Titanic

Nearer My God To Thee

Titanic looked like 'A great lighted theatre'. - An apt metaphor as one of the greatest dramas in the history entered it's final act.
                         Titanic: An Illustrated History, 1992, Don Lynch & Ken Marschall

From the Titanic, an officer's whistle was sounded and the occupants of boat 6 decided what to do. Hichens, incharge of boat 6 heard Captain Smith call "Come alongside!" through a megaphone. Hichens and the passengers of boat 6 debated what to do. Finally, the quartermaster decided not to go back.
"No, it's our lives now, not theirs!". As boat 6 crept slowly over the placid water, Molly Brown decided the men needed help rowing.   Her, and Margaret Martin of the Titanic's resteraunt began rowing together, and the tiny craft picked up speed.
          Aboard Titanic, only lifeboats 2, 4 and the 4 collapsibles, A, B, C and D were left to evacuate 1,700 people. Thomas Andrews who had spent much time in first class helping passengers to the boat deck now was on deck. He was appalled at how many women still weren't going to get into the boats.
"Ladies, you must get in at once! You cannot pick and choose your boat. Get in, get in."
          In the wireless room, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride stayed at their post. Smith would occasionally come in to check on their progress, and this time told them that water was up to the engine room. Phillips passed this information onto the Carpathia, now fully awear that the small Cunarder couldn't possibly make it intime. Phillips finally decided to take a look around, leaving Bride at the key. Bride got in touch with the White Star liner Baltic, but like most of the other liners that had heard the distress calls, she was too far away to be of any assistance. When Phillips came back, he told Bride that they should put on more clothing and their life preservers. While Bride left for more clothing, Phillips ssat back down and tried calling CQD again.
          Lightoller now turned his attention to boat number 4. Earlier in the night, many wealthy families waited at the boat. Lightoller had previously sent the first class passengers down to the A deck promenade, but finding the windows there were closed (he was most likely mixing the Titanic with the Olympic, who had an open promenade throughout her life), he left to help with other boats and the passengers returned to the boat deck. Finally, the windows were opened and passengers boarded boat number 4, which had been lowered down to the A deck promenade earlier in the night. The Carters, Astors, Wideners, Ryersons and Thayers waited to board. As the lifeboat was being loaded, Sterward George Dodd noticed young John Ryerson trying to go with his mother.
"That boy can't go" announced Dodd. Arthur Ryerson stepped forward.
"Of course the boy goes with his mother. He's only 13."
"Very well, but no more boys" Dodd announced to the crowd. Hearing this, Lucile Carter took of her hat and put it on her son William. Dodd didn't even raise an eyebrown when Lucile, William and her daughter Lucile entered the boat.
          As Colonel Archibald Gracie lifted the pregnant Madeline Astor over the side of the deck into the boat. Colonel Astor leaned out the window too and asked Lightoller if he could go with his heavily pregnant wife.
"No sir," Lightoller replied. "No men are allowed in these boats until women are loaded first. Astor asked the number of the boat so he could locate his wife later, then threw her his gloves. Astor was said to walk calmly away, lighting a cigarette as he went. Others say that Lightoller accepted Astor's plea and let him into the boat, but after he got in, he saw a woman and stepped out. when Lightoller asked him to get back in, Astor refused because there were still women aboard Titanic. It is said he then gave a military salute and walked away to help with other boats. Either way, the recovery of his body would tell his final moments.
          Lifeboat number 2 left with Fourth Officer Boxhall in charge. He took some green flares from the bridge with him. He lit one every now and then, often confusing those in lifeboats and on Titanic into thinking a steamer was approaching.
          It was almost 2:00am, and all but collapsibles C and D had left the ship. Boats A and B were still atop the officer's quarters. Boat C would ge away first. When some men tried to board, a man fired his revolver and several passengers had to haul them out. Just as the boat was being lowered, two men stepped silently in. One was William Carter, who had left hs wife and kids at boat 4 earlier. The other was Joseph Bruce Ismay. Ismay had spent his time patrolling the boat deck and helping wmen board the boats. now with his ship so close to foundering, he decided to save himself.
          Down in the ship, First Class millionaire playboy Benjamin Gugginhiem was said to say "We have dressed in our best and are prepared to go down as gentlemen. In the first class smoking room, a steward passed a heart broken man.
"Won't you even make a try for it, Mr. Andrews?" came a voice across the room. Thomas Andrews didn't even look up. Instead, he stared at the painting 'Approach to the New World', his life belt discarded. He made no attempt to save himself. The ship he had designed was going down and there was nothing he could do to save it.
          Second Officer Lightoller was now taking charge of collapsible boat D, lowered from the falls that launched boat 2 just minutes earlier. He ordered the men to form a ring around the boat and to let only women and children through. When several men tried to get into the boat, he drew his revolver. Second class passenger Winnie Trout had decided against leaving the ship. too many wives had been seperated that night, and she thought it 'wicked' to save single girls like herself. Suddenly, a man with a baby came forward. "I don't want to be rescued, but who'll save this baby?" he asked. Winnie accepted the baby and made her way towards the collapsible. Her survival told us many new stories about the liner, right up until here death.
           Also coming towards boat D was a French man travelling under the name Hoffman. In reality, 'Hoffman' was Michel Navratil. Michel had kidnapped his sons Endond, 2, and Michel, not quite 4, from his estranged wife in Nice. The group had boarded in Southampton and Mr Navratil never let the children out of his sight. Now, he passed thw two boys through the ring of crew men to the boats. Before passing little Michel on though, he left a message he would never forget, one he hoped Michel would pass on to his widow.
"My child, when your mother comes for you, as she surely will, tell her that I loved her dearly and still do. Tell her that I expected her to follow us, so that we might all live happily together in the peace and freedom of the New World"

Finally, Cheif Officer Wilde decided he could wait no longer to launch boat D, Titanic was just too close to foundering.
"You go with her, Lightoller," he ordered the Second Officer who was in the boat to help the women aboard.
"Not damn likely!" replied Lights, jumping back onto deck to man the after falls.
              While all this was going on, the first class band continued playing quietly on the port boat deck near the first class enterance. Long having abandoned their lively tunes and ragtime beats, they were now playing quieter tunes. Now, with the slope of the deck becoming too much to play properly, Wallace Hartly, the bandmaster released them. To a man, not one moved, staying at their posts until the end. As they stood there, the continued to play one last tune. No one really knows what it was, because reports vary. Many report the song to be 'Autumn', but the most reliable reports say that it was the hymn 'Nearer My God To Thee'. Not one member of the band would survive.
          As boat D was being lowered, water poured over the railing at the forward ond of the A deck promenade.
          Captain Smith now made his last stop in the Marconi Wireless Room that night where he found even though power was too low for anyone to hear the calls, Phillips was still at the key.
"Men, you have done your full duty. You can do no more. Abandon your cabin." The two men didn't move. "You look out for yourselves. I release you. That's the way of it at this kind of time. Every man for himself"   Bride noticed Smith hadn;t yet put on his own life preserver. When Smith left the cabin, Bride went into their sleeping quarters to pocket some spare money and Phillips returned to the key. When Bride came back, to his horror, he found a stoker removing Phillips' lifebelt. Phillips was to busy to notice. As Bride grabbed the man, Phillips jumped to his feet. Finally Bride got a hold of the stoker allowing Phillips to swing at him. Finally, the man collapsed, and the two men cleared out. Phillips reportidly ran aft, Bride went to work on collapsible boat B.
         European tennis star Norris Williams and his father Duane had wandered around and had dropped down to A deck to view the runs of the ship. When they emerged back on deck they were forced back inside because of the intence cold. They went into the gymnasium where dispite the sharp list of the boat, they rode the stationary bicycles. Gym istructor T. W McCawley was still at his post chatting with others who had gathered there.
          Now with the water rising, Titanic was visibly sinking. On the boat deck, men were trying to free the two collapsible boats atop the officer's quarters. Several men had put oars leaning against the officer's quarters so they could slide the starboard boat A down to the boat deck. But they overestimated the strength of the oars and underestimated the weight of the boat, and with a crash of wood, the boat landed on the deck. They then began to attach the falls from boats 1 and collapsible C to it. Sixth Officer Moody, who was still aboard instead wanted them to float the collapsible off when the ship sank, but instead the falls became taught and with people in the boat, it made it hard to get the boat over the side.   As they worked, Captain Smith approached with a megaphone.
"Well boys, do your best for the women and children, and look after yourselves".
Some people choose to beleive that at this point while loading boat A, an officer shot himself after shooting another man trying to storm the boat. Many say the victim was First Officer Murdoch, others say Cheif Officer Wilde. We will never know for certain becuase neither of these bodies were ever found.
          On the port side, collpasible boat B had landed upside down on the boat deck. The people working there, including Lightoller tried to right the boat, but it would be in vain.
           As the ship sank lower and lower, Smith is said to have gone into the wheelhouse, although some people say he dived into the sea. Now, water poured over the top of the bridge wings and onto the boat deck. As the water rose, it reached the two collapsibles. Boat B, with many people still working on it began to float as people tried desperatly to scramble aboard. The occupants in boat A weren't so lucky. As the water rose, they tried to cut the ropes because the ship's davits was dragging them down. The frail boat began to go up on its side as the ropes tightened, and many of the occupants were washed out as water rushed in. Finally, someone cut the forward falls and the ship righted itself slightly. Someone then lunged at the after ones and the boat was free, with hardly anyone in it and already being knee deep in water.
          Finally, with the bridge now underwater, the boat drifted free. First, it slammed against a davit that was used to try to lower it, then with the rising water, bumped along the side of the forward funnel which already had a metre of water covering it's bottom. On the other side, the people on overturned Boat B were using planks of wood to paddle away from the boat. Lightoller had helped people aboard and then began swimming towards the crowsnest on the foremast. Just when he realised how useless this was, water pouring down a ventilator pulled him underwater. He was ever fearful that the mesh wiring across the front of the ventilator would give way and he'd be sucked back inside the ship.
          With 12 sharp cracks, the guy wires holding the forward funnel snapped and slowly at first, then faster and faster the forward funnel fell towards the water. The people in the water who were trying to free the two collapsibles now were right in the path of the massive funnel as it fell. Norris Williams managed to get clear by a matter of inches, but his father beside him was killed. The massive wave washed more water into boat A, but luckily, washed boat B 10 metres clear of the ship.   Second Officer Lightoller now held onto this boat by a rope.
          As the bow sank lower and lower, a massive wave washed over the boat deck as hundreds of passengers retreated to the stern most sections of the ship, trying in desparation to escape their mortality. The lights were still shining, though less brightly and were often becoming dimmer before exploding back into light. The ship's massive propellors were now rearing out of the water as the slope of the deck became to much for people to bear. Many fell backwards into the advancing water.
          Titanic was said to be the Ship of Dreams, but her final moments were nightmarish, not only for those on board, but for thise in the lifeboats. The cries for help from those people on the sinking liner were horrific. In lifeboat C, very close to the scene, Joseph Bruce Ismay turned away from the ship The look on his face must have been one of agony, he couldn't watch his ship as she sank.
          As the power failed, the lights shone a ghostly crimson color. It was 2:15. Now the deck was becoming so steep that people could hardly walk or run to the stern. Masses of people were jumping off the ship or climbing down the empty falls that once housed lifeboats. Water was now half way up the second funnel when she fell into the ocean below. Now with the massive hull of Titanic pointing up into the sky at a 45 degree angle, her hull began to rumble as everything loose in the ship broke free. With water lapping over the base of the third funnel, the lights which had mannaged to stay on until now went out, flashed back on then went out for ever. The air was filled with one supreme cry for help. It was clear the end wasn't far away.
          With a sickening groan, the hull's stress became to much for it to bear, and the great ship appeared to split in two between the thirdand fourth funnels. Sparks flew and metal groaned under the pressure. Finally, the stern crashed back into the water. There it stayed at an even keel for a few seconds, before the weight of the bow, which had not yet fully detached began to pull the stern upwards until finally, she just stood there, her rudded and propellers pointing towards the stars, a virtical tower.
            There she stood. Jack Thayer, a 17 year old First Class Passenger floating in the water nearby discribed the people swarming over the decks, only to fall, in pairs, masses or singally, flailing all the way down. Titanic stood there for what some estimate as being 30 seconds to 5 minutes before the weight got the better of it. She began to plunge downwards. Standing on the very stern, Cheif Baker Charles Joughin felt like he was riding an elevator. He had spent the night helping others, throwing deck chairs over the side to be used as makeshift rafts and had been drinking whiskey. He was now so fortified with alcahol that he didn't even notice the cold. As the stern went under he simply stepped off and into the water without even getting his hair wet.
          The greatest ship ever built was gone. As her stern disapeared under the water, 5 shots like gun fire eminated from the wreck. Her last voyage would be 2 and a half miles to the bottom of the ocean. All that was left of her was 20 small lifeboats bobbing in the ocean.

Titanic

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