A tribute to a Cunard heroine.

The following poem was written by a Mr. Robert H. Vaughan. On April 14th/15th, 1912, Vaughan, then 17 years old, was a waiter serving aboard the Cunard Line's RMS Carpathia, the steamer which became famous for its dash at top speed through the North Atlantic Ocean to rescue survivors from the foundering White Star Liner RMS Titanic. Mr. Vaughan later wrote this poem in commemoration of that rescue. It was printed in a clipping from the Perth, Ontario Courier, dated April 13th, 1972, which I now have in my possession.

A MEMORY OF SIXTY YEARS AGO

The sun was slowly rising
On the cold blue sea.
It spread its golden beauty
From windward to lee.
But there was one blot
On that scene so fair,
It was the half filled lifeboats,
That were waiting there.

****

Four days out from New York,
On our way to famed Gibraltar,
The Captain got an S.O.S.
That caused our course to alter.

The S.O.S. that was recived,
Contained a note of panic,
And later on it was revealed,
It was the R.M.S. Titanic.

The Carpathia whose altered course,
Was a complete about face,
She was steaming with all speed,
In a daring life saving race.

The captain ordered the crew
To tasks varied and many
For the comfort of the survivors,
If, indeed, there would be any.

The tasks were all completed,
Nothing to do but wait,
And leave the final ending,
In the hands of fate.

The captain was a worthy man
And never undecided,
As through the ice fields and bergs,
The ship he skilfully guided.

'Twas a little after seven bells
When at last they reached the scene
And only lifeboats were in view
Where the Titanic once had been.

The transfer of survivors
In time was all completed.
They were taken down below
And with utmost care were treated.

In the ship's main saloon
Prayers for the dead were read,
Then they left the tragic spot,
And forged full steam ahead.

The survivors left the ship at last
And the other people, too,
And all that remained on board,
Were the Carpathia's own crew.

Of the rescue ship I write,
In the words of simple rhyme,
And she will not be forgotten
Until the end of time.

****

The work of nature and that of man
Meet on the cold blue sea,
And the result of that encounter,
Was a human tragedy.

****

On the morning of April 15th, The Carpathia (Captain Arthur H. Rostron commanding), recovered 712 survivors, 13 Titanic lifeboats, and the bodies of several passengers and crew who had either died during the night or shortly after rescue. After half an hour of searching the area and finding little else in the way of life, Rostron, his complement doubled, steamed Carpathia westward, to New York. The liner arrived in New York Harbour on the evening of April 18th, and after lowering Titanic's lifeboats down into the White Star Line's pier 54, the survivors disembarked to meet loved ones and relate their ordeals aboard the ship touted only days before as "unsinkable."

In recognition of the 99th Anniversary of the Titanic Disaster, this poem is posted in memory of the 1,496 passengers and crew lost aboard the RMS Titanic, and of the lifesaving efforts undertaken by Captain Rostron and the crew of the Carpathia.