"It takes team work, to make the dream work."
Here at WSM, our team is extensive in our duties, yet consolidated in our numbers. We are a very personal-based, privately owned company, with decades of combined experience in the historical, educational, and museum industries.
Here at WSM, our team is extensive in our duties, yet consolidated in our numbers. We are a very personal-based, privately owned company, with decades of combined experience in the historical, educational, and museum industries.
John White
WSM President & Founder John White is internationally recognized in owning one of the world's largest collections of White Star Line artefacts. He founded White Star Memories as a place for his growing collection and turned it into a limited company with his business partner, David Scott-Beddard. The company has exhibited across the world at many prestigious locations. His media experience has seen him appear on countless television programmes and radio stations. He was also responsible, along with David, in successfully securing the future of the SS Nomadic in association with the United Kingdom Government, the last surviving White Star Line ship, after a world wide appeal and awareness campaign. She now resides safely in the Hamilton Dry Dock in Belfast. This resulted in John co-founding the Nomadic Preservation Society in 2006. He is involved in many charitable fund raising events, especially dealing with the care of children. John lives in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. |
David Scott-Beddard
Chief Executive Officer David's huge personal archive of White Star Line and Titanic artefacts is incredibly diverse and widely acknowledged as one of the finest in the world. A friend of John White for many years, they have formed a unique partnership and by combining their collections, have truly made White Star Memories one of the largest and finest companies in their specialist fields. Although DSB's passion, vision and commitment has helped drive WSM forward, he openly admits that he "drives John crazy" with his levels of perfection and attention to detail! In 2006, following the successful campaign to save Titanic's tender, SS Nomadic, David was recruited by the Northern Ireland Government's Department for Social Development, to oversee the restoration of the vessel and was responsible for her opening to the public in Belfast, where she attracted over 18,000 visitors in just 6 months; ably accompanied by the White Star Memories exhibition! David's career path took him into retailing & management and he has worked for many of the world's high-profile motor manufacturers, specializing in marketing. Although a lover of the sea and a qualified diver, David prefers the tranquillity of the countryside to the busy cities and lives in rural Herefordshire in England with his wife, Natasha, and their beloved pets, Alfie the spaniel and the undisputed boss of the household; Lily, the cat! Pictured left: With Government Minister, Kate Hoey, onboard SS Nomadic. |
Barrie Getz
North American Exhibition Marketing Executive & Webmaster Barrie has been directly involved with the Titanic community, for over a decade. Her association with the ship traces back to an original 1912 Philadelphia "Titanic/Carpathia" newspaper she found in a used bookstore, on the outskirts of Las Vegas. It was a moment she often refers to as "....destiny, charting my course for me". As a professional archivist and preservation specialist, her delicate care for the aged artefact led to further discovering the history behind Titanic. Many doors opened, pointing her career directly into the exhibition industry. She is an avid researcher, writer & collector of maritime history. Artefacts from her vast collection are used in educating youth, and often seen on display in museums around the country. Currently, she is recording the stories of Cold War submariners; through a decade's long project of capturing moments in wartime history, otherwise lost. She has worked closely with naval veterans of opposing nations; to bridge a gap often overlooked, between propaganda and truth. She is an avid equestrian, having once competed successfully in Grand Prix show jumping. At seventeen she was shortlisted as an Olympic youth hopeful, for the 2000 Sydney games. She lives in Long Beach, California, only a stone's throw from the famous Trans-Atlantic ocean liner; RMS Queen Mary. |
Jessica Sweetingham
UK & Europe Exhibition Marketing Executive It is no surprise that Jess has a passion for the sea, White Star Line and Titanic, having inherited it from her father Clive Sweetingham, who is an Officer of the British Titanic Society and who has a rich maritime family history back to the early eighteenth century. Inspired by this history and the family’s ties with the Royal Navy, Jess joined the Sea Cadets as a young girl and later joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Her adventurous spirit has enabled her to achieve the gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, and she has successfully completed the National Three Peaks Challenge, scaling the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon) - one after the other within 24 hours. After leaving University with a BA (Hons) in Business & Marketing, Jess set up her own Social Media Marketing company and presently works with a number of blue chip companies developing and maintaining their marketing strategies and campaigns. Jess is married and lives in Worcestershire. In addition to her busy work life and bringing up two young children, she has recently become the Membership Engagement Officer with the British Titanic Society. |
Kelli Sandoz-Rosenfeld
Social Media Coordinator & Exhibit Support Kelli Rosenfeld was born in California, the daughter of radio icon Steve Sandoz. She's been interested in the Titanic since 1997, and her passion for the subject has grown ever since. She joined White Star Memories in 2014 and became their social media administrator for Twitter and Instagram. Kelli has since worked on our award winning exhibition "Titanic: In Photographs" onboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, and was heavily involved in set up and dismantle, handling priceless artefacts and liaising with the client on our behalf through the term of the event. Kelli has collected some items from Titanic and the WSL and lectured in schools in her local education authority jurisdiction. Kelli is a valued member of the team and currently lives in San Diego with her daughter. |