A subject I can "never let go of" is locked gates for the 3rd class.
I don't know how many of you believe they were or were not locked. In James Cameron's movie he shows they are locked, in a TV special they WERE suppose to show if they were or were not, but never did show either and I have read that they also were and were not.

To keep 3rd class in their place and for diseases, lice, etc?

When it was sinkiong, they were locked so the first calss could board the lifeboats first.

The gates were locked for regulatory health reasons - third class came from a large number of different nations, and heaven knew what diseases they could bring in. Had the gates been unlocked for any other reason than a true emergency, the ship would have quarantined for a week once they hit New York. Unfortunately, many of the crew were not aware this was the reason for the gates (few people are, even today), and so, in a situation they had no idea how to handle, most of the crew fell back on "orders" period - and did not allow many in steerage access to the upper decks until it was too late.

As to all the gates being locked - not all of them were. Some were left unlocked, some were unlocked and then locked, and some were broken down by the passengers.

The fact that third class was locked in really had nothing to do with First Class going first - just a bureaucratic fumble that regrettably cost a lot of lives.

Dives to the wreck have found gates still locked today.

As a matter of fact, some of those locked gates have empty shoes piled against them, proof once again that third class did indeed take a beating.

Tom,
Did you read about the "locked gates" as seen by a few dives in an article or book?
Betty

Teamtunafish
May I ask where you saw that photo of locked gates with shoes piled against it?
Betty

Actually, I heard it from Charlie Pelligrino, who is an old friend of mine on the SF Con circuit. He was down on the last Cameron dive as a scientific advisor (Charlie's the guy who discovered that the rusticles were actually bacterial colonies).

Thanks teamtuna

I do have Charles Pelligrino's book "Ghost of the Titanic" and do remember reading about him and James Cameron. Was it in Ghosts of the Abyss? Can't remember off the top of my head
Betty

Yes, I have all Charlie's books, but this wasn't in a book. He was buying me a glass of wine in the bar at the time. Sorry.

He has, however, a travelling show/lecture he puts on about Titanic at several of the cons he attends - if you're on the east coast and interested, I'll ask him which ones he'll be at for you.