Then, Violet Jessup made the move to the Titanic in time for that "Unsinkable" ship's famous maiden voyage in April 1912 when it sailed for New York City across the treacherous waters of the North Atlantic. She later wrote in her memoirs of the unforgettable night of April 14-15, when the ship hit an iceberg and san, taking some 1,500 people with her.
Jessop helped other women and children into lifeboats before climbing into one herself; one of the ship's officers placed a bundled up baby on her lap. After eight hours on the lifeboat, a ship called the Carpathia rescued Jessop and the others, and a frantic woman (whom Jessup assumed was the baby's mother) snatched the infant from her arms.
She was also on the third of the three sisters, the Britannic. After World War I broke out, the Britannic was requisitioned by the British government and turned into a hospital ship. By then, Miss Jessup was a nurse working for the British Red Cross.
In November 1916, the Britannic hit a mine set by a German U-boat in the Aegean Sea. The explosion caused significant damage and the ship sank less than an hour later, only 30 people died. More than 1,000 were saved, including "Miss Unsinkable."
Jessup continued working on cruise ships after the war and had a 42-year career at sea before her retirement. She died in 1971.
I Don't Think I'd Get On a Ship That This Woman Was On. --DaCoot
