Encyclopedia Titanica

Violet Jessop

Stewardess

Violet Constance Jessop
Violet Constance Jessop

Miss Violet Constance Jessop, 24, of 71 Shirley Road, Bedford Park, London was born in the pampas near Bahia Blanca, Argentina, the first child of Irish emigrants William and Katherine (Kelly) Jessop. Her father was a sheep farmer and she had five younger brothers and sisters. As a child Violet contracted Tuberculosis, Doctors gave her only months to live but she managed to overcome the disease.

When her father died in Mendoza the family returned to Britain, her mother found a job as a stewardess for the Royal Mail Line while Violet attended convent school. When her mother's health deteriorated Violet gave up school to became a stewardess herself, first with the Royal Mail Line, then later with White Star.

Violet didn't want to work for White Star because she didn't like the idea of sailing the North Atlantic run due to the weather conditions, and she had heard stories about the demanding passengers on that run.

Nevertheless Violet, who had grey-blue eyes, auburn hair and spoke with an Irish accent became a stewardess for the White Star Line working 17 hours a day, and being paid £2 10s. per month. She served on board the Olympic before joining the Titanic and was aboard the Olympic when she was in collision with HMS Hawke in 1911. Violet was happy on the Olympic and didn't really want to join the Titanic but was persuaded by her friends who thought it would be a 'wonderful experience'. So Violet, 'dressed in a new ankle-length brown suit' set out in a horse-drawn cab to join the brand new ship at her berth in Southampton.

Among the people she mentioned in her memoirs was Thomas Andrews and, like all other crew members it seems, she greatly admired him. Mr Andrews was the only person who seemed to heed the requests of the crew for improvements in the crew's quarters. The stewards and stewardesses were quite pleased with their quarters on Titanic. "Often during our rounds we came upon our beloved designer going about unobtrusively with a tired face but a satisfied air. He never failed to stop for a cheerful word, his only regret that we were 'getting further from home.' We all knew the love he had for that Irish home of his and suspected that he longed to get back to the peace of its atmosphere for a much-needed rest and to forget ship designing for awhile." Violet claims to have been friends with Scottish violinist Jock Hume, one of the few people working on the ship whom she identifies by his real name.

She said that it was her habit to take in the fresh air on deck before retiring for the night, and that "If the sun did fail to shine so brightly on the fourth day out, and if the little cold nip crept into the air as evening set in, it only served to emphasize the warmth and luxuriousness within."

In her memoirs she says that on Titanic's maiden voyage she brought a copy of a translated Hebrew prayer that an old Irish woman had given her. Upon settling down in her bunk she found that prayer and read it, then made her roommate (probably stewardess Elizabeth Leather) read it.   It was a strangely worded prayer that Violet says was supposed to protect her against fire and water. Violet was a devout Catholic who carried a rosary in her apron and believed strongly in the power of prayer. Violet wrote that she was "comfortably drowsy" in her bunk, but not quite asleep when the collision occurred.

''I was ordered up on deck. Calmly, passengers strolled about. I stood at the bulkhead with the other stewardesses, watching the women cling to their husbands before being put into the boats with their children. Some time after, a ship's officer ordered us into the boat (16) first to show some women it was safe. As the boat was being lowered the officer called: 'Here, Miss Jessop. Look after this baby.' And a bundle was dropped on to my lap.''

After eight hours in the boat Violet and the others were picked up by the Carpathia:

''I was still clutching the baby against my hard cork lifebelt I was wearing when a woman leaped at me and grabbed the baby, and rushed off with it, it appeared that she put it down on the deck of the Titanic while she went off to fetch something, and when she came back the baby had gone. I was too frozen and numb to think it strange that this woman had not stopped to say 'thank you'.

Violet served as a nurse with the British Red Cross during World War One and was on-board the Britannic when that vessel was sunk in the Aegean in 1916. Violet attributed her rescue from the sinking of the Britannic to her thick auburn hair:

''I leapt into the water but was sucked under the ship's keel which struck my head. I escaped, but years later when I went to my doctor because of a lot of headaches, he discovered I had once sustained a fracture of the skull!''

In her late 30's she had "a brief and disastrous" marriage but the name of the husband has long eluded all researchers*. They had no children.

Miss Jessop retired to a sixteenth-century thatched cottage in Great Ashfield, Suffolk. She filled her home with mementoes of her forty two years at sea and looked after laying hens and her garden. She was interviewed for Woman Magazine (19th July 1958) when the film A Night to Remember was released in 1958.

Notes

* Senan Molony reveals the identity of her husband in his exclusive new article: Violet's barren White Star wedding

Research Articles

Senan Molony Titanica! (2011) Violet's Barren White Star Wedding
The story of Titanic survivor Violet Jessop's short-lived marriage revealed for the first time.
Titanica! (2017) Shipwrecked again!
Titanic passengers and crew that experienced shipwrecks either before or after the Titanic disaster.
Violet Jessop challenges Ellen Barber's recollection

Documents and Certificates

Agreement and Account of Crew, National Archives, London; BT100/259

In the Titanic Store

John Maxtone-Graham (1998) Titanic Survivor, Sutton Publishing

Violet Jessop in 1970

Comment and discuss

  1. diana handley

    diana handley

    was violet jessop ever married ?
  2. Bob Godfrey

    Bob Godfrey

    Yes, briefly and without issue. See post by Phillip Gowan, 4th from bottom on this page:
  3. Grant Woollacott

    Grant Woollacott

    Are Violets nieces still living?
  4. Ridderzaal

    Ridderzaal

    I think this lady is possibly the most interesting of all the crew and passengers. She served on Olympic and witnessed the accident with Hawk, was on Titanic when it went down and also survived the sinking of the Brittanic. Quite a lady and yet amongst all the high profile names, seems to get lost in history so this is my shout to her.
  5. Liam1613

    Liam1613

    Do we have any idea who the child may have been that Violet was given to take care of as she left the ship? The child who was later snatched from her arms by a woman who didn't say a word. Did she definitely even have one? Or is it just a tall tale she fabricated? And how believable is her story that years later during a stormy night she got a phone call from a woman asking if she had been on the Titanic and carried a child in her arms as she left the ship, when she replied yes the voice said "I was that child." Then hung up. Bit rude if its a true story... not even a hello or a thank you! haha! Is there any speculation to the baby that Violet may have taken of the ship with her?
  6. Tommy

    Tommy

    I don't think anyone knows.
  7. Michael H. Standart

    Michael H. Standart

    Violet herself never found out and there's no evidence that anybody volunteered the information publicly.
  8. Adam Went

    Adam Went

    I would suggest that if the story about the phone call is true, then that was definitely just a prankster with a bit much time on their hands. Cheers, Adam.
  9. William Oakes

    William Oakes

    In the book, Titanic Survivor, there is a, "In Memory of Titanic" piece that was presented to Vioet Jessup by the White Star Line. These "In Memory of Titanic" pins and necklases were only given to Titanic crew members who survived the sinking. The book states that it was one of "Violet's most prized possessions. Has anyone ever seen one in a museum or on display anywhere? Other than the reference in the book, I have never seen one, but I would like to. Please see the attached image to see if you recognize this. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
    attachment
  10. Steven Christian

    Steven Christian

    It's a nice pin. I can see where she would cherish it. I haven't seen one in the exibits I've been too. Your pic is the first time I've seen one. I didn't think WSL had it in them so good on them for that at least.
  11. Jason D. Tiller

    Jason D. Tiller

    Before midnight on April 14, 1912, Violet Jessop settled into her bunk on the

Showing 11 posts of 86 total. View all.

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Titanic Crew Summary

Name: Miss Violet Constance Jessop
Age: 24 years 6 months and 14 days (Female)
Physical Features:
Nationality: English Argentinian
Marital Status: Single
Last Residence: in London, England
Occupation: Stewardess
Embarked: Southampton
Rescued (boat 16)  
Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
Buried: Hartest, Suffolk, England

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