Titanic - Southampton Remembers

This is the old cemetery on Southampton common. There are 57

graves here connected with Titanic, but they are all empty. Few in 1912

could afford to repatriate the bodies, but still, they needed a

Around 750 of Titanic's 908 crew lived in Southampton, 550 of those

perished. All but three were men. For Southampton, the unwritten law

of the sea, "women and children first", ensured the loss of

husbands, fathers, sons. It plunged streets and houses into weeks of

I'm, Bernard Hill. I played Captain Edward Smith in Titanic, the 1997

film directed by James Cameron. Lots has been said about the ship,

its design, its flaws and the passengers - the first class, the

steerage - but very little about the effect that the disaster had on

Southampton wasn't a city then. It was a much smaller, crowded town.

Some 23 steamship companies were based here. Five years before, The

White Star Line had decided to switch its transatlantic express

service from Liverpool to Southampton. A new deep water dock

was built to accommodate the world's largest liners, Olympic and

Titanic. The greater part of employment in Southampton depended

on the ships being there. You could go from here to New York or to

Canada and be there in less than a week. Big luxury liners like the

Olympic and the Titanic were going out term unturned about. That was

the work that was available. In February 1912, the whole country

was in the grip of a coal strike. The miners were demanding a unified

minimum wage for any job that they did underground. Given that trains,

electricity and ships all ran on coal powered steam engines, this

strike paralysed the country. It lasted until early April 1912. The

miners got what they wanted and the minimum wage bill came into force.

When Titanic arrived from Belfast at midnight on April 4, its crew

would have seen a host of ocean going liners laid up, including

Majestic, New York and Oceanic, unable to leave due to the lack of

coal. The White Star Line was determined Titanic would sail on

its maiden voyage and arranged for coal to be taken from other ships

For my role of Captain Smith in the James Cameron film, I tried to

understand this man. He seems to have taken much of the blame

through history for the events that occurred that fateful night. But

was he at fault? What happened to him when the ship started sinking?

This is Winn Road in Southampton. It's here that Capt Smith had an

imposing six bedroom house where he lived with his wife Eleanor and

daughter Helen. The house was bombed in the second world war and

these flats erected instead, but inside here, there is a memorial.

Hardly a blue plaque, but it is the only memorial in Southampton to

Edward Smith both as captain and man.

Smith was a highly experienced sailor. He went to sea at the age

of 13. He'd been with the White Star Line for 32 years when he took

charge of Titanic. He was their most prized asset, well respected

by the wealthy and affluent American passengers, so much so, he

became known as the "the millionaires captain."

But some of Titanic's crew were less reverential about Smith's

seamanship. Whilst Captain of its sister ship, Olympic, a year before,

the ship was in a collision with a Royal Navy cruiser HMS Hawke off

the Isle of Wight. I think it is important to say that

other ship's captains also had collisions. Part of their pay

package was that they would receive a bonus of �200, if they didn't

damage the ship within the 12 I'm here at berth 43/44, this is

where she sailed from. Titanic sailed without major

fanfare. Crowds had been kept out of the docks due to the coal strike.

As she pulled away and the power of her propellers churned the waters,

there was a near collision with the liner New York tied up nearby.

Ropes snapped and the New York drifted out only yards from Titanic,

but tugs managed to avoid the danger.

This unexpected drama over, Captain Smith pointed the luxurious liner,

towards the English Channel. "Take her to sea Mr Murdoch, lets

Only 23 of the 908 crew were female. Most were stewardesses for the

first class passengers. There was one female matron for the 3rd class

decks, a Catherine Jane Wallis or Cissie. She was 35 years old, lived

in St Marys Place in Southampton, and had been widowed the year

before. This is work that women can do. Either that or you go into

service and it is a form of going into service, but it paid.

With four children to care for, the prospect of �3 a month pay was very

attractive. She was employed as a matron in the old fashion sense

when she was all things to all people. She looked after the 700

steerage passengers. Each of those had paid upwards of �7 for a ticket.

Her role was to ensure that their children and their families were

safe and healthy. A lot of things the steerage passengers would not

have seen before like a flushing toilet. It would be a new thing for

them and she would show them how to use it. She would also make sure

there were provisions like milk for the children. The Titanic carried

over 1500 gallons of milk. She was there to be like a mother figure,

really. Across the water is St Marys. There

lies one of the darker tales from Titanic. William Mintram lived in

st Marys with his wife Eliza. It seems it was a tempestuous

relationship. One night, in a drunken row over his wife pawning

his son' boots to pay for drink, he stabbed her to death with a knife.

A jury returned a verdict of manslaughter and he was sentenced

to 12 years in Winchester prison. My grandmother never blamed him.

She always said he did not mean to do it and it was an accident. We

believed her. She told us that, actually, so we believed her.

After serving his time, he came to live in Chapel Road with his

daughter and son-in-law Walter Hurst. It was Hurst who got him the

job on Titanic. Hurst and Mintram were stokers. There were 162

furnaces on the ship, which heated the boilers making the steam which

powered the engines. 160 fireman worked shifts that were four hours

on and eight hours off. Together they shovelled over 600 tonnes of

coal a day to keep Titanic moving. For some of Titanic's crew, the

shadow of the disaster and their role in it stayed with them for the

rest of their lives. Fred Fleet, from Freemantle in

Southampton, played a central role in the moments that sealed

Titanic's fate. He was one of the ships lookouts. On the night of

April 14, 1912, Fleet took watch at 10pm. Crucially, there were no

binoculars for the lookouts, they had been locked away. By 11.30pm he

could see a haze appearing with his naked eye.

At 11:40pm, Fleet saw a black mass ahead, immediately struck three

bells and telephoned the bridge. He reported "Iceberg right ahead,"

receiving the reply "Thank you." While still on the telephone, the

ship started swinging to port. The lookouts saw the starboard side of

the ship scrape alongside the iceberg and saw ice falling on the

decks. They had thought that it had been a near miss. It wasn't.

Titanic was fatally holed and began to sink. There is a family

resemblance, you know. Dave Fredericks great grandfather

Walter was crewman on the ship, Dave has been researching his story.

He was chosen as an oarsman and because all of the semen had left

earlier. He was facing the ship and he remembers all of the lights

suddenly going out and it being pitch black. Shortly after, it went

under the water. There were screams from the thousands thrashing about

and crying for help, which he said reminded him of a football stadium.

Everyone shouting. One by one they died out and it was the silence

that was the most scary thing. Just the sound of women crying in the

lifeboats and not much else. The year after was when my grandfather

was born. Had he not survived, I would not be here today telling the

story. It was Monday morning in Canute

Road, Southampton when word started to reach the White Star Line

company office via telegrams that Rumours spread throughout the town

like wildfire, women from all over the city headed for the only place

where they thought they would get reliable news - the White Star

My name is Philip Curry, I'm the manager of the White Star offices

here in Southampton. This fine town was plunged into despair, we were

deluged with relatives desperate for any news. Initial rumours were

that everyone had been saved, but my colleagues in London thought it

He and his team soon realised the enormity of the situation and

throughout the next four days, no- one went home. They camped in

makeshift beds on the hard office floor.

I watched the women keep vigil throughout the night. They had put

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 40 seconds

on a "bit of black" as a mark of This is the Southampton city

archives, down here are thousands of ships logs and school records.

This is the Northam Girls' School log. April 15th 1912. A great many

girls are absent this afternoon owing to the sad news regarding the

Titanic. Fathers and brothers are on the vessel and some of the

little ones have been in tears all Day after day, the people came.

"had I seen Barrett on the list?" "Did I know if Kemish was saved?

"I'm sorry, no further names yet," I had to say. It is worth pointing

out that it was the custom on all shipping lines that, once a ship

had sunk, payment for the crew also stopped from that time and date.

Many of the families were close to starvation from the coal strike and

the lack of work over the previous months. Now the situation was that

they wouldn't get any more money for the time being. And that there

was a great probability their breadwinner could be lost. It took

until Thursday for the final lists to be sent to Southampton. First

class passenger lists had been posted on the Tuesday. Curry died

in 1933 at the age of 71. His obituary in the local paper never

Throughout Southampton, there was hardly a street or road that was

unaffected. This 1912 map shows a black dot for every person who died

This is Malmesbury Road in Shirley. Shirley was known as "steward's

town" in 1912. Eight crew members lived here and set off on the

morning of April 10th to join the ship. Number 134. Electrician

Alfred Allsop aged 36. He left a wife Hilda and a one-year-old child

Philip. Next door, assistant butcher Herbert Hensford. He had

just married Alice and moved in with her family only a few months

before he went on board. Number 102. First class saloon steward William

Revell was married to Blanche and had a nine-month-old baby son

called Jack. His body was never recovered. Blanche also lost her

brother Ernest. His body was never recovered either. At Number 89,

saloon steward Edwin Best, aged 36, married to Annie. He had four

children. His body never recovered. At 120, saloon steward Ted Stroud,

aged 19 and here with his parents. Across the road at number 103,

saloon steward James Toshack, aged 31. He was married to Phoebe. His

body was never recovered. This was where number 51 used to be, which

was pulled down for playing fields. This was where 18-year-old Albert

White live. He gave his age as 21 when he signed on far Titanic. His

body was never recovered. John Smillie had lodgings at Number 16.

His body was recovered still wearing his steward's white coat.

He was buried at sea. And what happened to Matron Cissie Wallis?

At the time of the sinking, her body was never identified. The

story ended there until 1919, where a stewardess who worked alongside

her wrote in a newspaper that Catherine Wallace told the

stewardess, I am not going on Dec, I will stay here. It is believed

she stayed with steerage passengers to make sure they would be safe.

And she remained to look after the people in her care. Walter Hurst

and William Mintram were still on the ship as it began to sink.

great-grandfather went up on deck and threw a piece of ice at my

grandfather and said, you had better get up, or water, we have

hit an iceberg and we are sinking. Both made their way up to the top,

whenever the lifeboats were, could not get one. My great grandfather

had a life jacket and Walter Hurst did not have one. Walter was given

his life jacket and said, your wife needs you and you are much more

required than I am. You take the Both hit the water and tried to

swim away. As Titanic was sinking, a falling funnel just missed Walter

as it hit the sea. But it crushed SINGING. A memorial service was

held a week after the sinking at St Mary's Church. Other White Star

Line crew and officers were among those who attended. The families of

those killed were not entitled to any compensation. Fundraising

happened in a variety of ways from musical concerts to a Southampton

There was even a charity record issued entitled Be British.

Something we regard as a modern innovation was popular 100 years

ago. Eventually, over �412,000 was collected. Southampton itself

managed to raise �41,000 of that. My name is Ms Maude Newman. I am

the lady visitor for the Southampton branch of the Titanic

Relief Fund. Maude was known as the lady with the bicycle.

My role is to help the widows and orphans left behind after that

dreadful tragedy. There were 900 when I first started. I make sure

they are in good health and not in need. The children may need shoes

or the mother a bit extra for food. I try to do all I can. I am also

responsible to the relief committee for maintaining the fine Christian

values we all expect from all those who benefit from the fund. However,

we will not tolerate any impropriety such as excessive

drinking or couples sharing houses when they are not married. However,

should a widow marry again, we wish them well, but their benefit from

the fund.. -- fund will stop. also responsible to the relief

committee for maintaining the fine Not everyone agreed with her role

as moral guardian. Once, her bike was stolen. Then, a week later, it

was found at Berth 43/44, the Titanic berth. Someone had stolen

it and dumped it out of spite. use my influence to get as many as

I can into apprenticeships and jobs. They are our future. And if the

Titanic has a legacy, it should be of hope. The generosity of others

has given these youngsters a chance to live worthwhile, fulfilled, hope

fall-outs. -- hopeful lives. Maude Newman died suddenly at the age of

64 in March 1940. The relief fund officially ended in 1959. But the

remaining cash was turned into annuities. Incredibly, the final

sum was paid out in 1997 to a woman Fred Fleet was rescued in number

six lifeboat. In the subsequent inquiries, his evidence was crucial.

Unfortunately, the White Star Line regarded the Titanic survivors as

embarrassing reminders of the tragedy they would prefer to forget.

Fred lived with his wife in her brother's house in Fremantle,

Southampton. For much of his later life, he sold newspapers in the

He had to bear the constant calls of, "Have you seen an iceberg today,

Fred?" with a smile and some resignation. Deep down, he felt

guilty for having survived. Then, in December 1964, his wife Eva died.

She had meant the world to him. Her brother then evicted him from the

house soon after the funeral. Living off the street, on 10th

January 1965, Fred found his way back into the kitchen of his former

house. In a fit of grief, remorse, or depression, he hanged himself.

He was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave at Southampton's

Holybrook Cemetery. But the story does not end there. In 1993, the

American Titanic Historical Society raised funds to erected this

memorial stone. It was proper tribute to a man who accidentally

became a part of history. After the event, the survivors got

on with their lives. The Titanic disaster was rarely spoken about.

By the mid-1990s, Titanic's final living link was Millvina Dean. She

was only nine months old when the ship went down. Millvina had been

helped by the lady visitor, Maude Newman, and had got a job in the

civil service. I don't get tired of it at all. Everyone makes a fuss of

me. I enjoy it. I will not get tired of it. No, no. She became the

last survivor of the Titanic. She died at the age of 97 in a nursing

home near Southampton. Today in Southampton, Titanic can

still evoke sadness and some tears for those who remember someone who

survived or perished that terrible night. There is also a palpable

sense of pride. A pride that it was from here that men and women came

to crew the world's most famous ship. For many, the concepts of

duty and heroism still has meaning and relevance in 2012. The

inscription here is from St John Chapter 15. It would have been

familiar to Captain Edward Smith and many of his officers and crew.

"Greater love hath no man than this. That a man lay down his life for