Agnes, Marguerite and Beatrice Sandström interviews - Titanic survivors

Due to a coal mine strike, many voyages had been cancelled. The Titanic was the only ship that would depart for America on April 10th. Among those who received this surprising news were Agnes Sandström,
and her children Marguerite and Beatrice.

Beatrice Sandström
Then mother came, with her ticket, they said that there was a coal strike so we couldn't travel with that boat,
but rather we were informed that we were to be transferred to the Titanic. And then they said, "Well, you should really be happy about that, because this ship cannot sink," they said.'

The passengers boarded a few hours earlier. The third-class passengers in particular were impressed with the high standard.

Agnes Sandström
We received as good service as we could have wished for, because the cabins were nice and neat and so was everything else, and the food was good and the table settings were neat, and so we were not neglected.

Beatrice Sandström
Mum thought that the cabin was nice, and everything was nice down there, and the food was nice and we even got whipped cream and 2-3 desserts with our food, and the seating was pleasant; not with trays and all that, but rather set up along long tables where you could sit and eat. And I usually say, that such fine dining can't even be purchased with one's pension.

There were many families with children on board. Beatrice Sandström was 1½ years old. Her sister Marguerite was four years old, and Agnes was not the only one to travel alone with her children across the Atlantic.

We stayed together with a lady named Elna Ström, and she also had a girl our age.
We lay there at night, we had gone to bed, and mum and the others stayed up a while and talked, but then they went to bed, too, and then there came a powerful crashing noise, Mom said,
and it... sounded so terrible that they were worried, and got up, and sort of said to each other: "But this boat can't sink, they said."

Agnes Sandström
But we thought it was just temporary that we had stopped. But then when we'd been up for a while, they came knocking at the door and said that we should get up, but we already were they said they had bumped into an iceberg, and it had made a hole and it would soon be repaired so that it would be done within a few hours; otherwise another boat would come and take us with them.

Marguerite Sandström
Then I ran around looking for my socks, because I wanted to bring them with me. Then I remembered when we were going to leave, so I figured I would wash myself. Mum said that there was no time for that, for washing, because we had to go, of course. But I wanted to go and tighten the tap, but mum answered me that we didn't have to bother with that because the water was coming in just as fast anyway, and with that we left.

Beatrice Sandström
Mum knew exactly what she needed to do, so she got us dressed and carried me on her arm and then, Marguerite had to hold the skirt, and so we had to get going, because it was a very long way to go to get up on deck.

Agnes Sandström
I got up and got to the top deck, and there were so many ropes, ropes, ropes so I sat on them on them and thought, "I'm fed up. I can't do it any longer." but I suppose there was something that drove me to the lifeboat, and the first one, it was full, and the second was also full, so I couldn't get into them, and in the third sat the steward who had been in our cabin, and he said that I should get in there, and he helped us in, and made sure that the girls got in first and then he helped me in.

Beatrice Sandström
Well, I don't have any memories, but when I was little, so little that I can't quite remember, I said that the moon fell down on us, and it was probably the signal flares that I had seen.
My sister Marguerite, she talked a lot about how she could remember that there was so much screaming she remembered that, and she heard that sound afterwards.

The Sandström family had ended up in lifeboat number thirteen.

There were so many people on that boat, and so crammed in, that mother said that if one more person had come we wouldn't have made it, or if it the waves had caught on or something, but it was calm that night, so that was [ok?]. but we were worried that when Titanic sank, that there would be waves, but it went well in the end. And then mother had to stand there with me in her arms, and my sister held her skirt,
all the while until the Carpathia came.

Marguerite Sandström
Then we got up on that big boat, and, before then, they put me in a sack and pulled me up, and when I got up there I went to look for mother, and then I happened upon a lady who helped me to find her, and when I got to her she was sitting there crying, and I wondered why she was crying, when we had had so much fun.
But then she said: "You don't understand this, young child, so you'll learn about it when you're grown up."

Beatrice Sandström
It was predetermined, how long one was to live, because I suppose we weren't meant to die then, when so many other people died. That's what I think. And mother, she wanted to live, she didn't want to die, so she was very happy that she got to live for so long. It's just like a fairy tale to me, you know.
But I do get a bit moved, anyway, especially now that I'm older, when somebody's talking about something.

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-passengers/sandstr%C3%B6m/sandstrom+family/