Allan Zullo - Titanic: Young Survivors

T he RMS Titanic carried 2,208 passengers and crewmembers. Among them were 195 unmarried young people between 10 weeks old and 17 years old. Sadly, less than half of them only 86 survived.

Theres a fascinating story behind each kid on that ill-fated ship. I wish I could write something about every one of them, but, of course, thats not possible. Instead, I have written ten stories that reflect what happened on that terrible night of April 1415, 1912, as seen through the eyes of children. All had their own unique experience, depending on the class (first, second, or third) and the lifeboat they were in.

Two teenage survivors never even made it into a lifeboat. Jack Thayer, the youngest person to leap into the frigid water and live, clung to an overturned sinking lifeboat throughout the cold night. So did John Collins, the youngest crewmember to survive, after he was swept off the Titanic while trying to save an infant.

Kids like 12-year-old Ruth Becker showed remarkable courage in the ships final minutes. When she saw her mother and little brother leave in a lifeboat without her, Ruth refused to panic and managed to save herself. Many young people boarding lifeboats faced heartbreak, waving good-bye to their fathers, who remained on the sinking ship. Eleven-year-old Billy Carter wept when he was forced to leave his beloved dog behind before the boy was allowed into a lifeboat.

Some young survivors had rather bizarre experiences on board. Fifteen-year-old Edith Brown heard ominous premonitions from passengers and family that the ship was doomed. And nine-year-old Willie Coutts wore a straw hat that nearly cost him his life.

Because this tragedy happened back in 1912, no survivor is still alive to talk about it. (The last remaining survivor, Millvina Dean, who was only ten weeks old at the time the ship sank, died in England in 2009 at the age of 97.) So for this book, I read hundreds of newspaper and magazine accounts, the official transcripts of U.S. Senate and British commission hearings on the sinking of the Titanic , oral histories and memoirs from survivors, and books about the disaster, as well as watched videos of survivor interviews. In addition, I relied on information supplied by relatives of survivors; the Titanic Historical Society; the Titanic Museums in Branson, Missouri, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and websites devoted to the Titanic , especially encyclopedia-titanica.org, titanic-titanic.com, titanic1.org, titanicinquiry.org, and rmstitanic.net.

From all this source material, I have tried to piece together an accurate accounting of the experiences of young survivors. The dialogue, which has been re-created, is based on their own recollections. But there is margin for error. At hearings in New York and London, passengers and crewmembers sometimes gave conflicting testimony. Even basic facts such as the number of people aboard the Titanic and the number of those saved have been in dispute to this very day.

It wasnt unusual for a survivor to give slightly different versions of his or her account of what happened. Memories over time occasionally grew fuzzy. In some cases, mistaken beliefs were repeated so often they turned into myths that have survived for decades. Part of the blame lay with the sensational newspaper coverage back then. Reporters were notorious for exaggerating the truth and for making up facts solely for dramatic effect.

In an effort to make this book as accurate as possible, I enlisted the help of the research staff at the Titanic Museums. The researchers read over the manuscript, looking for myths, misconceptions, and mistakes. I made changes based on their recommendations.

To help you with the many nautical terms used in the book, I have included a glossary in the back.

No one will ever know exactly what went through the minds of these young people as the Titanic was sinking. Undoubtedly, the calamity impacted the rest of their lives in big ways and small. Some suffered from nightmares or emotionally painful reminders at random times while others put the experience behind them and moved on with their lives. Some chose not to talk about the Titanic while others relished the opportunity to tell their story to anyone who would listen.

Although the young survivors are no longer with us, their stories of heartache and triumph, bravery and sacrifice live on.

A.Z.