Just to spur some debate:

Why is it that in every movie, and in the general Titanic community, that Thomas Andrews is seen as an almost Heroic figure?

I mean really, what did he do that night? He helped put some people into boats and get to safety, then he went into shock and just stood there until the end.

And furthermore, why do people have such a different opinion between him and Bruce Ismay? After all, Bruce Ismay is documented through testimony that he did helped out a great deal in getting ladies into the boats, just as Andrews did.

Was it because Ismay actually stepped into a lifeboat and tried to survive? (which really, if we were there, we probably would do too).

Now, people will point out that because Ismay tried to heckle Smith to push Titanic full speed through an ice field, that he was negligent, and furthermore, he only cared about profit and headlines instead of peoples lives.

However, was it not Thomas Andrews that let Titanic leave Belfast with 20 lifeboats? Andrews knew very very well that the laws of the day were out of date for a ship as big as the ones he constructed.

Now, it is true that the White Star Line wanted fewer boats, but, if Andrews was such a man of good action, then why did he not push White Star for more boats (as Alexander Carlilse wanted)?

Instead, Andrews let Titanic leave his shipyard with fewer boats in order to, as Walter Lord put it, to "accommodate the client". Remember, Andrews was a businessman too, just like Ismay.

Cannot the action of sending a ship to sea with lifeboats to save only half onboard be just as negligent as persuading a ship's captain to run full speed through an ice field?

What do other people think?