenticeship, study, and work, Andrews had become well liked in the company and amongst the shipyard's employees.

On 24 June 1908, he married Helen Reilly Barbour, daughter of John Doherty Barbour and sister to Milne Barbour. Their daughter, Elizabeth Law Barber Andrews (known by her initials, "ELBA"), was born on 27 November 1910. The couple lived at "Dunallan", 20 Windsor Avenue, Belfast. It is known that Andrews took Helen to view the RMS Titanic one night, shortly before Elizabeth was born.

In 1907, Andrews began to oversee the plans for a new superliner, the RMS Olympic for the White Star Line. The Olympic and its sister ship the Titanic, which began construction in 1909, were designed by William Pirrie and general manager Alexander Carlisle along with Andrews. As he had done for the other ships he had overseen, Andrews familiarized himself with every detail of the Olympic and Titanic, in order to ensure that they were in optimal working order. Unfortunately Andrews was overruled to have 36 more life boats and a double hull and water tight bulkheads that went up to B deck.

Andrews headed a group of Harland and Wolff workers who went on the maiden voyages of the ships built by the company, to observe ship operations and spot any necessary improvements. The Titanic was no exception, so Andrews and the rest of his Harland and Wolff group travelled from Belfast to Southampton on Titanic for the beginning of her maiden voyage on 10 April 1912. During the voyage, Andrews took notes on various improvements he felt were needed. However, on 14 April, Andrews remarked to a friend that Titanic was "as nearly perfect as human brains can make her."

From l. to r, Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder, Harland & Wolff Designer,
The Honorable Isador Straus,
Captain Edward J. Smith, RMS Titanic,
and J. Bruce Ismay, Chairman, White Star Lines.