Identity Statement
| Title | Harland & Wolff Papers |
| Archive Reference | GB 0255 PRONI/D2805 |
| Web Link to this Entry | https://iar.ie/archive/harland-wolff-papers |
| Creation Dates | 1861-1987 |
| Extent Medium | c 2,000 files, c 200 volumes + c 16,000 documents |
Context
Creator(s): Harland & Wolff, shipbuilders, 1861-1989
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Administrative History ↴
Harland & Wolff was formed in 1861 by Edward James Harland (1831–1895) and Hamburg-born Gustav Wilhelm Wolff (1834–1913). The shipyard has built many ships notably the White Star trio RMS Olympic, RMS Titanic and Britannic. After a lengthy career in heavy industry, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, the company was bought in 1989 leading to a new company called Harland & Wolff Holdings Plc. -
Archival History ↴
The collection was received by PRONI through a number of deposits from 1960s-1990s. -
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴
Donation
Content & Structure
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Scope & Content: Harland & Wolff, shipbuilders, 1861-1989 ↴
The Harland & Wolff archive in PRONI comprises c.2,000 files, c.200 volumes and c.16,000 documents, 1861-1987, documenting most aspects of the history of Belfast’s famous shipbuilding firm.
The meticulously kept private ledgers of William James (Viscount Pirrie), the chairman of Harland & Wolff, 1896-1924, are superb. The researcher can use these to chart Harland & Wolff’s path through the shipbuilding cycles and particularly the financial complications experienced by shipbuilding companies generally in the first quarter of the 20th century.
Also illuminating are the 57 files and c.100 documents, dating from 1915, which comprise the papers accumulated by Sir Frederick Rebbeck, Harland & Wolff chairman and managing director, 1930-1962. These include correspondence, technical drawings, published articles, annual reports, photographs and newspaper cuttings. Perhaps the largest and most significant cache of personal papers deposited are those of his son, Dr Denis Rebbeck, Harland & Wolff managing director, 1962-1970. There are 962 files, covering the period 1960-1970, containing papers and correspondence, notes of meetings, newspaper cuttings, etc, pertaining to his career and his contacts with staff, the Admiralty, the Northern Ireland government, various companies and local business, universities, the Press and miscellaneous individuals.
The most extensive sections of the archive include technical records such as specifications of contracts for hull construction, electrical fittings, etc, in the various types of vessels which Harland & Wolff built, for example, liners, tankers, cargo ships, frigates, minesweepers, car ferries, whale catchers, etc. And there are over one hundred files, mostly 20th century, dealing with Harland & Wolff’s liaison with trades unions such as the Shipbuilding Employers’ Federation, the Engineering and Allied Employers’ National Federation, the Ship Constructors and Shipwrights’ Association, the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions and the Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff. -
Appraisal Destruction ↴
Permanent Retention -
Arrangement ↴
D2805/A Admiralty Work
D2805/AGC Agreements and Contracts
D2805/AGM Minutes, correspondence, etc
D2805/AR Annual Reports (H&W Engineering Establishments)
D2805/AWES Association of West European Shipbuilders
D2805/B Banks: correspondence and papers
D2805/BHC Belfast Harbour Commissioners papers
D2805/BICE British Internal Combustion Engine
D2805/BRD Board Meetings and AGM correspondence and papers
D2805/BS British Shipbuilders files
D2805/CBI Confederation of British Industry papers
D2805/CI Company Instructions of H&W
D2805/CON Conferences and meetings
D2805/CPS Correspondence
D2805/DO Drawing Office
D2805/EEF Engineering Employers Federation papers
D2805/ENQ Enquiry papers (Ships and Machinery)
D2805/EPH Ephemera
D2805/FCT Functions and presentations
D2805/FIN Finance Office Journals, Ledgers, Papers, Registers, etc
D2805/GED Geddes Report (papers)
D2805/HIST Documents of particular historical interest
D2805/INS Insurance papers
D2805/ISC Iron and Steel
D2805/LCH Launch files
D2805/LIC Licence papers
D2805/MIN Minute Books
D2805/MISC Miscellaneous H&W Records
D2805/OTC Records of the Ocean Transport Company Limited
D2805/OTP Orders to Proceed files
D2805/PAT Patents
D2805/PDR Private Dining Room
D2805/PER Personal
D2805/PHT Photographs
D2805/PRO Production
D2805/PRS Press Releases, Draft Press Releases and Press Cuttings
D2805/PUB Published Reports
D2805/RDP ‘Reina Del Pacifico’ papers
D2805/RP Rigging Plans
D2805/RSS Annual Reports of Shipbuilders and Shipowners
D2805/SBC Shipbuilding Conference Papers
D2805/SCC Steel consumers’ census returns
D2805/SCP Ship’s Completion Papers
D2805/SEL Impressions of Company Seals
D2805/SHIP Ships Particulars
D2805/SP Specifications
D2805/SRN Shipbuilders and Repairers’ National Association (Files)
D2805/SSIA Shiprepairers’ and Shipbuilders Independent Association (Files)
D2805/ST Sea Trials (Files)
D2805/TC Test certificates and building certificates
D2805/TUR Trade Union Records
D2805/VAL Valuation Records
D2805/VIS Visits to H&W (Files)
D2805/WAR War Ship Group correspondence
D2805/WB Wages Books
D2805/WDC War Damage Claims papers
D2805/WKS H&W Great Britain Works and Premises
D2805/WOOD Legal papers of the case, Woodstock Shipping – v – H&W
D2805/WR Wage Returns to various associations, councils, federations, etc
Conditions of Access & Use
| Access Conditions | When the early deposits of Harland & Wolff business records were accessioned, a '50-year rule' was applied to them. In essence this means that a record - be it a file, minute book, ledger, etc - becomes eligible for release to the public 50 years from the date of its last paper. However, in practice, a '50-year rule' has not been operated. Instead, all members of the public are required to submit a written request to Harland & Wolff, through PRONI, seeking access to the records of whatever date. |
| Conditions Governing Reproduction | Please contact PRONI for guidance |
| Creation Dates | 1861-1987 |
| Extent Medium | c 2,000 files, c 200 volumes + c 16,000 documents |
| Material Language Script | English |
| Finding Aids | A summary of the collection can be accessed online: http://www.proni.gov.uk/ Archive Web Link → |
Allied Materials
| Related Material | There are many government records in PRONI which concern the development of the Harland & Wolff shipyard. For example, a number of Cabinet Secretariat files, 1923-1945 (referenced CAB/9A), concern shipbuilding, the government loans guarantee scheme, government subsidies, a shortage of fitting-out workers and the importation of Irish Free State workers, and unemployment in the shipyard. Other files in the Cabinet Secretariat series (referenced CAB/9B) concern temperance legislation, including letters expressing shipyard workers' opposition to the activities of prohibitionists in 1923. The return of Roman Catholics to the shipyard in the same year following serious civil disturbances, is also well documented. Cabinet Conclusions files (referenced CAB/4) also contain references to Harland & Wolff. Beyond PRONI there are two major collections of Harland & Wolff records held by the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum (UFTM): a photographic collection and a ships' plans collection (ie, technical drawings). |
Descriptive Control Area
| Archivist Note | PRONI Archivist |
| Rules/Conventions | ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000. National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names. Chippenham: National Council on Archives, 1997. UK Archival Thesaurus (UKAT) |
| Date of Descriptions | 41699 |