Meet Violet Jessop, the woman who survived three shipwrecks
The tragedy of the world’s most luxurious and largest ship, RMS Titanic is something that the world will never forget. Titanic, went down in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15th 1912, after head-on colliding with an iceberg. Very few people are fortunate enough to survive a shipwreck. One such person was Violet Jessop, a stewardess on the Titanic. She survived not one, but three shipwrecks. Let us take you through her life story.
Violet’s Early Life
A baby girl was born to Catherine and William Jessop on October 2nd 1887, in Beha Blanca, Argentina. They named her Violet Constance Jessop. At a very young age, Violet was compelled to quit her studies and find employment since her father had passed away, her mother was ill, and needed to support her family. Uncertain of her future, Violet pursued her mother’s path and took up a job in a ship.
Although Violet applied for job of a stewardess at various shipping firms, she was rejected due to her ordinary looks. Finally, the shipbuilding firm Royal Mail Line employed her as a medical assistant nurse considering her mother’s work on their ship (her mother used to work there before she became ill). She received nursing training as a part of her job.
RMS Olympic in 1911
Impressed by Violet’s nursing performance, the company got her a job on a passenger ship. It gave her a position on the RMS Olympic, also called the White Star Vessel, in 1911. RMS Olympic was the biggest luxury cruise ship back then.
On September 20th 1911, the ship sailed from the port of Southampton. Unfortunately, the British warship HMS Kavikke and the RMS Olympic collided shortly after take-off. This accident damaged both the ships. Fortunately, nobody was killed, and the ship didn’t go down. Before anything truly awful happened, they arrived at the harbour safely.
RMS Titanic in 1912
It would be natural if Violet never wanted to set foot on a boat again due to this terrifying experience. But that wasn’t Violet’s case! It seemed she was too brave to give up. The shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast intended to construct the Titanic as the biggest cruise ship that could not be damaged. Violet Jessop, a brave 24-year-old, eagerly applied for the position of a stewardess on the RMS Titanic (also known as ‘The Unsinkable Ship built by Ten Thousand Irishmen’). She believed she didn’t need to worry about another collision.
On April 10th 1912, the Titanic sailed from Southampton port, England, to New York. On April 14th, the fourth day of the trip, it collided with an unexpected glacier in the Mediterranean and began to sink. Sensing the predicament, Violet alerted the non-English-speaking passengers of the emergency and piled them onto a lifeboat.
Violet could board a lifeboat according to the ‘women and children first’ rule of chivalry. She boarded lifeboat number 16 while holding a stranger’s infant in her arm. She was mandated to deliver the baby ashore safely. While Violet and a few other passengers got into the lifeboat, the Titanic sank completely. Fortunately, RMS Carpathia, another ship, soon rescued Violet and the rest. The mother took her child from Violet while they were on the Carpathia.
HMHS Britannic in 1916
You’d think that by this point she’d learnt her lesson and would be afraid of the ocean. But brave-hearted as she was, Violet took up a position in, the HMHS Britannic of the shipping company White Star Line after surviving the Titanic tragedy.
The HMHS Britannic was transformed into a hospital ship during World War I. On November 21st 1916, the ship sailed away. Violet embarked on her journey as a nurse in the ship. Unfortunately, the unlucky ship only survived for one hour.
While cruising in the Aegean Sea, an explosion caught the ship. The crew began to board lifeboats as the ship started to sink. Within 55 minutes of the explosion, the ship drowned in the sea. 30 of the 1066 people on board of the ship died. Others were extricated from the lifeboat by the British government.
The ship’s accidental sinking posed a mystery for several years. Many believed the Germans might have fired their first explosion while the ship was at sea. However, the British government was later discovered to be at fault.
Can you guess what happened to Violet? She managed to survive this shipwreck too! These incidents were among the most significant shipwrecks worldwide. After this, she made two trips around the globe while working for several shipping firms, including the Royal Mail Line and Violet Red Star Line.
Here is a fun yet heart-warming fact from Violet’s life. In 1950, when Violet had retired, she received a call one night. “Did you save a baby when the Titanic sank?” the woman on the call asked. Violet answered, “Yes.” The caller smilingly replied, “I’m the baby.”
Violet’s life experiences justify the moniker she had earned, ‘Miss Unsinkable’!