TITANIC STORY

After the 'unsinkable' RMS Titanic - a White Star liner - struck an iceberg during her maiden voyage over the Atlantic on 14 April 1912, the ship sank with 1,503 people losing their lives. This companion includes fascinating archive illustrations, of which some have not previously been published, and facts about the fateful ship including why it was built and the events which led to the tragedy. Discover how, when Titanic was launched for the first time, an estimated 100,000 gathered at Belfast to see her enter the water and that there were 3,000 tons of coal in readiness for the ship's trial on Monday 1 April with bunkers which would smoulder from then until the hull was submerged in the Atlantic ocean on 13 April. Learn the particulars of the ship itself, including how there were four passenger lifts aboard the ship (some of the first afloat), stained glass in the Smoking Room was used to conceal the uptake to the fourth funnel, which was used as a vent, and the swimming pool was filled with heated salt water and First-Class passengers paid 4s for its use. The book doesn't shy away from the truth, acknowledging that, despite stories of the time, the £1.5 million Titanic travelled at a speed that was insufficient to break the North Atlantic speed record. There are also brilliant photos and images included, from images of the exterior and interior of the ship such as a shot of the framework surrounding the Titanic in the shipway as it was built, a photo of the Titanic in all its glory as the fourth (and last) funnel was erected, and a glimpse into a First Class suite decorated in the Empire style, to photographs of people on the ship, such as film star Dorothy Gibson who was a passenger, Mabel Evina Martin who was the second cashier in the elite restaurant, and the two Marconi operators 'Jack' Phillips, first wireless operator and Harold Bride, the second operator. This is a thorough companion that offers insight and detail into how the ship was built and how it came to sink. 7.3" x 4.9", black and white and colour photos and images, 128pp.