Titanic Crewmember & Survivor .... John Collins .... Veterans Section / Pine Hills Cemetery .... Toronto (Scarborough) Ontario
.... John Samuel Collins was born in Kent, England on January 19, 1874. On April 6, 1912, 38 year old John Collins signed onto Titanic's maiden voyage, as a coal shoveling fireman / stoker. He was one of more than 150 'firemen' or stokers, whose job it was to keep Titanic's 29 colossal boilers at steam, day and night, for the entire journey. It's unclear whether John Collins was on or off duty when Titanic collided with an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, the odds however against his survival were steep, due to both his physical and social position within the ship. Despite the incredible challenges facing them, a number of stokers including Collins, navigated deck by deck, a maze of stairwells, gangways and corridors before they could reach the open air Boat Deck. By the time they emerged into the freezing night air, Collins - who was wearing only a pair of overalls and a thin cotton vest - were immediately put to work by Chief Officer Murdoch, in helping to prepare lifeboat 1 for launch. When no one else seemed to be around - all the nearby lifeboats were gone and the crowd had moved aft, Murdoch permitted Collins and six other stokers to enter the boat, joining five passengers, just before it was lowered. It was the fourth boat launched to sea, at 1:05 AM, over an hour into Titanic's sinking. With a capacity of 40 people, it was launched with only 12 aboard, the fewest to escape in any one boat that night. Most of the occupants of Boat 1 were men, despite Captain Smith's call for "women and children first." First Officer Murdoch, in charge of the evacuation effort on the ship's starboard side, had allowed a number of male passengers & crew to board lifeboats. Murdoch permitted ten men to board lifeboat 1. The passengers included Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon; his wife Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon; her secretary, Mabel Francatelli; Abraham Salomon and C. E. Henry Stengel. The crewmen were: Lookout George Symons, whom Murdoch placed in charge of the craft, Charles Hendrickson, John Collins, George Taylor, Frederick Sheath, Robert Pusey and Albert Horswill. Boat No. 1 and its occupants were picked up by the RMS Carpathia sometime shortly after 4:10 am, being the second Titanic lifeboat to reach the rescue ship. After disembarking the Carpathia in New York and returning home to England, Collins was later called to testify at the British Inquiry into the disaster during the summer of 1912. Afterwards, John Collins and his wife immigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto, Ontario. During World War 1, Collins served in France with the Canadian Field Artillery & Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was wounded and discharged, returning to Canada in 1916. On April 15 1939, Collins put together a reunion for himself and three other Titanic survivors who were living in Toronto at the time. All four survivors met at the Royal York Hotel to have dinner together on the same day the ship went down 27 years earlier. John Samuel Collins died in 1950, age 76 of cancer, at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and was buried in the military veterans section of Pine Hills Cemetery. .... Section N - Plot 255
Titanic Crewmember & Survivor .... John Collins .... Veterans Section / Pine Hills Cemetery .... Toronto (Scarborough) Ontario
.... John Samuel Collins was born in Kent, England on January 19, 1874. On April 6, 1912, 38 year old John Collins signed onto Titanic's maiden voyage, as a coal shoveling fireman / stoker. He was one of more than 150 'firemen' or stokers, whose job it was to keep Titanic's 29 colossal boilers at steam, day and night, for the entire journey. It's unclear whether John Collins was on or off duty when Titanic collided with an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, the odds however against his survival were steep, due to both his physical and social position within the ship. Despite the incredible challenges facing them, a number of stokers including Collins, navigated deck by deck, a maze of stairwells, gangways and corridors before they could reach the open air Boat Deck. By the time they emerged into the freezing night air, Collins - who was wearing only a pair of overalls and a thin cotton vest - were immediately put to work by Chief Officer Murdoch, in helping to prepare lifeboat 1 for launch. When no one else seemed to be around - all the nearby lifeboats were gone and the crowd had moved aft, Murdoch permitted Collins and six other stokers to enter the boat, joining five passengers, just before it was lowered. It was the fourth boat launched to sea, at 1:05 AM, over an hour into Titanic's sinking. With a capacity of 40 people, it was launched with only 12 aboard, the fewest to escape in any one boat that night. Most of the occupants of Boat 1 were men, despite Captain Smith's call for "women and children first." First Officer Murdoch, in charge of the evacuation effort on the ship's starboard side, had allowed a number of male passengers & crew to board lifeboats. Murdoch permitted ten men to board lifeboat 1. The passengers included Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon; his wife Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon; her secretary, Mabel Francatelli; Abraham Salomon and C. E. Henry Stengel. The crewmen were: Lookout George Symons, whom Murdoch placed in charge of the craft, Charles Hendrickson, John Collins, George Taylor, Frederick Sheath, Robert Pusey and Albert Horswill. Boat No. 1 and its occupants were picked up by the RMS Carpathia sometime shortly after 4:10 am, being the second Titanic lifeboat to reach the rescue ship. After disembarking the Carpathia in New York and returning home to England, Collins was later called to testify at the British Inquiry into the disaster during the summer of 1912. Afterwards, John Collins and his wife immigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto, Ontario. During World War 1, Collins served in France with the Canadian Field Artillery & Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was wounded and discharged, returning to Canada in 1916. On April 15 1939, Collins put together a reunion for himself and three other Titanic survivors who were living in Toronto at the time. All four survivors met at the Royal York Hotel to have dinner together on the same day the ship went down 27 years earlier. John Samuel Collins died in 1950, age 76 of cancer, at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and was buried in the military veterans section of Pine Hills Cemetery. .... Section N - Plot 255