0:00:00 > 0:00:04A century after it sank, it still fascinates us.
0:00:06 > 0:00:07Titanic.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14Gigantic, extravagant, doomed.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18And 100 years later, the ship that has become a legend.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21As she headed out to sea,
0:00:21 > 0:00:25she carried over 2,200 passengers and crew.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28The rich, the poor and everything in between.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30And it's their stories that I want to discover.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33When Titanic hit an iceberg,
0:00:33 > 0:00:361,500 men, women and children died.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40But the human cost was counted not just at sea,
0:00:40 > 0:00:46but on land, where the impact of the tragedy lasted for generations.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51And that is why to this day, Titanic touches us all.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59I'm Len Goodman, dance judge and ex-ship builder.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02In this programme, I'll discover the stories
0:01:02 > 0:01:05of the heroes who deserve to be remembered.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08And the man who longed to be forgotten.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Any man who survived was on a hiding to nothing.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15And the mystery of the lost relative solved after a century.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19She's like our daughter, Jane. Yes, you can see the broad face.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21And our story begins in Belfast.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34For three years, the construction of Titanic
0:01:34 > 0:01:39dominated the lives of the 15,000 men who built her.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41They put their blood and sweat
0:01:41 > 0:01:45into making her the finest ship that ever left their yard.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54But for some, the story of Titanic didn't end with the last rivet.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59There was a group of nine men who helped to build her,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01who sailed on her
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and who eventually died on her.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11On April 2nd, 1912, Titanic finally left Belfast.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15She cruised into the Irish Sea and headed for Southampton,
0:02:15 > 0:02:19from where she began her maiden voyage to New York.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23She was Harland and Wolff's biggest creation.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27They were proud of her and wanted to guarantee every part of her construction,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30so they put together a special team.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34They were called the Guarantee Group.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37They were the very best at their trades.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Their job was to sail on Titanic, spot problems and fix them.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Doors that jammed, pipes that leaked.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Their boss was Thomas Andrews.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51These are the offices where he and his team once worked.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01You can still feel the ghosts of shipbuilders in these empty rooms.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Every room you come into, amongst all the rubble,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11you suddenly find things.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14This laying here, "West Coast of India. Pilot."
0:03:14 > 0:03:19The pilot's book for navigating around the west coast of India.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Look at this. What's all this about?
0:03:25 > 0:03:27There's a drawing.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31"Ship name - English Star."
0:03:31 > 0:03:34It's just fantastic.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Just a load of old drawings, just chucked aside and forgotten.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43It's haunting to think of Thomas Andrews
0:03:43 > 0:03:46assembling eight workers here and giving them the exciting news
0:03:46 > 0:03:49they'd actually be sailing on Titanic.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Among them was Anthony Frost, the fitter.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55He had a wife and children.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Francis Parkes, the plumber.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00A young lad still living with his parents.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03And there was Roderick Chisholm, the draughtsman.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05He drew the detailed plans of Titanic.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09This is him in Harland and Wolff's drawing office.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14This was the nerve centre of Harland and Wolff,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18where incredible ideas were translated into workable plans.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Draughtsman would produce thousands of drawings
0:04:21 > 0:04:24on every aspect of the ship.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28And these drawings were crucial to understanding how Titanic worked.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31And it took a trained eye to interpret them.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Roderick Chisholm was in the Guarantee Group
0:04:34 > 0:04:38to decipher the mass of blueprints, diagrams and cross sections.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41He was Thomas Andrews' right-hand man.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Deirdre MacIntyre is Roderick's great-granddaughter.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48This is Roderick here. This is them on a family holiday,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Roderick and Susan.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54And my grandmother, Alice, and her brother, Jimmy.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58This conveys to me such a lovely family.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Yes. He was a wonderful man.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04A wonderful draughtsman, but, by Jove, he was a great Papa.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06And that's what matters.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11When he wasn't with his family, he was in the drawing office,
0:05:11 > 0:05:17where he was responsible for the most complicated drawings of Titanic.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22Gran was only 14 at the time, but family life changed dramatically.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26- Changed dramatically for them. - Because he was the breadwinner.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30He was the breadwinner of the family and under such tragic circumstances.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32It must have been horrendous.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35In those days, you got on with it. And that family did.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38I haven't shared a lot about Roderick
0:05:38 > 0:05:42because I suppose Roderick's memory with me was my grandmother sharing
0:05:42 > 0:05:46very infrequently these stories because it was painful.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54On April 14th, 1912, at 11:40pm,
0:05:54 > 0:05:59an iceberg tore a hole 100-metres long in Titanic's hull.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Water began to flood six of the forward bulkheads.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Thomas Andrews made his calculations
0:06:06 > 0:06:11and then he knew his ship would sink within three hours.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14But the Guarantee Group did what they could.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16They helped keep the generators going
0:06:16 > 0:06:18to stop the ship from plunging into darkness.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23They kept the lights working until two minutes before the ship sank.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26But all along, each one of the Guarantee Group
0:06:26 > 0:06:28knew Titanic was doomed.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31And all along, each one was certain
0:06:31 > 0:06:34they were going to go down with their ship.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39The entire Titanic Guarantee Group was killed.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Men who died on what they thought
0:06:42 > 0:06:45was the greatest ship they'd ever built.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50100 years later, the families of the Guarantee Group should be proud.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Proud that their ancestors had done everything they could
0:06:54 > 0:06:58to save the passengers on their ship.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04SOMBRE RECITAL
0:07:13 > 0:07:14For those who did survive,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Titanic became a defining point in their lives.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21For some, it was the moment fear overwhelmed them.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28But for some of these men, it was a chance to prove themselves heroes.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31And there are memorials to men like these.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36But not every Titanic hero had their bravery remembered in stone.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Maddie Matthews is a schoolgirl from Barmouth in North Wales.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47She's determined the bravery of one local man
0:07:47 > 0:07:51who sailed on Titanic should not be forgotten.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53I became interested in Harold Lowe
0:07:53 > 0:07:56when I watched the film Titanic when I was 11.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59And I noticed one of the characters had a Welsh accent.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01I did some research and found it was Harold Lowe
0:08:01 > 0:08:03and he spent some of his life in Barmouth.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Harold Lowe was the fifth officer onboard Titanic,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11but one of the first to be hailed a hero.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Those heroics began the moment the iceberg struck.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18While others were messing around, wondering what to do,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22his 15 years experience kicked him straight into action.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24He worked tirelessly.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27First on the starboard side and then on the port side,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29to load as many lifeboats as he could
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and to get them all off safely and into the water, away from the ship.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Lowe took charge of lifeboat 14
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and got the boat and its occupants to safety.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44But it was what he did next that earned him his unique reputation.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46While others sat in shock,
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Lowe realised there were still survivors in the water
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and there were empty places in the lifeboats.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55To Lowe, it was crazy.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58So he did something no-one else even tried.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02He went back to pick people out of the water.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07In the darkness, Lowe lashed together four lifeboats with empty spaces.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10He transferred passengers between the boats,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13then he rode back in the empty vessel
0:09:13 > 0:09:16and rescued four survivors from the freezing water.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18I think the fact that only one man
0:09:18 > 0:09:20out of the 750 survivors actually went back,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24shows he had incredible bravery to deal with what many others
0:09:24 > 0:09:26were finding incredibly difficult to cope with.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Maddie isn't the only person to celebrate Lowe as a hero.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33In 1912, many of the passengers he saved
0:09:33 > 0:09:37gave Lowe gifts to express their gratitude.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Today, these are treasured by Harold Lowe's grandson, John.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51These are two of the presents from a passenger,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Mrs Henry B Harris. They consist of a sextant.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59The other part was the telescope.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03"To Harold G Lowe, fifth officer, RMS Titanic.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06"The real hero of the Titanic.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09"With deepest gratitude from Mrs Henry B Harris."
0:10:09 > 0:10:12To have one of his own when he was still a junior officer
0:10:12 > 0:10:13was very significant.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- Would these have been expensive gifts?- Yes.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18'Harold accepted these gifts
0:10:18 > 0:10:22'only after refusing money from Mrs Harris.'
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Whilst on the Carpathia, she approached Harold
0:10:25 > 0:10:27to try and give him some money for his bravery.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32And again, in New York. He was summonsed to her apartment,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and he said, "No. I was only doing my duty".
0:10:36 > 0:10:42Harold Lowe was not commemorated in his home town of Barmouth,
0:10:42 > 0:10:47so Maddie decided something had to be done.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49It was ridiculous that Barmouth had nothing
0:10:49 > 0:10:52to commemorate a man who lived here and learnt to sail here
0:10:52 > 0:10:55when he was most known for his actions at sea.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59I wrote a letter to the local paper, the Cambrian News,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01and I started a Facebook group.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05Maddie's efforts quickly came to the attention of the local council.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07The council commissioned an artist
0:11:07 > 0:11:11to create a memorial plaque in Welsh slate
0:11:11 > 0:11:14to the memory and bravery of Harold Lowe.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18They've invited Maddie to see an early mock-up of the final work.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23- If you would like to look at it and see what you think.- I'd love to.- OK.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25There we are.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29"In commemoration of fifth officer Harold Lowe,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32"who played such a heroic role in the rescue of survivors
0:11:32 > 0:11:36"from the tragic sinking of RMS Titanic on 15th April, 1912."
0:11:36 > 0:11:40I'm now determined that the memorial will be a fitting tribute to him
0:11:40 > 0:11:42and that he'll be remembered in Barmouth
0:11:42 > 0:11:46and by everyone who visits Barmouth for generations to come.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Some who survived the Titanic disaster
0:11:54 > 0:11:56found that their names were remembered
0:11:56 > 0:11:59not in stone, but in newsprint.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Nonetheless, their stories have endured for just as long,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and often, for the wrong reasons.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11The UK enquiry took evidence from maritime experts,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14company employees and the survivors,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17both passengers and crew.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21And they all got a real grilling.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22There were certainly heroes,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25but not everyone who lived to tell the tale
0:12:25 > 0:12:28told one they could be proud of.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31In particular, male survivors needed to account for their actions
0:12:31 > 0:12:34and explain why they survived in the lifeboat
0:12:34 > 0:12:39while women and children perished in the freezing water.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42For one man, that question was particularly awkward to answer.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44And the experience destroyed him
0:12:44 > 0:12:48and his reputation for ever.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I'm off to meet Sir Andrew Duff Gordon
0:12:53 > 0:12:56whose great uncle was Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58DOORBELL
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- "Hello?"- Yes, it's Len Goodman.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- "Oh, good. Come on up."- Thank you.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Sir Cosmo was travelling with his wife, Lady Lucille.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15They had cabin A16,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18one of the most expensive first-class cabins,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21for which they paid thousands of pounds.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24As you'd expect from a celebrity couple.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25He had been an Olympic fencer.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28He was a very good athlete, he was a trained singer.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32He was quite a decent-looking man, a tall fellow.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35And was, you know, known around the place.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37After the iceberg struck,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40many of the first passengers to board the lifeboats
0:13:40 > 0:13:43were the rich, just like Sir Cosmo.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Where most of the men chose to hold back
0:13:45 > 0:13:48in favour of women and children,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Sir Cosmo took a seat beside his wife.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56It would be remembered as a notorious and selfish act.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59You see this little boat down below. It's not full.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02You look down and maybe get in.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04Yes, get in.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- So they did.- Right.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10If that's a crime, it's a crime.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Neither the UK nor the US enquiries were actually a court,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17but they were emotionally charged.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19And as survivors were cross-examined,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23every word was scrutinised just as closely by the press.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27He's not on trial, but it's as if he's in the dock.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31And the press is covering his defence.
0:14:31 > 0:14:32The hoo-hah in the press was so,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35any man who survived was on a hiding to nothing.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40Particularly passengers who were slightly better known than some of the others.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Sir Cosmo was not the only man to take a place in the lifeboat,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46but his action once he was in the lifeboat
0:14:46 > 0:14:49also came under special scrutiny.
0:14:49 > 0:14:50The Duff Gordon boat
0:14:50 > 0:14:54rowed away from the sinking Titanic only half full.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59Sir Cosmo is specifically accused of ordering the lifeboat and saying,
0:14:59 > 0:15:04"No, we mustn't go back and try and pick up people who are drowning".
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Now, this is a grave accusation
0:15:07 > 0:15:10that he was saving his own skin
0:15:10 > 0:15:12rather than thinking of others.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Sir Cosmo's account was very different.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Well, the crew said, "Look, if you go back,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21"you'll get everybody putting their hands
0:15:21 > 0:15:24"on the gunwale of the boat, on the edge of the little boat,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26"and we shall all be drowned".
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I don't know whether I would have been...
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Made the decision to try,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35and hope that the boat wouldn't go down with 40 people on it
0:15:35 > 0:15:37instead of 20 or whatever.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40I simply don't know how I would've behaved.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42And with respect, I don't think you do either.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45On his rescue by the Carpathia,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49he was seen to reward each of the crew members from his lifeboat
0:15:49 > 0:15:52with a cheque for five pounds.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58This looked very suspicious.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Had he actually given all the men five pounds
0:16:01 > 0:16:03so that they wouldn't row back?
0:16:03 > 0:16:05That was the accusation.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08And it was hotly debated at the enquiry.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11He didn't wave a cheque in the air and say,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13"Here's five pounds. Get us off the boat".
0:16:13 > 0:16:18When they were picked up by the Carpathia, the sailors rightly said,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21"It's all right for you, you can buy another suit.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23"We've just got the clothes we stand up in,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25"and we'll be out of a job".
0:16:25 > 0:16:27And so, my great uncle,
0:16:27 > 0:16:32who was obviously hugely relieved that they'd been saved,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35drew a cheque for five pounds on Coutts Bank
0:16:35 > 0:16:38for the crew that had been in that boat.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44No-one was actually on trial at the enquiry.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46However, there was no question
0:16:46 > 0:16:49that society was judging Sir Cosmo.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Edwardian culture venerated the endurance
0:16:55 > 0:16:57of hardship and sacrifice.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00And there were numerous examples on the Titanic
0:17:00 > 0:17:04of men who had died bravely.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09Benjamin Guggenheim, for example, who goes down with the ship.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11I think Sir Cosmo knew full well
0:17:11 > 0:17:14the degree of disapproval
0:17:14 > 0:17:17which his actions had generated.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20And that sense that the Titanic disaster
0:17:20 > 0:17:23had shown up a flaw in Sir Cosmo's character,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27I think that must have lived with him for the rest of his life.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Having been a well-known figure in London society,
0:17:31 > 0:17:36if you'd like to call it that way, he spent more time in Scotland.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- Yeah.- I think Lucy spent more time in her business.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42They never separated,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45but they slightly drifted apart.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Several generations later,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51the shadow of Sir Cosmo's action on Titanic
0:17:51 > 0:17:54still sometimes falls on the family.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59When I was getting engaged to my wife Evie,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02her father said, "Hang on a minute,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06"I think there's a skeleton rattling about in that family's cupboard".
0:18:06 > 0:18:08And this was in 1975.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12We all know the tragedy was in 1912.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15And, um, you know, it never goes away.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Yeah.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Sir Cosmo survived Titanic,
0:18:19 > 0:18:20but rightly or wrongly,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24he had to pay for his life with his reputation.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28One way or the other, Titanic always seems to take a toll.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35While many wealthy men chose to die on Titanic,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38many of the poorest men, women and children,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40were never given a choice.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45Third class passengers in steerage quickly found that on Titanic,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48the odds of survival were stacked against them.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51She may have been stuck with bells and whistles and the well-to-do,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54but Titanic was far more than just a posh cruise liner.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57She was an emigrant ship,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00built to cash in on the dreams of Europe's poor.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Titanic carried emigrants from over two dozen countries,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07all dreaming of a new life in the States.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09They paid around seven pounds for their ticket.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12600 in today's money.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Affordable, but still big business.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18It was a significant revenue earner for all the shipping lines.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23It wouldn't have been able to continue without the emigrant trade.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27It wouldn't have been financially viable for them to do so.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Titanic was good value.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Accommodation in third class
0:19:32 > 0:19:35was as good as second class on most any other liner.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Ensuite rooms, a comfortable lounge
0:19:37 > 0:19:39and three square meals a day.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Better conditions than most were used to at home.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46She carried 700 steerage passengers.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51112 of them boarded at Queenstown, now Cobh,
0:19:51 > 0:19:53on the south coast of Ireland.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Titanic's final port of call.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Gathered on a pier at Cobh were a crowd of Irish emigrants.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03For them, Titanic wasn't a pleasure cruise,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06but the start of a new life.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10And for some, it would be over before it began.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14In the midst of the crowd were two brothers, John and Philip Kiernan,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18from the village of Aughnacliffe, County Longford in Ireland.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Helen Sheridan is their great niece.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25John was, I think, 23.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28And Philip was 21.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32John had been in New Jersey and he'd been there for quite some time,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35so he'd come home to bring his brother, Philip,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39over to America so that he could work there, too.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Philip was the youngest of a large family.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45In 1912, in this part of the world,
0:20:45 > 0:20:47it was particularly common
0:20:47 > 0:20:50for young people of large families to leave for America.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54If you were born into a family of six children,
0:20:54 > 0:20:56the eldest would probably inherit the farm,
0:20:56 > 0:21:02the eldest daughter might marry into the farm down the road.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05But what would happen then with the rest of the family?
0:21:05 > 0:21:09The expectation was, particularly in the Irish context, that you would emigrate.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13The Kiernans boarded Titanic in Queenstown,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15but never reached America.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17When Titanic struck the iceberg,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20they were with hundreds of other steerage passengers
0:21:20 > 0:21:23in the belly of the ship on E deck, far from the lifeboats.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27And that's where Titanic's crew tried to keep them.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31The chaos was witnessed by a survivor, Margaret Murphy.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34"A crowd of men were trying to get to a higher deck
0:21:34 > 0:21:38"and were fighting the sailors, all striking and scuffling and swearing.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42"Then the sailors fastened down their hatchways.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46"It meant all hope was gone for those still down there."
0:21:46 > 0:21:48But John and Philip would not give up.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50They led Margaret and a group of women
0:21:50 > 0:21:55through the warren of passages and corridors, finally emerging five decks up.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59"We made our way to the lifeboats. A boat was being filled.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03"We pushed our way towards it. John was helping me.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07"The sailors drove him away."
0:22:07 > 0:22:10John and Philip were last seen from the lifeboats.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13They were standing on the deck of Titanic,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16arms around each other, as the ship went down.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20The brothers died because, with a third class ticket,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23the odds were always stacked against them.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26There does seem to be a case to answer
0:22:26 > 0:22:31that they were impeded, deliberately impeded.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32That gates were closed.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36This was going to prevent the third class passengers
0:22:36 > 0:22:37from getting up on deck.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40The official enquiry didn't support the idea
0:22:40 > 0:22:44that the 700 steerage passengers were discriminated against.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49But the fact is that only 25 percent of third class survived,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53compared to over 60 percent in first class.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58In 1912, the world wasn't an equal place.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02And on Titanic, if you had money, it could save your life.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05And what shocks me is that the price of your ticket
0:23:05 > 0:23:08reflected the value of your life.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18Many Titanic victims and survivors are remembered on memorials. But not all of them.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Luckily, there's a group of men and women making sure
0:23:22 > 0:23:26these names and their stories won't be forgotten.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29I love people with passion.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33And there's a tenacious band of men and women from all over the world
0:23:33 > 0:23:36who spend their free time researching and recording
0:23:36 > 0:23:40hidden gems, little stories about the Titanic.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43They're affectionately known as the Titanoraks.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Two of the most dedicated Titanic researchers
0:23:48 > 0:23:51are Brian Measner from Carolina
0:23:51 > 0:23:54and Alex Churchill from London.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58- He's still alive. He's still working at 70.- That's the Irish!
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Brian has researched hundreds of tales from Titanic,
0:24:02 > 0:24:07but for 30 years, May Sloan is the one that has always eluded him.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09She survived the disaster and made it to New York,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13but then, she seems to disappear without trace.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17He calls her the Holy Grail in terms of crew members
0:24:17 > 0:24:20because he's never been able to find anything on her.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23She is representative of the crew in a lot of different ways.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28She's representative of females working at that time.
0:24:28 > 0:24:29She's the common woman.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31And she is Belfast's own.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35But the details of her life have remained a mystery.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37There was little clue to her descendants.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41And to a Titanorak, that's tantalising.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43So Brian joined forces with Alex
0:24:43 > 0:24:45to try and crack May Sloan's story.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47But it hasn't been easy.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Her name was the biggest issue
0:24:50 > 0:24:54because there's a mixture of her going by Mary and going by May.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Also, it's quite a common name.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59And there's a lot of emigration, as well.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00So really, they were scattered.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03It's taken a lot to pull them altogether.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05But after months of detective work,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Brian and Alex have at last
0:25:08 > 0:25:11begun to piece together the life of May Sloan.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16Their first breakthrough was uncovering her life before Titanic.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18So, to tell her story, we've had to really go back far.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23The first time we found her in a public record was on the 1911 census.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25And there she is. May Sloan.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29'Brian and Alex turned to shipping records from the 1900s
0:25:29 > 0:25:31'to uncover May's life before Titanic.
0:25:31 > 0:25:37'They discovered she started out working on the SS Magic.'
0:25:37 > 0:25:38It wasn't so much as a ship
0:25:38 > 0:25:41as a cross-channel ferry running between Belfast and Liverpool.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44'Within only a year, May had moved on
0:25:44 > 0:25:49'and found a job as a first-class passenger stewardess on Titanic.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51'Brian and Alex knew she survived,
0:25:51 > 0:25:56'but once she made it to New York, the trail ran cold.'
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Until recently, we didn't know anything about what she did after
0:25:59 > 0:26:02until we found a record of her
0:26:02 > 0:26:07coming into America via Canada a few years later.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10And she's still listed as a stewardess.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12What is that there, "ruddy"?
0:26:12 > 0:26:13Her complexion.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- They said she had a ruddy complexion.- That's good, isn't it?
0:26:16 > 0:26:18That comes up quite a lot.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Fresh, ruddy complexion. Brown hair, blue eyes.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24May Sloan's Visa for crossing from Canada to America
0:26:24 > 0:26:27also recorded names of a relative.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32From this, Alex and Brian were able to piece together a family tree
0:26:32 > 0:26:36and trace it all the way back to Belfast.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38We got all the way down to 1968.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42And there's Hugh Alexander Sloan.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44- Yep.- May's great-nephew.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46May's great-nephew.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50The story of May Sloan
0:26:50 > 0:26:53has brought me back to where my journey began, Belfast.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55It's where Titanic was built
0:26:55 > 0:26:59and where May Sloan lived until her death in the 1970s.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Her grandnephew, Hugh, lives here, as well,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06but he never knew his great-aunt May.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09I would like to show you this photograph.
0:27:09 > 0:27:10Beautiful eyes.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13That really is the only photograph I've ever seen
0:27:13 > 0:27:17after 30-odd years of research.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19I think she's like our daughter, Jean.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21- Let's have a look.- Try that there.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Yes. You can. The broad face.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26I can see a resemblance.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30'May Sloan even had an encounter with Thomas Andrews,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33'the man who designed Titanic and who died onboard.
0:27:33 > 0:27:38'As the ship was sinking, Mr Andrews helped May to steel her nerves.'
0:27:38 > 0:27:42At one point, Mr Andrews brings your aunt May and another stewardess into a cabin
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and gives them whiskey and water to fortify them.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48And he said, "Now, girls, don't be afraid".
0:27:48 > 0:27:50And she said, "I'm not afraid".
0:27:50 > 0:27:52And he said, "That's a good Ulster girl".
0:27:54 > 0:27:56At last, after 100 years,
0:27:56 > 0:28:01May Sloan brings a Titanic story home to Ulster and to Belfast,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04where the tale of the ship began.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07When May left here, Titanic was famous across the city.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09By the time May returned,
0:28:09 > 0:28:13the ship was notorious throughout the world.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Join me next time when I explore Titanic's 100-year legacy.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24I'll hear how one family did its best to forget all about the ship.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Until I left school, although I'd heard of the Titanic,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32I was really blissfully unaware that it was much to do with my family.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36How one man was blamed for all the deaths on board.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38The way he has been treated, in my opinion,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41is a miscarriage of justice in this country.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45How the Titanic disaster changed sea travel for ever.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50It's an international convention all subscribe to. It stands for Safety Of Life At Sea.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd