Senate Member
Posts: 6,020 
May 2nd, 2007, 01:24 PM
'Coward of the Titanic' is cleared a century on
2nd May 2007
For almost a century, he has been vilified for his "selfish" behaviour as the Titanic sank beneath the waves.
Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon escaped with his wife and her secretary in a lifeboat which could have held 28 more passengers.
He was also accused of bribing the crew not to return to the wreck site to pick up survivors crying out in the icy water.
Witness: Mabel Francatelli, centre, with the Duff Gordons
But now evidence has emerged which sheds light on the Old Etonian's actions - and paints him as a hero of the disaster.
A letter written by his wife's secretary, Mabel Francatelli, describes the harrowing events of April 14 and 15, 1912.
Miss Francatelli tells her family how she and her mistress clung to Sir Cosmo, refusing to climb into a lifeboat without him - suggesting that he was forced to take a seat to save their lives.
And, she says, there were no other women on deck to fill up the boat, so a ship's officer was happy to let Sir Cosmo join them.
A copy of the letter has been put up for sale at Christie's in London by her nephew, along with the cork-filled lifejacket she wore that evening. The lot is expected to fetch up to £80,000.
Sir Cosmo was cleared of any wrongdoing by the British Board of Trade inquiry, but his reputation was ruined, and the stigma remained until his death in 1931.
Miss Francatelli, then 30, of Streatham, South London, recorded the events in gripping detail, from a hotel in New York five days after the disaster.
"We walked to the end of the boat and they were letting down the last lifeboat on our side and calling for anymore (sic) women, and pulled at us, but we clung on to Sir Cosmo and said we would not go without him, so they lowered the boat," she wrote.
"Presently there was a little boat at the end, what they called the emergency boat, the officers standing there told some stokers to man the boat and no other women were there, so Sir Cosmo asked if we could get in, and we said we would if he could come.
"The dear officers let us, and we dropped into this boat, then they let it down to the water."
The group were later picked up by the Carpathia. Her words back up Sir Cosmo's testimony to the inquiry into the sinking.
He claimed that First Officer William Murdoch had practically invited the party to get into that particular boat.
This is not the first time Miss Francatelli has endorsed his version of events.
Sir Cosmo was accused of paying the crew of the lifeboat £5 each to row away from the ship, for fear they might be swamped by the waves or survivors.
But in her affidavit to Lord Mersey's inquiry, a copy of which is also up for sale at the auction, she said he paid the men as an act of charity, as they had lost all their kit. She also denied hearing a discussion about returning to help.
Exonerated: Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon
In the letter to her family, she describes the confusion and terror of those in the lifeboat.
"We rowed away from the ship, which was sinking fast, so to get away from swell or sucksion (sic).
"I . . . saw all the lights go out, and the very last of her, then the terrible explosion of rumbling, followed by the cries and screams of the hundreds in the water."
Her employer, Lady Duff-Gordon, was far better known in society than her privileged husband.
She was not only the sister of Elinor Glynn, the romantic novelist, but also behind the successful fashion label Lucile.
Lady Duff-Gordon's actions on the night of the sinking have also been criticised.
As the liner disappeared beneath the waves, she is said to have remarked to her secretary: "There is your beautiful nightdress gone."
But Miss Francatelli writes to her family that newspaper reports about Lady Duff-Gordon were "quite untrue, for she has not seen one reporter, her lawyer strictly forbidden it, so everything about her is a concocted tale".
The secretary later married hotelier Max Haering and died in London in 1967.
Christie's specialist Charles Miller said:
"After Bruce Ismay's shameless saving of his own life, the Duff-Gordon incident ranked second in the catalogue of Titanic controversies and Miss Francatelli was the prime witness to a scene which would be revisited again and again in the many books which have investigated the Titanic's loss during the past 95 years."
dailymail.co.uk
'Coward of the Titanic' is cleared a century on
2nd May 2007
For almost a century, he has been vilified for his "selfish" behaviour as the Titanic sank beneath the waves.
Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon escaped with his wife and her secretary in a lifeboat which could have held 28 more passengers.
He was also accused of bribing the crew not to return to the wreck site to pick up survivors crying out in the icy water.
Witness: Mabel Francatelli, centre, with the Duff Gordons
But now evidence has emerged which sheds light on the Old Etonian's actions - and paints him as a hero of the disaster.
A letter written by his wife's secretary, Mabel Francatelli, describes the harrowing events of April 14 and 15, 1912.
Miss Francatelli tells her family how she and her mistress clung to Sir Cosmo, refusing to climb into a lifeboat without him - suggesting that he was forced to take a seat to save their lives.
And, she says, there were no other women on deck to fill up the boat, so a ship's officer was happy to let Sir Cosmo join them.
A copy of the letter has been put up for sale at Christie's in London by her nephew, along with the cork-filled lifejacket she wore that evening. The lot is expected to fetch up to £80,000.
Sir Cosmo was cleared of any wrongdoing by the British Board of Trade inquiry, but his reputation was ruined, and the stigma remained until his death in 1931.
Miss Francatelli, then 30, of Streatham, South London, recorded the events in gripping detail, from a hotel in New York five days after the disaster.
"We walked to the end of the boat and they were letting down the last lifeboat on our side and calling for anymore (sic) women, and pulled at us, but we clung on to Sir Cosmo and said we would not go without him, so they lowered the boat," she wrote.
"Presently there was a little boat at the end, what they called the emergency boat, the officers standing there told some stokers to man the boat and no other women were there, so Sir Cosmo asked if we could get in, and we said we would if he could come.
"The dear officers let us, and we dropped into this boat, then they let it down to the water."
The group were later picked up by the Carpathia. Her words back up Sir Cosmo's testimony to the inquiry into the sinking.
He claimed that First Officer William Murdoch had practically invited the party to get into that particular boat.
This is not the first time Miss Francatelli has endorsed his version of events.
Sir Cosmo was accused of paying the crew of the lifeboat £5 each to row away from the ship, for fear they might be swamped by the waves or survivors.
But in her affidavit to Lord Mersey's inquiry, a copy of which is also up for sale at the auction, she said he paid the men as an act of charity, as they had lost all their kit. She also denied hearing a discussion about returning to help.
Exonerated: Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon
In the letter to her family, she describes the confusion and terror of those in the lifeboat.
"We rowed away from the ship, which was sinking fast, so to get away from swell or sucksion (sic).
"I . . . saw all the lights go out, and the very last of her, then the terrible explosion of rumbling, followed by the cries and screams of the hundreds in the water."
Her employer, Lady Duff-Gordon, was far better known in society than her privileged husband.
She was not only the sister of Elinor Glynn, the romantic novelist, but also behind the successful fashion label Lucile.
Lady Duff-Gordon's actions on the night of the sinking have also been criticised.
As the liner disappeared beneath the waves, she is said to have remarked to her secretary: "There is your beautiful nightdress gone."
But Miss Francatelli writes to her family that newspaper reports about Lady Duff-Gordon were "quite untrue, for she has not seen one reporter, her lawyer strictly forbidden it, so everything about her is a concocted tale".
The secretary later married hotelier Max Haering and died in London in 1967.
Christie's specialist Charles Miller said:
"After Bruce Ismay's shameless saving of his own life, the Duff-Gordon incident ranked second in the catalogue of Titanic controversies and Miss Francatelli was the prime witness to a scene which would be revisited again and again in the many books which have investigated the Titanic's loss during the past 95 years."
dailymail.co.uk
Super Genius
Posts: 1,384
Location: London, Ont. Canada
Location: London, Ont. Canada
May 9th, 2007, 02:47 PM
Quoting EagleSmack
It was a cast iron I believe not a true steel. Ever hit a piece of cast iron with a sledgehammer?
The British Govt. sank the Titanic. Steel is harder than ice and it would be the first time in history that ice ripped a ship in half.
House Member
Posts: 3,171
Location: USA
Location: USA
May 9th, 2007, 02:54 PM
Ever throw a piece of ice against cast iron? It shatters. The British Govt and most likely the Zionist sunk the Titanic.
Actually hitting cast iron with a sledge hammer is a big hobby of mine. I belong to a Sledge Hammer vs Cast Iron Club here.
Ever throw a piece of ice against cast iron? It shatters. The British Govt and most likely the Zionist sunk the Titanic.
Actually hitting cast iron with a sledge hammer is a big hobby of mine. I belong to a Sledge Hammer vs Cast Iron Club here.
Council Member
Posts: 1,431
Location: Great Satan
Location: Great Satan
May 9th, 2007, 03:16 PM
I actually think that Queen Elizabeth was on the Titanic planting the explosive charges herself.
As Blackleaf like to remind us daily, the queen is over 200 years old(most likely due to vampiric practices, like Vlad Tepes <---former boyfriend).
Absolutely heartbroken that Leonardo DiCaprio chose Kate Winslet(another vampire, maybe?) over her, she sank the Titanic using thermate(mite, whatever) limpet mines.
These remainder of these mines were what were used to destroy the WTC, of course. Not sure how they got to New York a few decades later, but maybe one of you can figure it out.
Quoting EagleSmack
Gonna run with this one.
Ever throw a piece of ice against cast iron? It shatters. The British Govt and most likely the Zionist sunk the Titanic.
Actually hitting cast iron with a sledge hammer is a big hobby of mine. I belong to a Sledge Hammer vs Cast Iron Club here.
Actually hitting cast iron with a sledge hammer is a big hobby of mine. I belong to a Sledge Hammer vs Cast Iron Club here.
I actually think that Queen Elizabeth was on the Titanic planting the explosive charges herself.
As Blackleaf like to remind us daily, the queen is over 200 years old(most likely due to vampiric practices, like Vlad Tepes <---former boyfriend).
Absolutely heartbroken that Leonardo DiCaprio chose Kate Winslet(another vampire, maybe?) over her, she sank the Titanic using thermate(mite, whatever) limpet mines.
These remainder of these mines were what were used to destroy the WTC, of course. Not sure how they got to New York a few decades later, but maybe one of you can figure it out.
Executive Member
Posts: 9,207
May 9th, 2007, 03:28 PM
http://www.nlbcorp.com/cold-cutting-water-jets.html
And you don't need the abrasive. 16 gauge metal can be cut by the water alone.
Quoting EagleSmack
It all depends on the circumstances. I've seen steel cut in a machine shop by a stream of water. It all comes down to pressure per unit area. If you have enough pressure, steel can be cut by ordinary water like it was butter.
Ever throw a piece of ice against cast iron? It shatters. The British Govt and most likely the Zionist sunk the Titanic.
Actually hitting cast iron with a sledge hammer is a big hobby of mine. I belong to a Sledge Hammer vs Cast Iron Club here.
Actually hitting cast iron with a sledge hammer is a big hobby of mine. I belong to a Sledge Hammer vs Cast Iron Club here.
http://www.nlbcorp.com/cold-cutting-water-jets.html
And you don't need the abrasive. 16 gauge metal can be cut by the water alone.
Executive Member
Posts: 9,207
May 9th, 2007, 04:30 PM
The iceberg was standing still. The Titanic was was doing 24 knots. The iceberg didn't cut so much as tear a gash in the Titanic's hull because of the extreme pressure. Something had to give and it was the Titanic's hull that gave.
Quoting EagleSmack
Come on Eagle
Interesting Juan. So the British used a high pressure, high speed iceberg or stream of icebergs below the water line of the ill fated ship.
You may have something there because a big lumbering piece of ice would never cut cast iron.
You may have something there because a big lumbering piece of ice would never cut cast iron.
The iceberg was standing still. The Titanic was was doing 24 knots. The iceberg didn't cut so much as tear a gash in the Titanic's hull because of the extreme pressure. Something had to give and it was the Titanic's hull that gave.
Bright Spark
Posts: 333
Location: Brighton,UK
Location: Brighton,UK
May 9th, 2007, 05:34 PM
The British Government actually put row upon row of matches on the front of all ships running through potential Iceberg populated areas and coated all of the Ice bergs in the world with mild grit sandpaper.
Obviously a collision between one of the ships and an Iceberg would result in all the matches being lit and therefore, melting the said Iceberg as the ship carried gamely on its original course.
Unfortunately the specifications did not show the difference between safety and non-safety matches
Quoting EagleSmack
Actually you are quite incorrect in your assumptions.
Interesting Juan. So the British used a high pressure, high speed iceberg or stream of icebergs below the water line of the ill fated ship.
You may have something there because a big lumbering piece of ice would never cut cast iron.
You may have something there because a big lumbering piece of ice would never cut cast iron.
The British Government actually put row upon row of matches on the front of all ships running through potential Iceberg populated areas and coated all of the Ice bergs in the world with mild grit sandpaper.
Obviously a collision between one of the ships and an Iceberg would result in all the matches being lit and therefore, melting the said Iceberg as the ship carried gamely on its original course.
Unfortunately the specifications did not show the difference between safety and non-safety matches
House Member
Posts: 3,171
Location: USA
Location: USA
May 10th, 2007, 02:58 PM
The British Govt. along with the Zionists sank the Titanic.
Quoting #juan
When they discovered the Titanic in the 80's she was ripped in half. There is no way that an iceberg could cut a ship in two.
Come on Eagle
The iceberg was standing still. The Titanic was was doing 24 knots. The iceberg didn't cut so much as tear a gash in the Titanic's hull because of the extreme pressure. Something had to give and it was the Titanic's hull that gave.
The iceberg was standing still. The Titanic was was doing 24 knots. The iceberg didn't cut so much as tear a gash in the Titanic's hull because of the extreme pressure. Something had to give and it was the Titanic's hull that gave.
The British Govt. along with the Zionists sank the Titanic.
House Member
Posts: 3,171
Location: USA
Location: USA
May 10th, 2007, 03:00 PM
Quoting Phil B
I like this one as well. All I am saying is that the original story of an iceberg bumping into the Titanic and popping rivets causing the ship to sink is a total lie and cover up.
Actually you are quite incorrect in your assumptions.
The British Government actually put row upon row of matches on the front of all ships running through potential Iceberg populated areas and coated all of the Ice bergs in the world with mild grit sandpaper.
Obviously a collision between one of the ships and an Iceberg would result in all the matches being lit and therefore, melting the said Iceberg as the ship carried gamely on its original course.
Unfortunately the specifications did not show the difference between safety and non-safety matches
The British Government actually put row upon row of matches on the front of all ships running through potential Iceberg populated areas and coated all of the Ice bergs in the world with mild grit sandpaper.
Obviously a collision between one of the ships and an Iceberg would result in all the matches being lit and therefore, melting the said Iceberg as the ship carried gamely on its original course.
Unfortunately the specifications did not show the difference between safety and non-safety matches
Council Member
Posts: 1,431
Location: Great Satan
Location: Great Satan
May 10th, 2007, 03:02 PM
Quoting EagleSmack
Michael Moore should be releasing a video on this subject anyday now.
I like this one as well. All I am saying is that the original story of an iceberg bumping into the Titanic and popping rivets causing the ship to sink is a total lie and cover up.
World Police
Posts: 4,634
Videos: 1
Videos: 1
May 10th, 2007, 03:10 PM
Michael moore is too damn fat to fit into a mini sub and visit the titanic.
Michael moore is too damn fat to fit into a mini sub and visit the titanic.
Executive Member
Posts: 9,207
May 10th, 2007, 05:33 PM
Quoting EagleSmack
Hey. The Americans too.....http://tinyurl.com/2lsfrv.......
Darn the British sure sunk a lot of ships and blamed them on icebergs. What a conspiracy!
Strange how the Titanic was the last ship sunk by an "Ice Berg". Suuuuuuuuuuure.
Strange how the Titanic was the last ship sunk by an "Ice Berg". Suuuuuuuuuuure.
