The story of Violet Jessop, an incredible survival story. who is she? She is a survivor of three shipwrecks including titanic . In the early 1900s was a nurse and an ocean liner flight attendant. Most people might change careers after being involved in such a terrible event, but Violet Jessop did not. Instead of quitting her job, she worked at sea for most of her life.
Born to Irish immigrants, she did not initially work on ships, but family circumstances forced her to seek employment at sea. Her first disaster was at the Olympics, but luckily no one died. She later joined the Titanic, where she is said to have saved a baby's life. Her third disaster was linked to Great Britain, but she survived with only a few bumps and scrapes. So if you want to keep learning more about how this incredible woman lived a brave life at sea, read on to discover more facts about her.
She almost died as a child
Violet Jessop was born in 1887 and grew up in Argentina. Her parents, William and Catherine Jessup, were Irish immigrants who ran a sheep farm. Violet Jessop has five younger siblings and was very ill as a child. She contracted tuberculosis at a young age, and doctors told her parents that their daughter would only have a few months to live. However, after a hard struggle, she finally recovered and lived a long time.
Jessup became a flight attendant at 21
htmlAt the age of 16, Violet returned to England with her family when her father died. She then attended a convent school and her mother became a flight attendant for the Royal Mail.After her mother became ill, Violet left school at 21 to care for her younger siblings and follow in her mother's footsteps. She worked for the Royal Mail Line before reluctantly looking for a job at White Star, a company known for its tough passengers.
At first no one wanted to hire her due to her young beauty
At first it was difficult for her to get a job because of her age. Most female flight attendants at the time were middle-aged, and employers didn't want Violet's youth and beauty to distract other flight attendants and passengers. To get a job, Violet tried to look older and less beautiful by wearing old clothes and not wearing makeup. Eventually she got a position, but she couldn't hide her beauty. When she was a flight attendant, she received three marriage proposals.
She worked 17 hours a day at the Olympics
When Violet joined the White Star Line, she worked on the Majestic before moving to the Olympics. She works 17 hours a day for a meager £2.10 a month (roughly £200 in the 21st century).
1911 HMS Hawke collides with Olympic
On September 20, 1911, the Olympic collided with the Hawke during her fifth transatlantic crossing. Both ships suffered considerable damage. Passengers then disembarked in Osborne Bay and were forced to find other ways to reach their destination. Restoration of the Olympic took two weeks. White Star Line struggled to get the ship up and running as soon as possible because they wanted to preserve their reputation.
Friends convince Violet to work on Titanic
Violet enjoys working on board despite collision aboard the Olympic.However, her friends told her it would be a "wonderful experience" if she switched to the Titanic. In her memoir, she recalls how she "worn in a new ankle-length brown suit" and rode to the Southampton boat seat to begin her new adventure aboard the Titanic.
She believes in the power of prayer
Violet is a devout Catholic with a rosary hanging from her apron. Once, an old Irish woman gave her a Hebrew prayer, which Violet took to the boat for her roommate to read. And this prayer was used to protect Violet from fire and water.
When the Titanic sank, she was told to get on a lifeboat to prove to the women that it was safe.
In her memoir, Violet recalled the collision. She said she was "sleeping comfortably" in her room when the Titanic hit the iceberg. The crew was notified and she was instructed to help the women and children get on the lifeboats. As people started loading the lifeboats, she saw female passengers hugging their husbands warmly before taking their children on board.
Eventually, she was also ordered into a lifeboat, initially to prove to the female passengers that the lifeboat was safe. As the boat was put into the sea, an officer placed a baby on her lap and ordered her to take care of it.
She waited 8 hours in the lifeboat with a baby in her arms, hoping to be rescued
Violet spent about 8 hours in the lifeboat before she and other survivors were rescued by the Carpathia. She wrote:
"I was holding the baby tightly when suddenly a woman jumped at me, grabbed the baby and rushed out, she seemed to put the baby on the deck of the Titanic, and then she went to get something , When she came back, the child was gone.I was numb from the cold and thought it was odd that the woman didn't stop to say 'thank you'. "
1,503 people were killed when the Titanic sank, and Violet was 25 at the time.
Violet's third wreck experience was on the Britannia, where she fractured her skull
1916, Violet was involved in her third shipwreck. During World War I, she took a job as a nurse for the British Red Cross aboard the Britannia. The ship was carrying wounded soldiers back from the Mediterranean. England. However, during a voyage, the ship is said to have hit a mine. The Britannia suffered extensive damage and sank quickly the Aegean . Violet writes in her memoirs:
" I jumped into the water but was sucked under the keel of the boat and hit my head. I eventually escaped, but a few years later, when I went to the doctor for a headache, he found out that I had a fractured skull. "
Violet was in a mess when she was hit by a propeller.
Improvements after the Titanic tragedy that may have saved her life
Less than an hour later, the Britannia sank. Of the passengers, only 30 died. Compared to the Titanic tragedy, more lives were saved due to Harland & Wolff's decision to add more lifeboats to the Britannia.
Even after three disasters, She still works on ships
You would think that Violet would have given up her life at sea after three maritime disasters. After the war, however, boat travel became more popular. As cruise lines grew, Violet Joined Red Star Cruises and worked for the cruise line for a few years. Then she never saw any ship sinking with extensive damage.
"Miss Unsinkable" retires after 42 years at sea
Violet was briefly married but had no children and worked aboard for 42 years before she retired. Nicknamed "Miss Unsinkable," she told biographer John Maxton-Graham that she once received a call from a woman claiming to be the baby she had rescued aboard the Titanic. She claimed it wasn't a prank call because she never told anyone the story. Violet later lived in Suffolk, England, and died of heart failure on May 5, 1971, at the age of 84.
