Die beiden Funker Bride und Phillips halten ihre Stellung im Funkraum bis fast zum Schluss. Eine Stunde und 45 Minuten nach der Eisbergkollision melden sie: „Maschinenraum bis zu den Kesseln vollgelaufen“. Kurz zuvor hatte Phillips neben dem CQD auch erstmals das neue SOS-Signal verwendet – nachdem sein Kollege Bride meinte: „Es könnte deine letzte Chance sein, es zu senden.“ Etwa um die gleiche Zeit gibt Kapitän Smith ihnen den Befehl, den Funkraum zu räumen und sich in Sicherheit zu bringen. Phillips bleibt jedoch noch eine weitere Viertelstunde an der Funkkonsole – zu lange: Er wird die Katastrophe nicht überleben.Kapitän Smith eilt unterdes in die Funkerkabine und gibt Bride und Phillips die Anweisung, „CQD“ zu senden. Dieses Kürzel gilt als Notrufsignal an alle Empfänger. Das heute verwendete „SOS“ ist zu dieser Zeit noch kaum üblich. Smith gibt den Funkern die Position des Schiffes: 41°44′ Nord und 50°24′ West. Diese Angaben sind jedoch nicht korrekt und positionieren die Titanic westlich statt östlich des Eisfelds. Erst rund eine Viertelstunde später erhalten die Funker vom Navigationsoffizier Boxhall die korrekte Position und korrigieren ihre Notrufe: „CQD, Position 41.46 N 50.14 W, brauchen Hilfe, haben Eisberg gerammt.“ Die Carpathia, zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch 93 Kilometer von der Titanic entfernt, fängt den Notruf auf und nimmt Kurs auf die Unglücksstelle.
Sonntag, 14. April 1912, 23:52 Uhr Bordzeit. Noch immer ahnen die meisten Passagiere und Besatzungsmitglieder nichts von der Katastrophe. Sie schlafen, während tief unter ihnen bereits Tonnen von Meerwasser durch große Lecks in den Bauch des Schiffes stürzen. Das Ausmaß der Schäden ist zu diesem Zeitpunkt auch für die Brückenoffiziere noch unklar. Kapitän Smith hofft zunächst, dass die angeschlagene Titanic noch aus eigener Kraft bis ins kanadische Halifax gelangen kann. Sein vierter Offizier, Joseph Boxhall, meldet zunächst, keine größeren Schäden unter Deck bemerkt zu haben.Titanic’s first distress signal was sent at 12:15 a.m., April 15. From that time till the marconi operators abandoned ship, Phillips sent a constant stream of messages. Here are some of the most important:The bow and stern sections lie approximately 600ft apart, and because of the planing actions both parts probably underwent during their descent, their respective positions on the seabed are not likely to be directly below where Titanic foundered. However, Titanic’s larger items of debris, such as boilers that broke free during the split, are muchmore likely to have dropped straight down to the seabed like the proverbial rock, so it’s reasonable to make the assumption that Titanic foundered atWhen Dr. Robert Ballard discovered the wreck of Titanic in 1985, the position and state of the wreck were no longer open to guesses and conjecture; the truth was now known, and only a few days after the discovery of the wreck, Robert Ballard held a press conference at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute to tell the world’s press about his team’s amazing discovery – Titanic – and where she now lay.
At the time of its launch S.S. Titanic was described as “unsinkable” – and in one particular respect it was. 100 years later the story of that great ship and the tragic events that took place in mid Atlantic on the night of 14/15 April 1912 still engage and intrigue us, no matter how often it has been repeated in books, films, television series, radio programmes and museum exhibits. As the writer Walter Lord said in the foreword to the 1976 edition of his book “A Night to Remember”… _“it is a rash man indeed who would set himself up as final arbiter on all that happened the incredible night the Titanic went down.”_The Titanic wasn’t the fastest way to get to New York. The Cunard “greyhound” liners, Lusitania and Mauretania, were certainly quicker. With turbine engines and streamlined hulls they were able to achieve over 24 knots (28 mph). In 1907 the Mauretania won the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing and held this record for twenty-two years. But as fast as these Cunarders were they didn’t have the luxury or comfort offered by the Titanic – “the largest movable, man-made object ever constructed” – or its guaranteed safety. With 16 watertight compartments and internal bulkheads the Titanic, was considered ‘virtually unsinkable’. As one of the crew put it – “God himself could not sink this ship.” Thomas Pears’s only doubt about their forthcoming trip was they didn’t use his own family Pears soap on the Titanic but “Vinolia Otto Toilet Soap – perfect for sensitive skins and delicate complexions!” There is little detailed information about what happened to Mr and Mrs Pears. Edith managed to get into lifeboat 8 with 22 other women, all from first-class and 3 crew members and was eventually taken aboard the Carpathia which came to their rescue. Thomas Pears was never seen again… The first list of survivors failed to mention either Thomas or Edith but then a cable arrived, sent on 18 April from the Carpathia, saying ‘Edith safe, all hope for Tom’. Then came a second cable, which reported that both had been lost. Shortly afterwards, a third cable was received from English friends in New York saying that Edith was in good health and staying with them at the Hotel Woodward. It added that she intended to sail for home on 20 April 1912. By now it was known that Tom had died at sea, one of 1,514 passengers and crew aboard the Titanic who had perished. There were only 710 survivors.In 1912, three years after his father’s death, Thomas decided to visit New York with Edith in the hope of expanding his business there. For the journey they booked on the White Star liner S.S. Titanic which was about to make its maiden voyage across the North Atlantic.Thomas and Edith boarded the Titanic at Southampton on Wednesday 10 April as first class passengers and occupied cabin C-2. Four days later, at about 11.40pm on the evening of 14 April 1912, at position Lat. 41.46 N. Lon 50.14 W, the ship ran into an iceberg and despite its 16 watertight compartments, internal bulkheads and the lofty promises of its owners, immediately began to sink.
Thomas was the great-great grandson of Andrew Pears who founded the Pears Soap Company in 1789. Thanks to the quality of the product, some skilful advertising and the endorsement of celebrities like Lillie Langtry the company became very successful. Because of increased demand, in 1862 the company moved its production from central London to a large factory in Isleworth, the Lanadron Works.Thomas Clinton Pears, aged 29 years old and one of 1,514 passengers who were lost that night on the S.S Titanic, is still remembered on a marble column that stands at a place where two paths meet in Isleworth Cemetery.
