1906-11-19 LAUNCH OF THE RURIK

London Times, 19 November 1906, p. 16: LAUNCH OF THE RURIK. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) BARROW-IN-FURNESS, NOV. 17. The Russian armoured cruiser Rurik, which was described in The Times of to-day, was successfully launched this morning, in a storm of wind and rain, from the shipyard of Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and Maxim. A large number of guests were invited to view the ceremony, and many of them travelled from London yesterday and back to-day in a sumptuous train de luxe, with Royal saloons, provided by the London and North-Western Railway Company. The launch was performed by Mrs. A Trevor Dawson, and was preceded by a service according to the Greek Church, held on the launching platform. The ship began to move as soon as the dogshores were were knocked away, and the time that elapsed until she dropped clear of the launching-ways was about 50sec. By the aid of drags weighing 470 tons, she was brought up in less than 100ft., and within three-quarters of an hour five tugs had taken her into the Ramsden Dock. The total launching weight was 8,700 tons, and represented the work under quite normal conditions of about 10½ months. Most of her armour and more than three-quarters of her boilers are already in place.

At the luncheon which followed there were present Mr. T.E. Vickers, the chairman, and others connected with Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and Maxim, including Mr. Albert Vickers, Mr. Douglas Vickers, Mr. William Beardmore, Mr. J.M. Hay, Lieut. A. Trevor Dawson, R.N., Mr. James Dunn, Mr. E. Gray, Mr. James McKechnie, Mr. J.H. Boolds, Mr. A. Miller, and Mr. E. Sharer; M. S. Poklevsky, General C. Wogack, Baron Mayendorff, M.B. Zaharoff, M. P. de Balinsky, The Very Rev. Archimandrite Paraschis, Captain F. Behr, Lord Kilmorey, Sir Benjamin Baker, Sir Richard Awdry, Major-General O’Grady Haly, and Admiral Mellton Carvajal.

The chairman, Mr. T.E. VICKERS, proposed the toasts of “The King” and “The Tsar,” and afterwards proposed “Success to the Rurik,” remarking that it was many years since a vessel for the Russian navy had been built in this country.

M. DE BELINSKY, in acknowledging the toast, wished success and prosperity to Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and Maxim.

In reply, Mr. ALBERT VICKERS said that his company, although part of its prosperity arose from the building of warships and the manufacture of armament, was in reality working directly towards that ideal state of peace desired by every one. Some extremists could only see one road leading to that end, and that was universal disarmament. But nations, like individuals, must be kept in order, and just as the police force existed to keep the individual in order, so the armies and navies of the world existed to keep the nations in order. Until the great cities of the world could be kept in order without police, it seemed to him ridiculous to talk about the general disarmament of the nations.

In replying to the toast of “Mrs. Trevor Dawson,” proposed by the CHAIRMAN, LIEUTENANT DAWSON said that his wife and himself greatly appreciated the honour conferred upon her by the invitation to launch the Rurik. That great and powerful ship embodied the skill and experience of the Imperial Technical Committee in St. Petersburg and the handicraft of the British workman, and he hoped and believed that she would not only maintain the prestige of the great Russian nation, but also be a bond of union between two friendly countries, promoting the wise policy of the Tsar and furthering the peace of the world.