Which lifeboat contained the Hoffman/Navratil boys?

Melinda R

Member
I am trying to determine the best "guess" for which lifeboat the Hoffman/Navratil boys were in off the Titanic. Collapsible D is mentioned but even in the charts, there appears to be no agreement. Does anyone have possibilities and rationale for a particular boat?
 
I am trying to determine the best "guess" for which lifeboat the Hoffman/Navratil boys were in off the Titanic.
I think Collapsible D will remain as the most likely but it would be difficult to confirm one way or another. I think we have to take the poignant, almost lyrical farewell by Michel Navratil Sr to his children near Collapsible D that is described in many Titanic works with a large chunk of salt. Michel Jr is supposed to have remembered it - it is even mentioned in his ET bio - but that sounds way too mature and detailed for a boy who was then not yet 4 years old. The chances are that Michel Jr had a recollection of parting with his father and realizing that his mother Marcelle "helped" by adding on the poignant parts so that the boys would have a good feelings for their deceased father.

As for the lifeboat itself that they were saved on, Collapsible D remains a strong candidate even if not conclusive. Woolner, who was definitely on Collapsible D, alluded to a child (Michel?), possible two; he thought that the child he interacted with was French and the general feeling was that no one else on the boat knew who those two kids actually were. That latter part applies to very very few - if any at all - children saved from the Titanic and as far as I am aware, there were no unidentified children on other lifeboats by the time they reached the Carpathia ("Beesley's baby" on board Lifeboat #13 was Alden Caldwell and his parents were also on the same lifeboat).
 
That latter part applies to very very few - if any at all - children saved from the Titanic and as far as I am aware, there were no unidentified children on other lifeboats by the time they reached the Carpathia ("Beesley's baby" on board Lifeboat #13 was Alden Caldwell and his parents were also on the same lifeboat).
Philip Aks was the only named unidentified baby when the Carpathia was reached to my knowledge that we researchers know by name.

There is one baby I’m not too sure about too, this being the baby Violet Jessop had in her (who can be seen in a photograph taken from the Carpathia).
 
Thank you Seumas, Arun and Thomas. Is there a reason that the Hoffman/Navratil boys are not listed in Collapsible D on ET site? My guess is there needs to be a preponderance of evidence? Also, Violet Jessop had a baby in her arms but the Hoffman/Navartil sons were 2 and almost four. Surely if they were put in the lifeboat (whichever one) together, they would have stayed together. Thanks for your thoughts. Happy Holidays!
 
Is there a reason that the Hoffman/Navratil boys are not listed in Collapsible D on ET site?
ET will not list a Titanic survivor to a particular lifeboat unless there is some certainty about it. If you look at the survivor list for Lifeboat #15 for example, there are 38 names at present; yet, the boat was absolutely full, perhaps even slightly overloaded according to some accounts. Many Scandinavian male survivors who have not been allocated a particular lifeboat could have been on #15. With the Navratil kids, no one on board appeared to know their identity; the only survivor who could have recognized them was Bertha Lehmann, but she'd left on Lifeboat #12.
 
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