The loss of the White Star Liner RMS
Titanic needs no introduction for anyone alive today. On its maiden voyage in 1912 the great vessel suffered irreversible damage, after a glancing blow from an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on 14 April 1912 opened five water-tight compartments to the in-rushing sea. At 2:20 a.m. the following day, 15 April, the technological marvel of the Edwardian Age sank.
Hearses lined up on Halifax wharf, near present jetty 4 in HMCS Dockyard to take R.M.S. Titanic victims recovered by C.S. Minia.
Of the 2228 passengers and crew on board, 1518 lost their lives. Within hours, the RMS
Carpathia recovered 710 passengers at the scene; five were dead or subsequently died on board and were buried at sea. Two
Halifax-based cable ships, the CS
Mackay-Bennett and the CS
Minia, were chartered within days, steamed to the site, and recovered the majority of the remaining bodies - 306 by the
Mackay-Bennett and 18 by the
Minia.
Body of R.M.S. Titanic victim aboard rescue vessel, Minia being made ready for make-shift coffin.
Altogether, some 337 bodies were plucked from the Atlantic, with the CGS Montmagny, the SS Algerine, the RMS Oceanic and the SS Ilford also assisting. One hundred and twenty-eight bodies were buried at sea and 209 brought to Halifax. Of the latter, 59 were claimed and shipped to other locations; the remaining 150 were buried at Fairview Lawn, Mount Olivet and Baron de Hirsch cemeteries.
Our virtual exhibit on the RMS Titanic presents:
- several photographs taken at the time of the Titanic disaster.
- a variety of records documenting the recovery, identification and disposition of several bodies retrieved onsite and brought into Halifax.
- the records of the Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth (1895-1967), which office was involved in the Halifax-based response to the Titanic catastrophe.
- two British newsmagazines from April and May 1912 that cover the disaster.
- the most complete known record of bodies recovered from the disaster site.
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