A CECENTURY AFTER IT SANK, IT STILL FASCINATES US.
[Fog horn blasts]
TITANIC.
GIGANTIC. EXTRAVAGANT.
DOOMED.
AND 100 YEARS LATER, THE SHIP THAT HAS BECOME A LEGEND.
As she headed out to sea,
she carried over 2,200 passengers and crew.
The rich, the poor and everything in between.
AND IT'S THEIR STORIES THAT I WANT TO DISCOVER.
WHEN TITANIC HIT AN ICEBERG,
1500 MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN DIED.
BUT THE HUMAN COST WAS COUNTED NOT JUST AT SEA,
BUT ON LAND WHERE THE IMPACT OF THE TRAGEDY
LASTED FOR GENERATIONS.
I want to find out why, in the 21st century,
this 100-year-old story still means so much to us.
[Narrator] This programme was made possible in part
by contributions to local PBS stations
from viewers like you.
Thank you.
[Narrator] LEN GOODMAN'S TITANIC STORY BEGAN
WHEN HE WAS 16, IN 1959.
TODAY, HE'S FAMOUS AS THE HEAD JUDGE
ON TV'S 'DANCING WITH THE STARS'.
But before all that, I was a welder
for Harland & Wolff down at the docks.
THEY WERE THE COMPANY THAT BUILT TITANIC HERE IN BELFAST.
I WORKED FOR THEM 50 YEARS LATER IN LONDON.
I used to weld all day, get home,
scrub meself up and dance all night.
Great times.
[Narrator] NOW, LEN IS GOING TO JOURNEY
THROUGH TITANIC'S LEGACY,
THIS IS THE CITY THAT BUILT THE SHIP.
AND IT'S THE PLACE WHERE, BEFORE SHE EVEN HIT THE WATER,
TITANIC CLAIMED THE LIVES OF HER VERY FIRST VICTIMS.
[Goodman] TITANIC'S LEGACY IS ALL OVER THE CITY.
SHE WAS BUILT BY HARLAND & WOLFF,
TODAY THEIR CRANES STILL DOMINATE THE BELFAST SKYLINE.
IN THE 1900S, IT WAS THE LARGEST SHIPYARD IN THE WORLD,
SENDING SHIPS ACROSS THE GLOBE. THEN...
In 1909, the world's biggest shipbuilder
began to build the world's biggest ship.
On this very slipway,
15,000 men took three years to build her.
And Titanic's keel stretched from here
all the way to the water.
AT 880 FEET,
SHE WOULD BE THE LONGEST SHIP THE WORLD HAD EVER SEEN.
AND AT 46,000 TONS, THE HEAVIEST.
When they decided to build Titanic,
Harland & Wolff realized there wasn't a dry dock in the world
big enough to accommodate her.
So they built one. And this is it.
ONCE TITANIC'S VAST HULL WAS AFLOAT,
IT WAS TOWED INTO THIS GIANT DRY DOCK,
WHERE SHE FITTED WITH ONLY FEET TO SPARE.
If you want an idea of just how giant she was,
this is the place to come.
SLOWLY, HER HULL ROSE OVER THE ROOFTOPS OF EAST BELFAST.
AND THE NOISE OF HER CONSTRUCTION COULD BE HEARD
RIGHT ACROSS THE CITY.
When I worked in the London yard in the 60s,
I was a welder, but that was all a long time ago now.
Now look at that.
That's why I gave up welding!
SHIPS HAVE BEEN WELDED FOR AROUND 80 YEARS.
BUT WHEN THEY BUILT TITANIC, THEY USED RIVETS.
AND RIVETING MAKES WELDING LOOKS LIKE A BIT OF LIGHT HANDICRAFT.
IT TOOK FIVE MEN TO HAMMER HOME JUST ONE RIVET.
IT WAS A HELL OF A JOB.
ONE LAD, USUALLY ONLY A CHILD,
WOULD HEAT THE RIVET IN A PORTABLE FURNACE
UNTIL IT WAS WHITE HOT.
THEN THE WHITE HOT RIVET WAS PUSHED THROUGH THE HOLE.
TWO MEN BRACED THEMSELVES AGAINST THE RIVET...
WHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE TWO MORE STARTED TO HAMMER
WITH A HEAVY SLEDGE.
THE HAMMERING MADE THE RIVET EXPAND
AND HOLD THE SHEETS IN PLACE.
I tell you what. That is hard work.
IT TOOK US ABOUT FOUR MINUTES TO DO JUST ONE SUCCESSFUL RIVET.
BUT IN 1912, A RIVETING TEAM COULD TAKE JUST 20 SECONDS.
AND THERE WERE THREE MILLION RIVETS ON TITANIC.
If I'd have been welding on the Titanic,
she wouldn't have sailed until 1950.
WITH RED HOT METAL, LADDERS AND SCAFFOLDS TO DEAL WITH,
THE SHIPYARD COULD BE A FATAL PLACE TO WORK.
BEFORE TITANIC EVEN TOUCHED THE WATER,
SHE CLAIMED THE LIVES OF EIGHT MEN.
THERE ARE NO PHOTOGRAPHS OF THESE WORKERS,
JUST THEIR NAMES RECORDED ON DEATH CERTIFICATES.
"Robert James Murphy. Married. 49.
"A rivet counter.
"Shock following compound fracture of skull.
"Resulting from an accidental fall."
This is John Kelly. 19 years old.
"Accidentally fell from ship."
"Samuel Joseph Scott." He's 15 years old.
"Accidentally fell 23 feet from a ladder. Died instantly."
And it really does pull at your heart strings.
And they were just working guys who died doing their job.
And it's just tragic and it's sad.
A CENTURY AGO, DEATHS LIKE THESE WERE A FACT OF SHIPBUILDING.
AND HARLAND & WOLFF WAS NO EXCEPTION.
THEY WORKED OUT THERE WAS ONE DEATH
FOR EVERY 10,000 TONNES OF SHIP.
UNA REILLY, FROM THE BELFAST TITANIC SOCIETY,
HAS FOUND THE COST OF EACH DEATH RECORDED CAREFULLY
IN THE DIRECTORS' RECORDS.
[Una] You can see they've recorded
how much the compensation was.
£795.00.
- We're not talking mega bucks. - [Una] No, we're not indeed.
It seems to be a standard £100 a life.
Here they were building the biggest ship,
the then biggest ship in the world,
and eight deaths was perhaps thought to be not too bad.
FINALLY, ON MAY 31st, 1911,
FIVE GIANT HYDRAULIC RAMS SENT TITANIC
SLIDING DOWN THE SLIPWAY AND TOWARDS THE WATER.
She was now the largest moving structure on Earth.
A crowd of workers and dignitaries cheered her on.
The launch took just 62 seconds.
But that was long enough for Titanic to claim the life...
...OF A FINAL SHIPBUILDER.
"James Dobbin. Married. 43 years old. Shipwright."
HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GIANT CHAINS AND WOODEN PROPS
THAT HELD TITANIC SECURE ON THE SLIPWAY.
"Accidentally crushed under a piece of timber.
"Shock and hemorrhaging followed the fracture of his pelvis."
HE WAS KILLED AS TITANIC MADE HER WAY TO THE SEA.
LIKE THE SEVEN OTHER DEAD SHIPBUILDERS,
JAMES GAVE HIS LIFE TO TITANIC.
BUT AS SHE LEFT BELFAST LOUGH,
THEY WERE ONLY THE FIRST OF THE VICTIMS
SHE WOULD LEAVE IN HER WAKE.
[Narrator] ON APRIL 2nd, 1912, TITANIC LEFT BELFAST.
LEN IS STILL IN THE CITY AND ABOUT TO UNCOVER THE STORY
OF NINE SPECIAL MEN ON BOARD AS IT LEFT.
She was Harland & Wolff's biggest creation.
They were proud of her,
and they wanted to guarantee every part of her construction.
So they put together a special team.
They were called the Guarantee Group.
THEY WERE THE VERY BEST AT THEIR TRADES.
THEIR JOB WAS TO SAIL ON TITANIC,
SPOT PROBLEMS AND FIX THEM.
DOORS THAT JAMMED, PIPES THAT LEAKED.
THEIR BOSS WAS THOMAS ANDREWS.
THESE ARE THE OFFICES WHERE HE AND HIS TEAM ONCE WORKED.
YOU CAN STILL FEEL THE GHOSTS OF SHIPBUILDERS
IN THESE EMPTY ROOMS.
Every room you come into, amongst all the rubble,
you suddenly finally things just lying here.
"West Coast of India: Pilot."
The pilot's book for navigating around the west coast of India.
Look at this. Now what's all this about?
Three's a drawing.
"Ship name: English Star."
You know, it's just fantastic.
Just a load of old drawings just chucked aside and forgotten.
IT'S HAUNTING TO THINK OF THOMAS ANDREWS
ASSEMBLING EIGHT WORKERS HERE
AND GIVING THEM THE EXCITING NEWS
THEY'D ACTUALLY BE SAILING ON TITANIC.
AMONG THEM WAS ANTHONY FROST, THE FITTER.
HE HAD A WIFE AND CHILDREN.
FRANCIS PARKES, THE PLUMBER.
A YOUNG LAD STILL LIVING WITH HIS PARENTS.
AND THERE WAS RODERICK CHISHOLM, THE DRAFTSMAN.
HE DREW THE DETAILED PLANS OF TITANIC.
THIS IS HIM IN HARLAND & WOLFF'S DRAWING OFFICE.
This was the nerve centre of Harland & Wolff,
where incredible ideas were translated into workable plans.
Draftsmen would produce thousands of drawings
on every aspect of the ship.
And these drawings were crucial
to understanding how Titanic worked.
And it took a trained eye to interpret them.
RODERICK CHISHOLM WAS IN THE GUARANTEE GROUP TO DECIPHER
THE MASS OF BLUEPRINTS, DIAGRAMS AND CROSS-SECTIONS.
HE WAS THOMAS ANDREW'S RIGHT-HAND MAN.
DEIRDRE MACINTYRE IS RODERICK'S GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER.
This is Roderick here.
This is them on a family holiday,
Roderick and Susan,
and my grandmother Alice and her brother Jimmy.
This conveys to me such a lovely family.
He was a wonderful man, a wonderful draftsman,
but by Jove he was a great Papa.
And that's what matters.
WHEN HE WASN'T WITH HIS FAMILY, HE WAS IN THE DRAWING OFFICE,
WHERE HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MOST COMPLICATED DRAWINGS
OF TITANIC.
[Deirdre] Gran was only 14 at the time,
but family life changed dramatically,
obviously changed dramatically for them.
Because he was the bread-winner of the whole family.
And under such tragic circumstances.
I think it must have been absolutely horrendous.
In those days you got on with it, and that family did.
I haven't shared a lot about Roderick,
because I suppose Roderick's memory with me
was my grandmother sharing, very infrequently,
these stories, because it was painful.
ON APRIL 14TH, 1912,
AT TWENTY TO MIDNIGHT,
AN ICEBERG TORE A HOLE
100 METERS LONG IN TITANIC'S HULL.
WATER BEGAN TO FLOOD SIX OF THE FORWARD BULKHEADS.
THOMAS ANDREWS MADE HIS CALCULATIONS.
AND THEN HE KNEW HIS SHIP WOULD SINK WITHIN THREE HOURS.
BUT THE GUARANTEE GROUP DID WHAT THEY COULD.
THEY HELPED KEEP THE GENERATORS GOING
TO STOP THE SHIP FROM PLUNGING INTO DARKNESS.
They kept the lights working
until two minutes before the ship sank.
But all along, each one of the Guarantee Group
knew Titanic was doomed.
And all along, each one was certain
they were going to go down with their ship.
THE ENTIRE TITANIC GUARANTEE GROUP WAS KILLED.
MEN WHO DIED ON WHAT THEY THOUGHT
WAS THE GREATEST SHIP THEY'D EVER BUILT.
100 years later,
the families of the Guarantee Group should be proud.
Proud that their ancestors had done everything they could
to save the passengers on their ship.
[Narrator] BEFORE TITANIC BEGAN HER MAIDEN VOYAGE TO NEW YORK,
SHE DOCKED FIRST AT SOUTHAMPTON IN ENGLAND.
PASSENGERS FROM THE POOREST EMIGRANT
TO THE RICHEST MILLIONAIRE
MADE THEIR WAY HERE TO MEET THE SHIP,
AND HUNDREDS OF CREW SIGNED ON.
LEN HAS COME TO THE CITY TO DISCOVER HOW COMMUNITIES HERE
SUFFERED THE GREATEST NUMBER OF DEATHS WHEN TITANIC SANK.
This is the dock where Titanic took on
her first paying passengers.
She filled up with coal, water and food.
And the crew came on board.
About 700 of them came from right here in Southampton.
So when news of the sinking reached the city,
the streets were filled with dread.
BY MIDNIGHT, TITANIC WAS SINKING.
BUT MANY OF HER CREW STUCK TO THEIR POSTS
AND HELPED PASSENGERS TO SAFETY,
UNTIL ROUND 2.15AM,
WHEN THE SHIP DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE WAVES.
SURVIVAL TIME IN THE FREEZING WATER WAS JUST MINUTES.
ANXIOUS FAMILIES GATHERED OUTSIDE THE OFFICES
OF THE WHITE STAR LINE IN SOUTHAMPTON,
DESPERATE FOR NEWS.
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, WHEN THE NEWS DID ARRIVE, IT WAS BAD.
THREE QUARTERS OF TITANIC'S CREW WERE DEAD.
Children lost their fathers.
Women lost their husbands, brothers and sons.
The whole town was in mourning.
THE COMMUNITY AROUND THE DOCK
WASN'T JUST DEVASTATED WITH GRIEF,
IT ALSO FACED POVERTY.
They were 880 odd crew.
Of those, more than 600 odd were living in Southampton.
549 of them didn't survive.
And these are the dock communities.
This is the old town.
Each of those red dots is a crew member who was lost.
If you weren't directly affected,
then you knew someone who did.
You were related to someone who did.
Your child went to school with somebody who did.
It was something that affected every member of the community.
THE CITY ARCHIVES HOLD RECORDINGS OF MEN AND WOMEN
REMEMBERING THE AFTERMATH OF TITANIC.
[Man] 'A GREAT HUSH DESCENDED ON THE TOWN,
'BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THERE WAS A SINGLE STREET IN SOUTHAMPTON
'WHO HADN'T LOST SOMEBODY ON THAT SHIP.'
[Woman] 'I REMEMBER EVER SO PLAIN.
'THIS GIRL AT SCHOOL USED TO SAY "COMING DOWN THE DOCK GATE?"
'ME AND MY SISTER USED TO GO DOWN THE DOCK GATE
'TO SEE IF HER FATHER'S NAME WAS UP THERE.'
'SEVERAL GIRLS AT SCHOOL HAD FATHERS ON THERE,
'OR BROTHERS OR SOME RELATION."
When you listen to these people
reminiscing about their childhood,
it's very, very poignant,
and it just takes you back somehow, 100 years.
NOWHERE WAS TITANIC'S DEATH TOLL FELT MORE SHARPLY
THAN ON THE STREETS OF SOUTHAMPTON.
MORE VICTIMS CAME FROM HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
A CHARITY WAS SET UP FOR VICTIMS' FAMILIES
AND DONATIONS FLOODED IN FROM ACROSS SOUTHAMPTON.
MEMORIALS TO SOUTHAMPTON'S TITANIC DEAD
ARE DOTTED AROUND THE CITY.
SOME CREW DID SURVIVE
AND FOUND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT TITANIC BEHIND THEM.
MANDY REEVES' GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER
WAS A BOOT STEWARD ON BOARD.
HE LIVED, BUT WAS LEFT TRAUMATIZED.
He suffered terrible sleep sweats
and he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night,
saying that all he could hear was the screams in the water,
and he felt guilty to be alive.
PHILIP LITTLEJOHN'S GRANDFATHER ALEXANDER
WAS A FIRST-CLASS STEWARD FROM SOUTHAMPTON.
THE MONTHS FOLLOWING THE DISASTER WERE TORTURE.
So your grandfather did survive?
Yes, survived the sinking,
but the effects on his life afterwards were very apparent.
That is before the accident.
Within six months, he then looked like that.
Purely through the effects of shock.
- [Len] How old was he here? - 40 in both pictures.
That is incredible.
JUST AS EXTRAORDINARY IS THE WAY
THE WHITE STAR LINE TREATED THE CREW
WHO SURVIVED THE SINKING.
The other thing we need here is his discharge book,
which recorded all his voyages,
including the 13th voyage on the White Star Line's Titanic.
"Engaged 10th April 1912, in Southampton,
"and discharged 15th April at sea."
For discharged read 'the sack'.
In other words, as the ship went down,
they sacked the lot of them.
It's almost beyond belief that this could happen.
In fact when they reached New York, they were penniless.
White Star washed their hands of them,
and Woolworth's let them stand behind the counters
and whatever they took in the day,
they could spend on food and clothes.
So thanks to Woolie's,
my grandfather got food and clothes.
Is that really what happened?
Absolutely true.
THE FAMILIES OF CREW WHO DIED WERE EVENTUALLY COMPENSATED.
BUT THERE WAS NO BRINGING BACK THE LOVED ONES WHO'D BEEN LOST.
But what Southampton shows us is that the tragedy of Titanic
isn't just about those who died that night.
It's about thousands of other people as well.
PARENTS, WIVES, CHILDREN, AND THE SURVIVORS THEMSELVES,
WERE ALL FACED WITH THE STRUGGLE TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES
IN THE WAKE OF THE GIANT SHIP.
[Narrator] TITANIC'S DEATH TOLL WAS COUNTED NOT JUST IN BRITAIN.
VICTIMS CAME FROM COUNTRIES AS FAR APART AS CHINA AND CUBA.
IN FACT, THE SHIP CARRIED PASSENGERS AND CREW
OF OVER THREE DOZEN DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES.
LEN'S JOURNEY NOW TAKES HIM TO ONE AREA OF THE SHIP
THAT RELIED ON ITALIAN EXPERTISE:
THE RESTAURANT.
Dining on Titanic was quite an international affair.
In the à-la-carte restaurant,
the first-class diners expected the finest food
to be served with style and panache.
And that responsibility fell to 37 Italian waiters.
LUIGI GATTI MOVED TO LONDON FROM ITALY, IN THE 1880S.
BY 1910, HE RAN A VERY SUCCESSFUL RESTAURANT
IN LONDON.
BUT HE WAS AMBITIOUS AND PITCHED FOR THE CONTRACT
TO OPERATE ON-BOARD RESTAURANTS FOR THE WHITE STAR LINE.
HE WON, AND ONE OF HIS FIRST CONTRACTS
WAS TO RUN TITANIC'S CAFE PARISIENNE.
It was a golden opportunity.
A chance to show the world what he could do.
To produce the finest dining to the rich and famous.
The Astors, the Guggenheims, on the world's grandest ship!
So he chose waiting staff that could deliver the goods.
HE RECRUITED MEN HE HAD WORKED WITH BEFORE,
INCLUDING THE BEST STAFF FROM HIS LONDON RESTAURANT.
AND HE TEMPTED AWAY EXPERIENCED WAITERS
FROM SOME OF THE CITY'S TOP HOTELS.
They came from all over Italy.
Their new boss, Luigi Gatti, had a fine reputation,
both as a chef and as a bloke.
So, many of them didn't hesitate to sign up with him
and join him on Titanic.
THEY FACED A DAUNTING TASK,
HELPING TO FEED 3,000 PEOPLE THREE TIMES A DAY FOR SIX DAYS.
STAFF NEEDED TO DISH OUT OVER 50,000 MEALS.
That is a lot of grub.
And this is a lot of grog.
And when Titanic was in Southpt,
she took on enough food to feed a small town.
50 TONS OF MEAT, 40 TONS OF POTATOES,
35,000 EGGS, 1500 GALLONS OF MILK.
AND THAT WAS JUST THE BASICS.
It was a Titanic sized shopping list.
And the chefs on board cooked up some Titanic sized dinners.
BUT ON APRIL 14th, AROUND TWENTY TO MIDNIGHT,
LUIGI AND HIS TEAM WERE CLEARING UP,
WHEN SUDDENLY, THEY HEARD AN UNUSUAL NOISE.
TITANIC HAD HIT THE ICEBERG.
Officers rushed to their posts.
Stewards helped passengers into their life jackets.
The crew manned the lifeboats.
But what about Luigi and the waiters?
THEY WERE RESTAURANT STAFF, NOT SAILORS.
THEY KNEW LITTLE ABOUT WHAT TO DO ON A SINKING SHIP.
So where did they fit in the pecking order
for a place in a lifeboat?
We don't know.
What we do know is that Luigi Gatti
and every one of his waiters lost their lives.
THERE ARE MEMORIALS TO THE WAITERS IN THEIR NATIVE ITALY.
JUST BEFORE HE BOARDED, HE SENT A POSTCARD TO HIS MOTHER.
HIS GRANDCHILDREN STILL CHERISH IT.
THE STORY OF THE ITALIAN WAITERS TELLS US
THAT TITANIC IS AN EXPERIENCE SHARED BY ALL NATIONALITIES.
IN THE FINAL MOMENTS, THE SHIP DIDN'T DISCRIMINATE.
[Narrator] WITHIN DAYS OF THE SINKING,
THE TALE OF THE TITANIC BAND
BECAME ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC MOMENTS OF THE TRAGEDY.
AS THE SHIP WENT DOWN, EIGHT BRAVE MUSICIANS PLAYED ON.
BUT, AS LEN IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER,
THAT WAS ONLY THE START OF THE STORY.
All the musicians died.
But of course their stories lived on.
And for the family of one,
his heroic death led to a tale
of jealousy, bitterness and greed.
JOCK HUME WAS FROM SCOTLAND.
HE WAS IN LOVE WITH A GIRL,
BUT HIS FATHER DIDN'T APPROVE AND AN ANGRY FEUD ERUPTED.
JOCK TURNED HIS BACK ON HIS DAD AND TOOK A JOB AT WHITE STAR
TO BUILD A LIFE FOR HIMSELF AND MARY.
Then, the week before Jock was to commence his work
on the Titanic,
Mary discovered she was pregnant.
Jock was delighted and promised
that when he returned, they would be married.
EVERY NIGHT, JOCK AND THE BAND ENTERTAINED
THE FIRST-CLASS PASSENGERS IN THE LUXURIOUS RESTAURANT.
AND THAT'S WHERE THEY WERE WHEN TITANIC STRUCK THE ICEBERG.
As the diners went up on to deck,
the band followed them into the cold night air,
and continued to play,
as commotion turned into chaos.
[Shouting and screaming]
IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL, THE BAND STRUCK UP.
THE STORY GOES THAT THE LAST TUNE THEY PLAYED
WAS 'NEARER MY GOD TO THEE'.
THERE WERE OVER 2,200 PEOPLE ON TITANIC,
AND LIFEBOAT PLACES FOR JUST 1,180.
IT WAS CERTAIN HUNDREDS WOULD DIE.
AS THEY PLAYED, IT MUST HAVE BECOME CLEAR TO THE BAND
HOW IT WOULD ALL END.
BUT RATHER THAN FIGHT FOR A PLACE IN THE LIFEBOAT,
JOCK AND HIS FRIENDS PLAYED ON TO THEIR DEATHS.
TITANIC LEFT MARY GRIEF-STRICKEN.
WORSE, IT LEFT HER UNMARRIED
AND PREGNANT WITH A CHILD WITH NO FATHER.
A DESPERATE POSITION FOR A WOMAN IN 1912.
SO SHE TURNED TO JOCK'S FATHER, ANDREW.
HE COULDN'T HAVE GIVEN HER A COLDER RECEPTION.
YVONNE HUME IS ANDREW'S GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER.
He just couldn't bear the thought
of Mary and her unborn child.
It was a simple as that.
He did not accept her existence.
His son was his and no one else's,
and he slammed the door in her face.
A SPECIAL FUND WAS SET UP
TO COMPENSATE THE FAMILIES OF TITANIC VICTIMS.
SO MARY APPLIED FOR HELP,
BUT JOCK'S FATHER WAS DETERMINED TO DENY HER.
Andrew also applied to the relief fund,
because as far as he was concerned,
Mary was not entitled to that money.
It was for him to have to stop her from getting it.
THE DISPUTE WAS SETTLED IN COURT,
AND MARY RECEIVED THE MONEY SHE WAS ENTITLED TO.
BUT THE FAMILY RIFT NEVER HEALED.
AND FOR 100 YEARS,
ONE SIDE OF THE FAMILY WAS ENTIRELY LOST TO THE OTHER.
YVONNE HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED
TO THE DAUGHTER OF HER GREAT UNCLE JOCK,
UNTIL SHE LOOKED INTO HER FAMILY HISTORY.
The letter came through the door,
and it was from a long-lost cousin.
"I'm Jock Hume's grandson.
"I wondered if you'd like to meet up and compare notes."
Well, we met and this is how I found everything out.
THE TITANIC DISASTER BROKE UP THE FAMILY FOR 100 YEARS,
AND ONLY NOW IS YVONNE GETTING TO KNOW
THE COUSINS SHE NEVER KNEW SHE HAD.
The tale of Jock Hume,
his father, his fiancée and his child
shows us that 100 years later
tales from the Titanic can still surprise us.
And the sinking wasn't the end of the story,
it was just the beginning of hundreds more.
[Narrator] TITANIC CARRIED OVER 700 THIRD-CLASS PASSENGERS.
MOST WERE EMIGRATING TO AMERICA.
THEY TRAVELED IN THE CHEAPEST ACCOMMODATION,
ON THE LOWER DECKS.
BUT LEN IS ABOUT TO LEARN THAT, FOR THESE PASSENGERS,
THE ODDS OF SURVIVAL WERE STACKED AGAINST THEM.
She may have been stuffed with bells and whistles
and the well-to-do,
but Titanic was far more than just a posh cruise liner.
She was an emigrant ship,
built to cash in on the dreams of Europe's poor.
TITANIC CARRIED EMIGRANTS FROM OVER TWO DOZEN COUNTRIES,
ALL DREAMING OF A NEW LIFE IN THE STATES.
THEY PAID AROUND SEVEN POUNDS FOR THEIR TICKET,
AROUND $900 IN TODAY'S MONEY.
AFFORDABLE, BUT STILL BIG BUSINESS.
[Foster] It was a significant revenue earner
for all the shipping lines.
They wouldn't have been able to continue
without the emigrant trade.
It just wouldn't have been financially viable
for them to do so.
TITANIC WAS GOOD VALUE.
ACCOMMODATION IN THIRD CLASS
WAS AS GOOD AS SECOND CLASS ON MOST ANY OTHER LINER.
EN SUITE ROOMS, A COMFORTABLE LOUNGE
AND THREE SQUARE MEALS A DAY.
TTER CONDITIONS OST WERE USED TO AT HOME.
SHE CARRIED 700 STEERAGE PASSENGERS.
112 OF THEM BOARDED AT QUEENSTOWN, NOW COBH,
ON THE SOUTH COAST OF IRELAND, TITANIC'S FINAL PORT OF CALL.
Gathered on the pier at Cobh were a crowd of Irish emigrants.
For them, Titanic wasn't a pleasure cruise
but the start of a new life,
and for some, it would be over before it began.
IN THE MIDST OF THE CROWD WERE TWO BROTHERS,
JOHN AND PHILIP KIERNAN,
FROM THE TINY VILLAGE OF AUGHNACLIFFE,
COUNTY LONGFORD IN IRELAND.
HELEN SHERIDAN IS THEIR GREAT NIECE.
John was, I think, 23,
and Philip was 21.
And John had been in New Jersey
and he'd been there for quite some time,
so he'd come home to bring his brother Philip
over to America too,
so that he could work there too.
PHILIP WAS THE YOUNGEST OF A LARGE FAMILY.
IN 1912, IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD,
IT WAS PARTICULARLY COMMON FOR YOUNG PEOPLE OF LARGE FAMILIES
TO LEAVE FOR AMERICA.
If you were born into a family of six children,
the eldest would probably inherit the farm,
the eldest daughter might get the dowry
so she could marry into the farm down the road.
But what would happen then with the rest of the family?
The expectation was,
and particularly in the Irish context,
that you would emigrate.
THE KIERNAN'S BOARDED TITANIC IN QUEENSTOWN,
BUT NEVER REACHED AMERICA.
WHEN TITANIC STRUCK THE ICEBERG,
THEY WERE WITH HUNDREDS OF OTHER STEERAGE PASSENGERS
IN THE BELLY OF THE SHIP ON E DECK,
FAR FROM THE LIFEBOATS.
AND THAT'S WHERE TITANIC'S CREW TRIED TO KEEP THEM.
THE CHAOS WAS WITNESSED BY A SURVIVOR, MARGARET MURPHY.
"A crowd of men were trying to get to a higher deck
"and were fighting the sailors,
"all striking and scuffling and swearing.
"Then thors fastened down the hatchways.
"It meant all hope was gone for those still down there."
BUT JOHN AND PHILIP WOULD NOT GIVE UP.
THEY LED MARGARET AND A GROUP OF OTHER WOMEN
THROUGH THE WARREN OF PASSAGES AND CORRIDORS,
FINALLY EMERGING FIVE DECKS UP.
"We made our way to the lifeboats.
"A boat was being filled. We pushed our way towards it.
"John was helping me.
"The sailors drove him away."
JOHN AND PHILIP WERE LAST SEEN FROM THE LIFEBOATS.
THEY WERE STANDING ON THE DECK OF TITANIC,
ARMS AROUND EACH OTHER AS THE SHIP WENT DOWN.
THE BROTHERS DIED BECAUSE, WITH A THIRD-CLASS TICKET,
THE ODDS WERE ALWAYS STACKED AGAINST THEM.
There does seem to be a case to answer
that they were impeded,
deliberately imped,
that gates were closed.
This was going to prevent the third-class passengers
from getting up on deck.
THE OFFICIAL INQUIRY DIDN'T SUPPORT THE IDEA
THAT THE 700 STEERAGE PASSENGERS WERE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.
BUT THE FACT IS THAT ONLY 25% OF THIRD CLASS SURVIVED,
COMPARED TO OVER 60% IN FIRST CLASS.
In 1912, the world wasn't an equal place.
And on Titanic, if you had money it could save your life.
And what shocks me is that the price of your ticket
reflected the value of your life.
[Narrator] AS TITANIC SAILED INTO THE OPEN ATLANTIC
FOR NEW YORK,
THE LIVES OF THE RICH AND THE POOR
AND THE PASSENGERS AND CREW
WOULD NORMALLY NEVER HAVE CROSSED.
BUT LEN IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER HOW, ON THIS VOYAGE,
THE LIVES OF PEOPLE FROM EVERY BACKGROUND
WERE ENTWINED FOREVER.
The Titanic was crammed with the great and the good
of British and American society.
They were all there: Benjamin Guggenheim,
J. J. Astor,
Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon.
Multi-millionaires, over thirty of them.
And that's why the press called it the Millionaires Special.
THE STATE ROOMS ON TITANIC WERE EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE.
THE BEST CABIN COST £60,000 IN TODAY'S MONEY.
THAT GOT YOU A PARLOR SUITE WITH A SITTING ROOM,
SEPARATE BEDROOM, PRIVATE BATHROOM
AND PRIVATE DECK SPACE.
And that's what made it so fantastic,
and why you got so many of the rich and famous
cruising the first time on the Titanic.
It took an army of staff to provide all that luxury.
ONE OF THEM WAS VIOLET JESSOP.
SHE WAS IRISH, BUT SHE WAS BORN IN ARGENTINA,
AND SHE GREW UP AN ADVENTUROUS SOUL.
THEN AT 24, SHE SIGNED ON TO TITANIC
AS A STEWARDESS LOOKING AFTER FIRST-CLASS PASSENGERS.
On the Titanic, some of those first-class passengers
could really be a stuck-up bunch.
And in her memoirs, Violet describes
how they would really get on her wick.
People like Miss Marcia Spatz...
"Suddenly, like the meteoric person she was...
"...SHE ARRIVED, PACKAGES, HAT BOXES AND FLOWERS GALORE.
"SHE CAME WITH THAT DETERMINED LOOK,
"MEANING TO GET SERVICE FROM THE START."
And how would you fancy waiting hand and foot
on somebody like Miss Townsend?
"SHE HAD BEEN BLACKLISTED BY ANOTHER FAMOUS SHIPPING LINE
"BECAUSE OF HER UTTERLY UNREASONABLE BEHAVIOR
"AND HER DEMORALIZING EFFECT ON OTHER PASSENGERS."
But soon, the petty demands of the well-to-do
was the last thing on Violet's mind.
WHEN TITANIC STRUCK THE ICEBERG, VIOLET WAS IN HER CABIN.
SHE DRESSED, AND TOOK INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE OFFICERS.
She ran upstairs to the passenger decks.
Violet went from cabin to cabin,
knocking on doors, waking people up,
making sure they had their lifejackets,
warm clothes and blankets.
Violet watched the lifeboats gradually fill
and the couples making their final farewells.
And then it was her turn.
She climbed into a boat and as she was being lowered,
an officer called out, "Catch this!"
and a bundle landed in her lap.
And she undid it and there was a baby.
FOR FOUR HOURS, VIOLET COMFORTED THE BABY.
UNTIL THEY WERE EVENTUALLY RESCUED BY THE CARPATHIA.
AMAZINGLY, VIOLET FOUND THE MOTHER ON BOARD,
BUT SHE NEVER LEARNED THE NAME OF THE CHILD SHE'D SAVED.
THEN, JUST WEEKS LATER, VIOLET WAS BACK AT SEA.
Violet went on to do over 200 voyages,
she circumnavigated the globe twice
and was shipwrecked twice.
And yet she went on to retire in 1950,
and then to produce this, her meheirs.
What a girl!
ANOTHER STEWARDESS TO SURVIVE THE DISASTER WAS MAY SLOAN.
BUT THE DETAILS OF HER STORY REMAINED A MYSTERY.
IT TOOK TWO TITANIC RESEARCHERS YEARS TO REVEAL IT,
AS LEN IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER.
She is representative of the crew
in a lot of different ways.
She's representative of females
working at that time.
She's the common woman, and she is Belfast's own.
He calls her the Holy Grail in terms of crew members,
because he's never been able to find anything on her.
To tell her story, we've really had to go back farther.
The first time we found her in a public record
was in a 1911 census.
[Len] And there she is, May Sloan.
BRIAN AND ALEX TURNED TO SHIPPING RECORDS FROM THE 1900S
TO UNCOVER MAY'S LIFE BEFORE TITANIC.
THEY DISCOVERED SHE STARTED OUT WORKING ON THE SS MAGIC.
[Alex] It wasn't so much a ship as a cross-channel ferry,
running between Belfast and Liverpool.
WITHIN ONLY A YEAR, MAY HAD MOVED ON AND FOUND A JOB
AS A FIRST-CLASS PASSENGER STEWARDESS ON TITANIC.
BRIAN AND ALEX KNEW SHE SURVIVED,
BUT ONCE SHE MADE IT TO NEW YORK, THE TRAIL RAN COLD.
Until recently, we didn't know anything
about what she did after,
until we found a record of her
coming into America via Canada
a few years later,
and she's still listed as a stewardess.
[Len] What is that there, ruddy?
[Brian] Her complexion. They said she was ruddy.
That's good, isn't it?
That comes up quite a lot: "fresh, ruddy complexion,
"brown hair, blue eyes."
MAY SLOAN'S VISA FOR CROSSING FROM CANADA TO AMERICA
ALSO RECORDED NAMES OF A RELATIVE.
FROM THIS, ALEX AND BRIAN WERE ABLE TO PIECE TOGETHER
A FAMILY TREE AND TRACE IT ALL THE WAY BACK TO BELFAST.
Till We got all the way down to 1968.
And there's Hugh Alexander Sloan.
- [Brian] May's great nephew. - May's great nephew.
THE STORY OF MAY SLOAN HAS BROUGHT ME BACK
TO WHERE MY JOURNEY BEGAN,
THE NORTHERN IRELAND CITY OF BELFAST.
IT'S WHERE TITANIC WAS BUILT
AND WHERE MAY SLOAN LIVED UNTIL HER DEATH IN THE 1970S.
HER GRAND NEPHEW HUGH LIVES HERE AS WELL,
BUT HE NEVER KNEW HIS GREAT AUNT MAY.
I think she's like our daughter Jane.
Let's have a look.
[Mother] Yes, you can. The broad face...
[Len] I can see a resemblance.
MAY SLOAN EVEN HAD AN ENCOUNTER WITH THOMAS ANDREWS,
THE MAN WHO DESIGNED TITANIC AND WHO DIED ON BOARD.
AS THE SHIP WAS SINKING,
MR. ANDREWS HELPED MAY TO STEEL HER NERVES.
At one point, Mr. Andrews brings your Aunt May
and another stewardess into his cabin
and gives them whiskey and water to fortify them,
and he said, "Now girls, don't be afraid."
And she said, "I'm not afraid,"
and he said, "That's a good Ulster girl."
[Narrator] NOW LEN IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER THE STORY
OF ONE CREW MAN REMEMBERED AS A HERO.
TITANIC'S OFFICERS AND ABLE SEAMEN DREW
ON A LIFETIME OF SEAFARING EXPERIENCE.
While they put their hands to ropes and pulleys,
one man turned to brand-new technology
in the hope of saving lives.
IN 1912, TECHNOLOGY DIDN'T COME MORE CUTTING EDGE
THAN THE MARCONI WIRELESS RADIO.
IT WAS DEVELOPED AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
AND ALLOWED MESSAGES TO BE SENT WIRELESSLY BETWEEN SHIPS AT SEA.
THE MAN AT THE CONTROLS OF THE MARCONIGRAPH
ON TITANIC WAS JACK PHILLIPS.
Jack was only 24 when the Titanic sailed,
but that didn't stop him being one of the most highly rated
wireless operators that Marconi Company had.
He had already served on the Lusitania, the Mauretania,
the Oceanic, so highly regarded liners,
so he was regarded as one of the best.
THE MARCONI ROOM WAS LOCATED ON THE PORT SIDE BOAT DECK.
BUT IN 1912,
THE MARCONIGRAPH WAS STILL NOT YET INSTALLED ON EVERY SHIP.
AND ON SHIPS THAT DID HAVE IT,
IT WASN'T REGARDED PRINCIPALLY AS A SAFETY MEASURE.
It was aimed at commercially driven traffic,
so it would transport messages about arrival times,
arrangements for meeting people off the ship.
Just novelty messages like,
"Guess where I am. In the middle of the ocean."
Essentially to give the upper classes
something to amuse themselves with.
The rich sent hundreds of Marconigrams
to their friends and family,
bragging about their time on Titanic.
But if there'd been less of that,
many more lives could have been saved.
THE SIMPLE FACT IS THAT MARCONI OPERATORS WERE SO BUSY
SENDING MESSAGES FROM PASSENGERS,
THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO LISTEN
TO ALL THE WARNINGS ABOUT ICE FROM OTHER SHIPS.
Jack Phillips was in the midst
of trying to clear a backlog of traffic,
when a last ice-warning came in at 9.40 from the Masaba,
and for whatever reason it ended up not making it to the bridge.
IF PHILLIPS HAD HAD TIME TO TAKE THAT MESSAGE,
PERHAPS HISTORY WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT.
BUT HE DIDN'T.
AND TWO HOURS LATER, TITANIC COLLIDED WITH AN ICEBERG.
BUT FROM THAT MOMENT JACK REALIZED
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MARCONI MACHINE.
IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO GET HELP.
WITH IT, HE COULD CONTACT ANY SHIP
WITHIN 2000 MILES OF TITANIC.
THE CARPATHIA WAS THE NEAREST TO RESPOND,
BUT IT WAS STILL HOURS AWAY.
SO JACK KEPT AT IT, FRANTICALLY SENDING DISTRESS SIGNALS.
Captain Smith came to the wireless shack
at about 2 o'clock, just after,
and relieved them of their post
and said, "You've done all you can."
By this point, it's likely that there was water
coming into the cabin, they were near the bow of the ship.
They both stayed and Jack remained at the key
for as long as he could.
IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY ACT OF BRAVERY.
AS THE SHIP LISTED AND SANK, HE CHOSE TO RISK HIS LIFE
BY STAYING ON TO SEND DISTRESS SIGNALS,
DESPERATELY LOOKING FOR HELP.
These are a few of the Marconigrams
that Jack Phillips sent just in the last hours of Titanic.
I think it will show you the calmness of the man.
This is at 12.25.
"Come at once. We have struck a berg.
"It's a distress situation, old man."
Carpathia says:
"Shall I tell the captain? Do you require assistance?"
Jack replies: "Yes, come quick."
What is amazing,
that even though they're under this pressure,
he still takes the time to say "old man",
the gentlemanliness of the whole scenario is amazing.
"Come as quickly as possible, old man.
"The engine-room is filling up to the boilers."
It's obvious that Jack is not panicking,
he's just going along with the thing.
IN 1912, THE DISTRESS SIGNAL WAS NOT YET S-O-S,
BUT A FRENCH EXPRESSION: C-Q-D.
AND THAT IS THE FINAL MESSAGE JACK ATTEMPTS TO SEND,
AT 2.17AM, WITH TITANIC'S BOW SINKING BENEATH THE ATLANTIC,
AND WATER FLOODING THE MARCONI ROOM.
CQ, TITANIC'S SIGNAL ENDS VERY ABRUPTLY,
AS IF POWER SUDDENLY SWITCHES OFF.
SO HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE CHANCE TO GET THE 'D'.
IT'S JUST 'C-Q'...GONE.
MOMENTS LATER, TITANIC DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE WAVES.
Without Jack Phillips and his Marconi machine,
the Carpathia would never have come to their aid.
But when it did come, it came too late for Jack.
THE CARPATHIA ARRIVED FOUR HOURS LATER,
THE FIRST SHIP ON THE SCENE.
IT FOUND 705 SURVIVORS HUDDLED IN LIFEBOATS,
DRIFTING IN THE ATLANTIC.
BUT JACK WAS DEAD IN THE WATER.
THE TITANIC DISASTER PROVED THE VALUE OF THE WIRELESS AT SEA.
WITHOUT IT, NO SHIP WOULD HAVE GONE TO TITANIC'S AID.
FOLLOWING THE TRAGEDY,
MARCONI'S INVENTION WAS MADE MANDATORY ON ALL SHIPS.
AND IN LARGEST TITANIC MEMORIAL IN BRITAIN WAS BUILT
IN GODALMING IN SURREY, TO JOHN JACK PHILLIPS.
I love Jack. I think he's such a hero.
You know, he's just a man.
He's alone in this little dark room,
he's tapping away, the water is flooding in.
He knows that he's not going to survive,
but he stays there, he stays at his post,
until the very last second and goes down with the ship.
This is so overwhelmingly sad, that honestly...
I'm a big, old, tough welder, and it really breaks me up.
[Narrator] WHEN TITANIC SANK,
TWO IN EVERY THREE PEOPLE ON BOARD DIED.
BUT THERE WERE TWO PROMINENT ENGLISHMEN WHO DID SURVIVE.
LEN WILL DISCOVER HOW FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES
EACH FACED A STRUGGLE WITH A SENSE OF GUILT
AND A BROKEN REPUTATION.
The UK Inquiry took evidence from maritime experts,
company employees and survivors - both passengers and crew.
And they all got a real grilling.
There were certainly heroes,
but not everyone who lived to tell the tale
told one they could be proud of.
IN PARTICULAR, MALE SURVIVORS NEEDED
TO ACCOUNT FOR THEIR ACTIONS
AND EXPLAIN WHY THEY SURVIVED IN A LIFEBOAT
WHILE WOMEN AND CHILDREN PERISHED IN THE FREEZING WATER.
For one man, that question was particularly awkward to answer,
and the experience destroyed him and his reputation forever.
SIR COSMO DUFF GORDON WAS TRAVELING WITH HIS WIFE,
LADY LUCILLE.
THEY HAD CABIN A16,
ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE FIRST-CLASS CABINS,
FOR WHICH THEY PAID THOUSANDS OF POUNDS,
AS YOU'D EXPECT FROM A CELEBRITY COUPLE.
He had been an Olympic fencer, he was a very good athlete,
he was a trained singer,
he was quite a decent looking man,
a tall fellow, and was known around the place.
AFTER THE ICEBERG STRUCK,
MANY OF THE FIRST PASSENGERS TO BOARD THE LIFEBOATS
WERE THE RICH, JUST LIKE SIR COSMO.
BUT WHERE MOST OF THE MEN CHOSE TO HOLD BACK
IN FAVOR OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN,
SIR COSMO TOOK A SEAT BESIDE HIS WIFE.
IT WOULD BE REMEMBERED AS A NOTORIOUS AND SELFISH ACT.
You see this little boat down below.
It's not full and you look down and say, "May we get in?"
"Yes. Get in."
- So they did. - Right.
You know, if that's a crime, it's a crime.
SIR COSMO WAS NOT THE ONLY MAN TO TAKE A PLACE IN A LIFEBOAT,
BUT HIS ACTION ONCE HE WAS IN THE LIFEBOAT
ALSO CAME UNDER SPECIAL SCRUTINY.
THE DUFF GORDON'S BOAT ROWED AWAY FROM THE SINKING TITANIC
ONLY HALF FULL.
[Jones] Sir Cosmo is specifically accused
of ordering the lifeboat and saying,
"No, we mustn't go back
"and pick up the people who are drowning."
Now this is a grave accusation
that he was saving his own skin
rather than thinking of others.
SIR COSMO'S ACCOUNT WAS VERY DIFFERENT.
Well, the crew said, "If you go back,
"you'll get everybody putting their hands on the gunwale,
"on the edge of the little boat and we shall all be drowned."
I don't know whether I would've made the decision
to try and hope that the boat wouldn't go down with forty,
instead of twenty or whatever.
I simply don't know how I would've behaved,
and with respect, I don't think you do either.
NO ONE WAS ACTUALLY ON TRIAL AT THE INQUIRY.
HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO QUESTION
THAT SOCIETY WAS JUDGING SIR COSMO.
Edwardian culture venerated
the endurance of hardship and sacrifice,
and there were numerous examples on the Titanic, of course,
of men who had died bravely.
Benjamin Guggenheim, for example,
who goes down with the ship.
I think Sir Cosmo knew full well
the degree of disapproval his actions had generated,
and that sense that the Titanic disaster had shown up
a flaw in Sir Cosmo's character.
I think that must've lived with him for the rest of his life.
BUT IT WAS NOT ONLY AT THE OFFICIAL INQUIRIES
THAT MALE SURVIVORS HAD THEIR CHARACTERS SCRUTINIZED.
IN 1912, THE TITANIC DISASTER
WAS THE NEWS STORY OF THE CENTURY.
FOR MONTHS, TITANIC WAS EMBLAZONED
ACROSS FRONT PAGES AROUND THE WORLD.
Editors were looking for stories about tragic victims,
heroic survivors,
and Titanic gave them plenty of both.
NEWSPAPERS FILLED THEIR PAGES
WITH SENSATIONAL STORIES
OF BRAVERY, ESCAPE AND DISASTER.
ALL TOLD IN VIVID DETAIL
THROUGH EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH SURVIVORS.
The press wanted more than heroics and tragedy.
They were looking for cowards and villains.
The public were outraged,
and the press needed to find someone to blame.
And when they found him, they were merciless.
THE MAN THEY CHOSE WAS J. BRUCE ISMAY.
TITANIC WAS ISMAY'S BRAINCHILD.
HE IMAGINED IT, COMMISSIONED IT AND PAID FOR IT.
AS HE LEFT SOUTHAMPTON ON BOARD HIS SHIP,
ISMAY MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED HIS TITANIC LEGACY TO BE GLORIOUS.
INSTEAD, IT DESTROYED HIS GOOD NAME.
He asked the captain whether it was serious,
and the Captain said, "Yes, I'm afraid it is,"
at which point Ismay went back to his room,
put on an overcoat, put on his slipps,
and went to the starboard side of the deck
and immediately started loading women and children
into the lifeboats.
AROUND 1.00AM, WATER WAS POURING OVER TITANIC'S BOWS.
ISMAY WAS HELPING LOWER ONE OF THE LAST LIFEBOATS.
HE SAW THERE WAS STILL ROOM FOR ONE MORE PERSON.
AND HE MADE DECISION IN AN INSTANT
THAT WOULD HAUNT HIM FOREVER.
HE JUMPED INTO THE LIFEBOAT.
Hundreds of men, rich and poor, chose to die,
to let others live.
The injustice was that while they died on Ismay's boat...
...HE SAVED HIMSELF.
[Wilson] Ismay's account of his departure from the Titanic
into Collapsible C was that he was helping as much as he could
and then he took his chance. There was room in that lifeboat.
Had he not got in, there would just have been an empty space.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD'VE DONE, FACED WITH THE CHOICE
OF CERTAIN DEATH OR TAKING A PLACE IN A LIFEBOAT.
BUT TO THE PRESS IN 1912, IT WAS PERFECTLY CLEAR.
AT HOME AND ABROAD, ISMAY WAS SCORNED AS A SELFISH COWARD.
The American Press singled out Ismay almost immediately
as a criminal for having survived.
They decided he was guilty,
and what he was guilty of was cowardice.
THE MOST AGGRESSIVE CRITICISM OF ISMAY
CAME FROM THE AMERICAN PRESS.
BUT THIS WAS MORE THAN JUST AN EXPRESSION OF PUBLIC CONTEMPT.
FOR THIRTY YEARS PREVIOUSLY, ISMAY HAD BEEN PERSONALLY HATED
BY THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER BARON WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST.
ANGUS CHEAPE IS ISMAY'S GREAT-GRANDSON.
Randolph Hearst was the Rupert Murdoch of his day,
and Hearst disliked Bruce Ismay very much, I think.
And what happened onheanave Hearst
a wonderful opportunity to have a go at my great-grandfather.
And he didn't hold back.
THE TWO MEN WERE OPPOSITES.
HEARST WAS OUTGOING AND A SELF-MADE MAN.
ISMAY WAS SHY AND HAD INHERITED HIS WEALTH.
THE RESULT WAS A PROFOUND CLASH OF PERSONALITIES.
Randolph Hearst had met Ismay years before,
when Ismay was a younger man
working as a White Star agent in New York.
And Hearst loathed him.
He found Ismay's shyness to be arrogant,
he thought he was aloof,
he was the epitome of everything Hearst disliked
in an Englishman.
THIS CARTOON IS TYPICAL
OF HOW HEARST'S NEWSPAPERS TREATED ISMAY.
IT SHOWS A GHOULISH ISMAY AS THE ONLY MAN
IN A BOAT FULL OF GRIEVING WOMEN AND CHILDREN
ESCAPING THE SINKING TITANIC.
AND IT SUGGESTS THE EMBLEM OF THE WHITE STAR LINE
BE CHANGED TO A WHITE LIVER, THE MARK OF THE COWARD.
This is from a New York newspaper on the 20th,
so we're only talking five days or so
after the Titanic went down.
It's absolutely vintage Randolph Hearst.
It's very unpleasant...indeed,
but clearly was designed to create
a bad impression of my great-grandfather.
How did it make J Bruce Ismay feel?
It probably made him feel terrible.
It would make anyone feel terrible,
to have one's name blackened in this way
by a newspaper proprietor.
DESPITE THE ASSAULT ON ISMAY'S NAME BY THE PRESS,
HE NEVER PUBLICLY APOLOGIZED FOR HIS ACTIONS ON TITANIC.
Ismay never repented his actions
because he didn't think there was anything to repent.
But I think he regretted his actions.
I think on many, many occasions, he must have thought,
"Why on earth didn't I just go down with the ship?
"What was the point of the rest of my life?"
BOTH THE ISMAY FAMILY AND THE DUFF GORDONS ARE STILL REMINDED
OF THEIR ANCESTORS' ACTIONS ON TITANIC EVEN TODAY.
When I was getting engaged to my wife Evie, her father said,
"Oh, hang on a minute, I think there's a skeleton
"rattling about in that family's cupboard."
And, you know, this was in 1975,
and we all know the tragedy was in 1912,
and you know it never goes away.
Certainly my great-grandfather lived
for the rest of his days under the shadow of doubt.
Did they become quite reclusive?
Well, I think he certainly did.
My great-grandmother's way of dealing with it
was to close the whole thing down and never discuss it.
It was a non subject.
Indeed until I left school,
although I'd heard of the Titanic,
I was blissfully unaware that it was much to do with my family.
BOTH SIR COSMO DUFF GORDON AND J. BRUCE ISMAY SURVIVED TITANIC.
BUT, OVER THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED,
THEY WERE FORCED TO PAY FOR THEIR LIVES
WITH THEIR REPUTATIONS.
ON HIS JOURNEY THROUGH 100 YEARS OF TITANIC HRY
LEN HAS MET MEN AND WOMEN WITH EXTRAORDINARY TALES
AND HEARD ABOUT CHARACTERS WHO HAD EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCES.
AND IT'S CONVINCED HIM OF SOMETHING.
For me the story of Titanic isn't about the ship.
The ship's just rivets and metal and engines.
It's about the people, it's about the people that built it,
the crew and the passengers that sailed in it,
and the bravery of some and the cowardice of others.
IF NOTHING ELSE, A 100 YEARS ON, THE SHIP MAKES US ASK:
WHO WOULD I BE ON TITANIC?
AND AS SHE SANK, WHAT WOULD I DO?
Little Red Riding Hood
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE TITANIC'S LEGACY,
VISIT PBS.ORG/TITANIC WITH LEN GOODMAN.