File talk:Isambard Kingdom Brunel preparing the launch of 'The Great Eastern by Robert Howlett crop.jpg

The characters

The contibutor "The underground Map"( https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=823014716527171&set=a.548591640636148), a usually reliable source on the provenance and content of old photos, claims that Brunel is seen in the photograph (second from right) at one of several attempts to launch the ship in November 1857. Flanking him are his assistants Solomon Tredwell (left) and William Jacomb (right). The figure on the left is thought to be that of William Harrison, Great Eastern’s first captain. Brunel had planned to launch the vessel sideways into the Thames, but it failed to move. It was eventually launched in January 1858. GaryGMason (talk) 11:15, 8 April 2024 (UTC)