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kottke.org posts about Frank Prentice

Interviews with Titanic Survivors

posted by Jason Kottke   Oct 28, 2020

In 1979 the BBC aired an interview with Frank Prentice, who was an assistant purser on the Titanic who survived the sinking of the ship in 1912. I'm not sure what to expect when I started listening, but I was completely captivated by Prentice's tale.

More information on the Mrs. Clark from his story is available here.

Mrs Clark left Titanic with Mrs Astor in lifeboat 4. She recalled Mrs Astor insisting that the lifeboat be turned around to rescue more people; the lifeboat eventually pulled around eight crewmen from the water. When the ship eventually founded Mrs Clark recalled the "heartrending moans and cries" of those struggling in the water.

There are many other interviews with Titanic survivors on YouTube, including this 40-minute feature of seven survivors telling their stories and this 1970 British Pathé clip:

(via @daniel_beattie)