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Truth so very well hidden

What is not seen causes no grief

By Peter RosePublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Truth has been so very well hidden

What is not seen causes no grief

Many eyes watched the launch of the hull of the Titanic. Only some knew of the time it will take to get her fully fitted ready for the maiden voyage. Even less knew of our plans for this maiden voyage, in fact only 3 of us knew in advance of our plans. We had sympathisers in the design department who were drawing up plans for the fitting out. The grand schemes for the opulent restaurants and the spacious first-class cabins. Draftsmen further down the food chain drew up plans to maximise the numbers who could be fitted into the steerage class accommodation, at this stage none of us were aware of the plans for the above deck’s superstructure, unfortunately we were never aware of these until it was all too late. We planned the biggest protest against capitalism, that had ever been made, we did not plan for the loss of life. May God forgive us, but we did not intend for her to sink so quickly, and we thought that everyone on board would find a place in the lifeboats.

I used my employment as a carpenter working for a sub-contractor who had gained the prestigious order for fitting out the lower decks, it was to be done without profit since the boss thought that the publicity of being associated with the biggest and best ship ever seen, would bring in other more profitable work. In 1911 we watched as this mighty hull was launched; it was almost immediate that we saw the opportunity to gain public knowledge of our newly set up Irish republican independence movement. I was just one among many badly paid yet highly skilled artisan workers, getting pence for working on the most expensive fitting out in the history of British ship building, every day a thousand of us walked from our slums to the Belfast shipyards, climbed the ladders and carried tools and materials into that huge metal enclosure. It was so big there was none of the usual claustrophobia one felt in smaller ships hulls. No one ever asked what we carried, no one ever checked to ensure we were supposed to be there. It was easy enough to arrive each day with an extra bottle of beer in with my vittles. This bottle had to be very carefully carried, I avoided all the jostling crowds and came in very early for my shit, to avoid being knocked about in the rush to be tallied in. It contained nitro glycerine courtesy of Mr Ascanio Sobrero himself. His republican sympathies had made sure he helped in the formulation of the liquid, otherwise I would probably have been blown to bits just getting out of my lodgings. A sympathiser in the drafting room who drew up the daily plans of work we had to do, had shown me where I was to store the wonderful liquid the space between sections of the bulkhead that held back the nearly four thousand tons of coal that would be on board when Titanic sailed. After about 6 months I got to work on the panelling near the intended storage place. I used a funnel and tube to very gently introduce the liquid into its hiding place. Every day for 4 months I put in a quarter of a pint and every day I sweated with fear that I may accidentally set it off. Not much fear of being detected in my work since most of those who worked nearby were members of our movement, who all made sure they did not see my activities. Finally, I used shellack glue to fix a wood panel over the access hole and my work was complete. It was certain no hammering could disturb the huge bulk of steel that formed this mighty vessel.

We had recruited one of the 176 firemen who would work in shifts, shovelling coal into the huge boilers, The plan was simple he would wait until the ship docked in America, as a member of the crew he would not be going ashore so would have time to find my glued in cover and insert a thunder-cap on a fuse long enough to allow him to be well clear when the explosion occurred. When the time of the explosion came we had intended that all the passengers especially those from our own class of working poor had left the ship. The ship would be disabled in America, and we could gain huge public support and sympathy in that land, we had all the leaflets planned and some even printed ready to distribute. I stayed in the same lodgings, did the same work on other ships waiting for the day of triumph. She sailed on the 10th of April came back to Ireland to restock with coal. We waited for her to reach America, so certain nothing could go wrong with our plans.

4days after sailing she hit an iceberg, the gash in her hull opened more than one of the watertight compartments but the bilge pumps would be able to cope and pump water out as fast as it came in. Unfortunately, our plans then ensured that this did not happen. The shock of the collision caused the Nitro-glycerine to explode, this ripped out the riveted bulkhead holding the coal stocks in place, over three thousand tons of coal became an avalanche that swept away those bilge pumps and the shifting weight of coal added to the unchecked flow of water from the gash, made by the iceberg ensured she floundered. We had not realised that there would be totally inadequate lifesaving equipment, over two thousand two hundred people had been on the ship and all but seven hundred and ten died, along with our fireman. The sheer loss of life caused anger and pain all round the world, any mention of our part in this would bring down a vast condemnation from the very people we were hoping would support our cause. We made sure all possible connections between us and the ship, disappeared and I moved to England, changed my name and prayed that our intentions never became known.

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About the Creator

Peter Rose

Collections of "my" vocal essays with additions, are available as printed books ASIN 197680615 and 1980878536 also some fictional works and some e books available at Amazon;-

amazon.com/author/healthandfunpeterrose

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