“As to THS's motives, I have to wonder if anyone would have preferred that the grave go unmarked as it was originally?”
No, of course not, but it is a pity that the inscription is, shall we say, what they wanted rather than what was most diplomatic and appropriate. I wish they had given more thought to how it might be perceived by those less well-informed about the Titanic. And they are the majority - people like my late mother, who only knew the basic facts that the ship hit an iceberg and sank with the loss of many lives. Her opinion of the lookout men? “Well, they couldn’t have been doing their job properly, could they?” I was able to explain to her that it wasn’t that simple, but there are many, many people like her.
I believe Fred had no known living relatives when he died, so I imagine the plot belongs to the cemetery authorities.
Of course we have no way of knowing what Fred’s preference would have been, but I will note here that the first time I saw
Captain Rostron’s grave, it carried no reference to either the
Carpathia or the Titanic. I see that an inscription has been added in recent years. This strikes me as wrong if the family chose not to do it at the time.
