'On the afternoon of Tuesday June 22nd 2004, I was interviewed for Sky 1’s then upcoming documentary on author Robin Gardiner’s ‘switch’ – or ‘conspiracy’ – theory, which explored whether the Olympic and the Titanic were swapped as part of an insurance fraud. While the documentary first aired in September 2004, due to the nature of television documentaries much material from the various interviewees did not make the final version, and none of my own interview ended up being shown.

Prior to the interview, Richard Sanders of Sky TV had sent me a list of general and specific questions regarding my views on various aspects of the theory. In order to get my thoughts together for the interview, which was loosely based on the list of questions I had been sent, I made the following notes. Some of my answers are deliberately brief, although I followed them up more fully during the interview itself. They are presented here in the event that they are of interest to any readers, and as part of an effort to ensure that the material is not wasted. Prior to the interview, we enjoyed a very interesting and wide-ranging discussion, ranging from all things maritime, to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s 1966 World Cup football team, the fall of France in 1940, and the tragic present-day situation in Iraq.

For anyone interested in reading more about the theory itself, by far the best book that I can recommend is Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall’s Olympic & Titanic: The Truth Behind The Conspiracy, which was published by Six Star Publishing on March 26th 2004. I consider myself honoured that I was able to offer some small assistance with the Olympic’s history. In my view, the photographic evidence presented in the book – as to the differences between the two ships – is overwhelming and proves once and for all that the two ships were not swapped, and that the ship that sank in the North Atlantic on April 15th 1912 was indeed the Titanic....'