A Night to Remember (20 page)

The crew’s recollections have this haunting quality too. You feel it when Fireman George Kemish describes the gruff camaraderie of the boiler rooms … and when Masseuse Maud Slocombe tells of her desperate efforts to get the Turkish bath in apple-pie order. Apparently there was a half-eaten sandwich or empty beer bottle in every nook and corner. “The builders were Belfast men,” she explains cheerfully.

The atmosphere conveyed by these people somehow contributes as much as the facts and incidents they describe. I appreciate their help enormously.

Other survivors deserve all my thanks for the way they painstakingly reconstructed their thoughts and feelings as the ship was going down. Jack Ryerson searched his mind to recall how he felt as he stood to one side, while his father argued to get him into Boat 4. Did he realize his life was hanging in the balance? No, he didn’t think very much about it. He was an authentic 13-year-old boy.

Washington Dodge, Jr.’s chief impression was the ear-splitting roar of steam escaping from the
Titanic
’s huge funnels. He was an authentic five-year-old.

Third Class passengers Anna Kincaid (then Sjoblom), Celiney Decker (then Yasbeck), and Gus Cohen have also contributed far more than interesting narratives. They have been especially helpful in re-creating the atmosphere that prevailed in steerage—a long-neglected side of the story.

The crew too have provided much more than accounts of their experiences. The deep feeling in Baker Charles Burgess’ voice, whenever he discusses the
Titanic,
reveals the intense pride of the men who sailed her. The gracious courtesy of Stewards James Witter, F. Dent Ray, and Leo James Hyland points up the matchless service enjoyed by the passengers. And the thoroughness of men like Quartermaster George Thomas Rowe, Seaman A. Pugh, Baker Walter Belford, and Greaser Walter Hurst confirms Fireman Kemish’s boast that the crew were “the pick of Southampton.”

To these and many other
Titanic
survivors—like Mrs. Jacques Futrelle, Mrs. A. C. Williams, Harry Giles, and Herbert J. Pitman—go my heartfelt thanks, not just for the facts they supplied, but for their time and trouble.

The relatives of people on the
Titanic
have been equally cooperative. One letter recently made available by the descendant of a survivor illustrates how far they’ve gone. It is a letter written to the survivor himself, shortly after the accident. I have left out all names, but the act of making this data available shows a courage and honesty that effectively rebut the charge made in the letter:

Dear—: I have before me information stating that you attempted to force your way into one of the lifeboats … and that when ordered back by Major Butt, you slipped from the crowd, disappeared, and after a few moments were seen coming from your stateroom dressed in women’s clothing which was recognized as garments worn by your wife enroute.

I can’t understand how you can hold your head up and call yourself a man among men, knowing that every breath you draw is a lie. If your conscience continues to bother you after reading this, you had better come forward. There is no truer saying than the old one, “Confession is good for the soul.”

Yours truly,—.

Besides making letters available, many of the relatives have supplied fascinating information themselves. Especially, I want to thank Captain Smith’s daughter, Mrs. M. R. Cooke, for the charming recollection of her gallant father … Mrs. Sylvia Lightoller for her kindness in writing me about her late husband, Commander Charles Lightoller, who distinguished himself as recently as 1940 by taking his own boat over to Dunkirk … Mrs. Alfred Hess for making available the family papers of Mr. and Mrs. Isidor Straus … Mrs. Cynthia Fletcher for a copy of the letter written by her father, Hugh Woolner, on board the
Carpathia …
Mr. Fred G. Crosby and his son John for help in obtaining information on Captain Edward Gifford Crosby … and Mrs. Victor I. Minahan, for the interesting details about Dr. and Mrs. William Minahan and their daughter Daisy.

Where survivors and relatives couldn’t be found, I have relied on published material. The official transcripts of the Senate’s investigation and the British Court of Enquiry of course provide several thousand pages of fascinating testimony. Jack Thayer’s privately published reminiscences are an engagingly frank account. Dr. Washington Dodge’s privately printed speech to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco is equally interesting. Lawrence Beesley’s book,
The Loss of the SS Titanic
(Houghton Mifflin, 1912), contains a classic description worth anybody’s time. Archibald Gracie’s
The Truth About the Titanic
(Mitchell Kennerley, 1913) is invaluable for chasing down who went in what boat—Colonel Gracie was an indefatigable detective. Commander Lightoller’s
Titanic and other Ships
(Ivor Nicholson & Watson, 1935) mirrors his fine mixture of humor and bravery. Shan Bullock’s
A “Titanic” Hero: Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder
(Norman-Remington, 1913) is a labor of love, piecing together the last hours of this wonderful man.

Good accounts by some survivors have also appeared from time to time in magazines and newspapers—the anniversary is apparently a godsend to the city desk. Typical—Jack Thayer’s story in the Philadelphia
Evening Bulletin
on April 14, 1932 … Fireman Louis Michelsen’s interview in the Cedar Rapids
Gazette
on May 15, 1955 … the engaging and lively account by Mrs. René Harris in the April 13, 1932, issue of
Liberty
magazine.

The contemporary press is less satisfactory. The
New York Times
of course did a brilliant job, but most of the New York papers were extremely unreliable. Better work was done by newspapers in towns where local citizens were involved—for instance the Milwaukee papers on the Crosbys and Minahans … the San Francisco papers on the Dodges … the Cedar Rapids
Gazette
on the Douglases. Abroad, the London
Times
was thorough if dull. Most fascinating, perhaps, were the papers in Belfast, where the
Titanic
was built, and those in Southampton, where so many of the crew lived. These were seafaring towns, and the coverage had to be good.

The contemporary popular magazines—
Harper’s, Sphere, Illustrated London News—
are mostly a rehash of press stories, but an occasional gem pops up like Henry Sleeper Harper’s description in the April 27, 1912,
Harper’s,
or Mrs. Charlotte Collyer’s fine account in the May 26, 1912,
Semi-Monthly Magazine.
The technical journals of the time offer better pickings—the 1911 special edition of the British magazine
Shipbuilder,
giving complete data on the
Titanic
’s construction; and similar material in the May 26, 1911, issue
of Engineering
and the July 1, 1911, issue of
Scientific American.

The other actors in the drama—the people on the rescue ship
Carpathia—have
been as generous and cooperative as those on the
Titanic.
Mr. Robert H. Vaughan has been invaluable in helping piece together the details of that wild dash through the night. Mr. R. Purvis has been especially helpful in recalling the names of various
Carpathia
officers. Mrs. Louis M. Ogden has supplied a treasury of anecdotes—all the more valuable because she was one of the first on deck. Mrs. Diego Suarez (then Miss Evelyn Marshall) contributed a vivid picture of the scene as the
Titanic
’s boats edged alongside.

There is not much published material about the
Carpathia,
but Captain Sir Arthur H. Rostron’s book,
Home from the Sea
(Macmillan, 1931), contains an excellent account. His testimony at the United States and British hearings is also valuable, and the same goes for the testimony of Wireless Operator Harold Thomas Cottam.

In addition to the people on the
Titanic
and
Carpathia,
certain others contributed valuable help in preparing this book. Captain Charles Victor Groves has aided me greatly in piecing together the story of the
Californian,
on which he served as Third Officer. Charles Dienz, who at the time was
maître
of the Ritz Carlton on the
Amerika
, has given valuable information on how these oceangoing
à la carte
restaurants operated—data especially useful since only one of the
Titanic
’s restaurant staff was saved. Harland & Wolff has supplied marvelous photographs of the ship’s interior, Lloyd’s the
Titanic
’s last menu, and the Marconi Company extremely interesting information on wireless installations of the time. Helen Hernandez of Twentieth Century-Fox has been a gold mine of useful leads.

Finally, people much closer to me personally deserve a special word of thanks. Mr. Ralph Whitney has suggested many useful sources. Mr. Harold Daw has contributed important research. Miss Virginia Martin has deciphered and typed reams of scribbled foolscap. My mother has done the kind of painful indexing and cross-checking that only a mother would be willing to do.

H
ERE IS THE WHITE
Star Line’s final list of lost and saved, dated May 9, 1912. Those saved are in
italics.

FIRST CLASS PASSENGERS

Allen, Miss Elizabeth Walton

Allison, Mr. H. J.

Allison, Mrs. H. J.
and Maid

Allison, Miss L.

Allison, Master T. and Nurse

Anderson, Mr. Harry

Andrews, Miss Cornelia I.

Andrews, Mr. Thomas

Appleton, Mrs. E. D.

Artagaveytia, Mr. Ramon

Astor, Colonel J. J. and Manservant

Astor, Mrs. J. J. and Maid

Aubert, Mrs. N. and Maid

Barkworth, Mr. A. H.

Baumann, Mr. J.

Baxter, Mrs. James

Baxter, Mr. Quigg

Beattie, Mr. T.

Beckwith, Mr. R. L.

Beckwith, Mrs. R. L.

Behr, Mr. K. H.

Bishop, Mr. D. H.

Bishop, Mrs. D. H.

Bjornstrom, Mr. H.

Blackwell, Mr. Stephen Weart

Blank, Mr. Henry

Bonnell, Miss Caroline

Bunnell, Miss Lily

Borebank, Mr. J. J.

Bowen, Miss

Bowerman, Miss Elsie

Brady, Mr. John B.

Brandeis, Mr. E.

Brayton, Mr. George

Brewe, Dr. Arthur Jackson

Brown, Mrs. J. J.

Brown, Mrs. J. M.

Bucknell, Mrs. W. and Maid

Butt, Major Archibald W.

Calderhead, Mr. E. P.

Candee, Mrs. Churchill

Cardoza, Mrs. J. W. M.
and Maid

Cardoza, Mr. T. D. M.
and Manservant

Carlson, Mr. Frank

Carran, Mr. F. M.

Carran, Mr. J. P.

Carter, Mr. William E.

Carter, Mrs. William E.
and Maid

Carter, Miss Lucile

Carter, Master William T.
and Manservant

Case, Mr. Howard B.

Cassebeer, Mrs. H. A.

Cavendish, Mr. T. W.

Cavendish, Mrs.
T.
W. and Maid

Chaffee, Mr. Herbert F.

Chaffee, Mrs. Herbert F.

Chambers, Mr. N. C.

Chambers, Mrs. N. C.

Cherry, Miss Gladys

Chevré, Mr. Paul

Chibnall, Mrs. E. M. Bowerman

Chisholm, Mr. Robert

Clark, Mr. Walter M.

Clark, Mrs. Walter M.

Clifford, Mr. George Quincy

Colley, Mr. E. P.

Compton, Mrs. A. T.

Compton, Miss S. P.

Compton, Mr. A. T., Jr.

Cornell, Mrs. R. G.

Crafton, Mr. John B.

Crosby, Mr. Edward G.

Crosby, Mrs. Edward G.

Crosby, Miss Harriet

Cummings, Mr. John Bradley

Cummings, Mrs. John Bradley

Daly, Mr. P. D.

Daniel, Mr. Robert W.

Davidson, Mr. Thornton

Davidson, Mrs. Thornton

de Villiers, Mrs. B.

Dick, Mr. A. A.

Dick, Mrs. A. A.

Dodge, Dr. Washington

Dodge, Mrs. Washington

Dodge, Master Washington

Douglas, Mrs. F C.

Douglas, Mr. W. D.

Douglas, Mrs. W. D.
and Maid

Dulles, Mr. William C.

Earnshew, Mrs. Boulton

Endres, Miss Caroline

Eustis, Miss E. M.

Evans, Miss E.

Flegenheim, Mrs. A.

Flynn, Mr. J. I.

Foreman, Mr. B. L.

Fortune, Mr. Mark.

Fortune, Mrs. Mark

Fortune, Miss Ethel

Fortune, Miss Alice

Fortune, Miss Mabel

Fortune, Mr. Charles

Franklin, Mr. T. P.

Frauenthal, Mr. T. G.

Frauenthal, Dr. Henry W.

Frauenthal, Mrs. Henry W.

Frolicher, Miss Marguerite

Futrelle, Mr. J.

Futrelle, Mrs. J.

Gee, Mr. Arthur

Gibson, Mrs. L.

Gibson, Miss D.

Giglio, Mr. Victor

Goldenberg, Mr. S. L.

Goldenberg, Mrs. S. L.

Goldschmidt, Mrs. George B.

Gordon, Sir Cosmo Duff