REPORTAGE NOWADAYS

[Noel F. Jones]

Writing of the forthcoming London Science Museum Titanic Exhibition, Lisa Mitchell of BBC Online comes up with this gem:-

"Then there was the mystery of Howard Irwin, whose upholsterer's tool was brought to the surface in 1994.

With no sign of him at the docks, a friend had loaded Howard's bags on board for him.

But Howard never made the sailing because he had been press ganged onto a boat bound for Egypt and made it back to the US safely. His friend drowned."

Words fail me! Can anyone elucidate?

Noel

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Press ganged? I'd like to hear the story behind that one, especially since press gangs no longer existed by that time.

 

[Mike Herbold]

Noel:
Look under the biography of passenger Henry Sutehall and the attachments to it, and you will find details of this intriguing true story.

 

[Noel F. Jones]

Well I've read the Shuttle document and I'm none the wiser as to how some intending passenger for New York could be so bluddy careless as to get himself "press-ganged onto a boat bound for Egypt".

In the year 1912 that would take some stage-managing!

Noel