Sinking of Luxury Liner Evokes Vivid Memories

Marion Wright

Second-class passenger

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Marion Wright, a 27-year-old English girl, was happy but tired as she climbed into bed in her Deck A stateroom on the "unsinkable" Titanic, a four-block-long luxury liner making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic.

Miss Wright, a native of Redding, a city in County Berkshire about 40 miles south of London, was happy because she was coming to America to marry her sweetheart, Arthur Woolcott, an ambitious farmer who had just purchased acreage west of Cottage Grove, Oregon, and had built a new house for his bride-to-be.

Marion was tired because she had stayed up rather late singing hymns with a gathering of passengers traveling by second class status in one of the plush dining rooms on the 66,000-ton Titanic.

50 Years Ago

It was Sunday night, April 14, 1912 – exactly 50 years ago. Just before she started to go to sleep, Marion glanced at her watch. It was 11:40 p.m.

Last week, Mrs. Woolcott, now a 77-year-old grandmother, recalled her experiences a half-century ago when more than 1,500 of the Titanic's 2,200 passengers died as the world's largest passenger liner plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Mrs. Woolcott, whose husband died five months ago, lives in a comfortable farm home on Hazelton Road, about five miles west of Cottage Grove. This has been her home since May, 1912, the month she came to Lane County as a newly-wed with vivid memories of the sea disaster that would stay with her always.

'Terrific Jar'

"Suddenly, I felt a terrific jar and heard something that sounded like glass breaking," Mrs. Woolcott recalled last week. "Then everything seemed deathly still. The throbbing of the engines had stopped. A friend of mine had told me earlier that if the engines ever halted I should get dressed immediately and go up on deck."

Dressing quickly, the English girl ran up to B Deck and saw a large pile of ice chips. She heard someone say that the Titanic must have grazed an iceberg – but there was no immediate concern.

"I discovered I didn't have a lifejacket, so I went back to my stateroom. But there wasn't one there. I found a crew member who got a jacket for me."

Soon, passengers began to realize there might be some danger as crew members scrambled to lifeboat stations and started working to lower the boats.

"I owe my life to a man I met the day after the Titanic left Southampton. He was Dr. Alfred Pain. 1 He had promised he would look after me and my friend, Bessie Watt, during the voyage. 2

Befriended by Doctor

"As passengers started jamming toward the lifeboats, Doctor Pain found me and Bessie and got us into one of the boats shortly before it was lowered. I remember it was only about half full. Two young men climbed in, but crew members forced them out. One sneaked back in and hid as the boat was lowered into the water."

By this time, most of the 2,200 aboard had learned that the 11-story-high vessel had a mortal wound in its metal side – a 300-foot gash that was permitting water to rush in.

The Titanic was considered unsinkable because it had a double bottom and was divided into 16 watertight compartments. These were formed by 15 watertight bulkheads running across the ship.

Labeled 'Unsinkable'

But strangely, they didn't extend very far up. The first two and the last five went only as high as D Deck, while the middle eight were carried only to E Deck. Still, the ship could float with any two compartments flooded. Since no one could imagine anything worse than a collision at the juncture of two compartments, the Titanic was labeled "unsinkable."

As water poured through the gaping hole, it filled one compartment and overflowed into the next one. As the bow slowly began to sink, it became obvious that eventually all compartments would fill. There was no way out. The vessel was doomed.

"There was only one sailor in our lifeboat. I told him to row away from the Titanic as fast as he could for I remember reading about a ship that sank a year earlier. Several lifeboats were pulled under by suction."

Mrs. Woolcott said that as their lifeboat moved away, she could see the Titanic's deck lights disappear "a row at a time."

'Stood on End'

"It was pitch black and icy cold. We couldn't see anyone around us – only the disappearing lights of the Titanic. Suddenly, the bow went down and the liner stood right on end, hesitated a moment, then plunged into the ocean. The noise was terrific as the ship disappeared. I can't remember exactly, but I guess there were cries for a short time from people still in the water. But it was so cold they couldn't live very long."

She said many deeds of valor occurred during the few hours before the Titanic plunged to its death. "Dr. Pain found us a lifeboat, but he gave up his own life. Many of the men aboard kissed their wives and then stepped back and waited quietly for the end. The ship's band continued to play until the ship sank. I remember hearing the beautiful piece Autumn as I left the Titanic."

Mrs. Woolcott said the White Star Line, owner of the Titanic, was "determined to make the crossing the fastest on record.

"From the moment we left Southampton, the Titanic's engines were going full speed. And as it turned out, the liner was too far north."

She recalled that Sunday morning, April 14, was "warm and clear. We were out walking on deck. It was a beautiful day. Suddenly, without warning, the air became chilly. Within 30 minutes it was so cold we all had to go in. People who had traveled across the Atlantic before remarked that there must be icebergs in the vicinity."

Mrs. Woolcott said apparently the ship's crew wasn't concerned about the iceberg situation. "And crew members certainly weren't concerned about lifeboat drills. We never had a drill while we were on the boat. I guess the captain and officers took it for granted the Titanic was unsinkable."

Remained Standing

When the emergency came, she said, no one seemed to know how to lower the lifeboats quickly. "Everything was mixed up as crew members ran here and there aimlessly. I didn't think the boats would ever be lowered."

After the Titanic plunged to the ocean's bottom, most of the survivors on Mrs. Woolcott's lifeboat huddled together for warmth, but she remained standing. "I remained standing throughout the night. I don't remember now just why."

Unknown to Mrs. Woolcott and the others, another vessel, the Californian, at that moment was anchored only a scant 10 miles away. The Californian's captain, afraid of the iceberg danger, had halted the vessel for the night.

Several hours earlier, about midnight, the Titanic's wireless sent out an SOS signal. The Californian's wireless set had a magnetic detector that ran by clockwork. The relief operator, unfamiliar with the wireless equipment, didn't wind it  up, and so he didn't hear the Titanic's SOS message.

Saw Lights

Officers on the Californian saw the lights of the Titanic about 11:30 p.m. Later, they noticed that some of the deck lights seemed to be disappearing. They wrongfully concluded the Titanic was sailing over the horizon. Tragically, the liner was in its death struggles – just 10 miles away.

Another vessel, the Carpathia, a liner bound from New York to the Mediterranean, picked up the Titanic's SOS message about 1 a.m. The Carpathia, 58 miles away, started a twisting dash through ice fields to reach the Titanic – but it would never arrive in time. The Carpathia didn't reach the disaster site until 5 a.m. – hours after ocean water had closed over the Titanic.

"I recall receiving food and warm clothing when we were taken aboard the Carpathia," said Mrs. Woolcott. "The crew was very good to us during the voyage to New York."

'Etched in My Mind'

When the survivors reached New York, they were greeted by friends and relatives "standing four-block deep along the dock area," she said. "It took me two days to find Arthur...We were married April 20 in a New York chapel and then took the train to Cottage Grove. I bought some new clothing in Chicago from money given me by the White Star Line."

Looking out the window of the place she has called home for 50 years, Mrs. Woolcott said: "I can't believe it has been half a century since that terrible night. The events are so etched in my mind that it seems like it happened yesterday."

We would like to thank Wolfric Rogers for contributing this article to the Archive. If you would like to contribute a primary source to Titanic Archive, please contact us.