Titanic Diary

THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC

A Diary Entry

It was 14^th April 1912. We were four days into our journey and the Titanic had already stopped off at France and Ireland before making her way to New York. The journey was smooth and calm. Even though we were third class passengers, our accommodation was far more luxurious than back home in Ireland. We were right down at the bottom of the ship and there were so many staircases that we only ever went up for meals and a breath of fresh air from time to time. The ship had everything; from a post office to a swimming pool and a gym. 

It was a calm day, people quietly bustling around and enjoying the view of the endless blue ocean. They had no idea that just that evening it would become their enemy and a nightmare they couldn’t wake up from.

It was early evening and I was up on deck letting the cool, crisp breeze flow through my hair. It was then that I looked down and noticed there were little ice bergs near the ship. They were very small, and I didn’t think about it again. A few hours later, though, when I was down in my bunk dropping off to sleep, I felt a loud scraping against the side of the ship. I sat up in bed and wondered what was happening, still half asleep. Suddenly I felt the ship shudder and groan. The engine had turned off. I make my way out of our room and run up the stairways, making my way up to the main deck.

People are milling around, still in their nightclothes. Nobody is panicking. They all think it is a drill. Suddenly a big white thing catches the corner of my eye. I spin around and gasp. A massive ice-burg is looming like a mountain above us. Suddenly a big chunk falls off the tip and smashes on the deck. A group of young men run over and start playing football with the chunks of ice.

How on earth could they play football when the Titanic is filling with water? Everything is chaos. Why is nobody getting into the lifeboats? I go over to one of the crew. He is looking lost and desperate and is sweating like his life depends on it.

“Is there a leak in the ship?” I ask. He gives me an unsure look, as if he doesn’t want to tell me.

“We’ll get it out soon ‘nuff,” He answers uncertainly.

But soon the ship is tilting at a strong angle. Some people are starting to realise what is happening, and a few are helping to get the lifeboats ready. Even though it can carry 65, the first is launched with only 28 people in it. Some more lifeboats are lowered but they barely have anyone in them.

Everything was a blur to me after that. I stood huddled next to my parents on deck, waiting for us to be called in. After a few hours, the bow of the Titanic was sticking into the air at a dangerous angle. There were only three lifeboats left and still more than half of the Titanic’s passengers were left on board. Suddenly, just as they were about to lower down another lifeboat, full to the brim, a young bride suddenly ordered them to stop. She got out of the lifeboat and went and stood with her new husband, and declared she wasn’t going to leave him. The crew argued, of course they did, but she wouldn’t budge. That left one more place. They spotted me and ordered me into the lifeboat.

“What about my parents?” I asked desperately.

“We’ll find a place for them in the other lifeboats,” they replied and picked me up by the waist and plopped me into the boat. We got lowered down into the dark sea. The unforgiving, cold sea.

It was all a nightmare after that. The loud, desperate wailing of people in the water, drowning. It was agonising being so near to them and yet not being able to help them.

Two hours later the Carpathia arrived and we all got hauled onto the ship. Sure enough, they had managed to squeeze my mother onto the last lifeboat. Father was no where to be seen. Mother told me with tears in her eyes that he had gone down bravely with many other gentlemen.

It was the worst day of my life. I will never forget it.