15th April, 1912 was the date when one of the most devastating maritime events occurred as RMS Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage. It hit the iceberg four days into its journey 400 miles off Nova Scotia and sunk in 2 hours 20 minutes. More than 1,500 people died in the tragedy.
However, this article deals with stories of the survivors who made it alive out of the terrible tragedy.
Unlike the scenes in Titanic movie, the process of evacuation on the actual ship was done in a civil manner. People followed orders of the officials and many happily gave up their seats on escape boats for children, women and other people. However, there were 8 travelers on the ship from China, who traveled under one ticket. When the ship struck the iceberg, 7 of those, snuck into a lifeboat, before it was prepped. 5 made it out alive and the 8th passenger was picked up from the sea by lifeboat 14.
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Olaus Jorgensen Abelseth was on the Titanic with five family members, who were returning from Norway on their way back to South Dakota. When the ship went down, Olaus Jorgensen Abelseth stayed with his family, as he had over 6 years of fisherman experience and wanted to keep his family alive. However, he went down in the water but swam for 20 mins in the freezing water to get to another lifeboat and also saved the passengers of that lifeboat, who had been in the water for various periods.
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Charles Joughin was the chief baker onboard the Titanic and as a baker, he knew what keeps a person warm. As soon as he got the news of Titanic hitting the iceberg, he started drinking alcohol to raise his core temperature. He also started throwing furniture like chairs and stuff in the water to help people keep afloat in the water. When the ship sank in the water, he casually swam around for 2 hours or so, before finding a lifeboat he could get into. Experts credited the alcohol in his body saved him, as it raised the core temperature and the fact, he didn’t let his head submerge in the water.
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Richard Norris Williams was traveling with his father to participate in a tennis tournament in USA. When the accident happened, the duo was in the bar, having drinks and continued to do so. However, he saw his father die after getting crushed by a funnel, however, he was rescued in the boat named as Collapsible A. When he was brought on the ship Carpathia, doctors on board tried to persuade him to amputate his badly damaged legs. But Richard decided not to do so, and worked hard on rehabilitation process and continued his tennis career and even won the Olympic Gold in 1924.
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The inspiration of Rose Decatur in the movie Titanic might have come from this person Seward Harold Charles Phillimore, who was found floating on a piece of debris among sea of dead bodies and rescued. He even shared the board with another man, who unfortunately couldn’t survive the 45 minutes between the sinking of the ship and their rescue. Phillomore went on to have a distinguished career in maritime and won Mercantile Marine War and General Service medals.
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Harold Bride was employed by the Marconi Wireless Company along with a co-worker to help on passing telegraph messages between the mainland and the ship. He was also responsible for passing off warning messages from other ships to Titanic. When the ship struck the iceberg, they were allowed to leave their posts and save themselves, but both Harold and his colleague decided to stay on and kept relaying messages for help.
Both made it to the last lifeboat after their room filled up with water. Harold’s feet were so frozen, that he had to be helped on the ladder up the Carpathia. However, his collegue Philips was not so lucky and had passed away.
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Charles Lightoller was a lifetime marine worker as he started working on the sea at the age of 13 and was the 2nd officer on Titanic on that fateful day. Before working on Titanic, he had already survived a shipwreck in Australia, a cyclone on the Indian Ocean, and had to hitchhike all the way from Western Canada to England, as he had gone completely broke.
He was the first person to start and lowering the lifeboats at 2 am, about 20 mins before sinking. He even refused to get on a lifeboat, despite being ordered by his superior officer. He jumped in the water and swam to Collapsible B and kept it from submerging in the Ocean by keeping the occupants calm. Charles Lightoller was the last person to be rescued by Carpathia, four hours after Titanic sank. And also witnessed the congressional hearing, as he was the highest and senior-most officer to survive.
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You must have seen the movie Titanic and the scene where the stern of the ship breaks and raises perpendicular to the water and then starts to sink. Yeah, Frank Prentice is the real person who was at the top and who jumped off with two of his co-workers. Frank Prentice hit the water 100 ft clear off the ship and waited to be rescued in the water along with one of his comrade, as other had died after hitting the propeller on the way down. Even Frank Prentice’s watch stopped at 2.20 am, the time when Titanic sank.