Unsinkable: The Full Story of the RMS Titanic (56 page)

BOOK: Unsinkable: The Full Story of the RMS Titanic
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2
Later a great deal of fuss was raised by Germany over Phillips’s treatment of the
Frankfort
wireless operator, including a formal protest by the German ambassador to
Great Britain. The Germans said that Phillips didn’t treat the
Frankfort’s
operator with the same courtesy that he did the operator of, say, the Olympic. They maintained, with a great show of wounded Teutonic dignity, that this was because the
Frankfort’s
wireless was operated by German Telefunken and not British Marconi, or simpler still, because the Frankfort was a German ship and the Olympic was British. Obviously, the German’s weren’t about to admit that the
Frankfort’s
operator might have been, based on the nature of his queries, rather dense. The Germans were extremely touchy about any slight, real or imagined, in those last few years before the Great War.
3
New York Times, 20 April 1912.
4
Br. Inq., No. 17090-17109; New York Times, 21 April 1912.
5
Amer. Inq. 19-21; Rostron, 63.
6
The Night Lives On, 159.
7
Amer. Inq., 19-21;
Scribner’s
Monthly, March 1913, 354-64; Captain Sir James Bisset, Ladies and Tramps, 27G-80; Captain Sir Arthur Rostron, Home From the
Sea,
57-63; A Night to Remember, 138-41.
8
A Night to Remember, 59; Wade, 60.
9
Pellegrino, 212.
10
Amer. Inq., 605, 648, 674, 822, 1146; Wade, 292-93.
11
Lynch, 117.
12
Amer. Inq., 798-800; Beesley, 316-20; Dr. Dodge quoted in Gracie, 294- 95 ; Wade, 293-94.
13
Marcus, 158.
14
New York Times, 15 April 1912.
15
O‘Connor, 154-56; Wade, 54-57.
16
During his testimony before the U.S. Senate inquiry, Lowe described every man who tried to stow away in one of the lifeboats or force his way into one as an “Italian.” The imputation of cowardice was so inflammatory that the Italian ambassador to the United States, Signor Cusani, demanded—and received-a written apology from Lowe. Amer. Inq., 116-28, 605, 615-16, 1109-12; Semi-Monthly Magazine (Washington Post), 26 May 1912, 3—4.
17
Amer. Inq., 800-802; Beesley, 72-80; Wade, 298-99.
18
Amer. Inq., 645; Wade, 299.
19
Beesley, 83-84; Destination: Disaster, 31-32; The Night Lives On, 137-38.
20
Marshall, 96-97.
21
Gracie, 4-5, 27; A Night to Remember, 82; Marcus, 314; Marshall, 75-76; Wade, 89-90.
CHAPTER EIGHT
1
New York Times, 20 April 1912.
2
Amer. Inq., 887-88; A Night to Remember, 80.
3
Amer. Inq., 8, 519-20, 960; Br. Inq., No. 18611-18635; Br. Rpt., 38; Lynch, 132; Wade, 299-300.
4
Amer. Inq., 990-92; Gracie, 27, 42, 44.
5
Amer. Inq., 240, 548, 1100; Wade, 301.
6
Gracie, 32.
7
Amer. Inq., 81, 581-83, 1107; Gracie, 30-32; A Night to Remember, 84-85; Triumph and Tragedy, 156; Wade, 301-3.
8
Amer. Inq., 587.
9
Lightoller, 243.
10
Amer. Inq., 587, 831; Gracie, 37-39; A Night to Remember, 86; Wade, 307-8.
11
Amer. Inq., 80-81, 587, 588, 831-33, 887; Gracie, 37-39; Mrs. Walter Stephenson quoted in Gracie, 193-94; Lynch, 133; Wade, 307-9.
12
New York Times, 20 April 1912.
13
Amer. Inq., 794; A Night to Remember, 89.
14
Lightoller, 243-44.
15
Gracie, 44-46; Lightoller, 245--46.
16
Amer. Inq., 161; New York Times, 20 April 1912; Lynch 135-37; Marcus, 155-56; author’s conversations with private investigator David Norris in July 1995.
17
For years it has been commonly believed that the last music played by the
Titanic’s
band was either the Episcopalian hymn “Autumn” or the popular waltz “Songe d’Automne.” The evidence for this has rested solely on the uncorroborated testimony of Harold Bride, who told a reporter for the New York Times that the last song he remembered the band playing was called “Autumn.” Bride, though, was the only person with that recollection, and he never specified if he meant the hymn or the waltz. Neither piece of music is listed in the White Star Line’s music book for 1912. Significant as well is that the hymn is not called “Autumn,” only the melody is (much like the melody of the hymn “0 God, Our Help in Ages Past” is known as “St. Anne‘s”), and usually only a professional musician will refer to a piece of music that way. A very strong case can be made for the hymn legend has always said was the last music played aboard the Titanic. There are a number of accounts of survivors who recalled hearing “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” and the American melody, called “Bethany,” was well known to most Americans, and was sometimes heard in British churches as well, so it is understandable for both British and American survivors to recall hearing the hymn. (It should be pointed out that if Bride did mean that hymn, parts of the two hymns sound remarkably similar, so that someone hearing only snatches of the melody, as was undoubtedly the case in Bride’s circumstances, might mistake one hymn for the other.) “Nearer, My God, to Thee” was known to be a favorite of Bandmaster Hartley’s, and was the hymn played at the graveside of all deceased members of the Musician’s Union. Perhaps most convincing of all is a report in the Daily Sketch on April 22, 1912, in which a colleague of Hartley’s recalled how some years earlier, while still aboard the
Mauretania,
that he asked Hartley what he would do if he found himself on the deck of a sinking ship. Hartley replied that he would assemble the ship’s orchestra and play “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” or “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” Somehow, that seems definitive enough.
18
Gracie, 27, 51-56; Bullock, 73.
19
Author’s conversation with naval architect James Krogan.
20
Marshall, 51.
21
Br. Inq., No. 10544-10551; Gracie, 312-13; Wade, 310-11.
22
Amer. Inq., 67-69, 87, 91; Christian
ScienceJournal,
October 1912; Lightoller, 247-50.
23
Amer. Inq., 91-92, 120; Gracie, 59-60; Lightoller, 249; author’s conversation with naval architect James Krogan in June 1995.
24
Gracie, 49, 67-68.
25
Jack Thayer quoted by Gracie, 221-22.
26
Amer. Inq., 628.
27
Ibid., 1156.
28
Coroner’s records, Public Archives of Nova Scotia; A Night to Remember, 100.
29
Gracie, 89-90;
A
Night to Remember, 101; Lynch 145; Marcus, 159; Wade, 90-91, 310.
30
The Night Lives On, 129-33.
31
Gracie, 27; Wade, 90.
32
A Night to Remember, 101-2.
33
Amer. Inq., 69, 280, 339, 530-31, 563, 609-10, 620, 818, 1108; Br. Inq., No. 3858-3869, 3883-3885, 5673-5681, 6251-6266, 11512-11525, 15078- 15081 ; Gracie, 51-56; Lightoller, 247-52; Wade, 311-21; author’s conversations with naval architects James Krogan, William Gartzke, Jr., and David K. Brown, Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, June 1995.
CHAPTER NINE
1
Gracie, 70-72; Lightoller, 250-51.
2
The exact nature of the break-up of the wreck will never be known for certain. This passage is based on conversations with American naval architects James Krogan, William Gartzke, Jr., and British Naval Constructor David K. Brown, RCNC, along with discussions with Allistair Lang, E-M.E., of East Kilbride, Scotland.
3
Gracie, 73-76; Outlook, 27 April 1912, 898-905; A Night to Remember, 89.
4
Survivors tales recounted by Gracie, 313-20; Wade, 326-27.
5
Amer. Inq., 87, 91, 110, 1G1, G28, 786, 1053; Br. Inq., No. 6261-6299, 14122-14138; Jack Thayer quoted by Gracie, 223-24; Wade, 191-93.
6
Amer. Inq., 227; Colliers, 4 May 1912, 3-4; Lightoller, 252; Wade, 326.
7
Amer. Inq., I 11, 242-44, 277-78, 526, 538, 570, 811-12, 827, 842, 10 10 12, 1100; Lynch, 144; Wade, 328-29.
8
Amer. Inq., 573, 971; Br. Inq., No. 5141-5153, 11501-11730, 12647 12668, 12875-12895; Gracie, 269-79; Coronet, June 1931, 94-97.
9
Amer. Inq., 116-30, 605-7, 615-19, 677-82, 1109; Semi-Monthly Magazine (Washington Post), 26 May 1912, 3-4; Mrs. Alexander Compton quoted in Gracie, 168-70;
A
Night to Remember 119-20; Wade, 331-33.
10
Amer. Inq., 19-21;
Scrihner’s Monthly,
March 1913, 354-64; Bisset, 279-84; Rostron, 63.
11
Amer. Inq., 583, 1109; Mrs. Stephenson and Miss Eustis quoted in Gracie, 194-97.
12
The nickname, which appears to have originated in Molly’s hometown of Denver, Colorado, would forever identify her with the Titanic. In the early 1960s a Broadway musical loosely based on Molly’s life (and later a movie starring Debbie Reynolds as Molly) would be produced bearing Molly’s nickname as its title. Amer. Inq., 333-36, 363, 451; Colliers, 4 May 1912, 10-14; Molly Brown quoted in Gracie, 134-39; Coronet, October 1949, 116-21; A Night to Remember, 121, 128-29; Lynch, 144, 146, 149; Wade, 329.
13
Amer. Inq., 87-93, 110, 161, 628-30, 785-90; Gracie, 87-103; Jack Thayer quoted in Gracie, 223; New York Times, 20 April 1912; Wade, 334.
14
Lord, 122-23; Lynch, 148; Marshall, 70 and 116.
15
Amer. Inq., 528, 800, 1144; Beesley, 135-36; Mrs. Stephenson quoted in Gracie, 195; A Night to Remember, 123-25.
16
A Night to Remember, 125.
17
Marshall, 114.
18
Amer. Inq., 143-44, 570; Lynch, 144; Marshall, 113-14;
A Night to Remember
, 125.
19
Amer. Inq., 138, 145, 174; Elizabeth Shutes quoted in Gracie, 258-59.
20
Amer. Inq., 22, 243, 1104; Elisabeth Allen quoted in Gracie, 180; Beesley, 196-202;
Scribner’s
Monthly, March 1913, 354-64; A Night to Remember, 144-45; Lynch, 150.
21
A Night to Remember, 141 and 145.
22
Bisset, 292; Marshall, 187; Rostron, 72.
23
Beesley, 135-36;
A
Night to Remember, 149; Wade, 327.
24
Amer. Inq., 88-92, 112, 166, 632-33; New York Times, 20 April 1912; Gracie, 107-9; Marcus, 173; Wade, 334.
25
Amer. Inq., 122-28, 590, 615, 677, 832, 891; Gracie, 315-20; Elisabeth Compton quoted in Gracie, 169-70; Lynch, 154.
26
A Night to Remember, 152 and 154.
27
Harper’s Weely,
29 April 1912; Elizabeth Shutes quoted in Gracie, 259-60.
28
Amer. Inq., 22-28; Br. Inq., No. 18896-19055; Lynch 154-56.
29
A Night to Remember, 153.
30
Ibid., 154, 155-56.
31
Gracie, 110-13; Lynch, 156; Marcus, 193-94.
32
Scribner’s
Monthly, March 1913, 354-64; Rostron, 75-77; Triumph and Tragedy, 179-80.
33
A Night to Remember, 166-67.
34
Marcus, 310; Coronet, May 1953, 30; United States
Navallnstitute
Proceedings, March 1968.
CHAPTER TEN
1
The contents of this chapter were drawn primarily from the transcripts of the American and British investigations, along with Leslie Reade’s The
Ship
that Stood Still, as well as from specific contemporary newspaper articles. For an overview of the
Californian
incident, see the references listed below. For specific details see the notes for the rest of the chapter.
Amer Inq., 289-307, 359, 544, 570-73, 708-12, 720-22, 827-28, 903, 1118-20.
Br. Inq., No. 6897-6954, 6999-7000, 7090-7094, 7280-7294, 7476-7533, 7552-7572,7829-7866,7880-7896,7948-7956,7971, 8022-8037, 8503- 8064, 8988-9020, 13682-13695.
Br. Rpt., 45-46.
2
Br. Inq., 6766, 7426-7429, 7455; Reade, 43-44.
3
Br. Inq., 8272, 8275, 8282, 8289.
4
Ibid., 7439,7469,7472,7475,7552-7553,7838,7870, 8042; Reade, 62-77. Again, it is worth the reader remembering that a ship’s port sidelight is red and the starboard on is always green. With this in mind a comparison of the movement of the “mystery ship” seen from the Titanic and the movements of the
Californian
are quite revealing.
5
Br. Inq., No. 7483-7510, 7515, 7522, 7552-7572, 7650-7651, 7829-7856; Reade, 78-94; Daily Mirror, 15 May 1912.
6
Amer. Inq., 745; Br. Inq., No. 7971.
7
Br. Inq., No. 8017, 8022-2037.
8
Br. Inq., No. 13682-13695; Mersey Report, 45-46.
9
Br. Inq., No. 6970-6973, 8768, 9058-9059.
10
Br. Inq., No. 87031-87038.
11
Br. Inq., No. 7061, 7336-7337.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1
Lynch, 159-63; Marcus, 196-200.
2
Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon really were having a bad time of it. They were not unkind people, as Sir Cosmo demonstrated when he offered to help the crewmen in Lifeboat 1 “start new kits,” i.e., purchase new personal belongings. Though some of their actions demonstrated a real lack of sympathy for the sensibilities of others, they never set out to deliberately offend anyone. Liberty Magazine, 23 April 1912; Marcus, 198-99; Triumph and Tragedy, 192.
3
Amer. Inq., 11; New York Herald, 16-18 April 1912; New York Evening Sun, 16 April 1912; New York Times, 15-19 April 1912; New York World, 16-20 April 1912; Wade, 76-77.
4
New York Evening Sun, 17-18 April 1912; New York Herald, 18 April 1912; New York Times, 18-19 April 1912; New York World, 18 April 1912; A Night to Remember, 161-62; Marcus, 197-98; Wade, 79-80, 366-68.

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