John D. T. White - 705 Things You May Not Have Known About the Titanic

Title Page

705 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT R.M.S. TITANIC

Compiled By

John DT White

Publisher Information

First published as an ebook in 2012 by

Apex Publishing Ltd

PO Box 7086, Clacton on Sea, Essex, CO15 5WN

www.apexpublishing.co.uk

Digital edition converted and distributed in 2012 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

Copyright 2012 John DT White

The author has asserted his moral rights

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition, that no part of this book is to be reproduced, in any shape or form. Or by way of trade, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser, without prior permission of the copyright holder.

Dedication

I would like to dedicate my book to my wife Janice and our two sons, Marc & Paul.

Acknowledgment

I would like to say a special Thank You to Jonathan Smith for his fantastic Foreword to my book.

Jonathan also very kindly designed the magnificent cover to my book which contains images from his own personal collection of Titanic photographs and memorabilia.

Jonathan is a Titanic Researcher and Historian and assisted me with my first book on RMS Titanic which is entitled The RMS Titanic Miscellany.

If you are looking for any information about Titanic or you are seeking an answer to a question that my book has not dealt with, then your first port of call should be a visit to Jonathans forum/website - The Olympic Class Liners - http://olympicclassliners.proboards.com/index.cgi

John D T White

Foreword

It is hard to believe that one hundred years have passed since the worlds largest and most luxurious liner, bound for New York with some 2,223 passengers and crew aboard, was wrecked by a North Atlantic iceberg taking with her nearly 1,500 lives. As the 705 survivors ascended the rope ladders to the rescue ship R.M.S. Carpathia, it still seemed incomprehensible that the greatest of the works of man had gone. Yet one hundred years on, she is still fresh in both the minds of young and old alike. With the year 2012 marking the Centennial of the disaster, Titanic is yet again with us. But did she ever leave us? Two World Wars never dampened her story. The rock-n-roll years of the 1950s had the release of two major studio Titanic movies. She was very much in the public limelight during the 1960s and 70s as varying groups came forward with grandiose ideas of not only discovering the wreck, but raising her from the watery grave. The discovery sparked media frenzy in September 1985 as television news reports flashed grainy images from the seabed some 12,480 feet down. Then in 1997 came James Camerons lavish epic of romance aboard the doomed liner. Never has Titanic seen so much attention and viewed by so many.

From the moment her keel plates were laid on the 31st March 1909, the soon-to-be new liner was being publically advertised around the globe. She was, like her older sister Olympic, the new breed of superliner that captured the publics imagination, from her shear size to lavish stately home appointments. Her sinking may have been the ships demise, but she was to live on in the hearts of the public for decades to follow. Her brief but eventful life has been well documented in many types of media, through books, films, television and the internet. Each year something new is discovered about the liner, be it a photograph or the latest research into how the ship met her terrible fate.

Over the years I have heard many times from people but what else can we possibly learn about Titanic that we dont already know? Despite the air of truth in that statement, it must also be remembered that with any well researched subject, we also tend to forget much. A book that covers a multitude of facts about the ship would be a welcoming addition to any Titanic book lovers shelf. A book that covers many subjects on just one focal subject, but a book that will keep you flicking through the pages as you find fact after fact, historical or trivial, fun or serious, is certainly a welcoming addition to the ever expanding Titanic written media.

The countless books on Titanic that have been published over the years cover many aspects of the ship, from her passengers and crew, the technical side such as the building and running of the liner, to the tragic sinking. Although they cover at times a single topic associated with Titanic, not many have been released that cover a multitude of topics. John. D.T Whites first book on Titanic; The RMS Titanic Miscellany was first published in hardback in 2011 and released in paperback in 2012, deals with such a theme. I had the great pleasure of assisting John with the book, so when I was asked to help again with his second book on the subject, I did not hesitate to say yes.

Johns attention to uncovering details is much like the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He leaves no stone unturned in his quest to find not only fascinating facts about the unsinkable liner, but facts that are not only true, but most rarely covered in other works. Johns new book, 705 THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT R.M.S. TITANIC covers in topical quiz form many facts about liner that covers her builders, passengers, films, the vessel herself, the sinking, and many tidbits of trivia that will pleasantly surprise readers from page to page. It is not only a tribute to the 705 who survived to tell the tale, but those who sadly perished, those who toiled to build her and those who continue the story on. And like the subject of Titanic, Johns book will fascinate generations of readers for years to come.

Jonathan Smith

Titanic Researcher & Historian

United Kingdom

February 2012

Questions

In The Beginning

1. Name either one of the two men who had dinner together on 30 April 1907 when it is believed that the construction of the Titanic was first conceived.
2. What do the letters RMS stand for?
3. Name the world famous shipyard where Titanic was built.
4. How many years did it take to construct Titanic?
5. To the nearest 500, how many men did it take to build Titanic?
6. What were there 3 million of on the Titanic?
7. In what year was the Titanic launched?
8. What was the Yard No. given to the Titanic during the ships construction period - 400, 401 or 402?
9. Can you name the English company which ordered the construction of the Titanic?
10. To the nearest 250,000 how much did it cost to build the Titanic?

The Harland & Wolff Shipyard - 1

1. Remarkably at one time in its illustrious history, Harland & Wolff shipyard, Belfast produced a huge amount of the worlds total shipping output. At its peak did the Belfast yard produce 1/6 th , 1/7 th or 1/8 th of the worlds total shipping output?
2. In which year did work commence on the construction of Titanic?
3. To the nearest 2,000 how many men worked in the shipyard when Titanic and her older sister were under construction in 1909?
4. Can you name Titanics older sister?
5. Who was the Chairman & Managing Director of the Harland & Wolff Shipyard in 1907 when the construction of the Titanic was ordered?
6. What religion made up the vast majority of the shipyards workforce when the Titanic was being built?
7. Can you name the principal architect at the Harland & Wolff Shipyard behind the design of the Titanic; a man who lost his life when the ship sank?
8. How much were the skilled workers at the shipyard paid who built Titanic - 1, 2 or 3?
9. What was the name of the Group from the shipyard who sailed on Titanics maiden voyage to make sure everything was going to plan?