Institute of Marine Engineering booklet marks Titanic crew’s sacrifice

The untold story of the 35 engineers who lost their lives with the sinking of the Titanic exactly 100 years ago is being marked this week with a commemorative booklet by a charity fund that was set up originally for their families.

Little is recorded of the engineering staff battling below deck to keep engines and generators running as the massive ship began to flounder in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. The entire engineering staff lost their lives.

The official Board of Trade Inquiry into the sinking had no first-hand account of the actions of those who stayed at their posts in the engine rooms.

Now the Institute of Marine Engineering at Aldgate aims to redress the balance with the booklet commemorating the sacrifice by those who kept the lights on throughout the ship to reduce panic among passengers.

The power also kept the Titanic’s radio office working to transmit distress signals until minutes before it sank.

The tragedy led to setting up the Titanic Engineering Staff Memorial Fund to help the widows, orphans and dependants of the 35 engineers which is still administered by the institute. Today it helps needy engineers and their families worldwide.

The 16-page booklet includes history, drawings and photographs of the Titanic and its machinery as a tribute to the engineers who are all named with their photographs.

It can be ordered from the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology at Aldgate House, 33 Aldgate High Street, London EC3N 1EN, or online at www.imarest.org/guild, or email guild@imarest.org.