240: Violet Jessop
Given the Nickname of Mrs. Unsinkable
Born: 2 October 1887, Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died: 5 May 1971, Great Ashfield, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Violet survived the sinking of both Titanic and her sister ship Britannic and was also present on the third sister Olympic during Olympic’s famous collision with the HMS Hawke.
Surviving that as well, she was twenty-four years old at the time of Titanic’s sinking and was on board as a part of the stewardess crew.
Violet was raised in a loving but poor family in Argentina. As a child, she suffered for years from tuberculosis and nearly died several times. Her parents, desperate to cure their ailing daughter, eventually moved the family closer to the Andes Mountains--the clearer air helping eventually save Violet's life. Sadly, soon after the family moved, Violet's father passed away.
In order to earn money to help support herself and her family, Violet took a job as a stewardess with various ocean liner shipping companies, eventually landing with the White Star Line. She absolutely adored working on Olympic, but to say her experiences on Olympic's sister ships would be less-than-glamorous would be an understatement.
The night of the Titanic's sinking, Violet--like many other passengers and crew, did not at first realize the immediate danger they were in. Soon after, when the order to evacuate the ship came down, Violet put on her lifebelt and made her way to the ship's deck.
When Violet was placed into lifeboat sixteen an officer on board the ship placed a baby into her care—she kept the child alive for the eight hours they remained in the lifeboat until they were rescued.
Luckily the mother came and took her baby back once they were on board Carpathia.
When Britannic sank four years later, Violet made it onto another lifeboat, but nearly died after her lifeboat was sucked into the blades of the still-spinning propeller. Violet managed to jump out of the boat at the last second, but was heavily weighed down by the coat she was wearing under her lifebelt.
After surviving all that craziness, Violet was briefly married in her thirties, but the name of her husband eludes historians—they had no children and were later divorced.
In all she served forty-two years at sea.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located In My Personal Library:
The Band That Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down With the Titanic by Steve Turner
How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Crew List Under the "Stewardesses" Heading)
Sources:
https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/violet-constance-jessop.html
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/12/10/violet-jessop/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6826130/violet-constance-jessop