TITANIC 1912 – The first narrative is a rare 1936 radio interview with Second Officer Lightoller – Ken Rossignol at Serenbe Playhouse and on Celebrity Summit

TITANIC 1912 - The story of the RMS Titanic disaster told thru the news stories of the day.  
The first narration is a rare 1936 radio interview of the only surviving bridge officer, Second Officer Charles Lightoller. Ken Rossignol explains how the news reports were fabricated, misconstrued, confused and in some cases, amazingly accurate. Myths are revealed about the story of the Titanic and heroes recognized in two speaking engagements - one as a Serenebe Fellow for the Serenbe Playhouse Musical at Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia and the second onboard the Celebrity Summit at sea.

Titanic sinks each night at Serenbe Playhouse

The Serenebe Playhouse has designed a unique set for a musical version of the Titanic story. Set in a lake in the hills of Georgia, the story of the people on the Titanic comes alive in a very different way. This video reveals the planning behind the creation of this unique musical presentation. 

“Visiting the Serenbe Institute and discussing the heroes and the story of the Titanic was a real pleasure.” – Ken Rossignol

Serenbe Titanic seminar with Ken Rossignol in Georgia June 23, 2018

How Safe Is It To Cruise?

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Now available in Kindle, Paperback and Audible…listen to free sample click here

How Safe Is It To Cruise?

By   Bruce  M.  Caplan

 

Shortly after two in the morning on April 15, 1912, the mighty Titanic—- the largest passenger ship in the world at the time, plunged to the bottom of the North Atlantic—-two and a half miles below the surface of the ocean. The world was startled to find that because the giant vessel didn’t have enough lifeboats, over two thirds of the passengers perished.

 

Author Bruce Caplan

Author Bruce Caplan

Today, many people have a fear of going on an ocean voyage, because of the Titanic’s demise.  Let me put your mind at ease.  The Titanic sank over a century ago and since then there have been very few luxury liner disasters with large cruise liners.

In 1915 the giant ship Lusitania sank in under 20 minutes.  This ship was sunk by a German torpedo and it was a wartime disaster. Regardless almost 40% of the passengers survived.

Jump to 1956 and you have a collision between the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm.  The Andrea Doria sinks, but the only passengers who perish are the ones that die in the immediate collision.  The survival rate is 97%!

Jump to the year 2012, a century after the Titanic.  The Costa Concordia has a collision on a reef, off  the coast of Italy.  The survival rate is over 99 and a half percent.

To sum it up, in over a century of cruising, (Not including ships below 20 thousand tons.) there have just four major cruise ship catastrophic events.  The Titanic  (1912) where over two thirds of the passengers perished. The Lusitania (1915) where just below 40% survived.  The Andrea Doria with a 97% rate of survivors and most recently the Costa Concordia with a survival rate of over 99%.  That’s a fantastic record considering that there’s thousands of luxury cruises each year.

One last thing to remember, and that is that everyone on the Titanic would have survived if they just had enough lifeboats.  Shortly after the Titanic sank, the maritime laws were changed to make it mandatory that all ships have enough lifeboat capacity to save everyone onboard.

Happy Sailing!

 

Bruce Caplan's book, The Sinking of The Titanic has sold more than 150,000 copies.

Bruce Caplan’s book, The Sinking of The Titanic has sold more than 150,000 copies.

Titanic Coincidences by Bruce M. Caplan

The Sinking of The Titanic by Bruce M. Caplan

The Sinking of The Titanic by Bruce M. Caplan

Titanic Coincidences

                                                      By Bruce M. Caplan

Coincidence is always so fascinating.  The very fact that in American history the second President of our Nation, John Adams and the third President Thomas Jefferson both died on the very same day is truly amazing.  Not only did they succumb on the same day, but coincidentally it was on the 50th birthday of our wonderful nation—–July 4, 1826.

On April 14, 1865 President Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. The President died the next day on April 15th.   Forty-seven years later to the day at 11:40 in the evening on April 14, 1912, the mighty-(thought to be unsinkable) Titanic slammed into an iceberg.   Two hours and forty minutes later onApril 15th, the great ship plunged to the ocean’s bottom–two and one-half miles below the water’s surface. Both Lincoln and the Titanic perished on April the 15th!

The coincidences concerning the Titanic get even more bizarre.  In 1912, there was no Federal Income Tax in the United States.   In 1913, soon after the Titanic sank there was the first income tax since the Civil War.    Today we all have to file our income taxes by the same calendar date that Lincoln died and the Titanic sank—–April 15th.

Bruce Caplan's book, The Sinking of The Titanic has sold more than 150,000 copies.

Bruce Caplan’s book, The Sinking of The Titanic has sold more than 150,000 copies.

William Thompson Sloper boarded lifeboat number 7 with actress Dorothy Gibson; four Fortunes lived

William Thompson Sloper boarded lifeboat number 7

William Thompson Sloper boarded lifeboat number 7

‘A likely story’ William Thompson Sloper boarded lifeboat number 7
By Ken Rossignol

The story of the survival of William Thompson Sloper who lived when the Titanic sank began when Dorothy Gibson insisted that the 28-year-old stockbroker from New Brittain, Conn., board her lifeboat #7, a lucky lifeboat indeed.  First Officer Murdoch was in charge of the boarding, which at the time wasn’t going well due to the prevalent attitude that the ship was not going to sink.

Titanic 1912

Titanic 1912 – The original news stories of the sinking of the Titanic

The boarding protocol for boarding the lifeboats reportedly was different, depending on which side of the ship the passengers were standing.  On the starboard side, the rule was women and children first. On the port side, the rule being followed was women and children only. Thus when Gibson and Sloper approached the first lifeboat to be lowered and all of the available women and children were boarded, Gibson insisted that her bridge partner, Sloper, be allowed to board. He did.

There is much witness testimony from survivors that most felt it foolhardy to leave the fine luxury ship which wasn’t clearly in peril.  Thus many of the first boats to be lowered were far from full.

Dorothy Gibson actress starred in first Titanic movie and survived the sinking

Dorothy Gibson actress starred in first Titanic movie and survived the sinking

Without a hat, Sloper found a towel and had put it over his head in the lifeboat to keep warm and when the rescue ship Carpathia arrived and picked up the survivors from lifeboat number seven, Sloper was still wearing the towel. Thus, the rumor of a man dressing as a woman got started and flourishes to this day.  Some variations of the coward who dressed like a woman included a man who wore a dress and a veil.

Sloper was returning from a three-month vacation to Europe and was booked on the Mauritania but lingered on in England as he romanced Alice Fortune.

The family of Mark and Mary Fortune had been on a Grand Tour of Europe and the Middle East. It was on this tour that Alice and Sloper met. She persuaded him to change his ship and travel back to New York with her family on the Titanic.  Of the six members of the Fortune family, from Winnipeg, Canada, only Mary Fortune and her three daughters survived; her son Charlie and her husband Mark perished on the Titanic.

Dorthy Gibson, a well-known actress, starred in the first movie about the Titanic, released in 1912. She continued her career and was captured by the Nazis during World War II and interned in a concentration camp, which she survived and died a few months after the end of the war.

Sloper died on May 1, 1955.

From IMDB
In 1909 Dorothy met George Battier jr. They were soon married, but the marriage was short-lived. Soon, she became an actress for Eclair Studios, making one-reelers. In 1912, she finished The Easter Bonnet (1912) and travelled to Europe. By April she was ready to return. On April 10, 1912, she and her mother boarded the Titanic in Southampton, England. They occupied a cabin on E-Deck. When the Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 on the 15th, she described it as “a long sickening crunch”. She and her mother boarded the first lifeboat to leave with friends William Sloper and Fredrick Seward. She later appeared in the film, _Saved From the Titanic (1912)_, a one-reel quickie. It was to be her last. She soon quit the business and married Jules Brulatour. This marriage was also short, lasting only two years.

The following article appeared on the front page of the Manitoba Free Press, on Saturday, April 20, 1912.

Women Had No Idea of Serious Condition of the Titanic

Gave Their Money to Charlie For Safe-Keeping Until They Met

Hugo Ross Was Ill in Bed When Disaster Occurred—Rescued Loathe to Talk

(Special Staff Correspondent)

New York, April 19—Strong and self-contained in the time of great bereavement, the survivors of the Fortune family, Mrs. Fortune and her 3 daughters, Mabel, Ethel and Alice, were joined in their rooms in the Belmont today by Charles Allan, of Winnipeg, who is engaged to the latter member of the family. But though showing remarkable fortitude, they would talk but little of the terrible tragedy by which they were robbed of father and brother. This strikes the newspaper man on the Titanic wreck assignment as being characteristic of nearly all of the survivors. There is a dread of recalling the awful disaster by talking of it, for the recounting of the events seems at once to bring the dreadful picture before their eyes. To Mr. Allan, however,

the story has been told, in part disjointedly and with little sequence, but still bringing forth many graphic pictures.

Did Not Think it was Last Parting

Probably one of the grimmest features of this story, as told to the Free Press, is the fact that upon leaving on the sixth boat the sisters handed over their money to Charlie, their brother, for safe keeping. When they left the ship they had no idea that they would never see either brother or father again. The prevailing opinion was that the Titanic would float for many hours, and that within 6 hours’ time the Carpathia would arrive to take off those who were left on board. They had scarcely drawn away, however, when the big ship commenced to keel, and at a safe distance from the vortex they watched her lights, and by them saw her heave and sink like a wounded sea monster. Mingled in the churning ice-strewn waters were those to whom they had bidden what they thought was only a short good-bye; the lights went out, and with them 1,500 lives. Dawn came over the ice dotted sea, and for 8 hours they floated in the lifeboat until they were picked up, almost the last, by the Carpathia.

Hugo Ross Was Ill

Of other western people who perished, they have little to tell. Hugo Ross, sick in his cabin was warned to dress by Thompson Beattie. The latter was heard to remark shortly before the Fortune boat left,

“Things look Pretty bad,” and then he went below to his friends.

Whether Mr. Ross managed to come on deck before the end came is not known. Neither of these men they saw again. None of the ladies had seen either J.J. Borebank, who was another Winnipegger lost. Alice thought she remembered having seen him at one time, but could not be sure. The boat on which the Fortunes escaped was ill-manned, and the women who formed most of its human cargo took a hand at the rowing from time to time. The Dicks of Calgary were on board, but most of the passengers were steerage. A man clothed in a woman’s dress and with a veil tried to get on board, just as the boat was being lowered, a foreigner leapt on board. As they pulled away they saw the band, with

(Continued on Page Six.)

Fortune Family Parted on Boat in Good Cheer

(Continued from Page One)

life preservers round their waists, and playing ragtime music. Just before the last, however, the notes of “Nearer my God to Thee,” came floating across the water to the survivors in the lifeboats.

“They never tried to get away,” Miss Fortune told Mr. Allan. “They just stood and played while the boats were lowered away and the steward walked round whistling and caring for the lady passengers. They were very brave.”

Mr. Allan has arranged with the C.P.R. to have a special car brought down by which the family will be conveyed to Winnipeg, either on Sunday or Monday.

Mr. and Mrs. Heber C. Hutton, of Winnipeg, have also joined them here.

fortune-family-mfp-4-20-12-pg-1

 

Two traveling together on business on Titanic; Charles Hays was lost and Paul R. Chevre survived and so did bust of Canadian Prime Minister

bust of Sir Wilfred Laurer by Paul Chevre

bust of Sir Wilfred Laurer by Paul Chevre

Two passengers of the Titanic were returning from France to New York.  Charles Hays, the general manager of the Grand Trunk Railroad in Canada had commissioned Paul Chevre to prepare a sculpture of Canadian Prime Minister Sir Winfred Laurier with the goal of placing it in a place of prominence in the lobby of the new hotel being built by Grand Trunk in Ottawa. The unveiling of the bust was to take place upon their return. Hays died in the sinking of the Titanic while the famous French sculptor had been lucky enough to gain a seat in the lucky Lifeboat No. 7.  Chevre only made it two more years before he died in Paris in 1914.

This account from Chevre was published in many newspapers of the day:

"Captain Smith got band back to the big dining room to play when Titanic struck. They had finished their evening program some time before. Mr Chevré saw that the lowering of the boats which took along the people on the ship appeared not to be appreciating the danger they were in. Chevré said an officer asked him to get into a lifeboat to set an example. This he did, and was followed by five or six other girls, two of whom he believed to be the Missess Fortunes of Winnipeg. Mr Chevré stated that a few minutes before the ship sank Captain Smith cried out, "my luck has turned," and then shot himself. I saw him fall against the canvas railing on the bridge and disappear."

From The Encyclopedia Titanica:

The story also quoted Chevré as saying that the statue of Laurier destined for the Chateau Laurier hotel had been lost in the sinking. It was a dramatic read, but a total fabrication by a reporter who either didn’t understand French or made the whole thing up to sell papers.

Chevré arrived in Montreal on April 22, and stormed into the French language daily, La Presse, to set the record straight. Everything that had been written about him in English, he complained was “a tissue of lies. He denied saying Captain Smith had committed suicide, and said Laurier’s bust was safe. “The marble bust weights 7,445 pounds. How do you think I could have had it in my cabin? Good Lord! The bust is safe. It is actually aboard the Bretagne. ” The Herald, which printed the original story insisted it certainly did not fake Chevré’s account, but allowed that since its reporter didn’t speak French very well, “he might have misunderstood Mr Chevré’s rapid fire narrative.”

Charles Melville Hays tombstone

Charles Melville Hays tombstone

Chevré remained in Quebec for six months after the sinking and obtained the commission to do the statue of Marianne which stands outside the Union Française in Montreal facing Viger Square. Then Chevré who spent each summer for 14 years in Canada returned to France and never sailed again.

He died in Paris on 20 February 1914. “Paul Chevré was a passenger on the ill-fated Titanic,” read his obituary in the Montreal Gazette, “and although he survived the shock, it is doubtful he ever recovered from it.”

There was a good reason for Hays to want to commission a bust of Sir Laurier, as the Prime Minister had thrown his support behind awarding the push to the Pacific coast across the prairies to Grand Trunk Railroad.

This from Dictionary of Canadian Biography

Charles Melville Hays President of Grand Trunk Railway

Charles Melville Hays President of Grand Trunk Railway

“…the federal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier had decided to promote the building of a second transcontinental railway. On the failure of the GTR and the smaller, prairie-based Canadian Northern to unite on such a project, Ottawa threw its support behind the GTR. On 24 Nov. 1902 Hays formally announced plans to construct a transcontinental.”

Hays did not live to see the GTP completed: he perished in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Sanctified by this tragic end and by his high social standing in Montreal, including membership in the American Presbyterian Church, he was eulogized as one of Canada’s greatest railwaymen. On 25 April 1912 work and movement on the GTR’s entire system stopped for five minutes in tribute. Hays’s legacy, however, was mixed. He presided over the most prosperous era in the history of the GTR, but as president of the GTP he initiated policies and programs which led in 1919 to the GTP being placed in receivership and to legislation authorizing federal acquisition of the GTR’s capital stock. During the proceedings of the board appointed to value this stock, it was alleged that Hays had deceived the London directors in 1903 and that they had never knowingly endorsed the scheme that led to the insolvency and nationalization of the entire system.

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The cable ship Minia was used to recover 17 bodies from the sinking including that of Charles M. Hays, President of the Grand Trunk Railway.

The cable ship Minia was used to recover 17 bodies from the sinking including that of Charles M. Hays, President of the Grand Trunk Railway.

The cable ship Minia was used to recover 17 bodies from the sinking including that of Charles M. Hays, President of the Grand Trunk Railway.

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Carpathia Captain Arthur Henry Rostron wrote this account of his rescue of Titanic survivors

Capt. Rostron's handwritten account of Titanic disaster

Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron of the Carpathia

Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron of the Carpathia

Capt. Rostron of the Carpathia being presented a loving cup by the survivors from Mrs. J.J. Brown, better known through the ages as the Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Capt. Rostron of the Carpathia being presented a loving cup by the survivors from Mrs. J.J. Brown, better known through the ages as the Unsinkable Molly Brown.

 

Travel from east coast ports to Halifax where the recovered dead of the Titanic are buried

The Grandeur of the Seas is just about twice the size of the Titanic. Sailing from Baltimore it travels to Halifax several times in the fall with stops in Portland and Bar Harbor then on to St. John and Halifax. The bodies of about 150 deceased from the Titanic are buried there. An excellent  maritime museum contains many Titanic items.  THE PRIVATEER CLAUSE photo

The Grandeur of the Seas is just about twice the size of the Titanic. Sailing from Baltimore it travels to Halifax several times in the fall with stops in Portland and Bar Harbor then on to St. John and Halifax. The bodies of about 150 deceased from the Titanic are buried there. An excellent maritime museum contains many Titanic items. THE PRIVATEER CLAUSE photo

The Seven Seas Navigator is a small luxury cruise ship steaming out of the harbor at Halifax, Canada.  All major lines include itineraries to Halifax. The Privateer Clause photo

The Seven Seas Navigator is a small luxury cruise ship steaming out of the harbor at Halifax, Canada. All major lines include itineraries to Halifax. The Privateer Clause photo

There is plenty to do in Halifax beside going to the Titanic graveyard or touring the excellent museum. Sailing on day charters or whale watching...and then there is shopping!

There is plenty to do in Halifax beside going to the Titanic graveyard or touring the excellent museum. Sailing on day charters or whale watching…and then there is shopping!

Shipping of all types passes by in Halifax harbor, one of the largest natural harbors in North America. The Privateer Clause photo

Shipping of all types passes by in Halifax harbor, one of the largest natural harbors in North America. The Privateer Clause photo

So, exactly how did they get that ship in the bottle?  Models of ships and nautical gear telling the story of not only Titanic but of the evolution of sailing the seas fills the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

So, exactly how did they get that ship in the bottle? Models of ships and nautical gear telling the story of not only Titanic but of the evolution of sailing the seas fills the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

This is a gibbet where mutineers and pirates were hung in racks like this after they hanged by the neck until dead (hung if you prefer). Their corpses were left to rot for years and circled the harbor for the birds to pick at as a warning to seafarers not to resort to piracy or mutiny. This poster and a life-size corpse greet visitors to the museum in Halifax.  The Privateer Clause photos.

This is a gibbet where mutineers and pirates were hung in racks like this after they hanged by the neck until dead (hung if you prefer). Their corpses were left to rot for years and circled the harbor for the birds to pick at as a warning to seafarers not to resort to piracy or mutiny. This poster and a life-size corpse greet visitors to the museum in Halifax. The Privateer Clause photos.

The museum is worth every  cent of admission. Those who cherish walking will find it takes about 15 to 30 minutes to hike there from the cruise terminal. A taxi ride for four is about twenty dollars.

The museum is worth every cent of admission. Those who cherish walking will find it takes about 15 to 30 minutes to hike there from the cruise terminal. A taxi ride for four is about twenty dollars.

Great models, paintings and artifacts are everywhere in the museum.

Great models, paintings and artifacts are everywhere in the museum.

The last Corvette of the Canadian Navy from WWII is on display in Halifax harbor for public tours.

The last Corvette of the Canadian Navy from WWII is on display in Halifax harbor for public tours.

Full speed ahead, damn the icebergs!

Full speed ahead, damn the icebergs!

The Naval and maritime history of Canada is rich and proud.

The Naval and maritime history of Canada is rich and proud.

Cunard Line has a major terminal in Halifax.

Cunard Line has a major terminal in Halifax.

This statute honors Samuel Cunard the founder of the steamship line. No one will ever see a similar statute to Samuel Carnival or whoever founded Carnival unless that guy erects it himself.

This statute honors Samuel Cunard the founder of the steamship line. No one will ever see a similar statute to Samuel Carnival or whoever founded Carnival unless that guy erects it himself.

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Halifax is a large port with lots of cruise ships and freighter traffic.

Halifax is a large port with lots of cruise ships and freighter traffic.

Trains leave Halifax to destinations across Canada. When the Titanic hit the iceberg a special train was sent to Halifax from New York to retrieve all the survivors. That train came back empty.

Trains leave Halifax to destinations across Canada. When the Titanic hit the iceberg a special train was sent to Halifax from New York to retrieve all the survivors. That train came back empty.

All aboard for Alaska.

All aboard for Alaska.

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