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One Way to New York City, Please!

'Promise me you'll survive. That you won't give up, no matter what happens. No matter how hopeless.'

By Rosie J. SargentPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 14 min read
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Third-Class Passenger Ticket, stamped on the 10th April 1912.

This story is based on the real lives of Annie McGowan and Fredrick Barrett, survivors of the Titanic.

On the 2nd April 1912, the Titanic left Belfast and headed for Southampton. Unbeknownst to the crew and her creators, a small coal fire had been burning in the coal bunker of Boiler Room six for almost two weeks.

The Titanic arrives in Southampton twenty-six hours later where she remained until her departure on the 10th April. During this time, Lead Stoker Fredrick Barrett had been hired to work on the Titanic.

The cold winds carried tension from the orange shores. Dark clouds loomed over the Lough Conn, carrying a struggle, a hardship. Yet, inside the small quaint home of Annie McGowan, the American Wake was in full swing. The McGowan's home bursting with singing, laughter and flowing drinks. As tomorrow Annie, her aunt - Kathy, the Burkes, the Flynns', the McDermott's, Annie Kate Kelly, and Nora Fleming would all set sail on the Titanic and begin a new life in New York. There was no work in Adder Goole, there was no work in Ireland. Many others had already left Ireland to go to America.

"In America the jobs are plentiful, and there are opportunities for us all, including us girls" Katy had said cheerfully. She was dressed in her fine American clothes. She now wore a fashionable hat and an expensive pair of leather gloves which was more than what Annie had ever owed. Kathy had come home to convince her friends and family to come and join her in America, but when they saw her well dressed, and in good health, they did needn't much persuading.

She turns to Annie "You know, they say she's unsinkable. The most luxurious...biggest ship in the entire world and we - " she wraps her arms around Annie.

"We are the lucky few to embark on her maiden voyage!"

"She hasn't been christened, and you know what that means! That voyage is cursed! You mark my words!" Growled Mr McGowan, Annie's father. A devout catholic. Kathy, Annie and the others passed this off as nothing more than sailors' superstition. Yet the mood at the American Wake had shifted to a sorrowful tune, and a Wake it had become. Most of those who left Ireland would never return. As life in America was so different to that of Ireland. It was as if the McGowan's and the people of Adder Goole were losing their loved ones. As they all said goodbye to their old lives, their old selves, they would be reborn, with a better version of their former image.

"Well, we better all get some sleep. It's a long journey to Castle Bar station and an even longer journey to Queenstown." Kathy smiled, as did Annie and the others (except Mr McGowan who was more devastated than scorned. He knew he would never see his daughter again), and they toasted their last round of drinks, finishing them quicker than the first drink served on Saint Patricks' Day celebrations and headed to bed.

The trip from Adder Goole to Castle Bar train station was an uncomfortable tedious five hours on the back of a wooden cart. Annie, with her Aunt, and twelve others, left at sunrise to catch their train to Queenstown. Excitement fuelled the Adder Goole fourteen as the freshness of a new beginning was on the horizon, and for the first time in most of their lives, they had felt a sense of hope.

Once Annie and the others had reached the train station they had an additional five and a half hours before they could set their sights on the most miraculous of ships.

Meanwhile, Lead Stoker Barrett, Chief Engineer Joseph Bell and fellow crewmen had discovered the burning coal. Mr Bell ordered Barrett to immediately extinguish the fire, but sadly, the damage was already done; little did they know her script had already been written, and they were the chorus in this fated Greek tragedy.

The Titanic left Southampton on the 10th April 1912 at approximately midday. She arrived in Cherbourg, France at 6:30 pm, and arrived in Queenstown, Ireland, where the Adder Goole fourteen boarded the Titanic at 8:10 pm.

Ticket number: 330923 Annie McGowan: Age 17/Female/3rd-class Passenger.

On the 11th of April Radio Operators on board received the first warning about Icebergs; this warning was ignored.

The next three days went beyond expectations for the Adder Goole fourteen and reaffirmed their hopes for America. Annie had never seen electric lights before, nor had slept in a bed all to herself. The washing and toilet facilities were the grandest, and the delicious plentiful food with shining silver cutlery was even grander. "Napkins! They have napkins!" cheered James Flynn. She was everything Annie had expected and more. As each day went by Annie's excitement grew and grew, and she wasn't alone. Many spoke in different tongues, from the eastern comrades to the deep southern coasts of Italy. Accents rolled like waves beneath the decks. America was Annie and many others' chance. America was the land of the free, where anything is possible. Dreams become true, hope can prosper, and everyone and anyone can succeed. Every passenger from high to low was in good spirits. Come each evening the ship herself would beam as if a beacon of happiness, faith, and embodiment of hope.

Captain Edward J. Smith cancels the scheduled safety drill on the 14th April. The Titanic is running behind and her reputation is at risk. He begins to speed at 22 knots.

6 pm Radio Operators continue to ignore iceberg warnings.

9.40 pm Continued iceberg warnings.

The water was calm and very still. The sky gleamed with diamonds not a cloud in sight, the ideal sailing conditions. Onboard, there was nothing still, not at all quiet. Nora Fleming, the Burkes, the Flynns', and other passengers that had been befriended along with the Adder Goole fourteen's adventures, were celebrating Nora's eighteenth birthday. Tipsy, and fuelled by glee, they partied merrily, sang songs of home, expressed love for one another, spoke of their dreams and ideas, and did what humans do - live. The room was bursting with life. A room of which that made the high life of a socialite look stale, boring and void of sentiment. Annie and Kathy McGowan, and Annie Kate Kelly, had all gone to bed. It wouldn't be long before they reach New York.

11 pm Iceberg warnings, other ships nearby send a message to the Titanic that they were enclosed by icebergs. This was ignored.

11:35 pm Iceberg dead ahead! Bridge is first notified.

"Stop the engines!" shouted Joseph Bell. Once the engines had stopped the ship held her breath drifting for thirty seconds at a speed of 20.5 knots before hitting the Iceberg at 11:40 pm. At a scrape of three-hundred feet starboard side, the hull below the waterline was beginning to take water. Boiler Room six is the first to witness her sinking.

"Cut off the turbines and redirect the steam to the main condensers - raise the bridge!" commanded Mr Bell.

Those who had been partying moments before had begun to pick up chunks of ice with their hands to put in their drinks. Most people at Nora's birthday celebrations did not feel the impact because they were too busy partying and celebrating their new lives. All they noticed was the shudder of their drinks.

At 11:45 pm, the Titanic pillars went in reverse thrust - slow ahead. At the same time, Greaser Alfred White was sent to the Electrician Bunkroom, and William Kelly, Alfred Middleton, and Albert Errie were getting ready for bed.

"You're needed in the Bridge," said White.

"Why's that now?" said Middleton.

"I don't know. They just told me to fetch you. Like they would tell a Greaser."

The Electricians quickly discover that the lighting and telephone lines were -

"They are short-circuiting on 6, 5, 4..." Eerie was concerned.

Mr Bell commanded the main turbine shutdown. Barrett and his men were already getting acquainted with the Atlantic. "Shut the dampers!" Cold sea water hitting a fully pressurised boiler can cause a lethal thermal explosion.

Middleton notices "She's taking water at the head." Both Eerie and Kelly look at one another with fear.

The iceberg had hit Boiler Room six by two feet. Out of sixteen compartments, the first four at the hull meant that her watertight doors would keep her from sinking. The first four compartments is her death warrant, compartment five is her sentence.

By 11:55 pm Boiler Room six was almost underwater and rising. Chief Designer Thomas Andrew discovers this horror and shows Mr Bell through the hatch of Boiler Room six.

"You feel how the water is blowing the air up? That's her sinking, sir. Her neck is in the noose."

Meanwhile in Boiler Room five...

"Man the pumps, transfer steam pressure to the ash ejectors. Keep those fires down! We don't want the pressure to build up and bust the joints." Mr Bell instructed Barrett.

00:00 The stokers bunkroom known as the Black-Gang Bunkroom was now flooding. Crew members were placed at the hull to be hidden from the passengers.

At the same time, the first distress signal is sent: 'We have struck an iceberg 41°43′32″N 49°56′49″W Come as soon as possible.'

00:15 am the electricians begin to divert power through circuits to keep the lights on.

"Turn on the lifeboat winches!" Mr Bell shouted as he walked up to the three electricians.

Mr Bell continues to explain that "the emergency steam pipe runs above the watertight bulk-heads throughout the auxiliary dynamos on D-deck. They are on the outside of the engine room casing"

"Thirty kilowatts each at 100 volts," said Mr Kelly.

"We need to take the steam from boilers 2, 3, 4, and pass it up to the emergency dynamo. Isolate the circuits," instructed Mr Bell.

"Divert the portside boiler to two!"

At 12:45 it is believed to be when the first lifeboat was lowered. The lifeboats had the capacity of sixty-five people, this boat had twenty-nine passengers all from first class. By this point, four out of twenty-two lifeboats had already been lost, and they're already wasn't enough for everyone on board.

Annie and Kathy McGowan had awoken from the commotion. Annie Kate Kelly was informed the ship was sinking, however, she believed this was a cruel trick. The Adder Goole fourteen reunited in steerage where the stewards inform them to stay and wait for further instructions.

During this time, seven more lifeboats had already left, every person on board was a first-class passenger.

In Boiler Room five, Barrett and his men gather pumps in an attempt to drain the seawater. Their efforts are futile as the water level continues to rise. The water level is now knee-high. Assistant Engineer, Joseph Shepard dislocates his leg. Barrett and his men helped Mr Shepard pop his leg back into place. He, light-headed and pale, passes out from the pain.

Mr Bell informs his crewmen that "people are leaving the ship, and we got to give them the best chance we got."

"We have auxiliaries running off the boilers in three, we have the portside boilers in two -" responded Middleton.

"There's the starboard side in four, sir," interjected Kelly.

"If we can keep her in steam we can cross-connect from the supply line to the reciprocating engines," said Mr Bell.

1:15 am The fate of the ship is now realised by the crew, they aim to delay her sinking as much as possible.

"I need steam for the pumps!" shouted Mr Bell.

Mr Bell addresses the crew "Can everyone hear me? This ship is sinking! now I need a couple of men to keep these generators going so we can get as many people off this ship as quickly as possible - Barrett?"

"Yes sir, 2, 3, 4, are in steam" replied Barrett.

"It's your decision." continued Mr Bell. Astoundingly, most of the men stayed.

Mr Bell, Barrett and the remaining men, continued removing coal and shutting the dampers. Suddenly men of high ranking became a part of the black-gang crew. The three electricians dodge sparks, and they continue to power the lights. All the men try not to focus on her groaning, creaking and tapping. The stress on the hull had brought her to a breaking point.

1.30 am Boiler Room six is now completely submerged. Boiler room five is now the next victim to be lost to the icy waters of the Atlantic. Mr Shepard is lost, Barrett and his men climb up the hatch onto the next compartment. Sparks and steam everywhere.

Meanwhile, the Adder Goole fourteen are still waiting in steerage for further instructions. With every minute they grew more stressed and anxious, they begin to notice the slant in the ship and decide to make their way to the upper deck. They were stopped. Third-class passengers were not allowed to travel up through second and first-class steerage to reach the upper deck.

The Adder Goole fourteen were a team, they organised themselves, and began to climb up the decks, one at a time. By the time they reached the upper deck, there were only three lifeboats left.

"Barrett!" shouted Mr Bell.

"I'm going to go to four! To get the pumps!"

"No man! Get out off here! I've got this - ok? Go!" Screamed Mr. Bell as he tugged and pulled on Barrett's shirt.

Barrett takes one quick look back at Mr Bell, the man a few days prior he had loathed, now his equal. He nods his head in salute and heads to the upper decks. Mr Bell was never seen again.

On the upper decks, chaos had broken, the life of the party gone, and the music had turned to screaming. Annie Kate Kelly and Aleida McDermott had secured a spot on the lifeboat's portside. Mary and Catherine Burke had managed to get on another lifeboat starboard but gave up their spots as they didn't want to leave Mary's husband, Catherine's brother, James. Annie McGowan took their place aboard lifeboat thirteen. Barrett had helped crewmen get the lifeboats off the vessel. The crewmen were in a great panic to get another lifeboat away, as it nearly crushed lifeboat thirteen. Barrett quickly cut the rope and released the lifeboat, and lead the boat with its survivors.

"Let me in!" screamed a man already cold from the ocean.

"There's not enough room!" said another survivor in panic.

"If you don't let me in, I will tip this boat!"

"Let him on, there's enough space for more!" Shouted Barrett. Lending a hand to the cold wet man.

Annie McGowan's eyes bled from the saltwater sea, her tears stung as they rolled down her cheeks. Concerned for her aunt and her friends, she missed home, her mother and her father. Is this what America will be like? Heartbreak and tragedy?

Suddenly...

2:20 am The lights flicker and go out. There is nothing but darkness. Screams filled the air. Barrett knows that Mr Bell and his men are gone. The screaming grew as she began to buckle in half. Those in the lifeboats look on in helpless horror before she finally submerges below the waves.

The survivors were rescued by the ship Carpathia. Over 1,500 people lost their lives, most were third-class passengers. Out of the Adder Goole fourteen, three survived - Annie McGowan, Annie Kate Kelly, and Adelia McDermott. Two bodies from the fourteen were found, while the nine others were lost. Fredrick Barrett later returned to Belfast, and handed Frank Bell, Joseph Bell's son, a letter that was written the day they left Southampton.

Most of the passengers (about sixty-eight per cent) onboard the Titanic were third class. Roughly ninety per cent of the passengers were heading to America to begin a new life. They knew there weren't enough lifeboats for every passenger, this was because they wanted to uphold her unsinkable reputation. After all, if she was unsinkable, why would there have been a need for so many lifeboats? If the captain didn't speed, the Titanic would have arrived eight hours later than that scheduled. It was also found that the watchman didn't have binoculars because the officer who was in charge of the cabinet wasn't on board, after he had quit his job and never returned the key. The Radio Operators ignored the warnings because they prioritised passenger radio transmissions to loved ones back home. In 1985 they discovered her remains with a huge slab of iron that was damaged by burning. This was from Boiler Room six where the coal fire had been burning undetected for over two weeks.

There was a magnitude of factors that contributed to the tragedy of the Titanic. The iceberg was a glacier from Greenland and was discovered with a red strip of paint twelve hours later.

One hundred and ten years later, the story of the Titanic still captures the hearts of millions. It is estimated that the engineers worked an hour and a half more than what was expected. From what we know most engineers went down with their ship. They worked right up until the last moment. She, her crew and all her passengers will never be forgotten.

You can find the same piece on my PublishOX page: https://www.publish0x.com/the-writers-bloc/one-way-to-new-york-please-xrnkppg

Historical
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About the Creator

Rosie J. Sargent

Hello, my lovelies! Welcome, I write everything from the very strange to the wonderful; daring and most certainly different. I am an avid coffee drinker and truth advocate.

Follow me on Twitter/X @rosiejsargent97

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