The morning after... where were the bodies?
What happened to all the Titanic victims\' bodies after the sinking?
The morning after... where were the bodies?
- Thread starter Encyclopedia Titanica
- Start date
It does seem understandable, and I would think forgivable that Rostron would leave the dead behind--if that's what he did. A rescue effort of hundreds(?) of bodies could have taken days(?). The most reasonable thing to do if many bodies were witnessed, is to notify the bosses and get a rescue effort underway. I don't believe it was Rostron's responsibility to undertake such a feat--nor do I believe people would have expected more of him. Did Carpathia even have the facilities to treat, store and preserve that many dead bodies? Also, I wonder how the currents run there and could a mass of dead humanity disappear in a short while, only to return later? Anyway, it doesn't seem right that the Carpathia should be responsible for such a gruesome task in addition to picking up 700 survivors. The survivors come first. If Rostron was not telling the truth, I understand why. As for NY vs Halifax, it just makes more sense, to me, that he went to NY. Was that at the urging of Ismay...who knows. But, it seems the wiser of the two choices. Why take them to Halifax only to have them board a train? That seems an unnecessary burden to place upon the survivors. Just take them to where they were going in the first place. It's possible he came to that decision (albeit a little later) on his own. That said, I really enjoyed your article and all of the research you did. Just giving my interpretations of Rostron's actions. Great read...thanks.
Captain Rostron, who deserves far more credit than given here, did the right thing to avoid the dead. There are laws about bringing the dead in to port. Besides the law and the inappropriateness of his gathering the dead, he did his shocked passengers a favor. The sight of the bodies would certainly have killed some of the overly stressed and exhausted people he rescued. The body and mind can only take so much. Thanks for the records, but no thanks for the absurd commentary and odd positions.
I agree with other commenters that the criticism of Rostron is excessive and unnecessary. While reading I kept thinking so? Why is this or that a big deal? The author seems to want to create controversy at every point and I cannot determine for which purpose. Rostron made the best decisions he could have made at the time and looking for conspiracy theories is pointless.
