On April 10, 1912 the
Titanic commenced her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. At
that time, she was the largest and most luxurious ship
ever built; a White Star steamship by Harland and Wolff of
Belfast, Ireland, costing $7.5 million. The ship stopped at Cherbourg, France and
Queenstown, Ireland to take on passengers. The next day at
1:30, she weighed anchor and steamed westward with 2,227 passengers and crew aboard. The sea was calm, and the weather clear, but cool.
Many passengers remained indoors, or stayed in the
A-Deck enclosed promenade. Wireless operators were trying to catch
up with the back-log of passenger's messages. On April
14th they received several iceberg warnings from other
ships navigating through the region. It was 11:40 p.m., about 400
miles off Newfoundland, Canada. The Titanic was traveling at
near top speed of about 20.5 knots when a large iceberg
grazed her side. At 2:20 a.m. she sank, approximately 13.5 miles
east-southeast of the position from which her distress call was
transmitted. As she sank the band played and the people trapped
on board sang "Nearer My God To Thee." The lights continued
to burn until she disappeared beneath the water. Hundreds of people remained struggling for their
lives in the freezing water. Their screams were unforgettable
for those who were in the lifeboats. None of the which rowed
back to offer help to the hundreds of men, women and children
who froze to death during the next hour. After the terrible cries died down Fifth Officer
Lowe transferred passengers out of lifeboat 14 and rowed it back to
the Titanic's sinking. There were masses of dead bodies (buoyed
by life belts) floating in the ocean. Lowe and Able Seaman Joseph Scarrett found 14 people alive, and of these, only half
survived after their rescue. Lost at sea were 1,522 people, including
passengers and crew. As dawn broke at 4:30 a.m., the 705 survivors,
afloat in the ship's twenty lifeboats, drifted in rough sea,
surrounded by huge icebergs, some of them more than 200 feet
high. Slowly they made their way toward a rescue ship that had
finally arrived. The Cunard Liner, Carpathia had steamed
through the night at 58 miles to the Titanic's position
after receiving her wireless call for help: "Come at once. We have
struck an iceberg."Four hours later, all 705 Titanic survivors had
come aboard the Carpathia, climbing up rope ladders and nets
or being hauled up in slings to the ship's deck. The ship's
captain ordered the Carpathia's flag lowered to half mast
and assembled a memorial service as the ship steamed
over the place where the Titanic sank. Thirteen of her
lifeboats were taken aboard, and three survivors who died
after the rescue were released into the sea. During the next three days, the survivors were
cared for by the Carpathia's passengers and crew. As they
steamed towards New York, the ship's wireless operator, Harold Cottam, and the Titanic's rescued Marconi operator, Harold
Bride, transmitted the names of the survivors to an
anxious press and public. The Carpathia arrived in New York
Harbor on Thursday, April 18, and the survivors were greeted
by mobs of reporters and photographers for details of the
terrible disaster.
....Meanwhile....
Grandfather Wayne was in England. Sir Hague made arrangements for him to book passage on the
Titanic to return to America, but grandfather decided to take
the earlier Lusitania so that he could visit grandmother's
relatives living on the Isle of Man. When news of the Titanic's disaster reached
Boston, where he and grandmother lived, she was among those who feared the worst. Uncle Earl said that
our grandmother took the boys down to the office to
await news about the Titanic survivors. While they were there....grandfather walked in.
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