Key Figures Aboard RMS Titanic Superstars And Scapegoats by Anthony Nicholas

 Key Figures Aboard RMS Titanic Superstars

And Scapegoats by Anthony  Nicholas is an interesting book on the people who worked and played a role, little or big that was, in the Titanic. 

Who were these people? The most diversified ones. Anthony writes: "Able seamen, bandsmen, and engineers. Firemen and ship’s officers. Passenger stewards and wireless operators. The majority of those brave, selfless men would die, too. Mostly, the true nature of their stories, their sacrifice, has remained in the long shadow of the stage on which they fought the irresistible forces of nature".

This book wants to remember most of them. I have chosen some stories: stories of ordinary people, men, women, with dreams, passions, families, projects for their existence. 

Joseph Bell was an enginner and understood very well what was going on that terrible night of 14 april 1912.  

Violet Jessop was an Irish immigrants:  at first in other ships, passed reluctantly at the Titanic. She was an easy going girl. She saved her existence and in june 1912 she was on board again. She became a nurse when the First World War started. She worked also after the First World War, completing her work in ships only in 1950 when 63.

The five postal clerks were, three Americans: Willian Gwinn, aged 37, New Yorker, 50-year-old John March, New Jersey, and 44-year-old Oscar Woody Virginia and two british: 35-year-old James Williamson a Dublin native, and John ‘Jago’ Smith. A lot of work because correspondence was massive, the five men were off duty late on Sunday, 14 April. They were enjoying a drink to celebrate Oscar Woody’s birthday. They tried their best, saving the correspondence when they discovered what happened but it was impossible. In a few minutes that room was plenty of water. They communicated that to Captain Smith. They all died.

Four lifts, elevators, each of them had an operators. The three operators in first-class were Frederick Allen, William Carney, and Alfred King. The second-class lift operator was Reginald Pacey.

The Last Lifeboat was smaller than the conventional ones. What a story this one:  a certain Mr.Hoffman a french fugitive, with two kids offered them over to the officials of the lifeboat. He never left the ship, dying. Realitiscally Hoffman wasn't his name. French, he was a fugitive. His name was Michel Navartil. He had kidnapped both his children with which wanted to start a life in the USA, distant from his wife. Marcel and Edmund later were reunited with their mother. Marcel became the last living male survivor of the Titanic. 

Jack Phillips, was 24, Harold Bride 22 and they were the Marconi Wireless Room Men. They didn't work for the White Star but for the Marconi Company .We know what happened the 14th. Per some hours the wireless didn't work and was repaired by Phillips. The Mesada, once restored the wireless communicated the exact point where to find an iceberg, but without to add to the message an alarming priority. Oberated by work, Phillips put the message aside...

The Californian a ship close to the Titanic, decided to wait the arrival of the new day interrupting their trip: it was too dangerous to proceed with icebergs all around. Their captain mr. Lord talked with Evans the only operator of their wireless room: "Alert the Titanic. Tell them that the situation is critical." But Phillips, when Evans tried to do that, answered back him rudely and so Evans shocked for the rudeness of his colleague decided that enough was enough, a long days spent at work later meant also a good night of sleeping: Evans closed the wireless woom, went to bed forgetting the rude guy of the Titanic. 

Bride survived and once in the Carpathia was helpful with the only wireless operator, Cottam. They were old friends.

He married a girl had 3 children and died at the age of 66.

It was a case for Wallace Hartle, one of the musician to return to perform in that final trip, in the Titanic. His plans were, at 33 years, to marry his girlfriend Maria; sure he was also tempted by this final trip. 

When understood that the Titanic was dooming, the imperative was to continue to perform till the very end. And they did it. No one saved the existence: "Instead, they kept playing even as the world around them collapsed,and the Titanic carried them down,into the abyss" writes the author.

May 12, the funeral of Wallace was attended by 1000 people. 

The violin of Wallace was returned to Maria, in Canada: Maria never married anyone and died pretty soon, in 1939: the violin was sold later at an auction  for the big soum of $1,700,000, on 19 October 2013. Probably bought by another man or woman attracted by the Titanic and his characters and stories.

I love to think that Wallace and the other musicians are continuing to entertain in the profoundity, the abysses of the Ocean, musical phantoms, the rest of the errand peaceless souls. 

Thomas Andrews built the Titanic, projected the Titanic. He didn't save his existence but was extremely helpful during the concitation of the moment. Knowning precisely well what would have happened to the ship, mortified for the absence of sufficient lifeboats, he decided to follow the destiny of his creature.

Charles Lightoller was the second officer aboard the RMS Titanic and survived. Lightoller worked frantically to save as many people as possible when understood the order of the captain: it was necessary to abandon the ship. It was sinking. The rest of his existence remains adventurous.

Captain Smith: this one would have been his last trip before to go to pension. He was 62 years in 1912.

Beautiful career, married, a daughter, it was a dream of Smith to spend some time with his family after this final trip. He was paid £1,200 per annum, at long with the White Star was a handsome man.

Captain Smith, rich, famous, the sultan of the Ocean, decided to remain in the ship, sinking with her. Yes: obviously it wasn't requested but he decided to do that. A 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic, I always think that there is a big connection between us and people and events now in the other dimension, in Italy very close to the island of il Giglio the Costa Concordia a cruise ship, wounded, started to embark water: technically that ship never sank as did the Titanic and was very close to the land! Captain Francesco Schettino hasn't been so heroic: he decided to leave, scared, the ship, putting in danger his crew and passenger, because the captain is the one who gives precise orders, avoid panic, and is present to himself, passengers and crew. Without captain...It's like a beehive without queen: dispersion, the end of everything. 32 people died in the "sinking", let's use the word wound, of Costa Concordia, but these people could have been all saved. 

I would want to remember what did the italian captain Arma of the Diamond Princess, the ship with the first outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic onboard during the first pandemic wave, in Japan per weeks, was the last one who left the ship once the rest of the passengers back home, or to the hospitals.

Highly recommended book.

I thank Pen & Sword for the copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori