Books, films, documentaries and articles -
few subjects have inspired so many writers and producers as the sinking of the
Titanic. Yet, a hundred
years after this tragic event, there is nothing more poignant or
vivid than true eye-witness testimony, such as this amazing account of one of
the survivors:
On April 10th 1912,
12-year-old Louis Garrett* and his 14-year-old sister Jamila set sail from
Marseilles on what would prove to be the biggest adventure of their lives. Although their father had planned to accompany them, he’d been prevented
from boarding the ship because of an eye infection, forcing the children to
make their journey without him.
“We were saddened to leave my father behind, but were excited
about being on board the R.M.S. Titanic, the largest, fastest and most
luxurious ship of its time—and also said to be unsinkable!”
For a young boy, it must have been an incredible experience.
Amongst the 2,200 people on board were some of the world’s leading lights
– rich and famous people who, seduced by Titanic’s magnificent
interiors and glamorous image, considered joining the ship for its maiden
voyage the “in” thing to do for anyone who was ‘anyone’.
The real star of the show, of course, was the Titanic itself,
which more than lived up to its promise as a floating 5-star hotel and
remarkable feat of engineering.
One of a trio of ships – including the Olympic and the Britannic – it was
commissioned by the White Star Line from Belfast shipbuilders, Harland and
Wolff. At 269 metres long and 28 metres wide, the Titanic exceeded battleships
of its day by 5,000 tons and, due to the division of its hull into 16
compartments, 4 of which could be flooded without compromising the ship, seemed to justify its ‘unsinkable’ reputation.
Certainly, as Louis looked out across the Atlantic at the start of
the voyage, the sea was calm, the ship cut through the waters at a satisfying
rate of knots and New York was just 7 short days away. On Sunday April 14th the weather changed. From a seasonal
chill the temperature dropped so dramatically that few passengers ventured outdoors
and Louis heard talk of icebergs in the area. Such danger was not anticipated,
however, so full speed was maintained despite a radio message from the captain
of the Californian. His warning, that icebergs had
been spotted along Titanic’s route went unheeded by Captain E J Smith.
Tragically, this experienced captain’s faith in Titanic’s invulnerability was
greatly misplaced.
At approximately 11:45 p.m. Sunday, April 14, Louis and his
sister were awakened with a jolt. “Soon an elderly man, whom we had met on
board and who took a fatherly interest in us, came to our cabin and said
calmly: ‘Come out of your cabin and go to the upper deck. Don’t bother about
taking your belongings for now. You’ll get them later.”
Having steerage-class tickets, Louis and his sister could
access the second-class deck, but a guarded gate prevented them reaching the
first-class upper deck where they’d have a better chance of getting into a
lifeboat. “The only way
this could be done was to climb an iron ladder from the steerage deck below up
five or six decks to the lifeboats above.” This
was very difficult, especially for Louis’ sister, “But with help from others we
made it.”
To Louis’ horror, most of the lifeboats were gone. “The crew was
permitting women and children only to board the lifeboats—there were not enough
for everyone. We saw women crying, not wanting to leave their husbands;
husbands begging their wives and children to hurry and get into the lifeboats.
Amid this complete pandemonium and mass hysteria stood my sister and I, two
immigrant children, unable to speak English, frightened beyond belief, crying
and looking for help.
“The last lifeboat was being loaded. A middle-aged gentleman was
with his very young, pregnant wife. He helped her into the lifeboat, then
looked back to the deck and saw others wanting to get aboard. He kissed his
wife good-bye, and, returning to the deck, grabbed the first person in his
path. Fortunately, I was there in the right place at the right time and he put
me into the lifeboat. I screamed for my sister who had frozen from fright. With
the help of others, she also was pushed into the lifeboat. Who was the gallant
man who performed this kind act? We were told he was John Jacob Astor IV. At
that time he was 45 years old and his wife, Madeleine, was 19. They were
travelling to the United States because they wanted their child to be born
there. Many newspaper stories were written that told how John Jacob Astor gave
up his life for a young immigrant. The Astor family records indicate that,
according to Mrs. Astor, Mr. Astor had words with a crewman who tried
to prevent him from helping his wife into the lifeboat. He did so anyway. And,
as I said, he kissed her and, returning to the deck, began helping others into
the lifeboat.
'I was happy to be in the lifeboat, but I still had a feeling of
sorrow for the ones left on the Titanic. Looking back at that big, beautiful
ship, I could see it from a different perspective and, with some of the lights
still on, I could see the size and beauty of the ship. In the stillness of the
night and with sound travelling so well over water, we could hear the band
playing on deck and people singing ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ The crew rowed away
from the ship as far as they could. There were fears that a suction would
develop when it made its final plunge into the ocean depths. That did not
happen, nor was there an explosion as some thought there would be. The waters
were unusually calm that night and it was a good thing, for most of the
lifeboats were loaded down with people.
'The Titanic sank about 2:20 a.m. April 15,
1912, according to the records. I saw it slide down into the ocean to its
horrible finish. The moment it sank left a memory of something that haunts me
till this day. It was the eerie sound of the people groaning and screaming
frantically for help, as they were hurtled into the icy water. Almost all died
from the cold water. The sounds lasted for about 45 minutes and then faded away.
'An SOS had been sent out about midnight. It was received by
the S.S. Carpathia of the Cunard White Star Line. It was
about 58 miles (93 km) away and immediately turned around from its course,
which was heading for Gibraltar, and proceeded full steam ahead to the rescue.
It arrived at about 4:30 a.m. Interestingly, the S.S. Californian was only 20 miles (32 km) away from
the spot where the Titanic sank, but the radio operator did not
pick up the SOS signal because he was off duty. Later reports showed that the Californian did see flares in the night, but
thought the passengers on the Titanic were shooting fireworks in celebration
of the maiden voyage.
'The Carpathia completed the rescue operations about
8:30 a.m. Our lifeboat was among the last to be rescued. After being taken
aboard, bundled up, given hot tea and made comfortable, I was happy to be
alive, even though I had a coat and shoes much too large.
'Later the captain of the Carpathia called all the survivors to come on
deck and see the iceberg. My 12-year-old mind recorded it as being as high as a
two-story house, much wider and with a huge chimney. The ship delivered us to
New York before continuing its trip to Gibraltar, a very kind act on the part
of the management of the Cunard White Star Line. We arrived in New York at
8:30 p.m., Thursday, April 18, and were taken to the Cunard White Star
docks.
'Looking back at those
long hours in the lifeboat, it now seems miraculous that we reached the safety
of the Carpathia. The bitter cold was almost unbearable.
We huddled together to keep warm. People were kind to one another. I remember
how windy it was there on the deck of the Carpathia. The winds had picked up to several
knots per hour. Fortunately the winds held off just long enough for the rescue
mission. Had the waters not remained calm and smooth during that time, it is
doubtful that the rescue operations would have been so successful.”
Despite the intense cold,
Louis knew of only one person in his lifeboat who died of hyperthermia.
"The body was wrapped in a sheet and slipped overboard.” Except for a few
crew members who manned the oars, most of the occupants were women and
children. According to Louis, “There was one young couple with a baby who ‘put
one over’ on the crew. The wife was very shrewd; she dressed her young husband
as a woman, covered his head with a shawl and gave him the baby. He was in one
lifeboat and she was in ours. Both were rescued by the Carpathia.
“On our arrival in New
York, we expected to be taken to Ellis Island to clear immigration procedures.
However, this was waived because of the pain and suffering already endured by
the survivors. We were turned over to the Red Cross to be united with our
families. My older brother, Isaac, was in New York and our meeting was mixed
with joy and sadness. My father was still in France. However, we concluded that
had he been on the Titanic with us, he would not have survived
because of the women-and-children-only rule. Maybe even our being survivors
would have been affected. We would have found it hard to leave Dad on board the Titanic and be seeking our own safety.
Fortunately for him, he arrived safely three months later on another ship.”
Unable to match the speeds of rival shipping
line, Cunard, White Star aimed to attract wealthy travellers with Titanic’s
magnificent interiors, unashamed luxury and impossible glamour. Even so, the
company’s main target group was the huge number of European immigrants –
between 1900 and 1914 almost 900,000 a year crossed the Atlantic to the United
States, providing handsome profits for the industry. Tickets for the Titanic
cost £79 for first class; £13 second class, and £8 for third. Naturally, cosseted first class cruisers were discreetly
insulated from the hoi polloi below!
The horrific death toll was due to a series
of errors: Several iceberg warnings from other ships were either ignored or not
received; the lookouts didn’t spot the iceberg soon enough for evasive action
to be taken; and there was only room in the lifeboats for 1,170 of the 2,200
passengers and crew. Of the 16 lifeboats and 4 collapsible boats on hand, many
were not fully loaded and made no effort to find survivors who’d fallen into the
sea. Consequently, 1,500 people perished – 700 crew and 800 passengers.
As for Louis Garrett, he settled in
Jacksonville where he lived peacefully until his death on 31st May 1981,
soon after giving this interview.
