THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC

(April 14-15, 1912 – North Atlantic Ocean)

Arthur H. Rostron

(Captain, RMS Carpathia)

RMS Carpathia

The Official Story

ARTHUR ROSTRON
(Captain, RMS Carpathia)

Sir Arthur Henry Rostron, KBE, RD, RNR (14 May 1869 – 4 November 1940) was a British sailor and a seagoing officer for the Cunard Line. He is best remembered as the captain of the ocean liner RMS Carpathia, when it rescued hundreds of survivors from the RMS Titanic when the latter ship sank in 1912, after colliding with an iceberg in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Rostron won wide praise for his energetic efforts to reach the Titanic before she sank, and his efficient preparations for and conduct of the rescue of the survivors. He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by the U.S. Congress, and in 1926, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He rose to become the Commodore of the Cunard fleet, and retired in 1931.

The Titanic rescue

Carpathia was on its regular route between New York City and Fiume, Croatia when, early on 15 April 1912, she received a distress signal from the White Star Line ocean liner RMS Titanic, which had struck an iceberg. Rostron was asleep when Carpathia’s wireless operator, Harold Cottam, contacted Titanic at 12:15 am to relay regular private party wireless traffic from Cape Cod. The sinking Titanic, which had struck an iceberg about 11:41 p.m., replied with a distress message and call for help. Cottam ran to Rostron’s cabin to alert him.

Rostron immediately ordered the ship to race towards Titanic’s reported position, posting extra lookouts to help spot and manoeuvre around the ice he knew to be in the area. Only after ordering Carpathia “turned to”, towards the disaster scene, did Rostron confirm with Cottam that the latter was sure about Titanic’s distress call. About 58 nautical miles (107 km) separated Carpathia from Titanic’s position. Rostron and his engineering crew, led by Chief Engineer A.B. Jones, skillfully obtained the maximum speed possible from the engines of Carpathia, coaxing her up to 17.5 knots—three and a half faster than her rated speed. Even so, Carpathia, travelling through dangerous ice floes, took about 3.5 hours to reach Titanic’s radioed position.

During this time, Rostron turned off heating to ensure maximum steam for the engines of the Carpathia and had the ship prepared for survivors, including getting blankets, food, and drinks ready, and ordering his medical crew to stand by to receive the possibly injured. Crewmen were placed in the corridors to reassure passengers alarmed by the increased speed and changed direction of the ship. Altogether, 23 orders from Rostron to his crew were successfully implemented before Carpathia had even arrived at the scene of the disaster. Rostron highly praised his crew for their efficiency in his report to line management. Rostron was a pious man: issuing orders, he often raised a hand to his cap and closed his eyes in prayer. Speaking of the risk taken by running through dense ice at speed at night, he is reported to have said “I can only conclude another hand than mine was on the helm.”

When Rostron believed he was nearing Titanic, he ordered green starburst rockets launched to alert the sinking ship if she was still afloat, or her survivors if she was not. Carpathia began picking up survivors about an hour after the first starburst was seen by those in the lifeboats. Carpathia would end up rescuing 705 survivors out of the 2,228 passengers and crew on board Titanic; at least one survivor is said to have died after reaching the ship. After consulting with White Star Line managing director and Titanic survivor J. Bruce Ismay, Rostron decided to turn the ship around and return to New York City to disembark the survivors.

Later, Rostron testified at both the US Senate inquiry and the British Wreck Commissioner’s inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Titanic survivors, including Margaret Brown, presented Rostron with a silver cup and gold medal for his efforts the night Titanic sank. The cup was sold at US$200,000 at an auction by Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire in October 2015. He was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the Thanks of Congress, the American Cross of Honor, a medal from the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society, and a gold medal from the Shipwreck Society of New York.

Captain Rostron was highly praised for his efforts in both the American and the British inquiries into the disaster.

Source: Wikipedia