The Daily Titanic

titanic1912.bsky.social

02 April 2026 15:58

The Titanic's first menu. Both Officers Lightoller and Lowe would obtain copies of this menu as souvenirs which would achieve huge sums at auction many decades later.

The Daily Titanic

titanic1912.bsky.social

02 April 2026 15:58

To see the liner off, John Kempster and a friend, seen on the river bank in the previous photo, take a few pictures. Kempster is a managing director of Harland and Wolff, and is in charge of the electrical plant.

The Daily Titanic

titanic1912.bsky.social

02 April 2026 15:57

The ship sank in 25 minutes, and of the about 634 on board, 193 were saved including all the women and children. The 'Birkenhead Drill' was apparently one of the first instances of the phrase, 'women and children first.'

The Daily Titanic

titanic1912.bsky.social

02 April 2026 15:57

The HMS Birkenhead sank in 1852 after striking a rock. During the evacuation, the importance of maintaining order and discipline amongst the inexperienced soldiers was stressed. The men stood back to prevent a rush on the boats, allowing the women and children to escape.

The Daily Titanic

titanic1912.bsky.social

02 April 2026 15:57

Days after the disaster, Kempster said that before the ship left Belfast, he asked Captain Smith if courage and fearlessness in the face of death existed among seamen as of old. He was told if any disaster like that to the Birkenhead happened they would go down as those men went down.