Posted on 05/31/2009 12:57:25 PM PDT by Borges
The last survivor of the sinking of the Titanic has died aged 97.
Millvina Dean was nine weeks old when the liner sank after hitting an iceberg in the early hours of 15 April 1912, on its maiden voyage from Southampton.
The disaster resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people in the north Atlantic, largely due to a lack of lifeboats.
Miss Dean, who remembered nothing of the fateful journey, died on Sunday at the care home in Hampshire where she lived, two of her friends told the BBC.
Her family had been travelling to America, where they hoped to start a new life and open a tobacconist's shop in Kansas. They travelled third class.
Miss Dean's mother, Georgetta, and two-year-old brother, Bert, also survived, but her father, Bertram, was among those who perished when the vessel sank.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Godspeed, Millvina.
no survivors now.
Cue Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On...”
Wow, I cannot imagine going thru that disaster with a 9 week old and a 2 week old. Her mother was one tough woman!
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
Yes, not even lifeboats.
But many of the lifeboats left only partially loaded.
Also, lifeboats filled to capacity still have a lot of freeboard, the distance from the gunwale (top of the boat) to the waterline.
Hundreds more people could have been saved. Quick thinking on the ship’s officers might have save almost everyone by say lashing huge tables together and making make shift boats.
From what I recall, the ship’s crew did not hold a fire and boat drill upon departure or at any time during the voyage. The only time they did an abandon ship drill was for real-it was no drill.
Wow. What a story.
2 days older than my Dad too.
RIP Millvina
RIP.
My, where would we be if the MSM wasn't around to educate us?
Heh. Probably in a powerful & wealthy industrial nation that was proud of its stunning achievements and Western historical values.
Good catch.
Thanks for the pic!
Celine Dion: the Canadian Barbra Streisand. There’s no song she can’t torture into submission.
Reunited with her family now forever.
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Wow, I cannot imagine going thru that disaster with a 9 week old and a 2 week old. Her mother was one tough woman!
Uh, read it again, brytlea. I think that goes beyond tough towards impossible!
Oops...typo, I mean two year old! Sheesh, I seriously need a proofreader!
Celine Dion: “You let those people touch those things!”
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