Brunel’s SS Great Britain is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ship’s return ‘home’ to Bristol. Launched in 1843, she was the world’s first great ocean liner and was at the time the largest and most-efficient passenger ship in the world.
A new short film revisits the 1970 homecoming of the SS Great Britain, capturing the incredible rescue 50 years on with new first-person accounts, with divers looking back at one of the most ambitious and pioneering ship rescues ever attempted. The 8,000 mile journey to Avonmouth was the longest ever under tow, and the re-floating and return to Bristol beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge was watched by crowds of spectators and millions on television.
More information about the 50th anniversary, including an exclusive digital look at the photography exhibition with insights from the curators can be found at ssgreatbritain.org/50.
