TITANIC CONNECTIONS

Posted on 03/18/2016

Emily Taylor, a 21 year old employee of Carnival Australia, recently made the discovery that Sir Arthur Henry Rostron, the Captain of the RMS Carpathia, who is credited with rescuing more than 700 survivors from the Titanic sinking in 1912, was her great, great great grandfather.

Captain Rostron was praised for his robust efforts to reach the Titanic in time to rescue survivors. He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by the US Congress, and in 1926 was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He retired in 1931 after his rise to become the Commodore of the Cunard fleet. When Captain Rostron was informed of the distress signal, he made every effort to cover the 93km to reach the White Star Line flagship vessel, including turning off the heating and hot water to increase the amount of steam for the engines. He is said to have ordered extra stokers to move the Carpathia beyond its top speed of 14.5 knots. In spite of his efforts the Carpathia arrived at the scene after the Titanic had sunk but the vessel managed to save 700 survivors in the waters. US president William Taft presented Captain Rostron with the Congressional Gold Medal and in 1919 he was named a commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1926 he became Sir Arthur, as a knight commander of the Order of the British Empire. The Captain’s young descendent was enraptured by the story of the Titanic and even taped over her parent’s wedding video to record the 1997 film by James Cameron when it was televised. She knew there was a family connection to the captain of the Carpathia and there was a connection to the Titanic, but says, “I did not know he was the commodore of the Cunard fleet or that he had been such a hero.”