The dawning hours of April 15, 1912 came over the North Atlantic.
Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia gathered 705 survivors from the ill-fated liner.
Four deceased victims who had died near the ship were also picked up and then quuickly buried at sea before the Carpathia hastily departed from the site.
Even though the survivors and rescue ship were now gone, more ships were to follow and witness the gruesome aftermath.
The SS Bremen
On the SS Bremen, the ship’s captain could see bodies all around from as far as he could see, and had reportedly counted up to 125 before becoming too sickened to continue.
Other passengers are said to have seen passengers and crew members having died holding pieces of furniture, and a woman who died embracing a Great Dane.
An iceberg photographed by Bohemian passenger Stephen Rehorek on the SS Bremen on April 20, 1912 — possibly the same iceberg involved in the sinking of the Titanic
Discussions took place among the crew of the Bremen regarding the collection of bodies, though this was quickly ruled out, due to the arrival of another ship that had specifically arrived to carry out this operation.
She was the CS Mackay-Bennett — a twenty-eight-year-old, 72 metre cable ship that had been underdoing renovations at the Halifax port at the time of the Titanic disaster.
Mackay-Bennett in 1900
On April 17, 1912, the Mackay-Bennet left Halifax with a crew under the command of Captain Frederick Larnder, who had hoped to begin the recovery process starting on April 19.
With them was a supply of 100 coffins, though they had estimated that no more than 70 victims would be ultimately recovered — due to the size of the ship, they were also not legally permitted to have more than 125 bodies in their hold.
Their plan of beginning operations by April 19 was hindered when a sea storm forced the ship to slow down, and not arriving onto the scene until well after dusk.
Captain Larnder then decided that the crew should wait until morning before starting the mission.
At 6:00 AM on April 20, 1912, the lifeboats of the Mackay-Bennett rowed over to the wreckage and proceeded to pick up the bodies.
Four crew members of the Mackay-Bennett on a skiff lifeboat with recovered victims, one of whom can be seen still wearing a life jacket
During the first outing they found 51 bodies before returning to the ship to embalm them.
In the days that followed, hundreds more were found.
It quickly became apparent to the crew that there simply were not enough coffins to accommodate everybody.
Even their embalming supplies ran low, and they were forced to request material assistance from the Sardinian and Minia during their seven-day recovery effort.
Titanic victim being embalmed by crew members of the Mackay-Bennett
Among the bodies that were eventually recovered were those of John Jacob Astor, Edward Austin Kent, Isidor Straus, Purser Hugh McElroy, lead violinist Wallace Hartley, and an unidentified steerage-class toddler.
McElroy was found to be too badly decomposed, and was buried at sea at 8 PM on April 22, 1912.
Meanwhile, Wallace Hartley’s body was transferred on site to the passing Arabic and brought to England for a family burial service.
The ice field, with the iceberg that may have sunk the Titanic spotted in the background
In as many as 116 cases, the Mackay-Bennett had the bodies embalmed and dropped into the sea.
She had set out of Halifax at 12:45 PM on April 17, 1912 with 100 coffins, expecting to recover only 70 victims.
It must be noted that not all of these left-behind victims were well-preserved, and the majority of crew members and steerage passengers selected for burial at sea were regarded as the least preservable — only first and second-class passengers were kept, regardless of their physical state.
These ones were given an on deck ceremony by Halifax clergyman Canon Kenneth Cameron Hind of All Saints Cathedral and then buried at sea.
Canon Kenneth Cameron Hind giving out a eulogy aboard the Mackay-Bennett to the Titanic victims destined to be left behind
Out of 306 remains who were found by this vessel, 190 were deemed salvageable and kept in the ship’s hold, despite being only officially permitted to take back 125 bodies.
Due to having only 100 coffins available, nearly half of the victims were left in an embalmed state.
The Mackay-Bennett withdrew from the site of the wreck at midnight on April 26, 1912 to link up with the Minia for embalming supplies, before leaving at dawn and arriving back in Halifax four days later at 9:30 AM on April 30, 1912.
Mackay-Bennett spotted approaching shore with 190 victims of the Titanic disaster
The Mackay-Bennett arriving in Halifax Port on April 30, 1912 with 190 victims of the Titanic disaster
After the Mackay-Bennett left the scene, the Minia would do a quick search and recover four more bodies and have those buried at sea before moving on.
It has been said that on occasion, a passing ship would collide into a cluster of bodies floating in its path — some over fifty miles away from the wreck site.
Passengers and crew alike on these ships would become horrified at witnessing these unfortunate corpses splintering upon impact with the bow.
Crew of the Mackay-Bennett make an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve Collapsible B — where several passengers and crew, including Senior Wireless Operator Jack Phillips, are believed to have perished
Arguably, the real number of “recovered” bodies was as high as 336 when accounting for the three deceased men who were found still sitting on the half-submerged Collapsible A near Bermuda by the crew of the Oceanic — some of whom included Titanic survivors such as Frank Prentice, who had stayed on the ship until the end before jumping into the water and later swimming over to a group of nearby lifeboats.
"The sea was calm at noon when the lookout shouted that you could see something floating ahead. The ship slowed down and it was evident that the object was a ship's lifeboat floating in the open sea in the middle of the Atlantic. What was horrifying is that it contained three decomposing corpses. A lifeboat was sent with an officer and a doctor. What followed was appalling. Two sailors could be seen seated, their hair bleached from exposure to the sun and salt, and a third body, dressed in a tuxedo, lying on the floor. All three were dead and had been on the surf and under the open sky since they had seen the largest ocean liner sink. The three bodies were stuffed into duffel bags with a steel bar at the bottom each. Then, one after another, they were wrapped in the Union Jack, a sermon was read, and thrown into the sea." — Shane Lesie, crew member of the Oceanic
After the three bodies were embalmed, they were wrapped in a Union Jack flag, given a formal eulogy and prayer by the priest, and then dropped into the sea.
Recovered victims of the Mackay-Bennett who were not provided a coffin are left in state at a Halifax morgue around May 1, 1912
LATER DAYS
The family of John Jacob Astor had offered $100,000 as a reward for anybody who could find and retrieve his body — this would amount to $3,250,525.77 when adjusted for inflation.
After collecting the reward money, Captain Larnder split the reward among his forty crew members.
Members of the Mackay-Bennett crew pose for a photograph after returning from the Titanic wreck site
Nonetheless, not all of the money was kept for themselves.
Most notably, the crew used some of the money to pay for the coffin, funeral service, and tombstone of the unidentified baby toddler, whom they regarded as “Our Babe”.
The unidentified child is today believed to have been Sidney Leslie Goodwin — a one-year-old baby who probably died in his mother’s arms, much like in James Cameron’s Titanic
The shoes that the toddler wore during the sinking
Funeral processions were carries out for other Titanic victims who were returned to land, such as Jacob Astor IV, who was given a lavish public funeral on May 4, 1912.
The funeral of John Jacob Astor IV (May 4, 1912)
In the days and weeks following the disaster of April 15, 1912, some 336 bodies were recovered from the RMS Titanic, of whom only 190 were returned to shore.
If a victim was wealthy, they could be interned in a private cemetery of their family’s choosing.
Others were buried together in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
On May 25, 1912, the body of James McGrady would be found by the Algerine, and on June 8, 1912, so too would the body of William Cheverton by the Ilford.
Both of their corpses had rotted beyond preservation, and were given a sea burial.
James McGrady and William Cheverton
These were to be the final recoveries ever made.
The following ships recovered the number of bodies:
- Mackay-Bennett — 306
- Minia — 17
- Montmagny — 4
- Algerine — 1
- Ilford — 1
- Oceanic — 3
- Carpathia — 4
Pair of boots found at the Titanic wreck at the bottom of the North Atlantic — believed to be the spot where a man died
CONCLUSION
Even though barely one-fifth of Titanic victims were found, and only one-eighth given a land burial, the most apparent site of the Titanic disaster today — aside from the ship itself — can be found at Halifax Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
There, one can find some 150 victims, including not only the unidentified toddler, but also names that may be recognisable:
Joseph Dawson.
Titanic Halifax Cemetery
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