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Violet Jessop: The Unsinkable Stewardess

Hard to believe

Violet Jessop: The Unsinkable Stewardess

11 min

An ocean-liner stewardess was aboard all three of the great sister ships for their disasters — the Olympic's collision, the sinking of the Titanic, and the sinking of the Britannic — and walked away from every one.

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Show notes

Violet Jessop survived childhood tuberculosis and a forty-two-year maritime career after being the eldest of nine children.

The nineteen eleven collision between the Olympic and the Hawke proved the ship could survive two flooded compartments.

Jessop dressed in plain, ill-fitting clothes during her first interviews to hide her youth and beauty from employers.

During the Titanic sinking, Jessop cared for an anonymous infant for eight hours before the mother reclaimed the child.

Open portholes caused the Britannic to sink in fifty-five minutes, nearly three times faster than the Titanic.

Jessop survived a fractured skull after jumping from the Britannic to avoid being shredded by spinning bronze propellers.

In this episode

  1. 1Intro1 min
  2. 2The Girl Who Refused to Die2 min
  3. 3The Olympic and the First Omen2 min
  4. 4The Night of the Titanic3 min
  5. 5The Britannic and the Propeller Blades3 min
  6. 6Outro1 min

Sources

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Violet Jessop: The Unsinkable Stewardess — Fylom