Voices from the Titanic

by Geoff Tibballs

  Friday’s news supply from across the Atlantic had much that is of special interest to Belfast, which for the time being is a city of mourning, not merely in the outward display of halfmasted flags, but in the feeling amongst all classes and sections of the citizens, as evidenced in the tone of everyday conversation. There were not a few families in the city and district who had a peculiarly intimate connection with the event by reason of personal relationship with passengers on board the lost liner; and the whole community of workers on the Queen’s Island had, in addition to the fact of the result of their handicraft being lost in the deeps of the Atlantic, to face the wiping away of some of their most capable leaders, and popular colleagues. Mr Thomas Andrews, Jun., is one of those regarding whom the keenest anxiety was felt, and it will be recalled that only a short time ago – on the occasion of the trial trip of the Patriotic – he delivered a speech which had great interest and importance for Belfast people. In it he declared the intention of Messrs Harland & Wolff, with regard to Belfast and subsidiary yards. It is not without interest to recall the actual words of Mr Andrews on that occasion. He said he was glad to be able to say that the prosperity of Harland & Wolff’s was never greater than at the present time, and so great were the demands of the firm’s business that they were finding it necessary to make extensions in other cities and other countries. He could not say that that had met with entire approval, but no matter how their business might develop he felt sure that in Belfast they would always have their headquarters. It was sufficient for him to say that today they employed in Belfast over 15,000 men, and the total wages bill on last Friday evening reached the record figure of £27,500. A good deal of that had been involved in the completion of two first-class passenger ships, the Patriotic and Titanic.

  Another member of the Queen’s Island staff about whom special feeling exists is Mr Frost, who has a hereditary connection with the firm.

  On Friday morning, however, reassuring news of one Belfast representative on board the ill-fated liner was forthcoming. Mr William Brown, of Kersland Crescent, Newtownards Road, being apprised by cablegram of the safety of Miss Sloan, one of the stewardesses. The formal list of survivors issued up to the present includes also Robert Hopkins, able seaman, of Belfast, and persons named Couts [sic], who are stated to belong to this neighbourhood, but who have not yet been definitely traced.

  The fact that the survivor lists published so far are not exhaustive is indicated by a telegram received on Friday by Mr Pears, of Messrs Combe, Barbour and Combe, Belfast, stating that his daughter-in-law was amongst the saved, although her name did not appear on the official list.

  Mr A. Irvine [sic], rate collector, on Friday received a message from the White Star Line Offices, Southampton, regarding his son, who sailed on the Titanic as assistant electrician.

  Deeply regret your son’s name is not in the list of those who were saved. Please accept our deepest sympathy.

  A HERO’S DEATH

  How Mr Thos. Andrews, Jun., Met His Fate

  The keen anxiety felt in Belfast regarding the fate of Mr Thomas Andrews, Jun., managing director of Harland & Wolff, was tempered by the knowledge, shared in by all his acquaintances, that if he met his end he would do so in a manner worthy of his race and name. Too plainly it was seen by the later messages that he was amongst those who sank with the giant vessel, in the construction of which he had such a prominent and all-important part. But the deep shadow cast upon the community by the disaster was relieved by the gleam of glory reflected from the high courage and grand self-sacrifice which he conspicuously displayed in the awful last hours of the Titanic.

  How he gave his life away for others was barely indicated in the brief messages already published, but on Sunday a prominent official of Messrs Harland & Wolff received from the White Star Company’s offices, New York, a cablegram which condenses into half a dozen jerky phrases a narrative of heroism calculated to stir the feelings of the most stolid, and to mingle with the deep, heart-felt regret of those who knew Mr Andrews, a sensation of pride that he should have faced his fate so grandly. No more remarkable sidelight has been thrown on the disaster than by this message, dramatic in its brevity:

  After accident Andrews ascertained damage. Advised passengers put heavy clothing, prepare leave vessel. Many sceptical about serious damage, but impressed by Andrews’s knowledge, personality, followed his advice, saved their lives. He assisted many women children to lifeboats. When last seen officers say was throwing overboard deck chairs other objects to people in water. His chief concern safety of everyone but himself.

  The news of Mr Andrews’s tragic end will be received with feelings of the most profound sorrow by his large circle of acquaintances, and the deepest sympathy will be extended to his bereaved widow, who was a Miss Barbour, his father and mother, and his other relatives in their affliction. He was beloved and respected by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, and by none will the news of his sad but heroic death be more regretfully read than by the thousands of men at the Queen’s Island over whose labours he superintended with such rare ability and with such conspicuous success.

  The late Mr Andrews was a nephew of Lord Pirrie and the Right Hon. W. Drennan Andrews, an ex-judge of the King’s Bench Division in Ireland.

  RIGHT HON. A. M. CARLISLE

  A memorial service was held in St Paul’s Cathedral, London, on Friday, for those who perished in the Titanic. The congregation numbered over 5,000, and included members of the Cabinet, Government officials, Ambassadors, among the latter being Mr Whitelaw Reid, the Lord Mayor, and representatives of the great shipping companies.

  Right Hon. A. M. Carlisle fainted during the service, and had to be removed. He subsequently recovered.

  (Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner, 27 April 1912)

  OLYMPIC’S RACE

  Passengers Alarmed at Grim Preparations

  Some 300 passengers of the Olympic arrived at Waterloo Station on Sunday (twenty-first) morning. In interviews it was stated that, although they learnt on the ship by means of Marconi messages of the loss of the Titanic, it was not until they obtained the English newspapers at Plymouth that the full shock of the disaster was brought to their minds. Many of the passengers had friends on board the ill-fated sister ship; and there was hardly a member of the crew who was not wearing mourning for some relative or shipmate of long standing. The musicians in particular were most of them intimately associated with the members of the Titanic’s orchestra, and they were overcome with emotion when they heard of the magnificent heroism of their old comrades. Although it was understood that Captain Haddock had received a message about midnight on Sunday (fourteenth) that the Titanic had struck an iceberg it was considerably later that the news found its way to the passengers. The first intimation that anything was amiss was given by the altered course and accelerated speed of the vessel. The Olympic 500 miles away was going to the rescue of her disabled sister ship, travelling at a rate she had never attempted before. The stokers and engineers were working like trojans to get the last fraction of speed out of the ship’s engines, and for 400 miles she tore along at a rate of 24 knots an hour. In the meantime the lifeboats were all prepared for lowering the moment she reached the wreck. The tension was relieved by another wireless message stating that all on board the Titanic had been saved. The Olympic, however, kept on her way, and it was only when she was within 100 miles of the scene of the disaster that she received the message from the Carpathia stating that the Cunard liner had picked up some 800 of the Titanic’s survivors, and that pieces of wreckage was all she could find of the mammoth ship.

  One of the saloon passengers said that when the ship’s course was altered, and the lifeboats were got ready, the Olympic’s passengers were filled with alarm. Until that time they had received no communication whatever as to anything untoward, and such an air of mystery was maintained that it was decided to approach the captain of the ship for an explanation. A committee of saloon passengers was formed, and two of their nu
mber waited on Captain Haddock, who then told them of a message that he had received that the Titanic had struck an iceberg. The greatest anxiety prevailed, and although later on they were informed that the Titanic had gone down, and that the Carpathia had picked up a large number of survivors, it was not until Plymouth was reached that those on the Olympic knew the full extent of the disaster. The passenger added that as the Olympic was tearing her way to bring succour to the Titanic they passed by a great iceberg, although their vessel was never in any danger from it. He said he had twice crossed the Atlantic in a steamer commanded by Captain Smith, than whom he believed no finer skipper ever sailed a ship, and to whose sterling worth, both as a man and a seaman, he paid a high tribute.

  Gloom on Board

  All night long the wireless operator was frantically endeavouring to get fuller news of the catastrophe, but his efforts were unavailing. Meanwhile excitement was hourly growing on board, and with the failure of the Titanic’s signals, followed a feeling of intense depression among the ship’s company. The Olympic raced on her errand of mercy, and it was not until six o’clock on Monday evening that she learnt by wireless from the Carpathia that all the boats had been picked up, and those on board heard with dismay that the Olympic could be of no further service. The extent of the disaster was not then known, but it was feared that there must have been serious loss of life, for the lifeboat capacity of the Titanic was known to the Olympic crew. An atmosphere of gloom pervaded all grades of passengers and crew. For the remainder of the voyage the ship’s band ceased playing, and there was no more music on board. Concerts and dances which had been arranged for seamen’s charities and other diversions usually indulged in on ocean trips, were at once cancelled, and in their place committees were formed to raise subscriptions for the dependants of those whose lives had been lost. The first-class passengers subscribed something like £700 in very quick time. The ship’s officials all contributed handsome amounts, and the firemen and stewards and other ratings of the crew forfeited several days’ pay for the wives and families of their dead comrades. In all a sum of £1,500 was raised.

  The news of the full extent of the loss of life was received with blank amazement, when it became known, and the passengers as they stepped ashore at Southampton to entrain for London, eagerly bought up the Sunday papers to learn the full details of the catastrophe.

  No sooner were the passengers cleared than preparations commenced for the Olympic to sail again during the week, and coaling operations continued all through the day. To allay any anxiety the White Star Line have arranged for a large number of additional boats of the collapsible type to be placed on the Olympic for her next voyage, and it is understood provision will be made for all on board.

  (Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner, 27 April 1912)

  TAFT’S EULOGY OF MAJOR BUTT

  Of Major Butt, President Taft’s eulogy, perhaps, best covers the situation. When the details of his aide-de-camp’s end were conveyed to him, Mr Taft said:

  I never really had any hope of seeing him again. Archie was a soldier, and was always where he was wanted. When I heard that 1,200 people had gone down in the Titanic I knew Archie would be among them. He would be on deck doing his duty to the end.

  SERVICES IN ENGLAND

  In most places of worship in the United Kingdom on Sunday special pulpit references were made, or prayers read, with reference to the Titanic disaster. The services in the large cities partook largely of a memorial character. The ‘dead march in Saul’ was generally played, and the hymns chosen frequently included ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’. In London moving scenes were witnessed as during the singing of hymns or rendering of the dead march men and women broke down, and grief for lost relatives and friends found expression in tears.

  SAFETY BEFORE SPEED

  The White Star and Cunard Companies issued an announcement at Liverpool on Monday that they have standing instructions to their captains to ensure safety before speed. The Cunard rule reads:

  Captains are to remember that whilst they are expected to use every diligence to secure a speedy voyage, they must run no risks which by any possibility might result in accident to their ships. They will ever bear in mind that the safety of the lives and property entrusted to their care is the ruling principle which shall govern them in the navigation of their ships, and that the supposed gain in expedition or saving of time on a voyage is not to be purchased at the risk of accident.

  (Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner, 27 April 1912)

  OUR LADIES’ COLUMN BY MRS HUMPHRY ‘MADGE’ TITANIC REFLECTIONS

  The sympathy of every true woman must go out to the unhappy women and girls who have lost husbands and fathers in this heartrending accident to the Titanic. It must have made the catastrophe even more afflicting that every one of the passengers went on board with the conviction that the vessel was practically unsinkable. No one reckoned for a single instance on collision with an iceberg. The imagination vainly tries to picture the terrible scene when the women and children were handed first to the boats. The men were interrogated, ‘Married or unmarried?’ The married men were given the first chance, but comparatively few of these could be saved, while the unmarried had to stand back with no smallest hope of rescue. Many of them were in the prime of life, others were youths seeking a livelihood and hoping to build a home in the great continent. What could their thoughts have been as they awaited the final sinking of the vessel? It completely beggars fancy when one tries to realize the scene and attempts to guess the feelings of husband and wife, mother and daughter, father and son, parting in the unspeakably harrowing circumstances.

  (Southampton Times and Hampshire Express, 27 April 1912)

  THE TITANIC’S CREW ARRIVAL OF THE LAPLAND AT PLYMOUTH

  A hundred and sixty-seven survivors of the crew of the Titanic landed at Plymouth yesterday from the Red Star liner Lapland.

  They told a large number of full and graphic stories of the disaster.

  One of the chief facts brought to light is that Mr Murdoch, the Chief Officer, after working assiduously at getting the women and children into the boats and launching them, shot himself.

  Captain Smith was on the bridge practically to the last. He was seen swimming in the water after the ship went down, with a child in his arms, which he vainly attempted to rescue. He after-wards disappeared.

  Practically all the survivors agree that the band played hymns and not ‘ragtime tunes’. After all his fellow musicians had been washed away the solo violinist continued playing ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’, until he went under with the ship.

  The Titanic broke in two between the funnels. There were explosions. The men believe that the machinery fell out of the hull when she split and the bow went down. The stern rose straight up in the air before the final plunge.

  A great many of the passengers and crew lost their lives by the falling of one of the funnels when the ship broke. Others, when she dipped, were killed by being thrown violently into the well of the forecastle.

  More lives might have been saved but for over-confidence in the unsinkability of the vessel.

  Having varied her normal course to the extent of about 130 miles so as to keep more safely south, the Red Star liner Lapland arrived in Plymouth Sound yesterday morning almost on the stroke of eight o’clock. She was met by three G.W. tenders, one of which was entirely set apart for a party of 167 survivors of the crew of the ill-fated Titanic. This was the Sir Richard Grenville and on her were Messrs Harold and T. Wolferstan (Board of Trade solicitors), W. Woollven (collector of Customs and receiver of wreck), with other officials, who were present to collect the evidence of the survivors and sort it with a view to securing any vital statements for submission to the Royal Commission which opens its inquiry on Thursday.

  It was generally known that unusual steps were contemplated to keep the survivors together so long as the Board of Trade officials needed them, and to prevent them being tampered with by unauthorized people, but the little army of journalists,
who had assembled from all parts, were unprepared for the rigorous exclusion from even the dock premises to which they were subjected.

  A number of them chartered boats, but were unable to get on board the liner. They had as colleagues two members of the British Seamen’s Union, who called out and shouted to the men not to say anything ‘until you have seen us.’ The immediate result of this was really to upset the plans of the authorities, and quite early in the afternoon the men were at liberty. There were thus plenty of opportunities for interviews, and some new light was thrown on the disaster. The men spoke with the utmost frankness and earnestness, though almost without exception they declined to consent to the publication of their names, fearing unpleasant consequences. In the main, however, the story secured from them may be accepted as quite authentic, even though it naturally concerns phases of the disaster rather than one entire memory.

  The precautions taken to exclude Pressmen and visitors from the Docks and the tenders were elaborate to an extreme degree. Not only were the officials suspicious of everybody, but regular servants were kept out unless armed with a pass. Then at about ten minutes to six, a score of postal employees, mostly in uniform, and the rest comprising telegraph and postal clerks regularly in the docks and quite well known to the officials, were ‘held up’ because they had not first called at the G.P.O. for a permit! When the tender which they used returned to the jetty members of the Dock staff were detailed to watch and ‘see if anything is thrown or passed overboard to a boat.’ The brilliance of this order is revealed by the fact that half an hour later the postal gentlemen were all outside the docks, and had in no way been searched. As a matter of fact, few had ever left the tender for the Lapland, and none had caught more than a glimpse of the survivors as they transferred to the Sir Richard Grenville.