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The Titanic anniversary still remembered
Sandy Dickson
With the 97th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking occurring on April 14, it would be appropriate to give it some recognition with some little known facts of the worst civilian maritime disaster in history. Accounts were taken from survivors, especially a journalist aboard named Lawrence Beesley, who wrote first-hand accounts of the voyage and the sinking.
In 1912 on the Sunday night of April 14 nearing the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the windless air was near freezing. The ocean water calm and smooth, like glass, as the world’s most luxurious ship to date, at 46,328 tons and 883 feet long, glided gracefully through the water under a stark black sky, clear of moon and stars. People aboard were enjoying their opulent cruise with no hint of the drama that was about to take place.
Funded by America’s J.P Morgan’s International Mercantile Marine Co., leaving Belfast, Ireland where it was built on April 2, 1912, proceeding for her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to Cherbourg, France, Queenstown, Ireland on her New York destination. She was the last of three luxury ships designed to provide three-ship weekly express service and dominate the transatlantic travel business for the White Star Line. Most people since are aware of many facts surrounding the Titanic, especially with the renewed interest that took place after the wreck was recovered in 1985, followed by a subsequent movie version.
In 1912, the average income was $500 a year, so it started at half an average person’s income to get the cheapest 1st class cabin: $250 for the single inside cabin and up to $3300 for the nicest at that time of year. The summer price was to be $4600. A second class cabin was $58 with 3rd class at $32 (a normal month’s pay.)
Warnings early in the voyage to the Titanic by other ships of icebergs in Titanic’s path caused the captain to divert his route 10 miles to the south. Still, further warnings followed, the last one being issued by SS Californian, which had stopped for the night 15 miles away because of icebergs. They even fired distress rockets, but Titanic had three teams of two lookouts high up in the Crows nest who rotated every two hours, so didn’t see a need to fear. Besides, they had confidence they were unsinkable. The White Star Line had touted Titanic as “A ship even God Himself couldn’t sink.” The last radio fatal warning was retorted to by Titanic’s first officer who was busy sending ship-to-shore messages for the ship’s wealthy passengers: “Keep out. Shut up. I am working on the Cape race. You’re jamming my signal.”
At 11:39 when lookouts spotted a large iceberg just ahead and sounded a warning bell, it was too late to divert, and 37 seconds later, the collision buckled the hull, popping out rivets below the waterline and allowing water to enter through the small holes.
At 12:05 orders were given to lifeboats to be uncovered, but passengers were reluctant to leave the comfort of the warm ship that was supposed to be unsinkable and it didn’t yet seem to be in any distress. There was also fear that lifeboats filled to capacity may break under the weight and it was thought best to save room for picking up people in the water anyway. Also, lifeboats boarded on the upper decks were supposed to stop for more people on 2nd and third decks on the way to the water but failed to do so. First and second class passengers had easy access to the decks, but some third class passageways were blocked by locked gates.
Passenger Ida Strauss, wife of husband Isadore, founder of Macy’s department stores, refused a spot on a lifeboat, saying, “Where you go, I go. As we have lived, so shall we die together. She wrapped another women in her fur coat, saw her into the lifeboat and they sat on deck until about 12:50 before they retired to their stateroom to go down with the ship.
When the waterline reached the bottom of the bridge rail at 2:00 a.m. and the last lifeboat, a collapsible, was lowered, there had been 466 life boat vacancies. By 2:05 the ship’s propellers were beginning to show as the ship tilted.
Had lifeboats been filled to capacity, 1,178 people could have been saved, rather than the 712 of the total 2,208: 208 from first class, 118 from second and 181 from third class. Of the crew, 212 were saved while 679 of the 1,479 crew total. The majority of deaths were of hypothermia.
In 1997, passenger Eleanor Shuman was last of the American survivors, since deceased, was returning with her mother and brother from a trip to see relatives in Finland. Those three all survived the trip back. She said, “My mother was holding me in her arms, and she handed me down to the man in the lifeboat and I was crying. I was a real mama’s girl and no one was going to take me away from her. All I really remember is the noise, the sound of people screaming. I’m glad I don’t remember more of it.” Her father’s engraved pocket watch was recovered at the excavation and returned to her 85 years later, which she since donated for the museum display.
In 1985 the original team who had found the ship said no human remains were seen, but evidence that bodies had made it to the bottom was there. A pair of leather high-button boots lying together in the silt, toes turned out, looked as though they were what remained of a body, not as though they had been lying together in a suitcase. The debris field between the two halves of the ship was littered with what spilled out as the ship broke in two.
Among the 5,000 plus articles recovered were a tin box that once held candy, china cups and saucers and crystal decanters that had withstood the 3-ton per square inch pressure of the 12,500 foot depths. in remarkably good shape, a champagne bottle, a brass music stand and sheet music from the band that played various ragtime tunes to calm passengers until the ship began to sink when they switched to Nearer My God to Thee. Menu cards, a restaurant receipt and even a newspaper dated the day of the ship’s departure from Southhampton, England that are still readable. A pipe with tobacco still in it. Remnants of light bulbs still in a chandelier fixture. A porcelain jar of Cherry tooth paste. A silver shaving stick, tarnished, but still full and smelling good enough to use, as well as a jar of pomade, still half full. A crewman’s white linen service jacket, rust-stained and eaten at, still bearing his name written on the tag inside the collar: ‘Broome.’ A deck of marked cards brings speculation that some gambler might have been planning on using it to fleece on one of the wealthy passengers. A delicate gold bracelet with an inscription that reads “Amy.”
Among the Titanic’s cargo were five grand pianos, cook and bake ware, first, second and third class luggage, toys, and 100 barrels of flour, tons of coal, 15,000 bottles of ale and stout, and even one passenger’s brand new Renault car. An intact glass jar of stuffed green olives…
Now at the dawning of April 14, 1912, Bruce J. Ismay, director of White Star line, who boarded a lifeboat and was heartily criticized as a coward for doing so, sent this message for the Carpathia, one of the rescuing ships:: “Deeply regret to advise you Titanic sank this morning after collision with iceberg resulting in serious loss of life.”
RMS Titanic Inc. (RMS=royal mail steamer, the ships official designation) is a for profit company adhering to strict archaeological standards. Made their attempts to salvage the ship as interested parties stood on deck to watch the anticipated success of bringing up each piece. Eleanor Shurman, the survivor mentioned previously, went with her son, daughter and two grandchildren and loved the experience. “It was very quiet. We were all anticipating. The pontoons surfaced first and a huge cheer went up, People were screaming ‘Here it comes! But then nothing happened. In the morning we heard that the piece had gone back to the bottom. We were very disappointed.” There was much controversy surrounding the attempt. Some in the Historical Society called it grave-robbing, others called it archaeology, feeling that if they didn’t bring it up, a piece of history would just corrode. Shurman didn’t mind either way, saying, “After 845 years, it won’t hurt much.”
RMS Titanic Inc. is not the first group to try to salvage Titanic. John Jacob Astor’s body was among those recovered, but before it was found, his family hired a salvage firm to find the ship and blow it apart to dislodge bodies.
In the ‘70’s a wealthy Texan publicized his elaborate plans to raise her by filling the hull with giant helium balloons, but this never came to successful fruition.
Ironically, 12 years before the Titanic disaster, a short, 70 page story was written by Robert Morrison describing a fictitious top-of-the-line, unsinkableship named the Futility, which far excelled any of her predecessors by being the largest craft afloat, more wonderfully made by experts in every field necessary She departed New York with 2000 people and then lost on her maiden voyage carrying 2,000, whereas Titanic carried 2,208 from Belfast. The fictional version also collided with an iceberg. Also short of lifeboats, however, the departure is that only three survived, two of whom lived for a time on an iceberg before being rescued by another ship.. Still, it is an uncanny parallel which some deem prophetic.
Copyright © 2009 Sandy Dickson. All rights reserved. |
