The departure of RMS Titanic from Berth 44 at the White Star Line dock in Southampton marked the beginning of a fateful voyage into maritime and world history. That momentous and much-celebrated event which began at noon on 10 April 1912, ended so tragically less than five days later, at a recorded time of 2.20am on 15 April 1912.
The events which followed cannot wane with the passing of time. Never to be forgotten is the moral strength, valour and courage of Titanic's passengers and crew during those last few hours. Even today it is staggering to imagine all the 1,523 souls who stood by as the few boats available were sent away, knowing that it would take a miracle if they were to be saved too. It is difficult to imagine the 705 brave survivors watching in terror and anguish as their loved ones and dreams all perished that night when the so-called "unsinkable" Titanic did the unthinkable and went down.
Hampshire, and Southampton in particular, has many associations with the story of the Titanic, its passengers and crew. Some survivors returned to live in Southampton and one is still there to this day. Southampton's East Park, for example, has a monument which was erected to the memory of the liner's engineers, paid for by "fellow engineers and friends throughout the world". It was unveiled in April 1914.
Captain Sir Arthur Rostron was hailed as one of the heroes of the catastrophe after he ordered his ship, the Cunard liner RMS Carpathia, to sail 58 miles through pack ice to pick up survivors from the stricken ship. In fact, it was because of his actions that all 706 people in the lifeboats were rescued, though the Carpathia was unable to arrive before the Titanic sank.
Captain Rostron was lauded worldwide for his bravery and presented with a Congressional Medal of Honour by the American Government. After his death in 1940 he was buried in the village of West End on the outskirts of Southampton, where his gravestone commemorates his involvement with the Titanic.
The tragedy is covered in detail in a special exhibition at the Southampton Maritime Museum and it tells the real story of the Titanic through the voices of some of the survivors and the people of Southampton whose lives were affected by the disaster.
Five days after the tragedy, the Hampshire Chronicle, in its 20 April 1912 issue, reported on scenes of "grief in London" and "gloom in Southampton", where nearly a 1,000 local families were said to be directly affected by the disaster.
1998 Commemoration
A lone aircraft made a poignant flight on 15 April over the Atlantic to drop a wreath on behalf of the people of Southampton at the place where the liner sank more than eight decades ago.
A simple wreath of red and white carnations, the colours of the old White Star Line, was cast on to the waves from a Hercules aircraft of the US-based International Ice Patrol. It was as a direct result of the sinking of the Titanic that the International Ice Patrol was formed to monitor and study ice conditions and warn shipping of any iceberg threats.
On the same day school children in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, visited the local cemetery and placed a single red carnation on each of the 130 graves of people who died in the Titanic disaster.
Were you there when the Titanic sailed from Southampton? Did a relative of yours travel on board the doomed liner? Write to Keith Hamilton, Titanic Memories, Newspaper House, Test Lane, Redbridge, Southampton SO16 9JX England.
