INTRODUCTION

TITANIC CONCLUSIONS

There were elements of serendipity to it.  A librarian staff member had placed it on an open part of a shelf containing books of little interest to me, but that one was.  “TITANIC SURVIVOR” the cover shouted.  I took it home.  Not an especially new book it turned out (but I was unaware of its existence)…why it was placed there on exhibit I have not pursued but I am thankful that our local library did so or this wouldn’t have been written in all probability.  Reading the book has brought back memories and thoughts I wish to share.

Violet Jessop was her name, this survivor of the sinking of the largest moving object mankind had constructed up to that time, and she had written of this great tragedy in a memoir that had never been published.  It took a measure of more serendipitous coincidences for it to see the light of day for book readers.  A naval historian, John Maxtone-Graham, fortuitously happened upon it years after he, and he alone, had interviewed Violet shortly before her death at age 84 (no writer of any kind ever had before).  John edited, annotated and introduced Violet’s writing in this book of his.

As an aside; John Maxtone-Graham left this veil of tears in 2016 at age 85.  I want to think that perhaps he can now continue his dialog with Violet.]

I must refrain from even summarizing the remarkable nature of the coincidences that brought the memoir manuscript into John’s possession because the memoir is not the subject matter here but I must give you just a taste of the memoir and I quote from John’s introduction….”Much of Violet’s prose flows beautifully and she knows how to tell a good yarn.  It has been my experience that everyone employed aboard passenger vessels—from master to cruise director—inevitably threatens to write their memoirs.  But very few do and never before, to my knowledge, has a stewardess.  So that is the greatest plus of all, that an articulate witness to memorable maritime events –one of which has fascinated the world ever since—has left an unique record.” 

Yes, Violet Jessop was a stewardess aboard the Titanic and also aboard the two sister ships, the Olympic and Britannic.  She was aboard the Britannic when, as a hospital ship during WWI, it struck a submerged mine and rapidly sank.  Although she was uninjured in the Titanic sinking she was in the latter.  By her account It would seem miraculous that she wasn’t badly injured or killed as many were.  Her forty some years of maritime duty where she not only witnessed but was involved with the destruction of large ocean liners and other vessels gives her, in my opinion, unique authority in the description of these events.

A picture in the book of the 21 year old “trim” Violet aboard her first charge bore a striking resemblance to the petite English lass I had a crush on in high school (crush was the street word we used back then to express unrequited affection).  I was reminded of my unsuccessful pursuit of the object of my fantasies; unsuccessful in that we never ever even dated.  John’s book’s relates the unhappy romantic life that was Violet’s lot and it had certain resemblance to my own which further strengthened the ties, but it was those memories stirred by the book of my fascination with maritime foundering’s which are pertinent here.  Following HS graduation, I and “crush” parted ways never to see each other again much like what happened to Violet and her first love.  I went on to get an engineering degree at the University of Wisconsin in beautiful Madison where the campus is located on the shores of picturesque Lake Mendota.  In my later years I was employed in the research laboratory of a large rather well known corporation where I exhibited certain skills related to fluid dynamics and mathematics, and publishing technical papers which showed forth those skills.  More to the point here I also was found to have some latent skill in analysis related to what today is called forensic engineering.  Some of my duties involved the investigation of explosions for which I presented my findings at trial.  So perhaps it is understandable that I have retained an interest in such matters since retirement.