Titanic's Future

[John Clifford]

I wonder what will happen after Millvina Dean is gone. She is the only one of the five remaining survivors who will talk about the disaster, albeit relating stories from her mother.
The other four, including three survivors now in nursing homes, have chosen not to say anything.
Two of them have steadfastly refused to be interviewed, and the oldest survivor admitted that she could not accurately recall the events of April 14-15, 1912.
It will be up to all of us to properly tell Titanic's story to future generations

 

[Mike Herbold]

You make a good point, John. Hopefully there will be descendants of passengers, like our friend John Clifford, who are interested enough to write about their relatives. And Phillip Gowan's tireless efforts to research public documents like birth and death certificates, passport and social security records, and other documents continue to increase our knowledge. As the time limits expire for release of census records, we might even unearth more interesting information. But it won't be as easy as just talking with survivors. This won't be popular with many people, but I look forward to continued recoveries from the Titanic wreck that might bring up personal papers.

 

[Mike Herbold]

John:
Confused? Sorry, I didn't proofread very well. I meant our friend John Rudolph.

 

[Erica Monty]

I have allways wondered why more people did not talk about the Ship right after it sunk. If they did talk about it did'nt someone write it all down? It just seems as if not many people said much . There were 712 people that lived we should have at least 600 people who talked somewhat about it!

 

[Dave Gittins]

They did talk about it. There are dozens of stories from survivors and a few wrote books and pamphlets. The trouble is that the stories are scattered over many magazines and newspapers spread all over the place. Obviously most are in the US and UK but there are many more in other nations. Many of these personal accounts are to be found on ET.

The problem with these accounts is that they are often inaccurate, having been dramatised by the press. Also, the longer after the sinking they were written, the more errors creep in. By the time he wrote his book, Lightoller even got the date of the sinking wrong. Stories need to be compared is the truth is to be found and there will always be unsolved mysteries. That's part of the fun.

 

[Erica Monty]

Oh I see thanks, I just allways wondered.

 

[PRR5406]

The wreck will remain in place for decades to come, slowly succumbing to gravity and corrosion. As it falls apart, the interior spaces will be exposed and should be investigated in detail. If left unrecovered, plating and interior featured will be buried in mud over hundreds of years. Long after we are all dust, there will still be a recognizable ship geometry exposed to explorers, albeit not as it appears today.
Consider this however. Had "Titanic" never sunk on April 15th, 1912, she might have served as either a troop or hospital ship during WW1, been retrofitted to burn oil, run throughout the 1920's, been side-lined by 1936, and broken up by WW2. All that would be left of her would be paneling, furniture, menus, and ephemera. We have far more of "Titanic" and "Britaniic" than we do "Olympic".