Titanic Historical Society Commutator 239

THS Commutator No. 239, Fall 4th Quarter Membership Year 2022

Fosbery and the Titanic Lifebelts
In 1912, Titanic was equipped with 3,500 lifebelts and 48 circular lifebuoys, or life rings. When Titanic’s survivors were picked up by Carpathia in the early hours of April 15th, 1912, the survivors untied their lifebelts and took them off. They not only discarded them on the deck of Carpathia, but some had already disposed of their lifebelts in the lifeboats. The author researched the whereabouts of lifebelts/lifejackets that survived.
By Jerry N. J. Vondeling

Another Titanic Lifejacket, Where is it Now?
I was going through some of Ed’s old files recently and came across an old, blurred, black and white 8 X 10 photo of a lifejacket. It was familiar. I saw it at a museum, a building on the steamship landing in Vineyard Haven,
Massachusetts, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard when I spent a few summers there in the early 1970s.
By Karen Kamuda

Lightoller’s Midnight Stunt
Our readers associate Charles Herbert Lightoller not only with his role in the Titanic disaster but also his help with evacuating the British Expeditionary Forces on the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940. Australians can add another
tale remembering him from a practical joke in Sydney Harbor in 1900.
By Karen Koku

Harry’s Book Collection
Harry Elkins Widener once said about his family, “We are a family of collectors. My grandfather collects paintings, my mother collects silver and porcelains, Uncle Joe collects everything and I, books.” To Harry, book collecting was one of the most important things to do. He loved it very much and his collection showed it. Harry graduated from Harvard in 1907, but while at Harvard he became intelligent as a bibliophile. When he died, his collection consisted of more than 2500 volumes.
By Brook Flanagin

Book Review
Unsinkable Lucile-How a Farm Girl Became the Queen of Fashion and Survived the Titanic
By Hugh Brewster, Illustrations by Laurie McGaw; reviewed by Don Lynch. Unsinkable Lucile is a refreshing departure from the standard children’s book. It’s the true story of Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon, the fashion designer who survived the sinking of the Titanic

A Titanic Mystery
Three Daniel Buckleys, Two Catherine Buckleys. There is nothing new under the sun when It comes to money to be distributed. In 1912, in simpler times, charity was handled by private organizations and/or churches. It is, in the current vernacular, a teachable moment, to see that administering funds on the local level was superior in keeping track of who and what is received. Compared to methods nowadays managed by large government bureaucracies with gobs of taxpayer money––waste, fraud and abuse for the most part, is seldom uncovered.
With thanks to Don Lynch

“Titanic” Looking Back 25 Years
t is hard to believe that it has been twenty-five years since James Cameron filmed his epic movie, “Titanic.” Most of the 1912 scenes were filmed at Fox Studios in Rosarito, Mexico, and it was an experience of a lifetime to be able to walk the decks of the ship as it appeared in 1912, or through the elaborately recreated public rooms on the sound stages. You could literally walk out of Rose’s cabin, along the corridor, down the grand staircase, through the reception room, and into the dining saloon without knowing you were on a set. All the walls and ceilings were in place.
By Don Lynch and karen Kamuda

Great New Merchandise Items in the Titanic Museum Store
• White Star Line Brass Buttons
• Unique!! For Your Titanic Dinner Party
• Titanic Memorabilia Reproductions
• For Your Titanic Dinner
• The Daily Mirror Titanic Disaster edition
• Titanic & Olympic Third Class Accommodation

Covers:
Front: The Astor lifejacket in the THS collection
Back: C.H. Lightoller circa 1901. (Photos: THS collection)