studio36uk
Posts: 20,227
Tavai, Sigave, Wallis and Futuna
My introductory comment - - -
On 15 April 1912 the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, as we are all no doubt aware. The 100th anniversary of that sinking is this week. Here the BBC has assembled the various wireless telegraphic messages originally sent by Morse code, and copied out in long hand by the receiving stations and ships, into a series of mechanically interpreted voice renditions of those messages... imagine in the present day to listening to, and following a breaking event on, a police scanner, or in text on Twitter. From a quite ordinary start and with mounting desperation in the messages the Titanic signals for help. Others, but in some disbelief of what is happening or it's seriousness, respond that they are coming to assist. Then.......... from the Titanic....... just SILENCE!
To mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the BBC’s Sean Coughlan narrates one of the most authentic versions of events in existence. Using voice synthesis to re-create the strange, twitter-like, mechanical brevity of the original Morse code, this programme brings to life the tragedy through the ears of the wireless operators in the area that night.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the BBC’s Sean Coughlan narrates one of the most authentic versions of events in existence. Using voice synthesis to re-create the strange, twitter-like, mechanical brevity of the original Morse code, this programme brings to life the tragedy through the ears of the wireless operators in the area that night.
On the night of the disaster, the network of young Marconi wireless operators on different ships and land stations frantically communicated with each other across the cold expanses of the North Atlantic in an effort to mount a rescue for the doomed vessel.
All these messages were recorded at the time in copper-plate handwriting, now scattered across the world in different collections, but together forming a unique archive.
Conceived and created by Susanne Weber.
Producer: Alex Mansfield
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SS Baltic receives the signal
To all those who when down with her that night - RIP
ernst tischler wrote: Do you believe they sunk the Olympic (disguised as Titanic) to collect insurance?
Not necessarily, but I think it's cool that people investigate history rather than repeat without thought. To believe would be to repeat without thought a varied alternative to traditional history.
I haven't researched it and I don't plan to research it in the near future.
Most of what most people believe to be true about history and even some aspects of simple reality, probably isn't accurate.
More information and an alteration of perspective renders many objects and events viewed to be an illusion.
America, history, family, popular world events and other visual and mental illusions.
"Looks like a lot of people just found out that the boat Jack and Rose were King-Of-The-World'ing on was like a totally real thing. This explains why the movie did so well. A big chunk of the audience were on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what happens to the boat. If you think this is embarrassing, wait until they find out Avatar was fake."
Dave the design student wrote: Most of what most people believe to be true about history and even some aspects of simple reality, probably isn't accurate.
More information and an alteration of perspective renders many objects and events viewed to be an illusion.
America, history, family, popular world events and other visual and mental illusions.
Not necessarily, but I think it's cool that people investigate history rather than repeat without thought. To believe would be to repeat without thought a varied alternative to traditional history.
I haven't researched it and I don't plan to research it in the near future.
Most of what most people believe to be true about history and even some aspects of simple reality, probably isn't accurate.
More information and an alteration of perspective renders many objects and events viewed to be an illusion.
America, history, family, popular world events and other visual and mental illusions.
MerrillMedia
Posts: 7,992
New Orleans, Louisiana, US
My local PBS station aired a couple of programs on Titanic last night. They were very different from what is usually seen, in that they focused on crew members and the things that they did to keep the ship's systems (primarily electrical and boat davits) going, so that passengers could be put aboard the boats.
One show also highlighted the effect that the disaster had on the town of Southhampton, where most of the crew members were from. Beyond the tragedy of losing their family members, the people f the town suffered economically, because many of the men who died were the breadwinners for their families.
studio36uk
Posts: 20,227
Tavai, Sigave, Wallis and Futuna
An interesting aside - the band on the Titanic
The 8 bandsmen who played on Titanic all died. They are celebrated as heroes of the sinking for standing by and continuing to play while the ship settled into the sea and sank, thus keeping up a certain level of calm as the ship was evacuated, to the extent that it was possible to do so. HOWEVER, they were engaged individually through a talent agent and assigned, under individual contracts, to the ship and, as such, they were neither employees of White Star Line; nor were they actually passengers [they each had passage tickets and were assigned Second Class accommodations but they were not de facto fare paying passengers].
After the event White Star's insurers paid out compensation for losses to passengers [or their survivors], employed crew [or their survivors] and the ship owners.
As the bandsmen were none of the above, but individual independent contractors, travelling on concessionary tickets, and they were also not "employees" of the agency that managed their contracts with White Star Line, their survivors [families] got nothing.
studio36uk wrote: As the bandsmen were none of the above, but individual independent contractors, and they were also not "employees" of the agency that managed their contracts with White Star Line, their survivors [families] got nothing.
Studio36
Did they sue and ever get anything? That's just garbage! what a sad state of affairs...
studio36uk wrote: An interesting aside - the band on the Titanic
The 8 bandsmen who played on Titanic all died. They are celebrated as heroes of the sinking for standing by and continuing to play while the ship settled into the sea and sank, thus keeping up a certain level of calm as the ship was evacuated, to the extent that it was possible to do so. HOWEVER, they were engaged individually through a talent agent and assigned, under individual contracts, to the ship and, as such, they were neither employees of White Star Line; nor were they passengers.
After the event White Star's insurers paid out compensation for losses to passengers [or their survivors], employed crew [or their survivors] and the ship owners.
As the bandsmen were none of the above, but individual independent contractors, and they were also not "employees" of the agency that managed their contracts with White Star Line, their survivors [families] got nothing.
Studio36
Sad. In today's world, their families would sue, and probably get a settlement. But people were less litigious back then, I think.
studio36uk wrote: An interesting aside - the band on the Titanic
The 8 bandsmen who played on Titanic all died. They are celebrated as heroes of the sinking for standing by and continuing to play while the ship settled into the sea and sank, thus keeping up a certain level of calm as the ship was evacuated, to the extent that it was possible to do so. HOWEVER, they were engaged individually through a talent agent and assigned, under individual contracts, to the ship and, as such, they were neither employees of White Star Line; nor were they passengers.
After the event White Star's insurers paid out compensation for losses to passengers [or their survivors], employed crew [or their survivors] and the ship owners.
As the bandsmen were none of the above, but individual independent contractors, and they were also not "employees" of the agency that managed their contracts with White Star Line, their survivors [families] got nothing.
studio36uk
Posts: 20,227
Tavai, Sigave, Wallis and Futuna
Christopher Hartman wrote: Did they sue and ever get anything? That's just garbage! what a sad state of affairs...
No. It was not the "done thing" even if there was anyone to sue.
For one of them it got even worse. John "Jock" Hume, 21, [violinist] on taking up his contract assignment the agency representing him arranged for him to be issued with a "uniform" - the usual stuff including a jacket with White Star Line buttons, pants, shirts and collars [which were at the time, and after the fashion, detachable and separate from the shirts] and other items. The cost of these things would have ordinarily been deducted from his wages over a period of time. The agency, the Black Brothers Agency. in effect, had advanced him the cost of the uniform.
After the sinking, and his death, the agency sent a bill for his uniform to his family.
EDITED: to add the individual's name and the name of the agency.
Studio36
NOTE: This is not unusual in the maritime trades. Even up to the end of WW2 if a British registered merchant ship was attacked by the enemy and sunk the wages for the crew stopped at the time [on the date] of the sinking. It didn't matter if they were still alive and floating around for days or weeks on a lifeboat hoping to be picked up. They were treated [by the ship owners] as being on their own time. Such things may, to some extent, continue even to this day.
Feverstockphoto
Posts: 261
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Yep it's been on the news quite alot over the last few years leading up to the 100th anniversary here in Belfast (where it was built). I grew up with the history and stories that are now being told in the new exhibition centre which has just opened it's doors. The pic below shows the new building, the old drawing rooms building and the SS Nomadic.
studio36uk
Posts: 20,227
Tavai, Sigave, Wallis and Futuna
For those interested in Titanic, the SS Nomadic, in the picture above, was built to serve as a tender for the Titanic and the Olympic specifically in the port of Cherbourg. The two larger ships could not come to dock there. Nomadic began her service just immediately before Titanic's maiden voyage and actually was used to transfer some passengers from the Cherbourg dockside to Titanic on the fateful voyage.
External restoration of Nomadic was completed only in Feb 2012 and she is due for completion of the internal restoration by about Nov 2012.
Nomadic was built in a slipway alongside Titanic and Olympic and at the same time. She is pictured, above, resting in the Hamilton Graving dock, on Queen's Road, Belfast, where it is believed that she was first fitted out after her initial launching.
No. It was not the "done thing" even if there was anyone to sue.
For one of them it got even worse. John "Jock" Hume, 21, [violinist] on taking up his contract assignment the agency representing him arranged for him to be issued with a "uniform" - the usual stuff including a jacket with White Star Line buttons, pants, shirts and collars [which were at the time, and after the fashion, detachable and separate from the shirts] and other items. The cost of these things would have ordinarily been deducted from his wages over a period of time. The agency, the Black Brothers Agency. in effect, had advanced him the cost of the uniform.
After the sinking, and his death, the agency sent a bill for his uniform to his family.
EDITED: to add the individual's name and the name of the agency.
Studio36
NOTE: This is not unusual in the maritime trades. Even up to the end of WW2 if a British registered merchant ship was attacked by the enemy and sunk the wages for the crew stopped at the time [on the date] of the sinking. It didn't matter if they were still alive and floating around for days or weeks on a lifeboat hoping to be picked up. They were treated [by the ship owners] as being on their own time. Such things may, to some extent, continue even to this day.
crazy how people look at things. And it's that kind of mistreatment that we owe Unions thanks for ending in other industries, etc. Employees are far too often viewed as nothing more than a stat on a spread sheet.
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