RMS Titanic:100 years on.

Well,today's a very special day yet sad day,as we  remember the sinking of the Titanic,100 years ago today.

I've certainly read enough books,and watched plenty of documentaries on this subject.It's still an appalling tragedy,with a shocking waste of human life.

Obviously,we all know why this is so,as the ship didn't carry enough lifeboats to get everybody off.
A lot of heads should have rolled for this,mainly the then British Board of Trade,who allowed the Titanic to go to sea,without enough lifeboats.
Also to take some of the blame,was Mr J Bruce Ismay,the then managing director of the White Star Line,who owned the ship.The Titanic,was actually Mr Ismay's brainchild,and oddly enough,he did have the chance to order the Titanic,to carry the required amount of lifeboats.Unfortunately though,Mr Ismay wanted to attract the rich clientele,and it sounds unbelievable now,but one of the reasons he decided against the lifeboats,was that they would take up too much deck space!
Having said that,it wasn't really Mr Ismay's fault(although one might argue it was!)and the personal abuse he received,having survived the disaster,was uncalled for,and unjustified.
If one might argue for justification,then Captain Smith,who was in charge of the Titanic,should have been stripped of all the praise dashed on him.This idiot ignored all the ice warnings given to him,and still ordered the Titanic to press on,at almost full speed into the deadly ice-field.
Like so many others,Captain Smith did not survive that night,but it beggars belief,that he was treated as the greatest hero that ever lived:The captain who went down with his ship.The brutal reality was,that he failed everybody on the Titanic that night.Why he ignored all the ice warnings,will never be known.
The same could be said for Jack Philips,the head wireless operator,working with his assistant,Harold Bride.Both men were poorly paid at their jobs,and to make the extra money,they sent messages for first class passengers.As Philips did this,he was receiving ice warning messages,but viewed them as an irritating interruption.So he passed them onto Bride,who would take it up to the bridge.This was to prove fatal,but like his captain,Philips became a hero.He did of course,stay at his post,frantically sending out the distress signals right up to the end,but sadly,Philips was another fatality that night.
Another shocking truth,was the snobbery shown by some of the crew and first class passengers,towards the Third class passengers.These people suffered the most that night,having hardly any chance of escape when disaster struck.They were too far down in the ship,and only a lucky few managed to get up on deck.I found it shocking some of the crew barred them too,as they desperately tried to find a way up to the boat deck.
I find this sort of behaviour insulting and despicable.Even now,it's still the same:the more money you spend,the better treatment you get.If you're a passenger on a ship in trouble,then it should never happen like that.Every life on board ship,is precious.
Of course,we all know hindsight's a wonderful thing,and the only good thing to come out of that tragedy,was that every ship at sea,was required to carry enough lifeboats for everybody on board.
Unfortunately,on April 15 1912,this law came into effect too late,for just over 1500 souls who perished that night.