Halpern - Report into the loss of the SS Titanic a centennial reappraisal

Samuel Halpern

Cathy Akers-Jordan, George Behe, Bruce Beveridge,
Mark Chirnside, Tad Fitch, Dave Gittins, Steve Hall,
Lester J. Mitcham, Captain Charles Weeks, Bill Wormstedt

Foreword by J. Kent Layton

First published 2011

This ebook edition first published in 2016

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

All rights reserved

Samuel Halpern, Cathy Akers-Jordan, George Behe, Bruce Beveridge, Mark Chirnside, Tad Fitch, Dave Gittins, Steve Hall, Lester J. Mitcham, Captain Charles Weeks, Bill Wormstedt, 2011, 2012, 2016

The rights of Samuel Halpern, Cathy Akers-Jordan, George Behe, Bruce Beveridge, Mark Chirnside, Tad Fitch, Dave Gittins, Steve Hall, Lester J. Mitcham, Captain Charles Weeks, Bill Wormstedt to be identified as the Authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

EPUB ISBN 978 0 7509 6941 3

Cover design Steve Hall

Original typesetting by The History Press

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

INTRODUCTION
Samuel Halpern

TWO NATIONS, TWO INQUIRIES
Dave Gittins

DESCRIPTION OF THE SHIP
Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall

PASSENGERS AND CREW / LOST AND SAVED
Lester J. Mitcham

ACCOUNT OF THE SHIPS JOURNEY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
Samuel Halpern

DESCRIPTION OF THE DAMAGE TO THE SHIP
Captain Charles Weeks and Samuel Halpern

AN ACCOUNT OF THE SAVING OF THOSE ON BOARD
Bill Wormstedt and Tad Fitch

TOO FEW BOATS, TOO MANY HINDRANCES
Dave Gittins, Cathy Akers-Jordan and George Behe

THE RESCUE BY THE SS CARPATHIA
Dave Gittins

THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SS CALIFORNIAN
Samuel Halpern

THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SS MOUNT TEMPLE
Samuel Halpern

THE AFTERMATH OF THE DISASTER
Mark Chirnside and Dave Gittins

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS WITH REFERENCES AND NOTES
Samuel Halpern

SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS OF THIS REPORT
Samuel Halpern

One hundred years later, she lives on... a century after her sinking, the story of Titanic fascinates, enthralls, tantalises and perplexes us as much as she ever has. She has been researched, investigated and probed, been the subject of countless books, documentaries and films. One would think that after ten decades of such intense scrutiny, we would know everything that there is to know about her life and demise that it would all have been said already.

Unfortunately, despite the formal investigations into the loss of Titanic conducted following her sinking, despite all of the books and specials, and despite the recent advent of the internet with all its ability to disseminate information, the history of Titanic is still shrouded in myth, legend and inaccuracy. Many details of the ships generally accepted history are not accurate. With each new generation of books or websites on the subject, many errors from the previous generations of books and now websites have been perpetuated.

In the quest to break fresh ground on the subject, to carve out a niche in the great saga of the Titanic, some researchers and authors have made outlandish claims about certain details of the ships history. To make their theories look plausible, they zoom in on certain details and, in so doing, lose all perspective on what the larger historical record shows. At the same time revisionist historians, eager to cut down long-held beliefs and identify them as legend, have actually further muddied the waters by identifying as inaccurate things which the historical record clearly shows transpired.

Thus, arriving at the truth of what happened that April is difficult enough. Getting the correct information to the public, and in one single place, adds a further layer to the challenge. All of the inaccuracies, half-truths, distortions and mistakes are spread out over a world that is literally awash in print, the media and cyberspace with works on Titanic. Helping to set the historical record straight is more difficult than ever before, for how is the average reader to sort the fact from the fiction?

With all of those who stepped aboard Titanic now deceased, the story of the events that they experienced events which affected them, their families, their friends, and people throughout the world during the last century have passed into the hands of historians and researchers. We now must serve as custodians of the historical record and do our best to preserve it as accurately as possible. The responsibility is ours, and ours alone. There is no room for ego, self-interest, or the sacrifice of facts for the telling of a good story. The time has come for a complete reappraisal of the historical record. Original source material fortunately available in abundance as it never has been before must be consulted. Perspective must be regained. Emotional attachment to ideas and theories must be dispassionately cast aside and conclusions drawn from cold, hard facts.

Walter Lord, author of the legendary 1955 book A Night to Remember, also wrote a sequel to that volume in 1986, entitled The Night Lives On. In that latter book, he wrote as only a writer of his calibre could that it would be a rash man indeed who would set himself up as the final arbiter on all that happened the incredible night the Titanic went down. In the last twenty-six years, those words have proved nearly prophetic. One person working alone can fall into the trap of their own pet ideas or preconceptions. It becomes difficult to think beyond his or her own experiences, to make up for gaps in their own knowledge, and to view things from more than a single perspective. Additionally, an expert in one particular aspect of the history can carefully craft a solid case in his own field, yet can easily become entangled in a minefield of the erroneous when he writes on a subject that falls outside his immediate specialty.

On the other hand, a team of experts, all united in working toward the common goal of laying bare historical accuracy, can more easily steer clear of such pitfalls. This is especially the case where some members of the team have built up a broad general knowledge on many aspects of the history, while others have very specific areas of proficiency. Like a highly specialised military team united in pursuing a common goal, each member brings his own skills and knowledge to the group. Soon the separate individuals come together to form a single, unstoppable entity. The objective case that they can then build begins to come together, forming an interlocking, broad-spectrum picture which then slices like