The Sinking of the RMS Titanic and other ships.

[String]

There is also the Princess Alice disaster which is slightly linked to the ripper case as Stride was reported as saying her husband and 2 children had died on that disaster. This has been found to be untrue.

http://www.yellins.com/woolwichferry/thames/PrincessAlice.htm

http://www.casebook.org/victims/stride.html

[Shangas]

The film is called "A Night To Remember". It's one of the most accurate portrayals of the sinking ever, I think. I liked it very much.

It's hard to imagine a more shocking disaster than the sinking of the Titanic. 1,490 people freezing or drowning in the water. And that water was quite literally freezing. It was so horrible.

I was watching an interview with one of the survivors once, I forget who, and she was a little girl when the Titanic sank. She escaped in a lifeboat with her mother, and years later, she told the interviewer:

"I remember asking my mother, 'do you remember the screams of the people in the water?', and she said, 'Yes. But do you remember when the screams...STOPPED?'"

And I think - It must be so horrible, to be sitting in a lifeboat, listening to a thousand a half people all dying at once. In fact, the disaster had some horrific affects on survivors. Frank Goldsmith (travelling 3rd class with his mother and father and sister), never took his children to a baseball game. Ever. He couldn't stand it when the crowds cheered. He imagined he was back in that lifeboat, listening to all the screaming people in the water.

[Phryne Fisher]

Titanic thread! Good idea

I read a book about ten years ago (which I now can't find and can't remember the title or the authors' names. I think there were two authors) which proposed the theory that the ship that sank was actually RMS Olympic, and that the White Star Line had swapped the two for an insurance scam or something. I wasn't convinced by the theory, but it was a fascinating read. Also read an ancient tome from the library which was a compilation of accounts by survivors of the disaster. It was excellent. I had to stop reading it on the train because I kept crying at all the sad bits and instances of bravery and self-sacrifice .

And I just adored "A Night to Remember" (I think it was called) with Kenneth More as Lightoller (? - what a shocking memory I've got). Didn't bother watching the big Hollywood blockbuster. I may be wrong, but I suspect I didn't miss much!

[Shangas]

You gotta feel sorry for Crippen in a way. If he'd kept in steerage-class, the captain would never have noticed him and would never have sent a wire to Scotland Yard. Aaah, crooks do stupid things. Like book first class and let yourself be seen everywhere.

The RMS Lusitania was carrying weapons, I believe. She was converted slightly to carry ammo and some light guns and she had some cells rigged up below-deck to serve as holding-pens for rowdy people, but I'm not too certain.

The Sinking of the RMS (or rather, HMHS) Britannic, when it struck a naval mine, was another famous shipping disaster. Despite the horrific damage, only 30 people onboard died in the crash, with the rest escaping in lifeboats or swimming to shore (the captain ran his ship aground to stop it foundering in the open seas).

[Mayerling]

Hi Shangas and Celeste,

Titanic is the epitome of a great disaster. Occasionally I have mentioned it on this board, and I have read at least five books on the subject (it's like Jack the Ripper - you can build a whole library just on that subject). Have you used their main website: Encyclopedia Titanica. I've looked it over and it is full of information and discussion boards, similar to the Casebook.

As for other leading shipwrecks:

R.M.S. Lusitania - carrying armaments or not when sunk?

R.M.S. Empress of Ireland - the forgotten big disaster of the 1912 - 1915 period. It's commander, Henry Kendall, is better known for helping to trap Dr. Crippen and Ethel Le Neve on his earlier Canadian-Pacific steamer command, R.M.S. Montrose.

U.S.S. Cyclops - where did this collier sink, and how? Or did the German born Captain turn it over to the enemy (it disappeared in 1918)?

H.M.S. Victoria - the battleship that was rammed by a badly given order in maneuvers in 1893 (and was spoofed in a sequence in the movie KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS in 1949).

There is also possible discussions on ships like the C.S.S. Hunley and U.S.S. Monitor, both of which are presently restored in total or partial state in Charleston and at Hampton Roads.

There is plenty to discuss here.

Best wishes,

Jeff

[Celesta]

No, of course not. When people notice it, they'll likely post something. It's a fascinating subject. Mayerling and some others posted some things on the When Flying Saucers Attack thread. You might want to look there. It's in this same section. I think Anna was interested in the subject. If you bump into her, you might ask her what thread the Titanic was on.

Only Ally and Stephen close threads for various reasons.

[Shangas]

So what, do we lock this...or...what's going on here?

[Celesta]

I did the same for threads and posts. I guess the thread that discussed the Titanic got lost when the Casebook crashed back in the earlier part of the year. I know there are people who are interested in this event.

Best,

Cel

[Shangas]

I did do a search, I couldn't find anything.

[Celesta]

I read "Infamous disasters" on the board-description here, and since there wasn't one about the most infamous martime disaster in the world, I thought I should create one.

I hope you fellows don't mind.

The sinking of the RMS Titanic on the evening of the 14th-15th of April, 1912, was always an event which I have found intensely fascinating and I continue to be fascinated and interested in it even today. I first read about the Titanic when I was in school and the whole tale of the "unsinkable ship" going down with 2/3 of its passengers is just too good of a story to forget.

So, I open up this thread in the hopes of perhaps creating a discussion about it, and other famous martime disasters.

Hi Shangas,

Welcome to the Casebook. There is, or was, a thread about this, or at least discussion of it. I don't know if it got lost in the crash earlier this year or not. Have you tried doing a search for threads or posts?

Best,

Celesta

[Shangas]

I read "Infamous disasters" on the board-description here, and since there wasn't one about the most infamous martime disaster in the world, I thought I should create one.

I hope you fellows don't mind.

The sinking of the RMS Titanic on the evening of the 14th-15th of April, 1912, was always an event which I have found intensely fascinating and I continue to be fascinated and interested in it even today. I first read about the Titanic when I was in school and the whole tale of the "unsinkable ship" going down with 2/3 of its passengers is just too good of a story to forget.

So, I open up this thread in the hopes of perhaps creating a discussion about it, and other famous martime disasters.