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Harland & Wolff |
White Star Line
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 Titanic Disaster | Distress Rockets
On board the nearby ship, Californian, Second Officer Stone had
observed white rockets bursting over the strange ship to the south. Attempts
were made to contact it by Morse lamp but these were in vain. Eventually
Captain Stanley Lord was awoken and notified. He went down to the chart room
but asked to informed only if the ship appeared to move closer. Stone and
Apprentice Gibson continued to watch as more rockets were fired over this
strange ship. At 2 am the ship appeared to be sailing away to the southwest
and 20 minutes later is disappeared completely. |
An hour after the collision on the Titanic, the majority of the
passengers still did not appreciate just how much danger they were in.
Lifeboats began to be filled around 12:30 am with the instructions for women
and children first. Most of the first class passengers were on the boat deck
wearing their white lifebelts but most were reluctant to enter the boats. As a
result many of the first boats were lowered away less than half full. The
ship's band gathered just inside the entrance to the Grand Staircase from the
Boat Deck and began to play a medley of lively tunes to keep the passengers
from panicking. Down in the steerage section of the ship, there was much
confusion and alarm. Many of the passengers did not speak English and could
not understand the instructions they were given. Many failed to get
abovedecks; others managed to reach the Poop deck, third class space or were
in the forward Well Deck. Those lucky enough to reach the Boat Deck had made
it there by somehow maneuvering around the barriers between third and first
class or by simply breaking them down. White Star Line later denied that any
attempts were made to keep third class from entering the lifeboats but
statistics told an entirely different story. 
Sunday Morning Copyright 2001 WebTitanic WebTitanic Editor | Karl Metelko Contact WebTitanic |