Lightholler wrote:
Hi all,

Just from reading a lot of the posted views I have to say that a lot of people have the vision of the Titanic as a dream cruise ship. This couldn't be further form the truth. The 'Titanic' was commissioned as an emigrant transport liner. That fatal night when the Titanic sank, however, is not commonly remembered as the night hundreds of emigrants died.

It's remembered by many for the gentlemen who were 'ready to go down in dressed in their finest clothes', the still calm sea, the clear starry sky, natures victory over man and the end to the maiden voyage of the biggest ocean liner of the time. These images have all the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy and that's why so many millions of people are fascinated by the Titanic.

What must be remembered is that the hundreds of emigrants who perished were looked down upon by most of the first class aristocratic well to do passengers on that maiden voyage. All the ills of society at the time were reflected on board Titanic i.e. class distinction, mass emigration and the ignorance and arrogance of an all conquering industrialised age.

I am from the mid-west of Ireland from where 22 third class passengers and two second class passengers boarded the ship at Queenstown. Many of them were sailing to America to seek out a new life not to become a victim of the arrogance of man. All but four of these emigrants survived. I have had the pleasure of meeting relatives of these victims. The relatives, like me, admire the liner for its grandeour but are equally aware of the social injustices committed on it.

Many other emigrant registered ships and liners sank before and after 1912 but none have been documented more that the Titanic. Why? Because the ship represented all aspects of western society at the time. The dreams and hopes carried by those emigrants should be remembered and admired a lot more than the 66,000 tonnes of steel lying at the bottom of the Atlantic with the lost fortunes of the Guggenheim/Astor types.

Lightholler :(