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- The sinking of the Titanic in April 1912
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was a tragedy unlike any other.
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Surely it could never happen again?
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But it did.
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Because, incredibly, Titanic
had a near identical sister,
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who suffered an almost identical fate.
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And here, deep in the warm
waters of the Mediterranean,
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within only a few years
of her older sibling,
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she met her end.
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Her name was Britannic.
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She was Britain's biggest ship.
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00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:03,674
- After the Titanic disaster,
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00:01:03,698 --> 00:01:07,040
Britannic was re-engineered
to be even more unsinkable.
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And yet, on the 21st November, 1916,
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she sank in just 55 minutes,
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three times faster than Titanic.
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- I'll be speaking to the
descendants of survivors
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who we've tracked down
for the very first time.
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Using rarely seen and unpublished diaries
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and letters of captain and crew,
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we'll recreate what it was
like for Britannic's survivors
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to have one hour to fight for their lives.
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And we'll discover how
Britannic's victims died horribly,
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and avoidably.
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Tonight we'll be piecing together
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what happened in that 55 minutes.
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On the anniversary of her sinking,
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we're recreating the first
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minute-by-minute account of the events
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that led to the tragic end
of Titanic's lost sister,
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Britannic, Britain's
mightiest ship of World War I.
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This is the dry dock in Belfast
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where both Titanic and
Britannic were built.
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And it is truly vast.
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In 1910, it was the biggest
dry dock in the world,
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established to allow the building of two
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of the biggest ships that
anyone had ever seen.
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Just to give you a scale of them,
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Titanic or Britannic alone
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would have filled this entire space.
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Our guide to Britannic's
story is Simon Mills,
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owner of the Britannic wreck.
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Simon is going to help me find
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eyewitness accounts to the disaster.
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Now the Britannic story
isn't nearly as well-known
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as the Titanic's story,
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and I'm trying to, kind of,
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unpick it really and
discover what happened.
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- Titanic sank, very
high publicity, I mean,
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they interviewed as many
survivors as possible,
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newspaper coverage all over the place.
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Britannic sank in the First World War.
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- Okay, are there any key
characters, any relatives,
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anybody I can talk to who
can give me a, kind of,
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picture of the people
that were on this ship?
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- I can give you some starting points.
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For instance, we have here
Captain Charles Alfred Bartlett.
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He was in command of the
Britannic on the day she sank.
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Archie Jewell, who was
also on the Titanic.
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- Oh, really?
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Actually one of Titanic's
lookouts, believe it or not.
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Violet Jessop, very experienced
White Star Line stewardess.
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- Oh, she's beautiful, isn't she?
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- She is indeed, yeah.
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- Anyone else that would be able to shed
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any more light on what it
might have been like that day?
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- Sheila Macbeth, nurse,
kept a very detailed diary.
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- One of the big challenges,
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and you know this as a historian,
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is to hear the voices of
people who weren't educated.
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The people who were, I don't
know, right in the bowels,
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at the coal face doing the work,
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but not necessarily ever recorded.
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00:04:37,908 --> 00:04:40,324
- There's a story of an
Antrim seaman we believe,
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00:04:40,348 --> 00:04:41,278
who was actually on the Britannic.
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He told a very, very dramatic
story down in the engine room.
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- He was from Ulster?
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- He was an Ulsterman.
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- Can you also give me a sense of
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of what the ship was doing?
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Was this a, sort of, to
all intents and purposes,
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an ordinary day?
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- Pretty routine, yeah.
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I mean, Britannic was a
very, very safe posting.
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She was a hospital ship.
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She was, in theory, inviolable,
could not be attacked.
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It was beautiful, calm, clear weather.
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There was nothing unusual
about what was going on.
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They'd all been sitting down to breakfast,
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and suddenly the world collapsed.
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- So all is smooth sailing aboard
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His Majesty's Hospital Ship, Britannic.
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Everyone, and everything, is in order.
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- The day before, we'd
worked like factory hands,
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tying up all the kits
ready for the next day,
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so that we might rest the day before
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the patients came on board.
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What a day of rest that was.
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- The first person I need
to meet is Margaret Meehan,
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niece of Violet Jessop, the
adventurous stewardess who,
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amazingly, survives both
Titanic and Britannic.
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What's important for me,
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is that Violet writes
the most complete account
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of the Britannic's sinking.
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Do you remember your, sort of,
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first time meeting her
and what she was like?
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00:06:08,145 --> 00:06:09,605
- She was great fun.
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I think she was just highly practical
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as well as everything else.
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And she never complained about the things
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she brings up in her memoirs.
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And certainly of the terrible
experiences she'd had,
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she didn't talk about.
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It wasn't till later that I realized
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what she'd been through.
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I've got this thing here.
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- Is this the original?
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- Oh, well, this is 1930 typing, you know.
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I can read a little bit out if you like.
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00:06:40,305 --> 00:06:42,872
- I'd love you to.
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- "It was the feast of our
Lady, November 21st, 1916.
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"The early sun was shining through
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00:06:50,276 --> 00:06:51,774
"the windows of the lounge,
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00:06:51,798 --> 00:06:53,579
"they were there for Mass."
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- Everybody scrambled down to
breakfast talking and joking.
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00:06:58,479 --> 00:07:00,346
For breakfast was quite the nicest,
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friendliest time on board.
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00:07:03,963 --> 00:07:07,583
- The ship was steaming
20 knots, weather fine,
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00:07:07,607 --> 00:07:09,508
and the sea is smooth.
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00:07:09,532 --> 00:07:13,661
Bound to Moudros to
embark sick and wounded.
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00:07:13,685 --> 00:07:16,522
- But this is just
the calm before the storm.
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00:07:16,546 --> 00:07:18,879
At 8:12am, disaster strikes.
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00:07:26,669 --> 00:07:30,836
The Britannic and her crew
now have just 55 minutes left.
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00:07:37,367 --> 00:07:40,284
- There was a dull, deafening roar.
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Britannic gave a shiver.
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A long drawn-out shudder
from stem to stern,
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00:07:46,027 --> 00:07:50,096
shaking the crockery on the
tables, breaking things.
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00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,203
Until it slowly subsided.
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00:07:55,940 --> 00:07:59,023
We all knew that she had been struck.
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00:08:00,576 --> 00:08:04,841
- I'd only managed two
spoonfuls of porridge before,
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00:08:04,865 --> 00:08:06,365
bang and a shiver,
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00:08:08,083 --> 00:08:10,916
right down the length of the ship.
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00:08:11,901 --> 00:08:14,651
- There was a horrible jar, and a
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grinding noise.
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00:08:18,015 --> 00:08:22,181
But down below we hardly
realised what had happened.
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00:08:24,770 --> 00:08:28,937
- At 8:12am, a tremendous but
muffled explosion occurred.
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The ship trembling and vibrating most
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00:08:32,558 --> 00:08:34,475
violently fore and aft.
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00:08:38,501 --> 00:08:41,277
- Britannic has taken
a hit on her lowest deck,
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ahead of her boiler rooms.
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00:08:43,264 --> 00:08:47,431
But surprisingly, no-one on
board is particularly worried.
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00:08:49,383 --> 00:08:51,064
That's because when Britannic's
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00:08:51,088 --> 00:08:54,146
more famous sister Titanic sank,
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Britannic was still
being built in Belfast.
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Ship builders Harland and Wolff
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00:09:00,472 --> 00:09:02,610
need to avoid another disaster.
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00:09:02,634 --> 00:09:06,253
They give Britannic a second
hull, watertight engine rooms,
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00:09:06,277 --> 00:09:08,277
and plenty of lifeboats.
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00:09:09,248 --> 00:09:13,415
Britannic really is the
world's most unsinkable ship.
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As World War I broke out,
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the British government decided
that sturdy, safe Britannic
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would make a terrific hospital ship.
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Sailing peacefully from Southampton
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via Naples to Greece, Britannic is
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in fact on her fifth mission.
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She'd already brought over 12,000
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wounded British soldiers safely home.
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Now, in the wake of
the Gallipoli disaster,
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she's off to collect another boatload.
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- This is Kea island,
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it lies 60 miles south-east of Athens
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on the beautiful Aegean Sea.
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And 100 years ago, His
Majesty's Hospital Ship,
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00:10:02,381 --> 00:10:05,942
the Britannic, sailed past here on its way
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to the port of Moudros
to pick up thousands of
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injured Allied troops who'd
been fighting the Turks.
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But little did the 1,065 sailors,
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00:10:17,822 --> 00:10:20,897
doctors and nurses on board realize
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that this would be the
Britannic's last journey.
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During my 25 years of diving,
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I've always dreamed of reaching Britannic.
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Now, on the centenary of her sinking,
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I've been lucky enough to
join highly experienced
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British and American divers
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on a rare expedition to
the wreck of Britannic.
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- It's 100%.
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100%.
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Here it is, it's in order.
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- Team leader Richie Kohler has dived
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00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,573
both Britannic and her sister, Titanic.
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What do you think the risks
are on a dive like this?
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- It's an incredibly hostile
environment at 400 feet.
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00:10:59,271 --> 00:11:01,934
We're using multiple
different gas mixtures,
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00:11:01,958 --> 00:11:04,922
some would not support
life here on the surface,
196
00:11:04,946 --> 00:11:08,077
and yet they are
life-supporting at 400 feet.
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00:11:08,101 --> 00:11:11,598
If you make a mistake, it
can cost you your life.
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00:11:11,622 --> 00:11:14,423
- As a diver who's dived
shipwrecks all round the world,
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00:11:14,447 --> 00:11:16,546
why is Britannic so special?
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00:11:16,570 --> 00:11:17,960
- Like many other people,
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the story of Titanic is
what drew me to Britannic.
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00:11:21,197 --> 00:11:25,836
And not to be glib, I fell in
love with the younger sister.
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00:11:25,860 --> 00:11:27,790
She's even more beautiful.
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00:11:27,814 --> 00:11:29,890
When you look at Titanic, it's dark,
205
00:11:29,914 --> 00:11:33,408
it's gloomy, it's broken
apart, it's in pieces.
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00:11:33,432 --> 00:11:36,359
When you look at Britannic,
she's in beautiful clear water,
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00:11:36,383 --> 00:11:37,966
surrounded by life.
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00:11:41,657 --> 00:11:44,199
- As Britannic is hit by the explosion,
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00:11:44,223 --> 00:11:47,123
Able Seaman Archie
Jewell is working on deck
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00:11:47,147 --> 00:11:49,585
right over the point of impact.
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00:11:49,609 --> 00:11:52,464
Archie also survived Titanic.
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00:11:52,488 --> 00:11:56,655
I'm meeting his great,
great niece, Tamsin Jewell.
213
00:11:58,211 --> 00:12:00,844
So he was on the Titanic first?
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00:12:00,868 --> 00:12:02,111
- He was, yes.
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00:12:02,135 --> 00:12:04,998
He was on the Titanic as a lookout.
216
00:12:05,022 --> 00:12:06,939
- So was he responsible
217
00:12:08,225 --> 00:12:11,738
for the Titanic hitting the iceberg?
218
00:12:11,762 --> 00:12:15,148
- He was a lookout, yes,
but not the lookout.
219
00:12:15,172 --> 00:12:16,228
- Right.
220
00:12:16,252 --> 00:12:17,594
- He was actually in bed
221
00:12:17,618 --> 00:12:20,692
and it was the sound of
the impact that woke him.
222
00:12:20,716 --> 00:12:21,647
- Right.
223
00:12:21,671 --> 00:12:24,280
When you look at the photo of him here,
224
00:12:24,304 --> 00:12:25,759
he looks very formal,
225
00:12:25,783 --> 00:12:29,686
he looks very, I don't know, composed.
226
00:12:29,710 --> 00:12:32,968
But presumably he must
have been hugely upset,
227
00:12:32,992 --> 00:12:37,109
hugely traumatized by the
experiences that he went through?
228
00:12:37,133 --> 00:12:41,706
- There was plenty of times
he describes openly weeping
229
00:12:41,730 --> 00:12:44,702
when he's reminiscing about
the things that he saw.
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00:12:44,726 --> 00:12:47,605
And I would imagine, even
though he had a relatively
231
00:12:47,629 --> 00:12:49,073
short-lived life, it was something that
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00:12:49,097 --> 00:12:51,160
stayed with him the whole time.
233
00:12:51,184 --> 00:12:54,333
- So do we know his role
in the story of Britannic?
234
00:12:54,357 --> 00:12:55,167
- We do.
235
00:12:55,191 --> 00:12:59,245
Archie wrote a very detailed
letter about what happened
236
00:12:59,269 --> 00:13:01,407
on the morning, where
it happened on the ship,
237
00:13:01,431 --> 00:13:04,557
and in the days and weeks
that followed on his journey.
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00:13:04,581 --> 00:13:06,515
He's quite descriptive in this letter.
239
00:13:06,539 --> 00:13:08,620
There's one part that
always, sort of, stands out.
240
00:13:08,644 --> 00:13:12,267
That's a part where he says,
"But thank God I am not dead
241
00:13:12,291 --> 00:13:13,363
- For that is the nearest to death
242
00:13:13,387 --> 00:13:15,182
that I have ever been.
243
00:13:17,416 --> 00:13:20,128
I was working right close
to where she was struck.
244
00:13:20,152 --> 00:13:22,010
I saw the water coming in.
245
00:13:22,034 --> 00:13:23,907
The smell of powder.
246
00:13:23,931 --> 00:13:25,079
Before I knew where I was,
247
00:13:25,103 --> 00:13:28,138
this man came rushing out of a cabin door,
248
00:13:28,162 --> 00:13:31,226
right where she was
struck, and ran into me,
249
00:13:31,250 --> 00:13:34,213
struck me with his head
just above my eyes, so,
250
00:13:34,237 --> 00:13:36,070
I was blood, all over.
251
00:13:37,917 --> 00:13:40,084
I ran up to the boat deck.
252
00:13:41,869 --> 00:13:44,536
And then someone tied up my eye.
253
00:13:48,653 --> 00:13:50,736
So I was like old Nelson.
254
00:13:51,924 --> 00:13:53,007
Only one eye.
255
00:13:56,761 --> 00:13:59,842
- Archie was incredibly lucky.
256
00:13:59,866 --> 00:14:01,899
The first piece of evidence I want to see
257
00:14:01,923 --> 00:14:03,195
is the site of the explosion
258
00:14:03,219 --> 00:14:07,073
that set Britannic on
the path to disaster.
259
00:14:07,097 --> 00:14:11,465
But I'm going to need some
hi-tech help to reach the wreck.
260
00:14:11,489 --> 00:14:14,913
Our base at sea will be the
extraordinary Russian ship,
261
00:14:14,937 --> 00:14:16,687
the U-boat Navigator.
262
00:14:18,550 --> 00:14:20,190
It's been designed specifically
263
00:14:20,214 --> 00:14:23,047
to support underwater exploration.
264
00:14:27,035 --> 00:14:31,202
Nearly three miles offshore,
we spot the wreck on sonar.
265
00:14:40,693 --> 00:14:43,811
The two multi-million pound
mini subs will guide us
266
00:14:43,835 --> 00:14:46,260
and light our way to the wreck,
267
00:14:46,284 --> 00:14:48,783
while remote-controlled underwater cameras
268
00:14:48,807 --> 00:14:51,574
will track our every
move with all the safety
269
00:14:51,598 --> 00:14:53,765
backup of a space mission.
270
00:14:56,785 --> 00:15:00,131
There is no clear single
reason why Britannic was lost,
271
00:15:00,155 --> 00:15:04,228
just a series of clues which
I want to see for myself.
272
00:15:04,252 --> 00:15:06,566
So I've plotted an exploration path
273
00:15:06,590 --> 00:15:08,437
that will take me from the bow where
274
00:15:08,461 --> 00:15:11,638
the explosion hit, up
to the captain's bridge,
275
00:15:11,662 --> 00:15:14,079
deep down to the boiler room corridor,
276
00:15:14,103 --> 00:15:18,186
and finally to the mighty
propellers at the back.
277
00:15:19,889 --> 00:15:21,495
Each of these points on the ship
278
00:15:21,519 --> 00:15:25,686
will help me understand
what led to Britannic's end.
279
00:15:27,221 --> 00:15:28,382
- Ready?
280
00:15:28,406 --> 00:15:29,406
Let's go.
281
00:15:38,505 --> 00:15:39,505
Okay lads.
282
00:15:45,877 --> 00:15:49,112
- Everything changes
as we leave the world of air
283
00:15:49,136 --> 00:15:50,803
and enter the ocean.
284
00:15:52,451 --> 00:15:55,406
Deep sea diving is the
closest thing on earth
285
00:15:55,430 --> 00:15:57,513
to exploring outer space.
286
00:15:59,231 --> 00:16:02,314
This line will guide us to Britannic.
287
00:16:03,623 --> 00:16:05,878
The subs, and the robot cameras,
288
00:16:05,902 --> 00:16:10,069
will light our way in the
darkness when we're 400 feet down.
289
00:16:15,729 --> 00:16:18,979
And then, out of the blue, she appears.
290
00:16:21,507 --> 00:16:22,507
Britannic.
291
00:16:28,857 --> 00:16:30,656
I'm overwhelmed.
292
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,333
Seeing Britannic is like
seeing her sister, Titanic,
293
00:16:34,357 --> 00:16:37,774
as we imagine her to be majestic, intact,
294
00:16:39,669 --> 00:16:42,169
and so peaceful on the seabed.
295
00:16:50,412 --> 00:16:52,045
- I'm meeting Jonathan Mitchell,
296
00:16:52,069 --> 00:16:54,672
grandson of nurse Sheila Macbeth.
297
00:16:54,696 --> 00:16:57,173
Sheila's testimony will
tell me how the crew
298
00:16:57,197 --> 00:16:59,235
reacted to the explosion.
299
00:16:59,259 --> 00:17:01,509
Did you ever get a sense of
300
00:17:02,989 --> 00:17:04,251
the sort of woman
301
00:17:04,275 --> 00:17:06,669
that Sheila was before you were born?
302
00:17:06,693 --> 00:17:09,359
- She was a strong-minded,
strong-willed woman,
303
00:17:09,383 --> 00:17:11,808
like many of her family.
304
00:17:11,832 --> 00:17:14,543
And she'd also, of course,
been driven in a way
305
00:17:14,567 --> 00:17:16,805
that everybody was in
those days by patriotism
306
00:17:16,829 --> 00:17:19,357
and a feeling that you
ought to do your bit.
307
00:17:19,381 --> 00:17:20,191
- Right.
308
00:17:20,215 --> 00:17:22,554
What sort of age is she at this point?
309
00:17:22,578 --> 00:17:24,620
- 26.
310
00:17:24,644 --> 00:17:27,555
- Did you ever get a sense of how
311
00:17:27,579 --> 00:17:31,556
Sheila felt or reacted when
the explosion happened?
312
00:17:31,580 --> 00:17:35,854
- Yes, my father decided
to record her memoirs.
313
00:17:35,878 --> 00:17:37,700
Many, many hours' worth.
314
00:17:37,724 --> 00:17:40,141
She talks about exactly this.
315
00:17:41,213 --> 00:17:43,857
- We were at breakfast.
316
00:17:43,881 --> 00:17:46,689
And we were sitting in
the huge dining room,
317
00:17:46,713 --> 00:17:50,463
there was this sudden
bang as the ship shook.
318
00:17:51,570 --> 00:17:54,089
- Major Priestley told
us to sit down again,
319
00:17:54,113 --> 00:17:56,821
as the siren had not sounded.
320
00:17:56,845 --> 00:17:58,821
It was quite the best thing to do
321
00:17:58,845 --> 00:18:01,206
as the doors were few and narrow,
322
00:18:01,230 --> 00:18:04,647
and there might have easily been a panic.
323
00:18:05,659 --> 00:18:09,826
As it was, there was only
a most unnatural silence.
324
00:18:17,572 --> 00:18:20,074
- The engines were going
full speed at the time,
325
00:18:20,098 --> 00:18:24,201
but they were stopped, and
everyone was ordered to stand by.
326
00:18:29,357 --> 00:18:31,322
- We're about to see what Sheila
327
00:18:31,346 --> 00:18:33,752
and the unnamed sailor could not.
328
00:18:33,776 --> 00:18:36,588
We've come to the exact
point of the explosion
329
00:18:36,612 --> 00:18:38,612
that crippled Britannic.
330
00:18:42,469 --> 00:18:44,838
100 feet back from the bow of the ship,
331
00:18:44,862 --> 00:18:47,144
is the immense crevasse in the hull
332
00:18:47,168 --> 00:18:49,751
where Britannic was torn apart.
333
00:18:52,874 --> 00:18:55,432
This massive canyon was caused first by
334
00:18:55,456 --> 00:18:57,179
the explosion holing her,
335
00:18:57,203 --> 00:18:58,814
and later, when she sank,
336
00:18:58,838 --> 00:19:03,005
she was split apart by the
ship hitting the seabed.
337
00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:10,360
- But what caused the explosion?
338
00:19:14,662 --> 00:19:16,753
The British press claimed the Germans have
339
00:19:16,777 --> 00:19:19,800
torpedoed a defenseless
British hospital ship
340
00:19:19,824 --> 00:19:22,561
against all rules of war.
341
00:19:24,973 --> 00:19:27,462
But is this view credible?
342
00:19:27,486 --> 00:19:28,720
- At that particular stage of the war,
343
00:19:28,744 --> 00:19:30,572
the Germans were not
targeting hospital ships,
344
00:19:30,596 --> 00:19:31,935
and so it was unlikely.
345
00:19:31,959 --> 00:19:34,076
- But, you know, presumably,
mistakes are made,
346
00:19:34,100 --> 00:19:36,898
or presumably, not
everybody follows the rules.
347
00:19:36,922 --> 00:19:38,601
I mean, this is a war, after all.
348
00:19:38,625 --> 00:19:39,435
- Yeah.
349
00:19:39,459 --> 00:19:40,770
The German commanders at this stage
350
00:19:40,794 --> 00:19:45,061
were under increasing pressure
not to antagonize America.
351
00:19:45,085 --> 00:19:47,447
So the potential consequences
352
00:19:47,471 --> 00:19:50,018
for a commander who made a
mistake could be quite heavy.
353
00:19:50,042 --> 00:19:52,457
- Given that was the case,
given that was the rule,
354
00:19:52,481 --> 00:19:56,648
why were torpedoes ever really
in the mix as a possibility?
355
00:19:57,611 --> 00:19:58,994
- Whenever ships were sunk in the war
356
00:19:59,018 --> 00:20:02,693
there was always someone who
saw a periscope or a torpedo.
357
00:20:02,717 --> 00:20:03,865
On Britannic, for instance,
358
00:20:03,889 --> 00:20:06,303
we had two definite
sightings of torpedoes.
359
00:20:06,327 --> 00:20:08,672
The problem is that one person
saw the torpedo at the front
360
00:20:08,696 --> 00:20:10,344
of the ship on the starboard side,
361
00:20:10,368 --> 00:20:12,169
and the other saw it
on the back of the ship
362
00:20:12,193 --> 00:20:13,836
on the port side.
363
00:20:13,860 --> 00:20:16,608
So it was one of these situations
whereby people see things,
364
00:20:16,632 --> 00:20:19,045
but they're not really quite
sure what they've seen.
365
00:20:19,069 --> 00:20:20,051
- Right.
366
00:20:20,075 --> 00:20:22,965
So, if indeed it was a mine,
367
00:20:22,989 --> 00:20:27,024
do we know that that area
of the sea had been mined?
368
00:20:27,048 --> 00:20:28,668
- We do, as it happens.
369
00:20:28,692 --> 00:20:30,802
There's this gentleman here.
370
00:20:30,826 --> 00:20:32,547
Kapitan Gustav Siess.
371
00:20:32,571 --> 00:20:35,188
He was the commander of
the German submarine U73.
372
00:20:35,212 --> 00:20:37,034
She was a mine-laying submarine.
373
00:20:37,058 --> 00:20:40,201
Three weeks before Britannic
hit the mine, he laid mines
374
00:20:40,225 --> 00:20:42,580
in the exact same waters
where she went down.
375
00:20:42,604 --> 00:20:45,616
- So you're saying it was
a mine, not a torpedo?
376
00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:46,449
- Absolutely.
377
00:20:46,473 --> 00:20:47,282
- Categorically?
378
00:20:47,306 --> 00:20:48,116
- Categorically.
379
00:20:48,140 --> 00:20:50,265
Bottom line, wrong place, wrong time.
380
00:20:53,407 --> 00:20:56,654
- My first impression was
that we'd struck a mine
381
00:20:56,678 --> 00:20:59,129
and would probably be safe.
382
00:20:59,153 --> 00:21:01,603
- Captain Charles Bartlett is responsible
383
00:21:01,627 --> 00:21:05,426
for the safety of the
1,065 souls on board.
384
00:21:05,450 --> 00:21:08,643
He has 33 years' experience at sea,
385
00:21:08,667 --> 00:21:11,569
so Britannic's crew should be safe.
386
00:21:11,593 --> 00:21:13,232
His grandnephew, Richard Ellis,
387
00:21:13,256 --> 00:21:15,122
might be able to help me judge
388
00:21:15,146 --> 00:21:17,314
the captain's character and competence
389
00:21:17,338 --> 00:21:21,568
thanks to stories passed
down from his father.
390
00:21:21,592 --> 00:21:23,899
Did your father give you any idea
391
00:21:23,923 --> 00:21:25,789
of what sort of man he was?
392
00:21:25,813 --> 00:21:28,545
- Well, he was quite a large man.
393
00:21:28,569 --> 00:21:29,579
17 stone.
394
00:21:29,603 --> 00:21:30,413
- Wow!
395
00:21:30,437 --> 00:21:31,512
- So he's a big man.
396
00:21:31,536 --> 00:21:33,440
He was renowned for his caution.
397
00:21:33,464 --> 00:21:35,246
He was a cautious captain.
398
00:21:35,270 --> 00:21:37,384
But also, you know, a man in command.
399
00:21:37,408 --> 00:21:39,098
If you were in his presence,
400
00:21:39,122 --> 00:21:40,611
you knew that he was in command.
401
00:21:40,635 --> 00:21:41,561
He was in control.
402
00:21:41,585 --> 00:21:43,168
So what was his route up to
403
00:21:43,192 --> 00:21:45,145
becoming captain of the Britannic?
404
00:21:45,169 --> 00:21:46,670
- He joined the White Star Line,
405
00:21:46,694 --> 00:21:48,981
he worked his way up
the ranks very quickly.
406
00:21:49,005 --> 00:21:51,917
He captained some of their largest ships.
407
00:21:51,941 --> 00:21:54,671
He then came onshore, he
was marine superintendent,
408
00:21:54,695 --> 00:21:57,489
and in fact, he oversaw
the final fitting out
409
00:21:57,513 --> 00:21:59,249
and the crewing of the Titanic.
410
00:21:59,273 --> 00:22:00,083
- Oh, really?
411
00:22:00,107 --> 00:22:02,891
- So he knew these big
ships enormously well.
412
00:22:02,915 --> 00:22:05,604
- So given his experience, you know,
413
00:22:05,628 --> 00:22:07,202
the fact that he actually oversaw
414
00:22:07,226 --> 00:22:10,462
the kind of, final fitting
and crewing of the Titanic,
415
00:22:10,486 --> 00:22:13,650
surely it would have made
sense if he'd been the captain?
416
00:22:13,674 --> 00:22:16,932
- I think if the timing was
just very slightly different,
417
00:22:16,956 --> 00:22:18,755
then a few months later,
418
00:22:18,779 --> 00:22:21,605
he almost certainly would have
been captain of the Titanic.
419
00:22:21,629 --> 00:22:24,285
And, you know, with his
cautious approach, you know,
420
00:22:24,309 --> 00:22:26,150
the Titanic disaster
would never have happened.
421
00:22:26,174 --> 00:22:28,193
That's what the wags would tell you.
422
00:22:28,217 --> 00:22:30,127
- And when the Britannic was struck,
423
00:22:30,151 --> 00:22:32,233
do you know, does history recall,
424
00:22:32,257 --> 00:22:34,068
how Captain Bartlett reacted?
425
00:22:34,092 --> 00:22:35,527
What he did?
426
00:22:35,551 --> 00:22:37,687
- He was off duty, but he
raced up to the bridge,
427
00:22:37,711 --> 00:22:41,045
he did what was needed to be done.
428
00:22:41,069 --> 00:22:42,422
- SOS.
429
00:22:42,446 --> 00:22:46,473
Have struck mine off Port
Nicholas, Kea island.
430
00:22:52,108 --> 00:22:53,292
- This is the bridge
431
00:22:53,316 --> 00:22:56,299
where Captain Bartlett stood that day.
432
00:22:56,323 --> 00:22:59,422
Incredibly, the tiles
are still on the floor
433
00:22:59,446 --> 00:23:02,135
from where the ship was steered.
434
00:23:02,159 --> 00:23:05,878
Though it's becoming a man-made
reef, if you look carefully,
435
00:23:05,902 --> 00:23:09,319
you can see the steering here underneath.
436
00:23:12,281 --> 00:23:13,643
And if you rub a little,
437
00:23:13,667 --> 00:23:16,646
you can still find the
glass of the Telegraph
438
00:23:16,670 --> 00:23:18,527
that Captain Bartlett used
439
00:23:18,551 --> 00:23:21,384
to send orders to the engine room.
440
00:23:25,210 --> 00:23:27,543
But time has taken its toll.
441
00:23:29,501 --> 00:23:33,838
It's only thanks the wood
and walls rotting away
442
00:23:33,862 --> 00:23:36,875
that the most astonishingly intimate relic
443
00:23:36,899 --> 00:23:38,399
has been revealed.
444
00:23:40,201 --> 00:23:43,084
Captain Bartlett's bath tub.
445
00:23:43,108 --> 00:23:47,275
He was the last man to sit in
it, and the plug is still in.
446
00:23:51,594 --> 00:23:54,349
One story goes that he'd been in his tub
447
00:23:54,373 --> 00:23:56,371
when the explosion sent him running,
448
00:23:56,395 --> 00:23:58,895
in his pajamas, to the bridge.
449
00:24:09,385 --> 00:24:12,259
- Emergency quarters were
sounded on all alarms
450
00:24:12,283 --> 00:24:13,960
throughout the ship.
451
00:24:13,984 --> 00:24:16,478
The engine stopped, and orders rung below
452
00:24:16,502 --> 00:24:18,653
to close watertight doors.
453
00:24:18,677 --> 00:24:21,057
I gave orders to clear away all boats
454
00:24:21,081 --> 00:24:24,748
and have all possible
ready to be sent away.
455
00:24:31,557 --> 00:24:35,804
- As one man, the whole of the
saloon rose from their seats.
456
00:24:35,828 --> 00:24:38,335
Doctors and nurses
vanished to their posts,
457
00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:42,593
men jumped over presses
with the agility of deer.
458
00:24:42,617 --> 00:24:45,784
In seconds, not a soul was to be seen.
459
00:24:46,753 --> 00:24:49,503
And not a sound had been uttered.
460
00:24:50,373 --> 00:24:52,924
- Britannic's crew mirrors society
461
00:24:52,948 --> 00:24:57,246
most men below deck are
considered the lower orders.
462
00:24:57,270 --> 00:25:00,335
As medical staff like Violet
head to the lifeboats,
463
00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:01,657
in the decks below,
464
00:25:01,681 --> 00:25:05,848
men in the boiler rooms are
fighting incoming water.
465
00:25:08,156 --> 00:25:10,054
Many of these men will die,
466
00:25:10,078 --> 00:25:14,245
so the testimony of those who
survive is vital evidence.
467
00:25:15,510 --> 00:25:17,510
When this explosion hit,
468
00:25:19,272 --> 00:25:21,130
there must have been people
in those boiler rooms.
469
00:25:21,154 --> 00:25:22,572
- The boiler rooms would
have been full, absolutely.
470
00:25:22,596 --> 00:25:24,126
There would have been a couple of
471
00:25:24,150 --> 00:25:25,441
hundred people down there working.
472
00:25:25,465 --> 00:25:27,384
One gentleman in particular,
473
00:25:27,408 --> 00:25:30,840
is a guy here by the name of Bert Smith.
474
00:25:30,864 --> 00:25:33,346
Now, he was working in the
forward boiler room, number six,
475
00:25:33,370 --> 00:25:35,135
when the explosion occurred.
476
00:25:35,159 --> 00:25:37,432
The medical staff,
captain are away from it,
477
00:25:37,456 --> 00:25:39,219
Bert was experiencing it first hand.
478
00:25:39,243 --> 00:25:40,052
- Look at this.
479
00:25:40,076 --> 00:25:40,886
This is amazing.
480
00:25:40,910 --> 00:25:42,880
So he was right there.
481
00:25:42,904 --> 00:25:43,903
- He was right there, he was right there.
482
00:25:43,927 --> 00:25:46,579
- "Bert Smith groped his
way into the exit tunnel,
483
00:25:46,603 --> 00:25:48,740
"his one route to possible safety.
484
00:25:48,764 --> 00:25:51,299
"There he was met by the full weight
485
00:25:51,323 --> 00:25:54,999
"of in rushing water which
pinned him against the boiler."
486
00:25:55,023 --> 00:25:57,440
So the explosion had happened
487
00:25:58,662 --> 00:26:01,077
and that water was then being,
488
00:26:01,101 --> 00:26:04,024
effectively, funneled down that exit.
489
00:26:04,048 --> 00:26:05,184
- Absolutely.
490
00:26:05,208 --> 00:26:06,236
- That corridor.
491
00:26:06,260 --> 00:26:07,070
- Like a tidal wave.
492
00:26:07,094 --> 00:26:08,520
All coming in one direction.
493
00:26:08,544 --> 00:26:09,892
Right up against Bert.
494
00:26:12,269 --> 00:26:15,360
- "Grabbing a handrail, he
was swept almost upside down
495
00:26:15,384 --> 00:26:18,125
"in the salty torrent, then somehow
496
00:26:18,149 --> 00:26:20,261
"he managed to scramble up a 90-foot
497
00:26:20,285 --> 00:26:22,138
"staircase to the boat deck."
498
00:26:22,162 --> 00:26:23,638
That's an amazing story.
499
00:26:23,662 --> 00:26:25,491
- He was a very lucky man.
500
00:26:25,515 --> 00:26:27,535
- Well, sort of.
501
00:26:27,559 --> 00:26:30,335
So Bert and these people down below
502
00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,102
knew exactly what was happening
503
00:26:33,126 --> 00:26:35,880
and would have had a very, very good sense
504
00:26:35,904 --> 00:26:38,471
of the very real danger this ship was in,
505
00:26:38,495 --> 00:26:40,932
whereas the nurses and Captain Bartlett,
506
00:26:40,956 --> 00:26:45,123
way up in the posh bits,
wouldn't have known at all.
507
00:26:46,138 --> 00:26:48,905
But it's only the
upstairs staff like Violet
508
00:26:48,929 --> 00:26:52,102
who can tell me how well
the captain is managing.
509
00:26:52,126 --> 00:26:53,287
And let's not forget,
510
00:26:53,311 --> 00:26:56,408
Violet's already been
through this on Titanic.
511
00:26:56,432 --> 00:27:00,586
This time though, she wants
to be a bit better prepared.
512
00:27:00,610 --> 00:27:02,708
- I sorted out things to take.
513
00:27:02,732 --> 00:27:05,688
The things I treasured the most.
514
00:27:05,712 --> 00:27:08,636
There was my prayer book
515
00:27:08,660 --> 00:27:10,531
and my toothbrush.
516
00:27:10,555 --> 00:27:13,810
Ned's ring, and my clock, of course.
517
00:27:13,834 --> 00:27:16,059
- Incredibly,
that clock has outlasted
518
00:27:16,083 --> 00:27:18,250
both Violet and Britannic.
519
00:27:19,453 --> 00:27:20,691
Is this the clock?
520
00:27:20,715 --> 00:27:21,715
- Yeah.
521
00:27:22,607 --> 00:27:25,357
- What an extraordinary keepsake.
522
00:27:26,201 --> 00:27:29,607
I can't believe she had
the presence of mind,
523
00:27:29,631 --> 00:27:30,974
when the ship is going down,
524
00:27:30,998 --> 00:27:33,651
to go down to her cabin
and fill her pockets.
525
00:27:33,675 --> 00:27:35,811
But it sounds like that's
quite typical of her character,
526
00:27:35,835 --> 00:27:36,858
would you say so?
527
00:27:36,882 --> 00:27:37,691
- Yes.
528
00:27:37,715 --> 00:27:38,525
I think it is.
529
00:27:38,549 --> 00:27:40,462
Also, her brothers had told her,
530
00:27:40,486 --> 00:27:43,004
"don't forget your toothbrush!"
531
00:27:43,028 --> 00:27:47,028
- I stuffed all sorts of
things into my pockets.
532
00:27:47,871 --> 00:27:50,954
Even a roll from the breakfast table.
533
00:27:52,130 --> 00:27:54,145
- Up on the
bridge, Captain Bartlett
534
00:27:54,169 --> 00:27:58,013
has no idea how much water has come in.
535
00:27:58,037 --> 00:28:01,038
Britannic's watertight boiler rooms should
536
00:28:01,062 --> 00:28:03,261
prevent her taking on water.
537
00:28:03,285 --> 00:28:06,467
But she's sinking, and fast.
538
00:28:06,491 --> 00:28:08,344
Three miles from Kea island,
539
00:28:08,368 --> 00:28:11,201
he decides he must beach the ship.
540
00:28:12,507 --> 00:28:15,025
- Steering gear appeared to have failed.
541
00:28:15,049 --> 00:28:16,849
So I turned the ship to port to head
542
00:28:16,873 --> 00:28:18,873
for land by the engines.
543
00:28:22,208 --> 00:28:25,122
- But as Britannic
pushes towards shore,
544
00:28:25,146 --> 00:28:27,708
she continues to sink.
545
00:28:27,732 --> 00:28:30,125
- The forward holds filled up rapidly
546
00:28:30,149 --> 00:28:34,316
and water was reported in numbers
five and six boiler rooms.
547
00:28:35,309 --> 00:28:36,361
- But why?
548
00:28:36,385 --> 00:28:37,740
Bartlett has ordered
549
00:28:37,764 --> 00:28:40,760
the watertight doors to
the boiler room shut,
550
00:28:40,784 --> 00:28:43,694
no more sea water should get in.
551
00:28:43,718 --> 00:28:45,925
But stoker Bert Mills has told us
552
00:28:45,949 --> 00:28:49,904
that water is flooding through
the boiler room corridors
553
00:28:49,928 --> 00:28:52,292
could the explanation lie right here
554
00:28:52,316 --> 00:28:55,649
inside the corridor to the boiler rooms?
555
00:28:57,264 --> 00:28:58,764
But I can't go in.
556
00:29:00,155 --> 00:29:01,822
It's so frustrating.
557
00:29:02,784 --> 00:29:05,779
Britannic's interior is so dangerous,
558
00:29:05,803 --> 00:29:07,112
the Greek government has now banned
559
00:29:07,136 --> 00:29:09,219
anyone from going inside.
560
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:17,047
But two of our dive team did
get inside her before the ban.
561
00:29:18,603 --> 00:29:21,819
Evan Kovacs took the dangerous
path through the boiler
562
00:29:21,843 --> 00:29:24,790
room corridor also known
as the Fireman's Tunnel
563
00:29:24,814 --> 00:29:26,732
to try and confirm if the watertight
564
00:29:26,756 --> 00:29:29,212
safety doors were fully closed.
565
00:29:29,236 --> 00:29:31,985
Evan, what did you see
that very first time
566
00:29:32,009 --> 00:29:33,990
you went into the wreck?
567
00:29:34,014 --> 00:29:35,427
- We traveled down the Fireman's Tunnel
568
00:29:35,451 --> 00:29:38,562
and eventually we got
to the watertight door.
569
00:29:38,586 --> 00:29:39,948
That was open.
570
00:29:39,972 --> 00:29:43,885
Through the next set of
boilers and then that opens up,
571
00:29:43,909 --> 00:29:47,663
and that's where we saw the
other watertight door, open.
572
00:29:47,687 --> 00:29:51,079
Fully open, not even partially closed.
573
00:29:51,103 --> 00:29:53,232
- What this means is
that as Captain Bartlett
574
00:29:53,256 --> 00:29:55,534
is steaming full speed,
trying to get to quay
575
00:29:55,558 --> 00:29:59,039
to save his ship, in effect
he is actually ramming
576
00:29:59,063 --> 00:30:02,472
more of the water, forcing
more water into these boiler
577
00:30:02,496 --> 00:30:05,445
rooms and flooding the ship even quicker.
578
00:30:05,469 --> 00:30:09,636
- So why do you think the
watertight doors didn't close?
579
00:30:10,777 --> 00:30:13,725
- Now, it's been a mystery
for nearly 100 years.
580
00:30:13,749 --> 00:30:16,907
We know that Captain
Bartlett threw the switches
581
00:30:16,931 --> 00:30:21,086
to electrically close the door,
maybe the wires were broken.
582
00:30:21,110 --> 00:30:23,187
Engineers believe that the explosion
583
00:30:23,211 --> 00:30:25,831
twisted the ship, and that prevented,
584
00:30:25,855 --> 00:30:30,253
or wedged the doors, and
wouldn't allow them to close.
585
00:30:30,277 --> 00:30:32,872
- So maybe it
was a technical error.
586
00:30:32,896 --> 00:30:35,359
But Ritchie suspects the
all too human behavior
587
00:30:35,383 --> 00:30:38,015
of the boiler room workers.
588
00:30:38,039 --> 00:30:40,956
These men were not trained sailors.
589
00:30:41,815 --> 00:30:43,801
- They were referred to as the black gang,
590
00:30:43,825 --> 00:30:46,666
and you would have stokers and firemen,
591
00:30:46,690 --> 00:30:49,017
trimmers and people that just had to work
592
00:30:49,041 --> 00:30:51,626
in an incredibly unforgiving environment.
593
00:30:51,650 --> 00:30:53,381
I mean, can you imagine it,
594
00:30:53,405 --> 00:30:55,663
being at the very bottom of the ship
595
00:30:55,687 --> 00:30:57,230
with the lights flickering
596
00:30:57,254 --> 00:31:01,359
and a gush of water coming in
through that fireman's tunnel?
597
00:31:01,383 --> 00:31:04,403
And you have seconds to make decisions.
598
00:31:04,427 --> 00:31:06,154
Am I going to sit here and try to
599
00:31:06,178 --> 00:31:07,582
monkey around with this door?
600
00:31:07,606 --> 00:31:10,344
Or am I going to run for my life?
601
00:31:15,548 --> 00:31:18,403
- Some people wouldn't
blame them for running.
602
00:31:18,427 --> 00:31:19,808
But even if they did,
603
00:31:19,832 --> 00:31:23,007
it doesn't make the sinking
of Britannic their fault.
604
00:31:23,031 --> 00:31:25,212
She was so well engineered,
605
00:31:25,236 --> 00:31:28,745
she should stay afloat a
lot longer than 55 minutes,
606
00:31:28,769 --> 00:31:32,648
even with this many compartments flooded.
607
00:31:32,672 --> 00:31:35,401
- Nurse Sheila Macbeth's
family point the finger
608
00:31:35,425 --> 00:31:38,442
far higher up the social ladder towards
609
00:31:38,466 --> 00:31:40,959
one of the ship's doctors.
610
00:31:40,983 --> 00:31:43,571
- Somebody had opened all the portholes
611
00:31:43,595 --> 00:31:46,896
on both sides of the ship,
so as to ventilate the wards,
612
00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:48,008
in which there were, in fact,
613
00:31:48,032 --> 00:31:50,149
no patients requiring ventilation.
614
00:31:50,173 --> 00:31:52,745
Now, who this doctor was
who had given these orders,
615
00:31:52,769 --> 00:31:54,775
nobody by now will ever know.
616
00:31:54,799 --> 00:31:59,215
Nobody has ever come forward
and said, "It was me."
617
00:31:59,239 --> 00:32:00,495
But we have it.
618
00:32:00,519 --> 00:32:01,329
It happened.
619
00:32:01,353 --> 00:32:02,834
And it shouldn't.
620
00:32:02,858 --> 00:32:04,783
The ship should have been unsinkable.
621
00:32:04,807 --> 00:32:07,472
It should have beached
on the island of Kea
622
00:32:07,496 --> 00:32:10,808
with no casualties whatsoever.
623
00:32:14,868 --> 00:32:19,700
- We didn't get any inrush
of water where we were.
624
00:32:19,724 --> 00:32:23,649
That seemed to be in the
forward part of the ship.
625
00:32:23,673 --> 00:32:25,506
As the list grew worse
626
00:32:28,181 --> 00:32:30,431
we knew what was happening.
627
00:32:32,568 --> 00:32:36,346
- The unknown sailor
knew one thing for sure.
628
00:32:36,370 --> 00:32:38,492
Despite the claims that this ship,
629
00:32:38,516 --> 00:32:41,147
like her sister could never sink,
630
00:32:41,171 --> 00:32:44,146
a terrible domino effect was now in play
631
00:32:44,170 --> 00:32:46,753
that would pull Britannic down.
632
00:32:47,900 --> 00:32:49,592
- No-one on board imagined she'd go down
633
00:32:49,616 --> 00:32:51,979
as quickly as she did.
634
00:32:52,003 --> 00:32:53,939
- With the doors open, water rushed down
635
00:32:53,963 --> 00:32:57,454
the fireman's passage and
flooded boiler room six.
636
00:32:57,478 --> 00:33:00,262
From there, it spread through
another set of open doors
637
00:33:00,286 --> 00:33:02,588
into boiler room five and now
638
00:33:02,612 --> 00:33:05,889
the whole fore part of
the ship is flooded.
639
00:33:05,913 --> 00:33:09,574
And as the ship sank, it
was listing to starboard,
640
00:33:09,598 --> 00:33:12,336
and with water rushing through
the portholes on E deck,
641
00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,705
the ship's fate was sealed.
642
00:33:16,125 --> 00:33:18,201
- But why will Britannic suffer
643
00:33:18,225 --> 00:33:20,610
such terrible loss of life?
644
00:33:20,634 --> 00:33:24,589
Unlike her sister, Titanic,
there are plenty of lifeboats.
645
00:33:24,613 --> 00:33:25,780
And by 8:36am,
646
00:33:26,916 --> 00:33:31,083
most of the crew were up on
deck ready to board them.
647
00:33:34,015 --> 00:33:36,372
- We were kept hanging
over the side of the boat
648
00:33:36,396 --> 00:33:38,710
for a long while, as the vice captain,
649
00:33:38,734 --> 00:33:41,964
who was looking after the
lowering of the boats,
650
00:33:41,988 --> 00:33:45,415
had to dash off in the
middle to call back some 14
651
00:33:45,439 --> 00:33:49,229
or 15 fireman who'd gone
off from the poop deck
652
00:33:49,253 --> 00:33:53,228
in a boat that should have
held about 84 persons.
653
00:33:53,252 --> 00:33:54,831
- No lifeboat should be released
654
00:33:54,855 --> 00:33:56,619
without the captain's orders.
655
00:33:56,643 --> 00:33:59,113
But Sheila sees some
of the boiler room gang
656
00:33:59,137 --> 00:34:02,054
jump into a boat and set off early.
657
00:34:03,351 --> 00:34:05,796
- They were desperate to
get away, but, of course,
658
00:34:05,820 --> 00:34:07,467
they were the masters of
their own fate because
659
00:34:07,491 --> 00:34:09,550
the "abandon ship" command
had not been given.
660
00:34:09,574 --> 00:34:11,838
Frankly, you would have
expected officers to have
661
00:34:11,862 --> 00:34:14,331
stopped it, but clearly they
were unable to prevent these
662
00:34:14,355 --> 00:34:17,291
men, sort of, grabbing the
boats, if you like, and going.
663
00:34:17,315 --> 00:34:19,636
- Meanwhile, Captain
Bartlett is trying to save
664
00:34:19,660 --> 00:34:23,483
Britannic by driving her
hard towards Kea island.
665
00:34:23,507 --> 00:34:26,717
He has no idea several dozen of the crew
666
00:34:26,741 --> 00:34:30,203
have already launched their lifeboats.
667
00:34:30,227 --> 00:34:33,122
- He would never have expected
anyone to be in the water,
668
00:34:33,146 --> 00:34:36,492
because he had not given
the "abandon ship" command.
669
00:34:36,516 --> 00:34:39,238
And he is the only person, as
captain, who could do that.
670
00:34:39,262 --> 00:34:40,454
So he had the right to expect that
671
00:34:40,478 --> 00:34:41,623
nobody would be in the water.
672
00:34:41,647 --> 00:34:43,742
They should not have been there.
673
00:34:43,766 --> 00:34:47,387
- There's a couple of things
that I want clarified.
674
00:34:47,411 --> 00:34:50,602
The first is that I thought lifeboats
675
00:34:50,626 --> 00:34:52,862
could only be released from a ship
676
00:34:52,886 --> 00:34:54,372
on the orders of a captain.
677
00:34:54,396 --> 00:34:55,328
- Yes, that's right.
678
00:34:55,352 --> 00:34:58,487
- So how on earth could
Captain Bartlett be unaware
679
00:34:58,511 --> 00:35:01,059
that there were lifeboats in the water?
680
00:35:01,083 --> 00:35:02,448
- The initial order, after the explosion
681
00:35:02,472 --> 00:35:04,531
was to uncover the boats, to fill them,
682
00:35:04,555 --> 00:35:06,145
and to lower them over the side.
683
00:35:06,169 --> 00:35:08,406
No order was given to release the boats.
684
00:35:08,430 --> 00:35:10,949
- So how did they end up being released
685
00:35:10,973 --> 00:35:12,624
without his authority?
686
00:35:12,648 --> 00:35:13,874
- It could have been part of the chaos,
687
00:35:13,898 --> 00:35:16,005
confusion that was going on.
688
00:35:16,029 --> 00:35:18,307
We do know that a couple of
boats went away off the stern
689
00:35:18,331 --> 00:35:20,751
without permission and
had to be called back.
690
00:35:20,775 --> 00:35:22,180
It depended where your officers were.
691
00:35:22,204 --> 00:35:24,729
A degree of control was lost in places.
692
00:35:24,753 --> 00:35:25,735
- People were in a panic.
693
00:35:25,759 --> 00:35:26,853
- Maybe in a panic, yeah.
694
00:35:26,877 --> 00:35:30,149
- And what state was the
ship in at this time?
695
00:35:30,173 --> 00:35:31,417
- At this stage, very serious.
696
00:35:31,441 --> 00:35:33,086
She's increasingly listing to starboard
697
00:35:33,110 --> 00:35:34,489
on the right-hand side.
698
00:35:34,513 --> 00:35:35,914
As she moves forward, she's flooding
699
00:35:35,938 --> 00:35:37,574
so fast in the bow that the stern
700
00:35:37,598 --> 00:35:39,219
is now beginning to rise up.
701
00:35:39,243 --> 00:35:41,071
As a result, the poor propeller is now
702
00:35:41,095 --> 00:35:42,611
working above the surface.
703
00:35:47,632 --> 00:35:49,167
- As the propeller rises,
704
00:35:49,191 --> 00:35:53,358
it pulls towards it the
lifeboats already in the water.
705
00:36:01,603 --> 00:36:05,686
- I'm now approaching
that very propeller.
706
00:36:07,977 --> 00:36:10,894
23 feet of enormous spinning power.
707
00:36:17,644 --> 00:36:19,941
- Meanwhile,
Violet is hanging above,
708
00:36:19,965 --> 00:36:23,231
in a lifeboat suspended
off the side of the ship.
709
00:36:23,255 --> 00:36:26,172
She can see the propellers turning.
710
00:36:27,334 --> 00:36:30,122
- Just at that moment, a
lifeboat caught my eye.
711
00:36:30,146 --> 00:36:31,545
It had been lowered safely to the water
712
00:36:31,569 --> 00:36:33,732
but then drifted with sudden impetus,
713
00:36:33,756 --> 00:36:36,959
resisting the efforts of skilled oarsmen,
714
00:36:36,983 --> 00:36:40,316
right into those cruel, swirling blades.
715
00:36:43,557 --> 00:36:47,233
- It was cutting the
poor fellows to pieces.
716
00:36:47,257 --> 00:36:51,618
There was legs, arms, and
bodies flying everywhere.
717
00:36:51,642 --> 00:36:53,716
What made it so bad,
718
00:36:53,740 --> 00:36:55,559
the blades, they were
half out of the water.
719
00:36:55,583 --> 00:36:59,003
So they were coming
down right on the boat.
720
00:37:00,872 --> 00:37:05,488
- Eyes were looking with
horror at the debris.
721
00:37:09,317 --> 00:37:12,567
And the red streaks all over the water.
722
00:37:14,284 --> 00:37:17,073
- Up on the bridge,
Captain Bartlett is unaware
723
00:37:17,097 --> 00:37:20,092
of the tragedy unfolding
at the back of the ship.
724
00:37:20,116 --> 00:37:22,444
He has not yet given the official order
725
00:37:22,468 --> 00:37:24,365
to release the lifeboats.
726
00:37:24,389 --> 00:37:27,817
Violet, Archie, and many of
the crew are about to find
727
00:37:27,841 --> 00:37:30,841
themselves fighting for their lives.
728
00:37:32,618 --> 00:37:35,376
- The ship started listing to starboard
729
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,983
as our lifeboat began to lower.
730
00:37:40,123 --> 00:37:44,290
A young sea scout near me took
a deep breath as he got in,
731
00:37:45,450 --> 00:37:46,950
he was only a kid.
732
00:37:48,376 --> 00:37:51,026
- So tell me a little
bit about this sea scout.
733
00:37:51,050 --> 00:37:53,275
- Well, that little sea
scout was George Perman.
734
00:37:53,299 --> 00:37:54,485
He was 15 at the time.
735
00:37:54,509 --> 00:37:56,389
He was one of the lift operators on board,
736
00:37:56,413 --> 00:37:57,889
and he was very fortunate to be on duty,
737
00:37:57,913 --> 00:37:59,355
because his quarters were actually
738
00:37:59,379 --> 00:38:01,488
destroyed in the explosion.
739
00:38:01,512 --> 00:38:03,639
So he ran to the lifeboats and got in,
740
00:38:03,663 --> 00:38:06,708
and I managed to speak
with him in the late '90s.
741
00:38:06,732 --> 00:38:09,053
This is what he said.
742
00:38:09,077 --> 00:38:11,714
- I made my way to the top deck,
743
00:38:11,738 --> 00:38:14,604
and on my way to my lifeboat,
744
00:38:14,628 --> 00:38:17,282
I was given this life belt.
745
00:38:17,306 --> 00:38:19,967
And lowered into the water.
746
00:38:19,991 --> 00:38:23,091
- His first shock came as our lifeboat,
747
00:38:23,115 --> 00:38:26,822
hooking itself onto an
open porthole, tilted us,
748
00:38:26,846 --> 00:38:29,600
then righting itself again,
749
00:38:29,624 --> 00:38:31,957
started gliding rapidly down
750
00:38:33,104 --> 00:38:35,286
making a terrible impact upon the water.
751
00:38:38,073 --> 00:38:40,131
After we touched the water,
752
00:38:40,155 --> 00:38:43,284
I turned around to see how
my small friend had taken
753
00:38:43,308 --> 00:38:47,475
the impact only to find him
halfway up the ship's sides
754
00:38:51,297 --> 00:38:54,244
still attached to the rope.
755
00:38:54,268 --> 00:38:56,502
- Violet was beckoning
him to come into the sea
756
00:38:56,526 --> 00:38:57,336
before it was too late,
757
00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:00,080
so he lowered himself down into the water,
758
00:39:00,104 --> 00:39:02,605
nothing worse really than
bad burns on his hands,
759
00:39:02,629 --> 00:39:04,865
but George was very
psychologically scarred
760
00:39:04,889 --> 00:39:06,373
for the rest of his life.
761
00:39:06,397 --> 00:39:08,807
He saw the red blood being
flecked against the side
762
00:39:08,831 --> 00:39:11,182
of the white ship, and
they always thought,
763
00:39:11,206 --> 00:39:13,615
George's family, although
they were quite tall people,
764
00:39:13,639 --> 00:39:16,106
George never really grew very
much and they believed that
765
00:39:16,130 --> 00:39:18,876
his growth had been stunted
by the shock of what he saw.
766
00:39:18,900 --> 00:39:21,643
- So George is in this red,
767
00:39:21,667 --> 00:39:23,432
blood-filled water, I mean,
768
00:39:23,456 --> 00:39:25,828
it's unimaginable what
that must have been like.
769
00:39:25,852 --> 00:39:28,687
Violet, she's still in
the lifeboat, is she?
770
00:39:28,711 --> 00:39:29,521
- She's still in the lifeboat.
771
00:39:29,545 --> 00:39:32,195
She's surrounded by this
scene of complete carnage.
772
00:39:32,219 --> 00:39:35,227
Blood everywhere, hacked
bodies in the water.
773
00:39:35,251 --> 00:39:37,961
It must have been very traumatic for her.
774
00:39:41,727 --> 00:39:45,136
- In Violet's lifeboat,
it's every man for himself.
775
00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:48,220
Deciding they have more
chance trying to swim for it,
776
00:39:48,244 --> 00:39:52,528
one by one, her companions
dive into the water.
777
00:39:52,552 --> 00:39:55,700
- Fumbling hands, struggling,
unsuccessfully to get control.
778
00:39:55,724 --> 00:39:58,186
Every man jack in the
group of surrounding boats
779
00:39:58,210 --> 00:40:00,777
took a flying leap into the sea
780
00:40:00,801 --> 00:40:03,824
taking to the water like
a vast army of rats.
781
00:40:07,905 --> 00:40:11,776
It was extraordinary to find
myself, within a few minutes,
782
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:15,644
almost the only occupant of the boat.
783
00:40:15,668 --> 00:40:17,168
One man, a doctor,
784
00:40:18,442 --> 00:40:21,609
was standing in the silence beside me.
785
00:40:22,975 --> 00:40:24,225
I turned around
786
00:40:25,999 --> 00:40:29,193
and saw Britannic's huge blades churning
787
00:40:29,217 --> 00:40:33,284
and mincing everything
near them men, boats,
788
00:40:33,308 --> 00:40:36,475
everything was just one ghastly whirl.
789
00:40:37,390 --> 00:40:41,473
In another moment, I would
be under those blades.
790
00:40:42,629 --> 00:40:43,629
Unless...
791
00:40:46,656 --> 00:40:49,906
I have always been afraid of the water.
792
00:40:51,699 --> 00:40:53,699
I'd not learned to swim.
793
00:40:55,995 --> 00:40:59,912
Then I just jumped
overboard down and down into
794
00:41:00,943 --> 00:41:03,325
bottomless depths,
clutching at my life belt.
795
00:41:03,349 --> 00:41:04,941
"Why had I put it on over my coat?"
796
00:41:04,965 --> 00:41:06,573
was one thought, as I felt its weight
797
00:41:06,597 --> 00:41:08,597
dragging me down deeper.
798
00:41:11,037 --> 00:41:13,537
I kept my eyes tightly closed.
799
00:41:16,823 --> 00:41:18,406
And held my breath.
800
00:41:19,724 --> 00:41:22,172
- The only hope for Archie's boat
801
00:41:22,196 --> 00:41:24,594
is to stay tethered to Britannic.
802
00:41:24,618 --> 00:41:26,991
- I shouted out not to let go of the boat.
803
00:41:27,015 --> 00:41:28,805
But someone let her go.
804
00:41:28,829 --> 00:41:30,864
And away we went, right
towards the blades.
805
00:41:30,888 --> 00:41:32,294
So I shouted, "jump overboard,"
806
00:41:32,318 --> 00:41:35,629
and most of us jumped in the water but,
807
00:41:35,653 --> 00:41:36,903
it was no good.
808
00:41:38,591 --> 00:41:41,924
It was pulled right in under the blades.
809
00:41:45,516 --> 00:41:47,781
- Violet is now trapped beneath
810
00:41:47,805 --> 00:41:49,196
the shattered lifeboat,
811
00:41:49,220 --> 00:41:52,303
surrounded by dismembered body parts.
812
00:41:53,279 --> 00:41:55,712
- I myself felt rising,
and my head came into
813
00:41:55,736 --> 00:41:59,326
violent contact with something solid.
814
00:41:59,350 --> 00:42:03,610
Something that prevented me
from reaching the surface.
815
00:42:05,723 --> 00:42:08,893
There was another terrific crash above me.
816
00:42:08,917 --> 00:42:12,334
And something struck the back of my head.
817
00:42:13,723 --> 00:42:14,973
My brain shook.
818
00:42:18,728 --> 00:42:20,061
Panic seized me,
819
00:42:21,268 --> 00:42:24,176
and I groped blindly in that water.
820
00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:27,450
There was a thundering center of noise.
821
00:42:29,266 --> 00:42:30,266
Suddenly,
822
00:42:31,877 --> 00:42:33,544
I touched something.
823
00:42:34,643 --> 00:42:35,643
An arm,
824
00:42:36,926 --> 00:42:39,009
that moved as mine moved.
825
00:42:40,830 --> 00:42:43,663
My fingers gripped it like a vice.
826
00:42:45,004 --> 00:42:48,070
Until my almost senseless head
remembered that it is said
827
00:42:48,094 --> 00:42:52,261
that people drowning retain
their hold after death
828
00:42:53,294 --> 00:42:55,461
bringing death to another.
829
00:42:59,648 --> 00:43:00,648
I let go.
830
00:43:06,273 --> 00:43:09,361
- As Violet disappears under water,
831
00:43:09,385 --> 00:43:11,934
Archie is pulled under the propeller.
832
00:43:11,958 --> 00:43:15,951
- Archie could hear the
blades swirling above him,
833
00:43:15,975 --> 00:43:17,758
and he goes on to write,
834
00:43:17,782 --> 00:43:21,142
"The last thing I heard was
the blades hit the boat,
835
00:43:21,166 --> 00:43:25,333
"and I closed my eyes and
said goodbye to this world".
836
00:43:28,727 --> 00:43:30,498
- But I was struck by a
big piece of the boat,
837
00:43:30,522 --> 00:43:32,431
and I went under the blades,
838
00:43:32,455 --> 00:43:35,658
and I was going around like a top.
839
00:43:35,682 --> 00:43:38,391
And, when I came up again,
840
00:43:38,415 --> 00:43:41,327
I came up under some wreckage.
841
00:43:41,351 --> 00:43:43,434
And I couldn't get clear.
842
00:43:45,141 --> 00:43:48,129
And everything was going black
to me when someone on top
843
00:43:48,153 --> 00:43:51,124
who was struggling
pushed the wreckage away,
844
00:43:51,148 --> 00:43:53,398
and I came up just in time.
845
00:43:56,571 --> 00:43:58,407
I was almost done for.
846
00:43:58,431 --> 00:44:01,491
There was water coming out of my nose.
847
00:44:01,515 --> 00:44:02,598
And my mouth.
848
00:44:09,645 --> 00:44:13,308
There was this poor fellow drowning.
849
00:44:13,332 --> 00:44:15,217
He caught hold of me,
850
00:44:20,102 --> 00:44:22,352
but I had to shrug him off.
851
00:44:24,648 --> 00:44:27,148
So the poor fellow went under.
852
00:44:29,508 --> 00:44:30,841
- I was sinking.
853
00:44:32,397 --> 00:44:36,230
My life belt was not
sufficient to support me.
854
00:44:38,551 --> 00:44:41,448
I saw another floating by.
855
00:44:41,472 --> 00:44:43,055
So I grabbed at it.
856
00:44:44,444 --> 00:44:47,597
At last I had something to hold on to.
857
00:44:47,621 --> 00:44:49,590
- And just in time,
858
00:44:49,614 --> 00:44:51,447
Violet bursts upwards.
859
00:44:56,266 --> 00:45:00,433
The first thing my eyes
beheld was a head near me.
860
00:45:01,388 --> 00:45:05,555
A head split open like a sheep's
head served by the butcher.
861
00:45:08,494 --> 00:45:10,699
All around were limbs,
862
00:45:10,723 --> 00:45:14,890
wrenched out as if some giant
had torn them in his rage.
863
00:45:18,805 --> 00:45:21,638
The dead floated by so peacefully.
864
00:45:25,793 --> 00:45:28,710
There were men coming up only to go
865
00:45:30,577 --> 00:45:32,994
down again for the last time.
866
00:45:35,757 --> 00:45:39,409
A look of frightful horror on their faces.
867
00:45:46,841 --> 00:45:50,110
- Captain Bartlett stopped the propellers.
868
00:45:50,134 --> 00:45:54,681
But only because Britannic
had started sinking faster.
869
00:45:54,705 --> 00:45:58,917
He knew nothing of the
bloodbath in the water.
870
00:45:58,941 --> 00:46:02,628
Do we know now how many people died?
871
00:46:02,652 --> 00:46:04,627
- We do, there were 30.
872
00:46:04,651 --> 00:46:06,795
Nine of them were from the medical corps,
873
00:46:06,819 --> 00:46:09,102
so they weren't actually ship's crew.
874
00:46:09,126 --> 00:46:10,223
The rest were ship's crew,
875
00:46:10,247 --> 00:46:12,039
but the majority of them were from what
876
00:46:12,063 --> 00:46:13,603
was known as the black gang.
877
00:46:13,627 --> 00:46:15,380
They were stokers, firemen,
878
00:46:15,404 --> 00:46:18,310
who had come up from below
decks when the water entered.
879
00:46:18,334 --> 00:46:22,501
- So these men whose jobs
were to be right in the bowels
880
00:46:24,084 --> 00:46:28,356
of the ship, who were right
there when the mine struck,
881
00:46:28,380 --> 00:46:32,227
reacted in, probably, the
only way they possibly could.
882
00:46:32,251 --> 00:46:36,063
Sheer blind panic and survival kicking in
883
00:46:36,087 --> 00:46:38,461
to get them out of that place
884
00:46:38,485 --> 00:46:40,392
where the water was flooding in,
885
00:46:40,416 --> 00:46:42,970
only to end up going to their deaths
886
00:46:42,994 --> 00:46:44,994
by a very human mistake.
887
00:46:46,439 --> 00:46:47,249
- It was.
888
00:46:47,273 --> 00:46:49,390
It was just a totally
unnecessary loss of life,
889
00:46:49,414 --> 00:46:50,853
because if procedures had been followed,
890
00:46:50,877 --> 00:46:52,609
it should not have happened.
891
00:46:52,633 --> 00:46:55,256
But you can understand,
in the chaos and panic,
892
00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:57,402
particularly coming up from below decks,
893
00:46:57,426 --> 00:47:00,336
it's understandable that people
want to get off the ship.
894
00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:04,527
But, of course, that was actually
what led to their deaths.
895
00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:08,407
- As a nurse,
Sheila must stay on duty
896
00:47:08,431 --> 00:47:10,740
amidst the carnage.
897
00:47:10,764 --> 00:47:14,541
In our boat, we'd got well
away from the sinking ship,
898
00:47:14,565 --> 00:47:17,598
and busied ourselves with the wounded
899
00:47:17,622 --> 00:47:20,455
whom we'd pulled out of the water.
900
00:47:21,546 --> 00:47:24,448
Our brandy flasks were invaluable.
901
00:47:24,472 --> 00:47:28,639
Also, aprons and pillowcases
which were torn up as bandages.
902
00:47:32,531 --> 00:47:35,081
- Finally, Captain Bartlett gives
903
00:47:35,105 --> 00:47:37,272
the order to abandon ship.
904
00:47:38,789 --> 00:47:41,764
- Our chief engineer, Mr Fleming,
905
00:47:41,788 --> 00:47:44,708
who was cool through everything
906
00:47:44,732 --> 00:47:47,800
was the last of our
department to join us on deck.
907
00:47:47,824 --> 00:47:49,872
He had to swim for it,
908
00:47:49,896 --> 00:47:52,563
narrowly escaping being drowned.
909
00:47:54,002 --> 00:47:56,174
- The ship was sinking very quickly then,
910
00:47:56,198 --> 00:47:59,444
going by the head and
listing to starboard.
911
00:47:59,468 --> 00:48:02,301
Soon the water came to the bridge.
912
00:48:03,769 --> 00:48:07,671
- At 9 am, 48 minutes after the explosion,
913
00:48:07,695 --> 00:48:11,399
Bartlett reports that he
and his two senior officers
914
00:48:11,423 --> 00:48:13,912
are still standing on the bridge.
915
00:48:13,936 --> 00:48:16,602
There is nothing more the captain can do.
916
00:48:16,626 --> 00:48:20,626
As with Titanic, would
he go down with his ship?
917
00:48:22,474 --> 00:48:26,205
I've heard that it is a captain's duty
918
00:48:26,229 --> 00:48:29,142
to be the last one to abandon ship,
919
00:48:29,166 --> 00:48:30,197
is that true?
920
00:48:30,221 --> 00:48:31,200
- Absolutely.
921
00:48:31,224 --> 00:48:33,039
That's the traditional way.
922
00:48:33,063 --> 00:48:34,633
And that's what happened.
923
00:48:34,657 --> 00:48:38,482
He ordered his officers to
leave the bridge, they left,
924
00:48:38,506 --> 00:48:41,566
he blew the whistle for one last time,
925
00:48:41,590 --> 00:48:45,757
and then he literally walked
off the ship into the sea.
926
00:48:46,943 --> 00:48:48,580
- Assistant Commander Dyke,
927
00:48:48,604 --> 00:48:51,341
having reported to me that all had left,
928
00:48:51,365 --> 00:48:53,424
I told him to go
929
00:48:53,448 --> 00:48:56,391
and shortly after, followed myself,
930
00:48:56,415 --> 00:48:57,650
walking into the water
931
00:48:57,674 --> 00:49:01,472
by the forward boat gantry,
on the starboard side.
932
00:49:15,407 --> 00:49:18,360
- Moments later, the
bridge was underwater.
933
00:49:21,403 --> 00:49:25,570
With sounds wailing and gurgling,
Britannic sank bow first.
934
00:49:32,199 --> 00:49:33,567
But she was so massive,
935
00:49:33,591 --> 00:49:36,343
that when she hit bottom,
her stern was sticking
936
00:49:36,367 --> 00:49:39,380
over 30 meters out of the water.
937
00:49:54,167 --> 00:49:55,750
- With a final roar
938
00:49:58,218 --> 00:50:00,885
she disappeared into the depths.
939
00:50:03,134 --> 00:50:06,596
The noise of her going
resounding through the water
940
00:50:06,620 --> 00:50:08,787
with undreamt-of violence.
941
00:50:17,195 --> 00:50:21,076
At 9:07 am, Great Britain's largest
942
00:50:21,100 --> 00:50:24,350
and finest ship of World War I is gone.
943
00:50:25,803 --> 00:50:28,268
It's taken just 55 minutes to sink
944
00:50:28,292 --> 00:50:31,459
the most unsinkable ship in the world.
945
00:50:33,201 --> 00:50:37,910
Britannic joined her sister,
Titanic, on the seabed
946
00:50:37,934 --> 00:50:40,684
where she has lain for 100 years.
947
00:51:18,623 --> 00:51:21,999
Well, that is certainly something.
948
00:51:22,023 --> 00:51:24,986
The most impressive ship
wreck I have ever seen.
949
00:51:25,010 --> 00:51:26,880
You can peer in through windows,
950
00:51:26,904 --> 00:51:29,043
and you see the medical
room with the equipment
951
00:51:29,067 --> 00:51:31,495
where the doctors and the
nurses would have worked
952
00:51:31,519 --> 00:51:36,163
and those injured soldiers
would have been treated.
953
00:51:36,187 --> 00:51:39,251
And it's these glimpses of humanity
954
00:51:39,275 --> 00:51:41,801
that act as a reminder
that it's the people
955
00:51:41,825 --> 00:51:44,106
and their stories that are so
956
00:51:44,130 --> 00:51:48,297
closely interwoven with the
story of Britannic itself.
957
00:51:51,946 --> 00:51:54,938
- Those who died
on Britannic met terrible,
958
00:51:54,962 --> 00:51:56,045
violent ends.
959
00:51:57,449 --> 00:52:01,115
But while Titanic's passengers
and crew froze to death
960
00:52:01,139 --> 00:52:04,251
in the icy north Atlantic,
waiting for rescue that came
961
00:52:04,275 --> 00:52:09,184
far too late, Britannic sank
much closer to the shore,
962
00:52:09,208 --> 00:52:11,240
allowing a fleet of Greek fishing
963
00:52:11,264 --> 00:52:13,739
boats and three British destroyers
964
00:52:13,763 --> 00:52:16,180
to come to her crew's rescue.
965
00:52:17,203 --> 00:52:20,178
The largest number of losses
came from the black gang
966
00:52:20,202 --> 00:52:21,818
at the bottom of the ship
967
00:52:21,842 --> 00:52:25,099
and the bottom of the social ladder.
968
00:52:25,123 --> 00:52:27,456
1,035 of Britannic's nurses,
969
00:52:28,551 --> 00:52:31,676
sailors and doctors survived.
970
00:52:34,310 --> 00:52:36,715
- A sailor pulled a chair from the water
971
00:52:36,739 --> 00:52:39,499
and gave me a piece of the back,
972
00:52:39,523 --> 00:52:42,690
which I guarded safely, under my coat.
973
00:52:44,019 --> 00:52:45,198
And here it is.
974
00:52:45,222 --> 00:52:46,385
- No way!
975
00:52:46,409 --> 00:52:47,578
- Absolutely.
976
00:52:47,602 --> 00:52:49,248
- She didn't keep that
for the whole of her life?
977
00:52:49,272 --> 00:52:50,509
Can I see it?
978
00:52:50,533 --> 00:52:51,944
- She kept it
the whole of her life.
979
00:52:51,968 --> 00:52:53,225
She gave it to my father.
980
00:52:53,249 --> 00:52:54,612
My father gave it to me.
981
00:52:54,636 --> 00:52:57,444
I keep it in my living room.
982
00:52:57,468 --> 00:53:00,103
- What an amazing story!
983
00:53:00,127 --> 00:53:02,788
Sheila lived to be 103,
984
00:53:02,812 --> 00:53:04,505
and towards the end of her life,
985
00:53:04,529 --> 00:53:06,250
she featured in a documentary
986
00:53:06,274 --> 00:53:09,964
about the discovery of
the Britannic wreck.
987
00:53:09,988 --> 00:53:12,285
- So at the age of 86,
988
00:53:12,309 --> 00:53:16,392
she helicoptered off from Athens to Kea.
989
00:53:16,416 --> 00:53:18,302
She takes this back with her,
990
00:53:18,326 --> 00:53:22,356
so back goes the chair top to the island.
991
00:53:22,380 --> 00:53:24,880
And off she goes, submarining.
992
00:53:25,816 --> 00:53:26,892
- No way!
993
00:53:26,916 --> 00:53:28,617
- To see the wreck of the Britannic.
994
00:53:28,641 --> 00:53:30,982
She has a look inside it,
995
00:53:31,006 --> 00:53:35,173
and then she put flowers into
the water above the wreck.
996
00:53:37,352 --> 00:53:39,386
And then, of course,
997
00:53:39,410 --> 00:53:43,255
a few years later, James
Cameron directed Titanic.
998
00:53:43,279 --> 00:53:44,089
- That's right.
999
00:53:44,113 --> 00:53:47,599
- And you remember the
incident there of Rose
1000
00:53:47,623 --> 00:53:48,433
throwing flowers...
1001
00:53:48,457 --> 00:53:49,870
- Yes, the older lady
1002
00:53:49,894 --> 00:53:52,378
whose story is being told.
1003
00:53:52,402 --> 00:53:54,366
- So we always say, in our family,
1004
00:53:54,390 --> 00:53:57,476
that Rose was built, as a character,
1005
00:53:57,500 --> 00:53:59,513
upon my grandmother.
1006
00:54:10,085 --> 00:54:12,079
- And what of Captain Bartlett,
1007
00:54:12,103 --> 00:54:16,238
who may have just missed
being captain of Titanic?
1008
00:54:19,589 --> 00:54:21,209
- Our commander was retrieved
1009
00:54:21,233 --> 00:54:23,816
from the waters in his pajamas.
1010
00:54:27,400 --> 00:54:30,067
His face as unperturbed as ever.
1011
00:54:31,979 --> 00:54:35,308
- He was swimming in the water
for about 30 minutes or so,
1012
00:54:35,332 --> 00:54:38,151
before he was picked up
by one of the lifeboats.
1013
00:54:38,175 --> 00:54:40,448
It was only then that he was told
1014
00:54:40,472 --> 00:54:43,642
about the tragic and
unnecessary loss of life.
1015
00:54:43,666 --> 00:54:45,980
- Do we know how he felt
1016
00:54:46,004 --> 00:54:48,859
when he made this terrible discovery?
1017
00:54:48,883 --> 00:54:51,017
- I think he was immensely sad about it,
1018
00:54:51,041 --> 00:54:52,794
because it should not have happened.
1019
00:54:52,818 --> 00:54:55,719
If those men had not panicked
and been in the boats,
1020
00:54:55,743 --> 00:54:58,194
there would have been
no life lost whatsoever.
1021
00:54:58,218 --> 00:55:01,369
And if, in fact, if the nurses
hadn't opened the portholes
1022
00:55:01,393 --> 00:55:03,068
to air the cabins, you know,
1023
00:55:03,092 --> 00:55:05,802
he would have managed to
save that ship as well.
1024
00:55:05,826 --> 00:55:09,253
But he did not sail a ship again.
1025
00:55:09,277 --> 00:55:13,013
- No one left Britannic unaffected.
1026
00:55:13,037 --> 00:55:15,412
- When I tried to stand,
1027
00:55:15,436 --> 00:55:17,743
I discovered that my leg had been
1028
00:55:17,767 --> 00:55:20,184
deeply torn and badly gashed.
1029
00:55:21,783 --> 00:55:23,866
I had not felt it happen.
1030
00:55:25,131 --> 00:55:27,122
All I had been conscious of underwater
1031
00:55:27,146 --> 00:55:29,903
was my head being battered,
1032
00:55:29,927 --> 00:55:31,344
almost to a pulp.
1033
00:55:32,443 --> 00:55:34,816
- She didn't realize at the
time she had this terrible blow
1034
00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:39,548
on her head, but she
fractured it in two places.
1035
00:55:39,572 --> 00:55:41,489
But I know she had very
1036
00:55:43,552 --> 00:55:46,310
troubling time with her head later
1037
00:55:46,334 --> 00:55:51,170
and the strange result was
that she lost her hair later.
1038
00:55:51,194 --> 00:55:52,510
- Really?
1039
00:55:52,534 --> 00:55:55,143
- I think it's a stress thing.
1040
00:55:55,167 --> 00:55:58,547
- Despite experiencing
the horror of both the Titanic
1041
00:55:58,571 --> 00:56:00,439
and Britannic disasters,
1042
00:56:00,463 --> 00:56:03,544
Violet never did lose
her taste for adventure.
1043
00:56:03,568 --> 00:56:06,211
She did marry, once, rather briefly.
1044
00:56:06,235 --> 00:56:09,572
But she was a ship stewardess
for her whole working life,
1045
00:56:09,596 --> 00:56:12,776
visiting every corner of the globe.
1046
00:56:12,800 --> 00:56:15,195
- I do remember, when I was four,
1047
00:56:15,219 --> 00:56:18,706
and going to her house
always scared me a bit
1048
00:56:18,730 --> 00:56:21,061
because she had an alligator,
1049
00:56:21,085 --> 00:56:25,102
a stuffed alligator
hanging by the staircase.
1050
00:56:25,126 --> 00:56:27,769
I used to look at that going upstairs.
1051
00:56:27,793 --> 00:56:28,836
- I can imagine!
1052
00:56:28,860 --> 00:56:31,860
- She brought it from South America.
1053
00:56:33,792 --> 00:56:35,880
- What happened next to Archie?
1054
00:56:35,904 --> 00:56:37,796
- When Archie was picked
up with the wounded,
1055
00:56:37,820 --> 00:56:39,422
he then goes on to write,
1056
00:56:39,446 --> 00:56:41,088
"I could not feel my legs and arms
1057
00:56:41,112 --> 00:56:44,282
"when they got me into the boat".
1058
00:56:44,306 --> 00:56:48,141
- There was this one sailor,
he was with me in the boat,
1059
00:56:48,165 --> 00:56:50,630
his legs were nearly cut off.
1060
00:56:50,654 --> 00:56:55,113
They picked him up, but
he didn't live long.
1061
00:56:55,137 --> 00:56:58,441
- So Archie survived the Britannic,
1062
00:56:58,465 --> 00:57:00,915
he'd survived the Titanic,
1063
00:57:00,939 --> 00:57:02,968
he was 27 years old.
1064
00:57:02,992 --> 00:57:05,618
What did he go on to do next?
1065
00:57:05,642 --> 00:57:08,832
- He went on to work on
another hospital ship,
1066
00:57:08,856 --> 00:57:12,116
a smaller vessel called the SS Donegal.
1067
00:57:12,140 --> 00:57:14,864
And he was on it for just five months
1068
00:57:14,888 --> 00:57:17,291
before it was struck by a torpedo
1069
00:57:17,315 --> 00:57:22,195
and he died on the 17th April,
1917, and he was just 28.
1070
00:57:27,332 --> 00:57:30,321
- As for the unnamed seaman from Ulster,
1071
00:57:30,345 --> 00:57:34,707
we have no trace of what happened
to him after the sinking.
1072
00:57:34,731 --> 00:57:36,855
He's disappeared from history,
1073
00:57:36,879 --> 00:57:40,546
a bit like Titanic's
tragic twin, Britannic.
1074
00:57:48,558 --> 00:57:51,449
Well, we've listened to the
testimonies of our witnesses,
1075
00:57:51,473 --> 00:57:53,044
we've amassed the evidence,
1076
00:57:53,068 --> 00:57:55,154
and it seems that Britannic sank because
1077
00:57:55,178 --> 00:57:58,058
of bad luck and human error.
1078
00:57:58,082 --> 00:58:01,715
And the people who lost their
lives alongside her did so
1079
00:58:01,739 --> 00:58:04,252
because in their desperation to survive,
1080
00:58:04,276 --> 00:58:08,026
they made a decision
with fatal consequences.
1081
00:58:09,950 --> 00:58:13,120
But there's one other puzzling factor.
1082
00:58:13,144 --> 00:58:15,865
Why has a story as dramatic as this
1083
00:58:15,889 --> 00:58:18,841
remained unknown for so long?
1084
00:58:18,865 --> 00:58:20,372
Well, think about the timing.
1085
00:58:20,396 --> 00:58:22,463
It was 100 years ago,
1086
00:58:22,487 --> 00:58:25,697
the tragedy of the
Britannic was just one more
1087
00:58:25,721 --> 00:58:29,686
in the monumental tragedy
that was World War I.
1087
00:58:30,305 --> 00:59:30,689
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