Practically Classics Forum

Martin Evans wrote:I was reading something about this yesterday and there is an old mill about ten miles down the valley from where I live. It seems that a radio enthusiast in this mill picked up the Titantic's Mayday call. He told other people about it, who didn't believe the unsinkable ship could have sunk. Then it appeared in the newspapers and they realised it was true (Not that everything in newspapers is true ). See http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/loopsandli ... gelli.html.

i love the morris. your house too?

12:20 - Water floods the seamens quaters, 48 feet above the keel on E deck. Order to start loading lifeboats with women and children given by Smith. Lightoller takes this as 'women & children only whereas Murdoch allows men to board if no-one else is present.

12:45 am: First lifeboat, (7) lowered. It can carry 65 people but leaves with 28 aboard. Passengers were initially reluctant to leave the security of the ship. Boat number 4 begins loading but is one of the last to leave

12:55am - Boat 6 lowered, the first from the port side with only 28 aboat, including Molly Brown. Starboard number 5 is lowered, with Bruce Ismay chastised by Fifth Officer Lowe for interfering with the loading process. This boat loweres with 41 aboard.

1am - Boat 3 is lowered with 32 aboard including 11 crew

1:10 am - Boat 1 is lowered with only 12 aboard including Sir Cosmo & Lady Duff gordon. Port side 8 is lowered with 39 aboard

1:15am - Water reaches Titanics name on her bow

1:20 am - boat 9 leaves with 56 aboard, Titanic has now developed a noticeable list to starboard

1:25 am - Boat 12 is lowered with 40 aboard

1:30am - Signs of panic begin to appear among some passengers. As boat 14 is lowered with 60 people including Fifth officer Lowe, he fires shots to warn passengers away trying to jump in. Titanics distress calls now become more desperate "We are sinking fast, putting women & children in boats, cannot last much longer"

1.35 am - Boat 16 lowered with 50 people, boat 13 leaves with 64 people

1:40am - Most of the forward boats are now away and passengers begin to move aft. Bruce Ismay leaves aboat Collapsible boat C (39 aboard) and the forward well deck is awash.

1.45 am - Last words from Titanic heard from Carpathia "Engine room full up to boilers" Port side boat number 2 leaves with 25 people, it can hold 40

1:55am - John Jacob Aster, refused entry to boat 4, sees his young pregnant wife off safely as the boat is lowered with 40 aboard. 20 places are left empty.

2:00am - water now only 10 feet below the promenade deck

2:05am - There are now over 1500 people left on the ship. Collapsible D is one of the last boats left and has room for 47 people. To prevent a rush on the boat, Lightoller forms a chain around it and allow only women & children aboard. The boat is lowered with 44 people. Titanics bow sinks underwater

2:10 am -Captain Smith relieves the wireless operators from their duty

2:17 am - Smith tells crew emebers 'its every man for himself' and returns to the bridge to await the end. Thomas Andrews is last seen staring into space on the 1st class smoking room. The Titanics bow plunges under, enabling collapsible B to float away upside down. The ship's band stops playing and many passengers & crew jump overboard into the 31ºF/-1ºC water. First funnel collapses, crushing many people as it falls. Collapsible A floats free and about 20 peopkle grab hold of it. Fifth officer Lowe rescuses them from this boat, but by then half have died from exposure.

2.18am - A huge roar is heard and Titanic's lights blink and go out. The ship breaks in two right through the engine room between funnels 3 and 4. Not one man in there left his post and not one was saved.