100 Years On

Today is the Centenary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  While this story is widely known, the consequences of it are not.  International Maritime Distress regulations were rewritten to adopt standard emergency radio frequencies, and mandate minimum numbers of lifeboats and lifejackets to be carried on all vessels.  Many of these continue today.

My family has a direct link to this tragedy - my Great Grandmother has a steerage class ticket, a few years before my grandfather was born.  But upon arriving at the dock, had some sort of panic attack at going onboard something the size of Titanic and refused to board.  Lucky she did or I wouldn't be here!  Family lore suggests that tucked away in an attic somewhere is her used ticket - that would fetch a pretty penny if it could be found, but its likely it was destroyed in a number of family houses destroyed in the Blitz of WW2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic