The Titanic Commutator Issue 228

$15.00

Commutator No. 228, Winter 4th Quarter
Membership Year 2019 – 2020

This is the final print issue.

Contents

Artifacts From the Titanic Museum
S. Amerika telegram

Two tins of Prince Albert tobacco is a strange way to begin, however an extremely valuable Titanic artifact, a telegram, was given to Ed Kamuda in exchange for two tins of Prince Albert tobacco by Otto Reuter, the radio operator of the Hamburg-American liner Amerika.
By Karen Kamuda

Jacques Futrelle-A Georgia Native
A college student who took his camera with him when he was hired as a driver to travel to the Mediterranean on board Carpathia. Laurence Stoudenmire kept a diary that he sent home. His local newspaper printed his commentary shortly after the sinking and, years later the Baltimore Sun featured a story about him. A THS member read the piece and contacted him and also notified Ed Kamuda.
By Karen Kamuda

Britannic: The Length and Breadth of the Ship
One of many popular myths is that Britannic was marginally longer than her sister ships, with an overall length of 903 feet. It is one of those claims which has circulated and been repeated down the years, even though it has no basis in fact.
By Mark Chirnside

Mackay-Bennett Diary Recollections of the Titanic Tragedy
The Titanic Historical Society is indebted to Cecil Stewart for his photographs (with his captions) and correspondence with Edward Kamuda in the 1980s. His father, William C. Stewart was the Chief Officer onboard Mackay-Bennett when she was chartered by the White Star Line to retrieve bodies from Titanic. His historic snapshots appear in this issue.
Ed Kamuda collection

A Day in the Life of a Titanic Crew Member at the Titanic Museum Attraction
Driving toward Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, I felt my mind shift–– transitioning me to the early twentieth century. It continued to take hold and build as I pressed my code into the keypad beside the employee entrance to the museum. I descended the steps into the Galley. There is a sign on the employee side of the door: You are now entering 1912.
By Campbell Cloar

Colonel Astor’s Funeral
Her own flag at half-mast, the funeral ship Mackay-Bennett docked slowly at 9:40 am. Her crew manned the rails with bared heads and, on the aft deck, were stacked with coffins of the dead. Members of the crew talked over the side saying that every body picked up had been in a lifebelt and there were no bullet holes in any. Many uncoffined dead lay on the forward deck covered with tarpaulins. As the undertakers came aboard it was decided to take off these bodies first. Colonel John Jacob Astor’s body, it was said, was somewhere in the pile of rough coffins at the stern.
By Chris Doherty and Karen Kamuda

Sea Poste
THS member Lydia Kuhn died last year. She left a generous donation to the THS.

Extract From “Titanic Scandal: The Trial of the Mount Temple
What may amount to a very serious charge against Captain Moore of the CPR liner Mount Temple, which passed close to the Titanic during the four hours preceding the ill-fated steamer’s sinking, is contained in a statement made here yesterday by E. W. Zurch, who crossed from Antwerp on the Mount Temple.
By Senan Molony

Covers: Olympic’s bridge bell (front cover) and cable ship Mackay-Bennett’s bell (back cover). Both bells are displayed in the Titanic Museum. The bells were purchased at auctions in the UK for the THS by Paul Louden-Brown.

Weight 8 oz
Dimensions 8 × 11 × .25 in
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