Voices from the Titanic (47 page)

Mme. Cardeza, whose husband and mother-in-law were among the survivors of the
Titanic
disaster, will go to New York today in order to accompany her husband on the homeward voyage.

She has received, it is stated, a letter from her husband in which he says that he bribed two sailors to give him sailor's clothing.

He and his secretary, dressed in these clothes, with his mother and her companion, succeeded in gaining the lifeboat, as they were supposed to be sailors.

(
Daily Sketch
, 26 April 1912)

Nowhere did the grim details of the
Titanic
's last moments create a more profound effect than in Belfast. The closer one approaches to the tragedy, the greater becomes its terrible significance and the narratives of the survivors have driven the awful truth home to the public consciousness.

Friday's news supply from across the Atlantic had much that is of special interest to Belfast, which for the time being is a city of mourning, not merely in the outward display of halfmasted flags, but in the feeling amongst all classes and sections of the citizens, as evidenced in the tone of everyday conversation. There were not a few families in the city and district who had a peculiarly intimate connection with the event by reason of personal relationship with passengers on board the lost liner; and the whole community of workers on the Queen's Island had, in addition to the fact of the result of their handicraft being lost in the deeps of the Atlantic, to face the wiping away of some of their most capable leaders, and popular colleagues. Mr Thomas Andrews, Jun., is one of those regarding whom the keenest anxiety was felt, and it will be recalled that only a short time ago – on the occasion of the trial trip of the
Patriotic
– he delivered a speech which had great interest and importance for Belfast people. In it he declared the intention of Messrs Harland & Wolff, with regard to Belfast and subsidiary yards. It is not without interest to recall the actual words of Mr Andrews on that occasion. He said he was glad to be able to say that the prosperity of Harland & Wolff's was never greater than at the present time, and so great were the demands of the firm's business that they were finding it necessary to make extensions in other cities and other countries. He could not say that that had met with entire approval, but no matter how their business might develop he felt sure that in Belfast they would always have their headquarters. It was sufficient for him to say that today they employed in Belfast over 15,000 men, and the total wages bill on last Friday evening reached the record figure of £27,500. A good deal of that had been involved in the completion of two first-class passenger ships, the
Patriotic
and
Titanic
.

Another member of the Queen's Island staff about whom special feeling exists is Mr Frost, who has a hereditary connection with the firm.

On Friday morning, however, reassuring news of one Belfast representative on board the ill-fated liner was forthcoming. Mr William Brown, of Kersland Crescent, Newtownards Road, being apprised by cablegram of the safety of Miss Sloan, one of the stewardesses. The formal list of survivors issued up to the present includes also Robert Hopkins, able seaman, of Belfast, and persons named Couts [sic], who are stated to belong to this neighbourhood, but who have not yet been definitely traced.

The fact that the survivor lists published so far are not exhaustive is indicated by a telegram received on Friday by Mr Pears, of Messrs Combe, Barbour and Combe, Belfast, stating that his daughter-in-law was amongst the saved, although her name did not appear on the official list.

Mr A. Irvine [sic], rate collector, on Friday received a message from the White Star Line Offices, Southampton, regarding his son, who sailed on the
Titanic
as assistant electrician.

The keen anxiety felt in Belfast regarding the fate of Mr Thomas Andrews, Jun., managing director of Harland & Wolff, was tempered by the knowledge, shared in by all his acquaintances, that if he met his end he would do so in a manner worthy of his race and name. Too plainly it was seen by the later messages that he was amongst those who sank with the giant vessel, in the construction of which he had such a prominent and all-important part. But the deep shadow cast upon the community by the disaster was relieved by the gleam of glory reflected from the high courage and grand self-sacrifice which he conspicuously displayed in the awful last hours of the
Titanic
.

How he gave his life away for others was barely indicated in the brief messages already published, but on Sunday a prominent official of Messrs Harland & Wolff received from the White Star Company's offices, New York, a cablegram which condenses into half a dozen jerky phrases a narrative of heroism calculated to stir the feelings of the most stolid, and to mingle with the deep, heart-felt regret of those who knew Mr Andrews, a sensation of pride that he should have faced his fate so grandly. No more remarkable sidelight has been thrown on the disaster than by this message, dramatic in its brevity:

The news of Mr Andrews's tragic end will be received with feelings of the most profound sorrow by his large circle of acquaintances, and the deepest sympathy will be extended to his bereaved widow, who was a Miss Barbour, his father and mother, and his other relatives in their affliction. He was beloved and respected by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, and by none will the news of his sad but heroic death be more regretfully read than by the thousands of men at the Queen's Island over whose labours he superintended with such rare ability and with such conspicuous success.

The late Mr Andrews was a nephew of Lord Pirrie and the Right Hon. W. Drennan Andrews, an ex-judge of the King's Bench Division in Ireland.

A memorial service was held in St Paul's Cathedral, London, on Friday, for those who perished in the
Titanic
. The congregation numbered over 5,000, and included members of the Cabinet, Government officials, Ambassadors, among the latter being Mr Whitelaw Reid, the Lord Mayor, and representatives of the great shipping companies.

Right Hon. A. M. Carlisle fainted during the service, and had to be removed. He subsequently recovered.

(
Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner
, 27 April 1912)

Some 300 passengers of the
Olympic
arrived at Waterloo Station on Sunday (twenty-first) morning. In interviews it was stated that, although they learnt on the ship by means of Marconi messages of the loss of the
Titanic
, it was not until they obtained the English newspapers at Plymouth that the full shock of the disaster was brought to their minds. Many of the passengers had friends on board the ill-fated sister ship; and there was hardly a member of the crew who was not wearing mourning for some relative or shipmate of long standing. The musicians in particular were most of them intimately associated with the members of the
Titanic
's orchestra, and they were overcome with emotion when they heard of the magnificent heroism of their old comrades. Although it was understood that Captain Haddock had received a message about midnight on Sunday (fourteenth) that the
Titanic
had struck an iceberg it was considerably later that the news found its way to the passengers. The first intimation that anything was amiss was given by the altered course and accelerated speed of the vessel. The
Olympic
500 miles away was going to the rescue of her disabled sister ship, travelling at a rate she had never attempted before. The stokers and engineers were working like trojans to get the last fraction of speed out of the ship's engines, and for 400 miles she tore along at a rate of 24 knots an hour. In the meantime the lifeboats were all prepared for lowering the moment she reached the wreck. The tension was relieved by another wireless message stating that all on board the
Titanic
had been saved. The
Olympic
, however, kept on her way, and it was only when she was within 100 miles of the scene of the disaster that she received the message from the
Carpathia
stating that the Cunard liner had picked up some 800 of the
Titanic
's survivors, and that pieces of wreckage was all she could find of the mammoth ship.

One of the saloon passengers said that when the ship's course was altered, and the lifeboats were got ready, the
Olympic
's passengers were filled with alarm. Until that time they had received no communication whatever as to anything untoward, and such an air of mystery was maintained that it was decided to approach the captain of the ship for an explanation. A committee of saloon passengers was formed, and two of their number waited on Captain Haddock, who then told them of a message that he had received that the
Titanic
had struck an iceberg. The greatest anxiety prevailed, and although later on they were informed that the
Titanic
had gone down, and that the
Carpathia
had picked up a large number of survivors, it was not until Plymouth was reached that those on the
Olympic
knew the full extent of the disaster. The passenger added that as the
Olympic
was tearing her way to bring succour to the
Titanic
they passed by a great iceberg, although their vessel was never in any danger from it. He said he had twice crossed the Atlantic in a steamer commanded by Captain Smith, than whom he believed no finer skipper ever sailed a ship, and to whose sterling worth, both as a man and a seaman, he paid a high tribute.

All night long the wireless operator was frantically endeavouring to get fuller news of the catastrophe, but his efforts were unavailing. Meanwhile excitement was hourly growing on board, and with the failure of the
Titanic
's signals, followed a feeling of intense depression among the ship's company. The
Olympic
raced on her errand of mercy, and it was not until six o'clock on Monday evening that she learnt by wireless from the
Carpathia
that all the boats had been picked up, and those on board heard with dismay that the
Olympic
could be of no further service. The extent of the disaster was not then known, but it was feared that there must have been serious loss of life, for the lifeboat capacity of the
Titanic
was known to the
Olympic
crew. An atmosphere of gloom pervaded all grades of passengers and crew. For the remainder of the voyage the ship's band ceased playing, and there was no more music on board. Concerts and dances which had been arranged for seamen's charities and other diversions usually indulged in on ocean trips, were at once cancelled, and in their place committees were formed to raise subscriptions for the dependants of those whose lives had been lost. The first-class passengers subscribed something like £700 in very quick time. The ship's officials all contributed handsome amounts, and the firemen and stewards and other ratings of the crew forfeited several days' pay for the wives and families of their dead comrades. In all a sum of £1,500 was raised.

The news of the full extent of the loss of life was received with blank amazement, when it became known, and the passengers as they stepped ashore at Southampton to entrain for London, eagerly bought up the Sunday papers to learn the full details of the catastrophe.

No sooner were the passengers cleared than preparations commenced for the
Olympic
to sail again during the week, and coaling operations continued all through the day. To allay any anxiety the White Star Line have arranged for a large number of additional boats of the collapsible type to be placed on the
Olympic
for her next voyage, and it is understood provision will be made for all on board.

(
Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner
, 27 April 1912)

Of Major Butt, President Taft's eulogy, perhaps, best covers the situation. When the details of his aide-de-camp's end were conveyed to him, Mr Taft said:

In most places of worship in the United Kingdom on Sunday special pulpit references were made, or prayers read, with reference to the
Titanic
disaster. The services in the large cities partook largely of a memorial character. The ‘dead march in Saul' was generally played, and the hymns chosen frequently included ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee'. In London moving scenes were witnessed as during the singing of hymns or rendering of the dead march men and women broke down, and grief for lost relatives and friends found expression in tears.