Steve Rigby - The Original Mr. Titanic

In 1997 I had the privilege to attend the British Titanic Society’s annual convention in Southampton where, as a 16 year old lad, I met some like minded people, some really great Titanic experts and even the last survivor Millvina Dean. But one of the people who really made that weekend for me was Steve Rigby, a man obsessed with the Titanic and one that’s enthusiasm and morale was infectious.

The excitement at being in the presence of so many people with the same interest as me was brilliant, so seeing Steve for the first time and introducing myself was definitely memorable, not only because at this first meeting I asked him – “So, what have you got on Titanic then?” His reply? “Everything!”

I was very much inclined to believe him!

Stephen William Rigby was born on 12^th March 1959 to William and Hilda, brother to Sue and Denise. He graduated from  St Marys Astley school in 1975 and had been researching the sinking of the Titanic since the age of 8 when his cousin had shown him a copy of the bestselling book A Night to Remember which was written by Walter Lord. From that moment on he was hooked.

As the years went by he became more and more fascinated with the story and joined the British Titanic Society with a number of other like-minded people in 1987, taking on the role of secretary a few years later. The doors that opened up for him were phenomenal as people from all over the world joined the society and this attracted some very important Titanic-related people into the mix. Soon he would rub shoulders with the survivors and relatives of those who had been on board highlighting these friendships at the annual BTS Conventions where I met him all those years ago. 

But Titanic was more than just an interesting subject, he would take it to heart the commemorations and remembrances, he would become angry at the conspiracy theories that were being made up regarding the claim that Olympic was really Titanic and would voice his opinions that these claims were absolute rubbish. 

Then one day in 2001, while he was carrying out his day job as a postman in Lowton, he found out that he had won a competition to actually dive the Titanic wreck. This was an incredible dream come true, heading out to the site of his passion aboard the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and boarding the submersible Mir 1 for his life changing dive to the most famous shipwreck in history. 

 On 29^th July 2001 he finally made the descent to the wreck site. Things got a bit hairy on this dive when the sub collided with it’s sister Mir 2 which was close by at the time but they were recovered without an issue.  

This had not been the first bit of bad luck as his luggage containing two memorial plaques to lay on the wreck had not followed him across the Atlantic and was instead still at Heathrow Airport. Thankfully it was found and sent over to him just in time…..15 minutes before the ship sailed for the wreck!

His six hour dive on the wreck was breath-taking for him and he returned to shore with so many incredible memories, becoming only the 62^nd person ever to dive Titanic. But it did not end there. Four years later he got a second chance to visit the wreck. Together with Brigitte Saar, they published a book on their diving experience on the wreck in 2006 titled “The Ultimate Experience – Our Dive to the Titanic.”

Steve continued being active within the BTS and his organisation hosted conventions in every Titanic related city including Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the Titanic's victims were recovered and brought back by four ships that were sent out after the disaster and where many are now laid to rest.

Steve always wanted to organise something for the 100^th anniversary of the Titanic disaster but sadly he never got the chance. He died on 8^th May 2011, at Wigan Infirmary, at the age of 52. his funeral was held on 20^th May at Howe Bridge Crematorium in Atherton, Lancashire.

But this is where his legacy lived on, for his family continued his journey and in April 2012 his ashes were scatted over the wreck of the Titanic when the liner Balmoral made the centenary memorial voyage. It is where he would have wanted to be.

(Thanks to his sister Sue for some of the information and photos)