Lifejackets

[Amanda Ratliff]

I was thinking more in the sense of Titanic Passangers as opposed to the people who stripped the lifeboats

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>If I had gone through something like Titanic, I can't say that I would WANT a souvinier! <<

I might be inclined to agree...at least in part. There were a number of Titanic survivors who didn't mind discussing their experiences, and IIRC, a few even saved things like the lifejackets. I seem to recall that Madaline Astor's lifejacket is one that survived. Just as many wanted nothing to do with it and tried very hard to forget the whole experience. Some flat out refused to discuss it to the end of their days. Considering the horror they lived through, I can't say as I blame them.

 

[Tarn Stephanos]

When I worked at the Titanic exhibits, the lifejacket on display was in fact on loan by a private collector- but who knows, since I left, perhaps RMS Titanic Inc purchased the lifejacket for thier collection.
I wonder if anyone has done a count as to how many Titanic lifejackets still exist, between private and museum collections?

I wonder if there are any Olympic lifejackets floating about?

regards

Tarn Stephanos

 

[Jeremy Lee]

As the Titanic and Olympic's lifejackets were not labelled with the ship's name, I guess there are some floating around of the Olympic but the owner doesn't know its from the Olympic.

 

[Donald J A Smith]

And thinks it's from Titanic! Then, there's the one - somewhere - that's "certainly not Titanic!". But, it is.

 

[Shane Worthy]

hello all,
Just to let you know, when a body was recovered from the sea, the lifejacket was cut off them, since the crew did not want to touch the bodies, so the straps were cut.
I assume these were later discarded.

 

[Lee Gilliland]

Not necessarily - the one at last year's Guernsey's auction was off a body, presumably kept as a souvenir of some sort. I would imagine it was not the only one.

 

[Shane Worthy]

Lee,
I did not literally mean EVERYONE was discarded. There are always exceptions. But the majority were discarded, those that weren't claimed by sailors, doctors, survivors, or whoever else.
All Ahead Full!
Shane N. Worthy

 

[Emanuel Rodriguez]

Sup,
Heres another life jacket I found going through the web...

[Moderator's Note: The link contained in this message has been removed for copyright reasons. The original photo currently appears on this page of Heney Aldridge & Son's web site. MAB]

hope you like it!

 

[patrick toms]

the interest in the lifejackets and where they went seems to go on, any that were used would not be identified as from the titanic as they were standard issue.
pat toms shannon ulster titanic society

 

[Hildur Panula-Heinonen]

I was just reading Michel Navratil's book Survivors, and in the back it said something about the ships missing a few bodies, and that months, even years later, there were reports from various ships about finding skeletons in life jackets. They were buried at sea. Did anyone else hear of this?

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hildur, The last bodies were recovered in May and June 1912.
See here: Minia [late April/early May] and Montmagny and Government of Nova Scotia and
ECHO OF DISASTER : BOAT PICKED UP BODIES ON BOARD and
Elin Gerda Lindell : Titanic Victim and
William Thomas Kerley : Titanic Victim [see the Summary - body recovered by the Ottawa, buried at sea 6 June 1912].

During April 306 bodies were recovered by the Mackay-Bennett.
I have never seen anything about skeletons being found. Hope that helps.

 

[Janice m.larrivee]

Jeremy, a lot of like-minded people - like ourselves! - did do. We have only to recall how the life-boats were stripped of removables - and unscrewables! Furthermore, the souvenir hunters included among their number a few of the survivors. The number '8' was made a souvenir of Titanic - while aboard 'Carpathia'!

What about the bodies that weren't picked up?did they slip into the sea?