George Rheims

[Bob Godfrey]

That sketch drawn by Rheims would have to be the forward lavatory block, imperfectly remembered. The transverse passageway in which the door was located is shown to be continuous with the passages which extended from the main fore & aft corridors to the inner windows of the promenade deck. These passages were in fact a short distance further aft and not visible from the lavatory passage. Probably what actually happened was that Rheims came through the lavatory door, turned right (as he recalled) but did not immediately see the iceberg. Rather he walked for a few seconds to the main corridor and a short distance back along it towards his cabin before looking to his left as he passed the short passage leading to the window. At this point he would also have been able to look back through the window at the forward end of the main corridor - "I also saw the iceberg this way and that way forward to the starboard side and at right angles from the starboard side". Bearing in mind the events that followed and that he was trying to recall these details 18 months later, it's understandable that in his recollection the sequence of events at this relatively insignificant stage of the proceedings would get slightly compressed.

 

[erheims]

Richard de Roussy de Sales used to live in Dallas but I think he is dead now--at least he would be in his 90's if living. His mother, Lily, was George Rheims' sister. She died in 1948 in San Francisco--I don't know of any living Rheims relatives other than George's grandson, George Loring Rheims (Jr.), who lives in France.

No trace of the letter in our family archives. Grand-grand son speaking here.
PS George Rheims - my father and grand son of the survivor died in 2016

 

[George Jacub]

This site appears to offer the entire letter that Mr. Rheims sent to his wife.

Photocopy of letter from George Rheims, TITANIC survivor. | Royal Museums Greenwich

www.rmg.co.uk

Photocopy of letter from George Rheims, TITANIC survivor.
Photocopy of letter from George Rheims, TITANIC survivor, to his wife, in French, dated 19 Apr 1912. Includes account of the TITANIC sinking and rescue of the survivors. Includes English translation.