The Ornamented Being

All that remained of the great liner was her 13 lifeboats.

“On the night the Titanic hit the iceberg, Maggie had retired to her stateroom to read.  She was engrossed in her book, when a crash struck her window overhead and knocked her to the floor.  She left the stateroom and found men running around the halls in their pajamas.  One man, who she later said had a face the color of death and eyes popping out of his sockets, ran up to her, gasping, and told her to get her life preserver.  She went back into her stateroom and put on a black velvet two-piece suit with black and white silk lapels, seven pairs of socks, and a sable stole J.J. had given her back in the day.  She wrapped a silk capote around her head, grabbed $500 in cash, put on a life jacket, grabbed a blanket from the bed, and headed for the deck and the lifeboats… . they were finally rescued by the Carpathia, a great ship that was able to save from the lifeboats, over half of the thirteen hundred survivors.  Once onboard the Carpathia, Maggie would not be a victim. She knew most of the survivors had lost everything.  Since she spoke five languages, she could communicate with foreign passengers and help them find finacial assistance.  She got the first class survivors to donate to those less fortunate, and by the time the Carpathia had docked in New York, she had gathered together $10,000.00 to help the needy. ”

April 22, 1912. Our second look at Lolo (Michel) and Edmond Navratil, survivors of the Titanic disaster whose father went down with the ship. View full size. Lolo, the last remaining male survivor of the Titanic sinking, died in 2001.

On April 15 at 4:00 am the RMS Carpathia arrived at the area.

At 4:10 am she began to rescue survivors.

At around 8:30 a.m all lifeboats were out of the water.

At 8:50 the ship along with 705 survivors were en route to New York.

Tomorrow in honour of the survivors I will begin posting their stories. 

“The two Marconi operators on board Titanic were Jack Phillips and Harold Bride. Their first distress message was sent out at 00.05 hours (ship’s time) on 15 April (about 25 minutes after the ship struck the iceberg), after which they were continuously occupied in emergency communications until loss of power to their equipment meant they could do no more. Both then abandoned ship, shortly before it foundered at 02.20 hours.

Phillips, the senior operator, was lost, but Bride was picked up by Carpathia, where he assisted the sole radio operator in dealing with a constant exchange of messages in the following hours. The Carpathia finally docked at New York on 18 April and Marconi visited his exhausted operators on board. He had recently arrived there himself on the Lusitania, having at a late stage changed his original plan to cross the Atlantic on Titanic.”

The photograph is of Jack Phillips, the radio operator who was drowned in the disaster.

The letter to the right of Jack is a telegram from George Phillips, father of Jack Phillips, seeking news of his son.

The bottom letter is a message conveying the Company’s appreciation of the bravery and devotion to duty of Harold Bride, the surviving radio operator from the Titanic

14, April 1912

  I know tonight will be a beautiful night for dancing! There is no moon and the temperature is a freezing. As I write I spy the milky way splashed across the sky. The sea looks like glass.* I feel that tonight will be one I will forever remember. 

A dress such as this would have been worn to a dinner party held in the Grand Ballroom. 

* On that fateful night there was no moon and the temperatures were below freezing, however the water was just a little above freezing. The sea was described by many witnesses as like glass. The Milky Way was clearly visible in the Northeast.

On the evening of April 14, 1912 a number of first-class passengers on the Titanic revelled in a privately hosted feast in the first-class á la carte restaurant. At the same time in the first-class dining saloon other first-class passengers - some who had paid the equivalent of $124,000 in today’s dollars for the ocean voyage - settled in for a sumptuous, if over-filling, ten-course extravaganza. Meanwhile, in the second-class dining saloon, second-class passengers ate a less elaborate but beautifully served dinner. And on F deck in what would be called “steerage” in lesser vessels, third-class passengers ate simply prepared, hearty meals served in their own spartan dining saloon.

What a lovely day.  Everything has been smooth sailing.  As I look above me, I can see Captain Smith looking out from the bridge above the lifeboats.  I don’t know why they have lifeboats……everyone knows that the Titanic is unsinkable!

Possibly the last photograph taken of Titanic as she departs Queenstown on April 11, 1912.

I try not to get too opinionated but I feel strongly about this subject. I may be a member of the unpopular opinion and you may disagree. I respect that. But I personally don’t believe the Titanic should be raised.

I understand that in my lifetime the Rusticles and the Halmonas Titanicae will finish their job. In 15 or 20 years it will be no more. I understand that. I think her final resting place should no longer be disturbed, for profit, for museums or for study.

First and foremost, this is the graveyard for over 1,500 souls. Those who never received a proper burial, the families who never had a place to mourn. There will be no flowers on a grave for these people. For the victims of this tragedy this wreckage is all that remains of their lives and it should be respected.

Scientist make amazing discoveries but sometimes certain things should be left alone.

I will be sad when one day I wake up and the news reports that the only remains of the great RMS Titanic is a rust stain spread across the dark ocean floor. But in a way my heart will be glad because then the victims can finally rest undisturbed and in peace. 

You can expect to see more Titanic related objects for the next few days in honour of the memories of those lost. 

A haunting memento, the watch was recovered from the floating body of a victim on April 23, 1912, a week after the Titanic sank. A water stain on the dial indicates that the hour hand stood just short of two o’clock when the watch stopped.

Today 99 years ago the Titanic set sell on her maiden voyage. In 4 days she will sink and take over 1,500 souls to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean.

The Titanic sets sail in this photo for the first and last time.