Photograph of the ship sinking

[Jeremy Lee]

Then in this case, the chances of personnel breaking the law on the Britannic by taking a photograph would be extremely slim.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

This would assume that a law was being broken, that the one doing the lawbreaking cared about whether or not it was illegal. Just because "It's a law." doesn't mean everybody's going to abide by it.

Given the number of photos that do exist that were taken on the Britannic by those who sailed aboard her, all these assumptions are questionable to say the least.

 

[Brian R Peterson]

Micheal makes a fine point there, as does Bob when he says if it werent for the "law-breakers" we wouldn't have the photos of these ship that we do.

I think the photos of the Britannic were taken because the knowledgeable photogs who sailed on her knew she was the Titanic's younger sister and wanted photos to remember thier voyage and perhaps as bragging rights, even more so when she sank.

Best Regards,

Brian

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Michael, had you been in uniform on the Western Front and in contravention of General Routine Order No 1137 (no military personnel or other person subject to military law is permitted to be in possession of a camera), you could have protested at Court Martial that you were the victim of a questionable assumption, but you'd still get the 90 days field punishment!

Actually there were areas where offences of this kind were not taken quite so seriously, notably by the Australians at Gallipoli and quite possibly in the less formal atmosphere of a hospital ship, but on the Western Front such regulations were rigidly enforced to the extent that very, very few of the millions of images on file at the Imperial War Museum were taken 'illegaly'.

 

[Remco Hillen]

Then in this case, the chances of personnel breaking the law on the Britannic by taking a photograph would be extremely slim.

As others have said, not quite so. Here's a quote from nurse Sheila Macbeth:
Our days were well filled. One of the sergeants given us a gymnastic class each morning on the boat deck, much to the amusement of the M.O.s, who come up and take snap-shots of us when looking most ridiculous and unable to retaliate.

Regards,
Remco

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Michael, had you been in uniform on the Western Front and in contravention of General Routine Order No 1137 (no military personnel or other person subject to military law is permitted to be in possession of a camera), you could have protested at Court Martial that you were the victim of a questionable assumption, but you'd still get the 90 days field punishment!<<

Perhaps, but some people might think it worth the risk. If the quote Remco posted is any indication, it would appear that not everybody on the Britannic was too concerned about it. But then, they weren't on the Western Front anyway.

 

[Jeremy Lee]

Was the Britannic such a spectacular sight that people would take a photo of? Yes, she was Britain's largest ship then but the interiors were nothing special.

If the photo of the ship sinking exists, then wouldn't it be so obvious taking a picture in the lifeboats?

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>If the photo of the ship sinking exists, then wouldn't it be so obvious taking a picture in the lifeboats?<<

That would depend on whether anyone was paying attention, and that they cared one way or another. Put yourself in their place. If you saw a ship sinking in front of you, which would you pay attention to: The chap with the camera or the ship going down?

 

[Jeremy Lee]

I would think so this way too, but were the high ranking officers on board strict in ensuring rules?

 

[Inger Sheil]

Yes, it's fortunate from our point of view that not everybody followed the rules!

Absolutely! Harold Lowe, a keen photographer, took home at least three volumes of photographs from his war service...they embrance his experiences all the way from the Channel to Russia. These range from snapshots he took of the wake and wash of the cruisers he served aboard through to Bolshevik/Czech skirmishing in Vladivostok during the Russian Civil War. It's a rich and intriguing record of life aboard the cruisers of the era, from intimate moments of shipboard life to actual conflict.

During peace time he was an equally avid photographer, and took many shots of the passing parade aboard his passenger vessels. Immigrant families, Bright Young Things of the 20s, fellow crewmen etc. He also enjoyed photographing passing ships - the Aquitania makes a guest appearance...also a rather haunting, slightly misty looking glimpse of the Olympic

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>I would think so this way too, but were the high ranking officers on board strict in ensuring rules?<<

You might want to read Simon Mill's book on the Britannic for more on that. My take is that they could be pretty tough. However, there were only so many to keep an eye on things, and once the ship was in trouble, I think they had more pressing concerns on their minds.

 

[Michail Michailakis]

Hi,

Well, it seems that someone was calm enough to take a photo from the lifeboats.There was indeed a photo of the Britannic sinking. Remco mentioned it somewhere above.Here are the details:

It was a photo of Jack Symons (brother of George Symons,one of Titanic's looklouts) and of some other survivors taken on one of the lifeboats. The sinking Britannic could be seen a half a mile away in the background.The photo hung on the wall of the Symons' home for many years but their house was destroyed by a bomb during WW2 and the photo was lost forever

[Source:"The Titanic Commutator", Vol.15, No.3, 1991]

Best regards,
Michail

 

[MATTHEW JOSEPH COOPER]

All you have to do Is go to kea and ask people If they have any sinking pictures that really is not that hard