Survivors attending other related stuff

[Andrew Maheux]

Hello,

I was wondering, other than the Titanic conventions, did any other survivors attend gatherings or reunions. If so then who attended?

Thank you.

Andrew

 

[Michael Findlay]

Hi Andrew,

Today is one of those Titanic days.....I have access to my files so I can try to answer questions if possible.

Well, there were many survivors who stayed in touch with one another and met on a regular basis. Margaret Devaney O'Neill knew a number of fellow survivors in New Jersey and they would often visit each other over many decades.

From memory, Canadian survivors Madeleine Mellinger Mann and her mother, Elizabeth, attended a survivor reunion dinner in Toronto with stewardess Emma Bliss and chef John Collins in 1939 I believe.

There were many survivor reunions on the sets of the 1953 movie TITANIC and the 1958 film A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. Bill MacQuitty remembered that so many surviving crew members contacted the producers during the production of ANTR that they couldn't keep track of them all. In fact, when the film was shown in Southampton, about two dozen survivors attended and only one of them was female and a passenger - Edith Brown Haisman.

Can you imagine how many tales were shared by surviving Titanic crewmen in the pubs of Southampton and Portsmouth over the course of time? I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during some of those discussions. They probably met casually, without arrangement, and on a fairly regular basis.

I'll try to remember some other functions where survivors gathered separately from Titanic society conventions.

Best,

Mike

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hi Michael,

"From memory, Canadian survivors Madeleine Mellinger Mann and her mother, Elizabeth, attended a survivor reunion dinner in Toronto with stewardess Emma Bliss and chef John Collins in 1939 I believe."

That's interesting. By chance, do you any information as to where that was held? I'm just curious, since I live in Toronto.

Best regards,

Jason

 

[Mike Herbold]

I'm sure all the Titanic survivors were constantly bombarded with "opportunities" to attend other gatherings. A few years ago, the granddaughter of Karen (Abelseth) Little showed me some correspondence regarding a chamber of commerce dinner program her grandmother attended in Southern California in 1962. She was the honored guest for the evening at a 50th Anniversary program that included "motion pictures of the actual ship."
Her granddaughter also mentioned that Mrs. Little also met with Edwina (Troutt) Mackenzie on occasion.

 

[Iain Stuart Yardley]

I have a picture of Edith (Brown) Haisman, Eva Hart and Millvina Dean attending the opening day of the artefacts exhibition at Greenwich in 1994.

Cheers,

Boz

 

[Brandon Whited]

There are some pictures of survivors together near the end of Titanic Voices. The Deans are shown on pg. 272 celebrating Ettie's 90th birthday.

On pg. 274 there's a picture of Eva Hart, Milvina Dean, and Edith Haisman opening the Titanic Voices Exhibit at the Southampton Maritime Museum in 1992. It sounds about like the picture you have, Iain.

On pg. 283, Edith Haisman, Milvina Dean, Bert Dean and Eva Hart are shown unveiling a replica of the musicians' memorial on March 7, 1990.

Interesting thought about the tales told in pubs, Michael. I can just imagine some of those juicy stories...

 

[Andrew Maheux]

Jason,
I just looked under the biography of Elizabeth Mellinger and found that they had a a Titanic reunion dinner on April 15, 1939 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

-Andrew

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for that helpful information.

Best regards,

Jason

 

[Andrew Maheux]

found some other stuff:

New York Premiere of the film "A Night to Remember":

Margaret Devaney
Neville Coutts
Elizabeth Dowdell
Julia Smyth
Anna Turja
Harold Cottam
Eleanor Johnson
Harold Johnson
Renee Harris?

The London preview of "A Night to Remember":

Violet Jessop
Sylvia Lightoller (Charles Lightoller's wife)
Helen Cooke (Capt. Smiths daughter)
Marjorie Collyer

Assisted Walter Lord when he wrote "A Night to Remember":

James Witter
George Kemish
Reginald Burgess
John Ryerson

Advised in the film "A Night to Remember":

Sidney Daniels
Frederick Ray
Joseph Boxhall (technical advisor)
Edith Rosenbaum
Lawrence Beesley

1997 "Titanic" premiere in Norway:

Karl Midtsjo's 3 nephews and nieces.

Attended the screening of the Clifton Webb movie "Titanic", held at the Florida theatre:

Jamila Nicola-Yarred

Premiere of the film "Raise the Titanic" in London, England:

George Richards


These are some of the ones I have found for now. Feel free to add stuff or correct me.

Andrew M.

 

[Andrew Maheux]

Members of the Titanic Historical Society:

Millvina Dean
Bertram Dean
Eva Dean
Edith Brown
Frank Prentice
Leo Hyland
Alfred Pugh
Arthur Lewis
John Podesta
George Rowe
Frederick Fleet
Albert Caldwell
William Collopy (Carpathia Crew member)

Survivors Walter Lord has met:

Renee Harris
Charles Joughin
Ruth Becker
Marshall Drew

again, feel free to correct me or add info.

 

[Mark Baber]

New York Premiere of the film "A Night to Remember":
...
Renee Harris?

Yep.

23 October 1958: A special showing of the film "A Night to Remember", not yet released in the U.S., is held at the Dauphin Hotel in Manhattan. Survivor Irene Harris leaves the screening just after Titanic strikes the iceberg, saying "I will never see the rest of this. It carried me too realistically back to that night ...." She later tells Geoffrey Martin of the Rank Organisation that the title of the "starkly realistic" movie was a mistake. "It was," she says, "a night to forget." (Source: The New York Times, 27 October 1958.)

I have a copy of The New York Times' article at home; I'll check tonight to see if it names any other attendees.

 

[Phillip Gowan]

Some of those present that night in New York were Katie Gilnagh (Mrs. John Manning), crewman Richard Pfropper, Julia Smyth (Mrs. Thomas White), Washington Dodge, Jr., Neville Coutts, Elizabeth Dowdell (Mrs. Harry Fierer), Genevieve Cassebeer, Margaret Devaney (Mrs. John O'Neill), May Futrelle, Marguerite Frolicher (Mrs. Robert J. F. Schwarzenbach) and of course Renee Harris.

 

[Colleen Collier]

Phil. Eleanore Cassebeer was there..... and no one thought to go up to her and ask her.... "Hey, so uh, where you been keeping yourself in the last 46 years?", and "Where you headed after tonight?"

 

[Randy Bryan Bigham]

Edith Russell, Selena Cook, Leah Aks and her son Frank were among 10 survivors who were reunited for a special New York preview of "Titanic" in 1953.

Edith Russell was also among the survivors attending the London premiere of "A Night to Remember" in 1958.

Lastly Edith was a member of the Titanic Historical Society though she never attended a convention and was extremely critical of the organization.

 

[Randy Bryan Bigham]

And what is all this talk of Eleanor Cassebeer? Don't you know she's alive and well for goodness sake? I just saw her the other day. Lovely woman.