North Shields is noted for its fascinating history. But did you know that our town has links with the Oval Office in the White House?
The famous Resolute desk, used by American Presidents, is made from timber salvaged from H.M.S. Resolute – a ship built in 1849 at Smiths Dock, North Shields. In 1852, Resolute set sail in search of Sir John Franklin and his party who had disappeared in the Arctic while trying to discover the elusive Northwest Passage. Unfortunately, Resolute became stuck in thick ice and was abandoned by her crew. After the ice melted, she drifted for a year as a ghost ship, until she was spotted by American whalers and taken to Connecticut. The US Government decided to restore and return her to England as a gesture of “national courtesy”. Resolute then served in the Royal Navy for a further twenty-three years until she was decommissioned. But before she was sent to the breakers dock, Queen Victoria ordered that a desk be made from her best timbers, to be sent to the White House to “seal a lasting friendship” between our country and the United States.
Source: North Shields People
