A City in Mourning

In Southampton, rumours begin to spread. More than 600 homes have men and women aboard. The rumours spread through the streets, across the city. The families know that, in the event of a tragedy, the crew will be most at risk. They will be expected to do their duty.

The window of the Southampton Times carries a notice that the Titanic is “probably sinking”. Crowds gather outside the offices of the White Star Line in Canute Road and the Seafarers’ Union in Terminus Terrace. There is hope, with talk that Titanic has been holed but under tow and being taken to Halifax in Nova Scotia.

A notice is posted outside the White Star building: “Titanic foundered about 2.30 am on April the 15th. About 675 crew and passengers picked up. Names of those saved will be posted as soon as received.”

The Hampshire Independent reports that crowds are increasing outside the White Star offices and the west gate side of the docks….a pathetic scene.

The street lamps flicker on hundreds of faces, grey with anxiety. The crowd is dense around the entrance to the company’s offices, with an occasional gap to allow grieving relatives through to ask for news.

There is a vigil, day and night. Workmen come and nail blackboards to the railings. The names of those saved will be posted there.

One woman waits with two babies in a pram, and a toddler holding her hand. The woman receives news, and turns her head away away to hide her tears.

The crowds anxiously scan the blackboards to check for their loved ones. The scale of the disaster is becoming apparent. Entire streets are decked out in black. At one school in Northam, half of the 240 pupils lose their fathers. Of the 899 crew who sail on the ship, 686 die.

Mrs May in York Street now has 10 children to bring up on her own. Another woman has just given birth to twins. The woman hears that her husband, a fireman, has drowned. She dies from shock. More than 1,500 passengers and crew lose their lives - including 53 children.

“The day a city is torn apart The day a city loses its heart”

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