An unquenchable love

First class Titanic passengers Isidor and Ida Strauss were traveling home to New York, where Isidor co-owned Macy’s Department Store with his brother Nathan. Normally preferring to cross the Atlantic aboard European ocean liners, they had sailed to Europe aboard the German-built Amerika, and spent the winter in southern France. They were rarely apart during their 41 years of marriage, and wrote letters to each other daily during their few separations. The Strauss’s traveled with a maid, Ellen Bird, and a manservant, John Farthing. When the Titanic’s crew ordered women and children to the lifeboats, Isidor escorted Ida to Lifeboat 8. She is reported to have said, however, “We’ve been together many years. Where you go, I go.” Other passengers tried to persuade her to board the lifeboat, but she refused. She gave her fur coat to Ellen Bird, saying she wouldn’t be needing it. The Strauss’s were last seen sitting in deck chairs, holding hands.

The Strauss’s eldest son, Jesse, was sailing to Europe at the same time aboard the Amerika. The ship had sent warnings to the Titanic regarding ice in the area. Jesse sent a telegram to his parents and told them about the ice he had seen.

Isidor Strauss’s body was recovered and taken to a mausoleum in New York. Ida’s body was never found. A quote from the bible memorializes the couple at the mausoleum: “Many waters cannot quench love. Neither can the floods drown it.” Song of Songs 8:7.

In the movie, Titanic, the Strauss’s are depicted holding each other in bed as water seeps in under the cabin door. A scene showing Ida refusing to board the lifeboat without her husband was deleted.

Their Last Song

Most of us have heard about the orchestra that continued to play aboard the Titanic as she sank on April 15, 1912. Rather than abandon their instruments and try to save themselves, each member of the 8-piece orchestra chose to stay and play for the passengers as long as they were able. The youngest, a Frenchman named Roger Bricoux, was 20 years old. The oldest, 33-year-old Wallace Hartley, served as the leader of the group.

Titanic’s White Star Line did not employ the orchestra directly. They worked for a firm from Liverpool called C.W. and F.N. Black, which placed orchestras on all the British ocean liners. During the Titanic’s voyage, the eight musicians were usually divided into a quintet and a trio, playing for first and second class passengers in various rooms of the ship. After the ship hit the iceberg and the order came for the lifeboats to be filled, the orchestra members joined together. They hoped to calm the passengers by playing popular dance tunes.

As the last lifeboat was lowered to the water and the ship continued to sink, the orchestra played on. Many survivors recalled hearing the music, even from the lifeboats. Some were certain the orchestra’s last song was Nearer My God to Thee. Others recalled hearing the song Autumn before the ship’s stern rose out of the water and plunged beneath the Atlantic. Regardless, the fact remains that all eight members of the orchestra died at their posts. Only two of their bodies were recovered, including Wallace Hartley’s. He is buried in Colne, Lancashire, England, where he was born.

Ruth Becker, the main character in my yet-to-be-published novel, is a budding violinist who happens to meet Wallace Hartley and the rest of the orchestra during the voyage. Their friendship and courage in the end have a profound affect on Ruth. I hope to be able to share her story soon.

That Motown Sound

I’m changing things up this week and jumping to a time period many of us remember. I’m also going to tell you how you can win two free books! The books are brand-new, recently released Christian romance novels. But first, join me as we look back at an exciting time for the music industry in Detroit. Stop! In the Name of Love, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Reach Out I’ll Be There, My Girl...The list of hit songs goes on and on, all produced and recorded in Detroit at Motown Records. Started in 1959 by Barry Gordy with $800, the first group to record for Motown Records was Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, while Smokey was still in high school. Their #1 hit, Shop Around, led the way for Motown Records to become the top seller of hit singles in the country by the mid-60s. The Motown Sound was fun, sophisticated, and recognizable. Many of the artists were drawn from Detroit’s working class neighborhoods. Among them were Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Jackson 5, and an eleven-year-old blind boy named Little Stevie Wonder.

Motown Records began in a modest white house on Woodward Avenue that Barry Gordy converted to a studio. He hung a sign over the door that read, Hitsville USA. He soon purchased the house next door, adding a round-the-clock recording studio, booking agency, music publishing department, and room to practice the well-known Motown stage choreography. Artists were also given lessons in etiquette and media relations. Gordy later moved the company to an office building in downtown Detroit, and eventually opened an office in Los Angeles, but Hitsville USA remained known as Studio A. He sold Motown Records in 1988.

Today, Hitsville USA is filled with memorabilia from Motown’s heyday. My family and I had the opportunity to visit last summer. On our tour, music filled the rooms as our knowledgeable guide took us back to the day when Diana Ross answered the phones in between rehearsals and Stevie Wonder bought candy bars from the old vending machine. Then we stood in the original recording studio near the grand piano and sang along to My Girl as it played through the speakers. I could almost see the Temptations swaying in time at the microphones.

Now, are you ready to win two free books? All you have to do is answer the following question in the comment section, and your name will go in the drawing for the books. I’ll leave you a reply if you win, and you can send me an email with your mailing address. Now for the question: What’s your favorite Motown song or group? (Mine is You Can't Hurry Love by the Supremes.) Thanks for stopping in!

A little trivia of Titanic proportions

Last time, I talked about my writing process while writing The Stars in April, a novel based on a true story about twelve-year-old Titanic survivor Ruth Becker. As you can imagine, a great deal of research was necessary. I thought you might be interested to know some things I learned about the ship and its passengers, so here are some fun facts. Others, including pictures, can be found on my Titanic Treasury page. More pictures, quotes and facts will be added there periodically. Tickets: A single first class ticket cost about $430. The two deluxe parlor suites cost $3,300. Second class tickets averaged $65, and a third class berth averaged around $35.

Food: The Titanic carried around 75,000 pounds of fresh meat, 40,000 eggs, 1,500 gallons of milk, 200 barrels of flour, 10,000 pounds of sugar, 40 tons of potatoes, and 1,750 quarts of ice cream.

Cargo: In addition to passengers’ belongings, the ship’s hold also carried 12 cases of ostrich plumes, 300 cases of shelled walnuts, 25 cases of sardines, 4 cases of straw hats, 63 cases of champagne, 2 barrels of mercury, 25 cases of olive oil, 2 grandfather clocks, and one new Renault.

Passengers: 329 first class (5 children), 285 second class (22 children), and 710 third class (76 children).

Madeleine and John Jacob Astor and their dog, Kitty.

Crew: 892 crew members, including some as young as 14. They worked as bellboys carrying luggage, pageboys running errands and delivering telegrams, and liftboys running the elevators.

What would you like to know about the Titanic? Ask me in the comments section and  I’ll see if I can find the answer!

Next Wednesday, we’ll take a break from all this Titanic talk and explore the beginnings of the “Motown Sound” right here in Detroit. Please come back and find out how you can win two free books!

"My Writing Process" Blog Tour

My post today is part of the My Writing Process Blog Tour, in which bloggers answer four questions about their writing and introduce three other bloggers who will do the same on their own blogs the next week. I was invited by author Stephanie Landsem, and you can read about her and her captivating novels at http://StephanieLandsem.com/blog. If you like biblical fiction, DO NOT MISS her books!

1. What am I working on? Two goals are currently consuming most of my writing time: find a “home” for my novel, The Stars in April, and build an online platform. Both are interesting, somewhat frustrating, and time consuming, but I’m learning a great deal in the process.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? My novel is historical fiction, but it’s based on a true story about a real person. There are no other books about Ruth Becker, other than a picture book, and I happen to think her story is pretty amazing and needs to be told. In future novels, I hope to write about more real people in history that perhaps aren’t well-known but have incredible stories.
3. Why do I write what I do? I used to write articles for kids’ magazines on many topics. It was challenging to take a subject (like the history of animation, for example) and explain it in a fun way that would get kids excited to know more and even try making their own cartoons. I found that I loved the research and learning about people who did it first. Then, researching for a lengthy article about Michelangelo made me realize how much I enjoyed discovering obscure, interesting facts about people in the past. So, why write about a twelve-year-old on the Titanic? Because she experienced one of the biggest maritime disasters in history and lived to tell about it. I had to know how she got there and what it was like. What was she like? And on the most terrifying night of her life, what made her help others, even when separated from her mother and siblings?
4. How does your writing process work? For The Stars in April, I read all the books available about the Titanic, researched the ship’s diagrams, the menus, the carpet colors. I read firsthand accounts from dozens of survivors, studied photographs, and visited the Titanic Exhibit when it traveled here to Michigan. I took pages and pages of notes, then gradually developed an outline, but I changed the outline several times as I wrote the story, even with the first draft. With the next draft and the next, I stopped frequently to look up things. Once, I called my friend who’d lived in England to ask about English slang words. It’s so much fun to get it right, and I wouldn’t want to give readers anything less than the most authentic, real story possible. But by far, the most important part of my writing process is prayer. I continually ask God to direct my thoughts as I write and to help me tell the truth.

I’d like to introduce three lovely and talented writers, who will continue the My Writing Process Blog Tour next Monday, May 12^th. Be sure to check out their blogs and their books!

Karin Beery is a freelance writer/editor/coach, wife, care giver, and homemaker. She has had more than 400 articles published in various periodicals, in addition to writing her novels. She is an active member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association, Evangelical Press Association, and Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or at her website, www.karinbeery.com. Her blog address is: www.karinbeery.com/blog

Dawn Crandall is the author of The Hesitant Heiress. A graduate from Taylor University with a degree in Christian Education, Dawn didn’t begin writing until after she was married, and her husband found out about her long-buried dream of writing a book. Without a second thought about her someday becoming published, he let her quit her job to focus on writing. When Dawn signed with Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency less than two years later (in 2011), it didn't take her long to realize that writing books was what she was made to do. Dawn is also a first-time-mom to a precious little boy [as of March 2014] and also serves with her husband in a pre-marriage mentor program at their local church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Dawn is a member of ACFW, Secretary for the Indiana ACFW Chapter (Hoosier Ink), and associate member of The Great Lakes ACFW Chapter. The Hesitant Heiress releases on August 1, 2014 from Whitaker House. Dawn’s Book Review Blog: APassionforPages.blogspot.com. You can also find Dawn at facebook.com/DawnCrandallWritesFirst and on Twitter @dawnwritesfirst.

Mary L. Hamilton is the author of the Rustic Knoll Bible Camp series for tweens. (Adults are really enjoying it, too!) Hear No Evil, the first book, is already out and Speak No Evil, the second book, will be out in August. Mary grew up at a camp much like the setting for her book. She's written articles and a Christmas play, Homespun Angel. When not writing, Mary enjoys knitting, reading and being outdoors, though not necessarily all at the same time. She and her husband are owned by a spoiled Golden Retriever and live near Houston, TX within range of their three grown children. http://www.maryhamiltonbooks.com/blog/

Titanic Survivor and Lifeboat Hero

Ruth Becker loved her life in Guntur, India. As the twelve-year-old daughter of American missionaries, India was the only home she’d ever known. But when the local doctors were unable to find a cure for her baby brother’s illness, her mother decided it was time to take the children to their grandparents in Michigan and leave India permanently. Ruth’s father, Reverend Allen Becker, asked to leave his post as the mission’s orphanage director, but his request was denied. In order to ensure his family was as safe and comfortable as possible for the long voyage across the Atlantic, Reverend Becker splurged on second class tickets for them on a brand new, luxurious ship: the RMS Titanic.

Ruth barely had time to say goodbye to her friends and her beloved father before leaving for the journey across India, then sailing for England and boarding the doomed ship in Southampton. When the Titanic struck an iceberg and began sinking four days later, Ruth was literally thrown into a lifeboat full of strangers at the last minute. Not knowing the whereabouts of her mother, brother and sister, Ruth managed to help an injured crew member, share her blankets with those who had none, and comfort a non-English speaking mother whose husband had remained on board the ship.

My yet-to-be-published novel, The Stars in April, is based on the true story of Ruth Becker, gleaned from her memoirs and hundreds of eyewitness accounts from one of the greatest tragedies in history. I hope to be able to share Ruth’s story one day with all of you.

What questions do you have about my research for The Stars in April? Next Monday, May 5, I’ll post about my writing process as part of a blog tour. I’ll also introduce three writers who will discuss their own writing processes on their blogs the following week. Sign up and follow so you won’t miss it!

Shakespeare and Me

Do you love stories? Today is William Shakespeare’s birthday, and to launch my new blog and website, I thought it would be fun to get a glimpse into the life of perhaps the greatest storyteller, poet, and playwright in history.

There are no actual records of his birth, so Shakespeare’s April 23^rd birthday is mere speculation. However, a record exists of his baptism on April 26, 1564 in England’s Stratford-upon-Avon, so historians chose April 23^rd as his probable birth date. He married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was 26. The couple had three children; Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died at the age of 11 of an unknown cause. Shakespeare died on his own birthday, April 23rd, at the age of 52.

Scholars agree that Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, and may have written a few others, dealing with every emotion and condition known to man. He wrote hundreds of poems and sonnets, and is credited with adding over a thousand words to the English language. Hundreds of lines from his plays have worked their way into everyday use, including: “all that glitters is not gold”, “with one fell swoop”, “a foregone conclusion”, “dead as a doornail”, “it’s Greek to me”, and “send him packing."

Back to the title of this post – Why Shakespeare and me? Well, I happen to share a birthday with the Bard himself. As a writer, I like to think that having a birthday in common with him has to mean something. Not that anything I write will still be quoted 400 years from now, but maybe April 23^rd is a good day for a writer to be born.

Do you share a birthday with someone famous? Please send me a comment and tell me who it is, and/or the name of your favorite Shakespearean play. Thanks!

Walking to Freedom

Salva Dut grew up in Sudan, the largest country on the African continent. One school day in 1985, the sound of gunfire in the streets prompted Salva’s teacher to hurry all the students out the back door. Salva had heard rumors of the war in his country; now it had come to his village. In the chaos that followed, Salva ran from the danger, but was unable to get back to his home or find his family. He became one of a large group of people who tried to escape the war by walking to Ethiopia and then to Kenya. Eventually, he helped lead over one thousand young boys, known as the Lost Boys, on their harrowing journey.

In A Long Walk to Water, author Linda Sue Park shows how Salva spent years running from the dangers of war, hunger, and fear, and eventually how he was able to help many of the villages ofSudan. It’s told alongside the story of Nya, a village girl who walks every day to fetch dirty water for her family to drink, the only water available in a country plagued by drought. It’s an amazing story of true courage and determination amid the horrors of war and poverty.

Could you do this?

With years of experience climbing and exploring America’s rugged western mountains, canyons, and plateaus, Aron Ralston never dreamed he’d suddenly be fighting for his life in the depths of Utah’s Blue John Canyon. But the unthinkable had happened. On a solitary, day-long hike into the canyon on a Saturday afternoon, Aron climbed off a boulder that suddenly broke loose and pinned his right arm against the rock wall. For five days, he tried everything he could think of to release his arm, using every tool and rope in his backpack. He filmed a goodbye for his family with his camcorder, hoping someone would eventually find it if he died. But then, with a new will to live, Aron Ralston did the only thing he could do to escape.

In his book, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” Aron recounts the details of his captivity deep in the canyon, his brave decision, and his climb out of the canyon—bleeding, dehydrated, and exhausted. With full-color photographs of Aron during his previous climbing and hiking adventures and those he took during the five days in the canyon, this book is an amazing true tale of survival against all odds.

Disaster in the Andes

In 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates attempted to climb a 21,000 foot peak in the Andes Mountains of South America. The experienced climbers set out with all the proper equipment, warm clothing, food to sustain them, cameras, and a wary eye on the ever-changing weather. Then, in the middle of scaling an almost vertical ice ledge, Joe fell and broke his leg. Simon tried to help, but was forced to cut the rope the two shared to prevent being pulled to his own death. He returned to base camp, filled with guilt for abandoning Joe and grieving over the certain death of his friend.

But Joe managed to survive, crawling for three days back to the camp with his broken leg, starving and cold. In Touching the Void, Joe Simpson tells his own miraculous story of survival and what it took to do the impossible. Full color photos of the two climbers and their ordeal complete this amazing true tale. Not only is it another story of what man can accomplish through pure guts and determination, but what God can and will do for us when disaster strikes and we have nowhere to turn but to Him.

Torpedoed!

In 1942, a small group of missionaries and their children rode aboard the freighter SS West Lashaway off the coast of South America, bound for the United States. The quiet afternoon was suddenly interrupted by a shout from the seaman on watch. “Torpedo wake, starboard amidships!” A German submarine, set on destroying any vessel in its path, fired two torpedoes toward the freighter. In less than two minutes, the Lashaway vanished beneath the ocean. Nineteen survivors, including four children, clung to a raft built for ten. Rescue didn’t come for twenty more days.

Eleven-year-old Robert Bell, along with his mother and sister, were among them. In Peril On the Sea describes how the survivors spent those twenty frightening days and nights, fighting starvation in the shark-infested waters. Bell goes on to explain how and why he contacted the submarine’s crew forty years later, befriending them and forgiving them for their actions. It’s an incredible true story of danger and survival, and ultimately of forgiveness and love triumphing over hatred.

From Massachusetts to Siberia

At age fourteen, Daniel Hall longed for adventure. Growing up in New Bedford, Massachusetts in the mid-1800s, Daniel was accustomed to seeing whaling ships and hearing the sailor’s tales. He pestered his father again and again to let him sign up to be a crewman on one of vessels. He finally got his wish, and just before his fifteenth birthday, Daniel left New Bedford aboard the whaling ship Condor for a three year voyage. The True Adventure of Daniel Hall, by Diane Stanley, tells the story of the hard and dangerous journey of the Condor and its crew as it searched for whales, and of Daniel’s run-ins with the ship’s abusive captain. As the ship sailed around the tip of South America and headed north for the Arctic, Daniel plotted his escape. He finally saw his chance in Siberia, where he ran away and spent a long winter hunting for food and fighting off bears and wolves.

Daniel eventually made it home to his father, and even wrote a book about his adventures, published in 1861. In The True Adventures of Daniel Hall, you can read the short version of what happened to this remarkable and brave young man who followed his dream of going to sea.

Extreme Explorers

Ever wonder what it would be like to be the first person in history to do something? A task so great, a feat so dangerous, that no one has ever been brave enough to attempt it?    In Extreme Exploration by John Malam, part of the Difficult and Dangerous series, you can read about men and women who dared to venture into uncharted land and seas:

• Ferdinand Magellan and his crew, the first men to sail around the world,
• David Livingstone, who set out to bring Christianity to Africa
• Mary Kingsley, the Victorian woman who explored Western Africa and lived with cannibals
• Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctica explorer who survived a shipwreck and extreme conditions
• Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon

Extreme Exploration is loaded with full color drawings, quotes, and photos. It's a fun, quick read into some of history's most famous adventurers.

Aboard the Titanic

The year was 1912. Ruth Becker, the twelve-year-old daughter of a missionary in India, left for America with her family in order to find a cure for her little brother’s illness. The family journeyed to England, then on to New York aboard the RMS Titanic. But India was the only home Ruth had ever known. In a matter of days, she had to leave her world behind and face the unknown, culminating in the voyage aboard the ill-fated Titanic. What took place on the long journey to England? And what was it like for a young girl aboard the greatest ocean liner ever built?

When the great ship sank and Ruth was separated from her family, she managed to help and comfort strangers in her lifeboat. What took place on the voyage that gave Ruth the courage she needed on that cold, dark night?

In my yet-unpublished novel, The Stars in April, you can read about the adventures of the real Ruth Becker. She truly was one of the many heroes during the greatest sea disaster in history.

an adventure of your own

Let’s talk about adventures of our own today. Have you ever gone exploring and seen something you never expected? On a recent visit to Bancroft, Ontario, my husband and I took a walk with a friend through a huge park. As the trail narrowed and became steeper, I began to wonder two things: if we could find our way back to the car, and if the climb was even worth it. What would we find at the end of the trail? But we weren't disappointed. The sound of a waterfall reached our ears, even before we could see it. It made the effort and a few mosquito bites worth it. I realize this was not an adventure like the ones in the books we’ve looked at recently. But to me, it was new and interesting and unexpected, and that made it an adventure!

The world is full of surprises, and we’ll be on the lookout for stories of current adventures as summer approaches, whether in the news, books, or in our own backyard. What about you? If you’ve had a mini-adventure lately, or even an exciting or dangerous one, or if you’re planning an adventure, I’d love to feature your story on the blog :)

South Pole, anyone?

“...if you wanted to go somewhere unknown, there was still one place left. Just one. The great white blank at the bottom of the map. Antarctica!” Have you ever wanted to explore a place where no one has ever gone before? That’s exactly how “Cherry” Garrard felt back in the spring of 1910. He left England for Antarctica, returned home three years later, and wrote a book called The Worst Journey in the World. Now, author Richard Farr takes us back on that unbelievable true journey as experienced by Cherry in Emperors of the Ice.

Robert Falcon Scott, the leader of the expedition, was determined to be the first man ever to reach the South Pole and claim it for Great Britain. He selected a group of capable, able-bodied men to accompany him: scientists in search of Emperor penguins, sailors, and explorers like himself—men with the experience and skills necessary to survive the grueling conditions.

So how did he choose funny Cherry Garrard, a well-to-do younger man, with poor eyesight and barely even any athletic ability? What happened to him and to the rest of the group? How did they manage to reach the South Pole with temperatures ranging from 50 to 77 below zero? Get Emperors of the Ice and find out. Bundle up, though . . . the photos alone will make you shiver!

A walk across America

In 1896, when Clara Estby was seventeen, her mother decided to resort to drastic measures to save the family home from foreclosure. She set out to walk with Clara across America, from their home in Mica Creek, Washington to New York City, a distance of 4,600 miles. If they could make the journey in seven months, a publisher promised to pay them10,000 dollars. The Year We Were Famous, by Carole Estby Dagg, tells the true story of that walk through Clara’s eyes, the author’s great aunt. Clara and her mother faced countless hardships, almost from the first day they set out from Mica Creek. They battled fierce storms, intense hunger, dangerous robbers, and more than a few pairs of worn out boots. Eventually, shy Clara and her assertive mother, Helga, learn to depend on each other.

Did the two ever make it to New York in time, and were they paid the money to save their home? What happened to these women after that? Find out in this fast-moving, true adventure story!

Incredible!

Hi and welcome! I’ll jump right in today by telling you about a book I read last weekend called The Incredible Rescue by Martin W. Sandler. It’s a true story about a brave group of men who set out to rescue 265 whalers, trapped in the Arctic in 1897. The whalers’ ships were trapped in the massive ice floes in northern Alaska, and US President McKinley ordered three men to go after them. But no ship would be able to get through all that ice for months. Instead, the men would have to travel on foot over 1700 miles in the middle of winter, through mostly unmapped territory, facing impossible odds. If you like stories about real heroes who’ve done unbelievable things to save others, you’ll love this book. Loaded with photographs taken during the journey, the author explains in detail how the men managed to travel so far in below-zero temperatures, and how their tireless dogs and even reindeer played a role. Until I read this book, I’d never heard of this amazing rescue, but this is a story well worth reading and worth knowing. I hope you’ll check it out, and let me know what you think of it.

Have you read a book, fiction or nonfiction, about a rescue? What is the title, and what did you like about it?

Welcome

Real People? Real Adventures? Yep, if you like reading or writing about adventures that really happened, you've come to the right place! This blog will be all about that, and then some! We'll take a look at some current and not-so-current books, and we'll talk to other writers who write adventure-packed books based on true stories. We'll have writing contests (Write your own true adventure!) and give away stuff, like books!

What's most important is that you, the reader, have some fun here! Maybe you'll find a book you want to check out for yourself, or just see what other kids are reading. And I want to hear from you . . . what you think, what books you like, and what you'd like to see on the blog.

I hope this will be a fun way to meet readers and writers of books for kids. Will you join me? Real adventures await!!

The Boatswains on Titanic

The boatswain (pronounced bosun) has played a vital role aboard ships since at least the eleventh century. Many boatswains have left their mark throughout history, including two US Navy boatswains who received the Medal of Honor for heroism. A boatswain played a central character in the opening scene of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and if you’ve read Peter Pan or have seen the movie, you will remember Captain Hook’s boatswain, Mr. Smee.

The boatswain is a senior crewman, responsible for all the unlicensed crew members aboard. He plans the deck crew’s work, assigns tasks, and checks that they comply with operating procedures. He oversees all parts of the ship not under the responsibility of the engineering department, including maintenance of the ship’s hull and deck equipment.

On Titanic, the boatswain and boatswain’s mate worked to help save others following the collision with the iceberg. One lived, one perished.

Thirty-two-year-old Alfred “Big Neck” Nichols of London became Titanic’s boatswain following a long history of employment with the White Star Line. On the night of April 14, 1912, Alfred led a team of six seamen to open some of the gangway doors in order to load the lifeboats. The seven men were believed to have been trapped, and their bodies were not recovered.

Boatswain Alfred Nichols

Thirty-year-old Southampton resident Albert Haines, Titanic’s boatswain’s mate, had worked several years at sea as well. When Titanic hit the iceberg, Albert was working below and heard air escaping. He reported what he heard to Chief Officer Henry Wilde, who ordered him to “get the men up and get the boats out.”

Chief Officer Harold Wilde

Albert then went to wake some of the crewmen, saying, “Turn out, fellows, you’ve not half an hour to live.” He then helped with loading of the lifeboats, and was put in charge of Lifeboat 9. Following rescue, Albert returned to the sea. He married in 1914 and had a son. The family lived in Southampton, where Albert was struck by a car and died as a result of his injuries at the age of 53. (Titanic photo credits: Encyclopedia Titanica)

Boatswain's Mate Albert Haines