The phenomenal luck of the unlucky Violet Jessop, who survived three shipwrecks - on the Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Invincible Violet Jessop Retired Witness

First luck

The woman, who made history thanks to her luck, was born on October 2, 1887 in Argentina, where her father was herding local sheep. The girl's parents were immigrants from Ireland who went to South America in search of a better life. However, the family in a foreign land was also waiting for sorrow and misfortune - three of the nine children died, and the eldest, Violet, became seriously ill with tuberculosis.

Doctors predicted a quick death for her, but the girl not only survived, but also completely recovered from the disease, with which almost no one survived in those days!

However, Violet's father soon died, and the orphaned Irish family went home.

The mother put the children in a school at the monastery, and she herself began working as a flight attendant on the ships of the White Star Line passenger company. But due to poor health, she was forced to leave her job, and her place was taken by the eldest daughter, who had to leave school.

I must say that Violet really did not want to work in this particular company, since its ships went on voyages across the dangerous and inhospitable North Atlantic. But the family had nothing to live on, and the girl began to work - 17 hours a day, receiving 210 pounds a month.

For several years, Violette worked on such a tight schedule. In the fall of 1910, she found herself on board the newest ship of the White Star Line - the huge liner Olympic. This was the first of three Olympic-class vessels - later the company built the Titanic and Britannic ...

"Olympic" was distinguished by luxury and, as the creators assured, complete safety. However, on September 11, 1911, the bulky Olympic collided with the cruiser Hawk. Fortunately, there were no casualties in this disaster, although the vessel suffered serious damage.

The sinking of the Titanic

When the Olympic was refurbished, Violet continued to work on it. But soon the company built the newest and most modern ship, which was named "Titanic" ... Violet was offered to work on it, but she refused for a long time, because, despite the disaster, she liked the "Britannica".

However, she was nevertheless persuaded, and on April 10, 1912, Violet set off on the Titanic on its first and last voyage ...

Violet's biographers note the fact that with her she had a paper on which an ancient prayer was written to save her from fire and water. The devout Violette often repeated the words of this prayer - even before the collision of the Titanic with the iceberg.

As a flight attendant, during the crash, she was supposed to help passengers and escort them to lifeboats.

She herself ended up on boat No. 16. Violet was able to take with her the lost child, who then, when the survivors were on the ship "Carpathia", was found by her mother, so that it was just a miracle.

Forty two years at sea

After the crash, Violet left the service for a while. World War II broke out and Violette became a British Red Cross nurse. But, as they say, you can't escape fate. In 1916, she, along with the wounded, was aboard the Britannic, the third ship of the Olympic class.

On November 1, 1916, the ship was blown up by a German mine. The rescue took place without panic, Violet even managed to grab a toothbrush, as she said more than once that it was this item she most of all lacked after the Titanic crash aboard the Carpathia.

Most of the Britannica's passengers and crew escaped, but the two boats were propelled, resulting in 21 deaths.

Violet Jessop was in one of those boats. She managed to jump out of the boat, but the whirlpool caught her and hit her head on the keel. The girl was rescued by thick brown hair, which softened the strong blow.

However, after this accident, she suffered from severe headaches for a long time. When she later consulted a doctor, he discovered a huge crack that had already healed.

Interestingly, after recovering, Violette again began working as a flight attendant on the ships of the White Star Line.

She continued to sail the seas, twice circumnavigated the world on the "Belgenland" liner. Her fate was connected with the sea for 42 years! After retirement, Violette settled in a small house in the countryside, where she raised chickens. Her dwelling differed from the rest of the respectable British houses by the abundance of souvenirs from all over the world ...

The invulnerable Violet died of heart failure at a ripe old age - in 1971.

Her image has inspired and inspires writers and filmmakers. She became the prototype of the flight attendant Lucy from the movie "Titanic" by James Cameron, as well as the heroine of the play by Chris Burgess "Iceberg - Right in the Course"

Violet Constance Jessop(eng. Violet Constance Jessop) (October 2, 1887, Baia Blanca, Argentina - May 5, 1971, Great Ashfield, Suffolk, East Anglia) - stewardess of ocean liners of the passenger company " White star line". Violet Jessop served on all Olympic-class liners and, accordingly, witnessed incidents with them. Violet Jessop was aboard the Olympic, which collided with the cruiser Hawk; aboard the Titanic, which collided with an iceberg; and, during World War I, she served as a nurse aboard the hospital ship Britannic, which sank after a mine explosion. The presence on board of all three Olympic-class liners during catastrophic incidents for them made the life story of Violet Jessop popular among researchers of the Titanic disaster.

Early life

Violet Jessop was born to Irish expatriates William Jessop and Katherine Kelly, who lived near Bahia Blanca in Argentina. William Jessop emigrated from Dublin in the mid-1880s to try his hand at raising sheep in Argentina. Catherine moved in after him in 1886. Violette was the first of nine children, of whom three died as children. Violette herself contracted tuberculosis as a child, but, despite the doctor's predictions, she survived. After her father died, Violet and her family moved to the UK, where she attended a convent school. After her mother fell ill, she left school to work as a flight attendant on wealthy liners.

Olympic

Violet was 23 years old when, on June 14, 1911, she boarded the transatlantic liner Olympic as a flight attendant. Initially, however, she did not want to work for the company of this ship " White star line'Because she was on transatlantic flights and Violet did not like the weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was commanded by Captain Edward John Smith. On September 20, 1911, the Olympic collided with the cruiser Hawk due to unsuccessful maneuvering. Fortunately, the disaster was completely without casualties and both ships, despite the damage, remained afloat.

Titanic

Violet Jessop died of heart failure in 1971.

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Jessop Excerpt, Violet Constance

Kutuzov silently rode on his gray horse, lazily responding to offers to attack.
“You’re all on your tongue to attack, but you don’t see that we don’t know how to make complex maneuvers,” he said to Miloradovich, who asked to go ahead.
- They did not know how to take Murat alive in the morning and come to the place on time: now there is nothing to do! - he answered another.
When Kutuzov was informed that in the rear of the French, where, according to the reports of the Cossacks, there was no one before, there were now two battalions of Poles, he glanced back at Ermolov (he had not spoken to him since yesterday).
- Here they ask for an offensive, offer various projects, and as soon as you get down to business, nothing is ready, and the forewarned enemy takes his own measures.
Yermolov narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly upon hearing these words. He realized that for him the storm had passed and that Kutuzov would limit himself to this hint.
“It’s on my account that he is amusing himself,” Yermolov said quietly, nudging Raevsky, who was standing beside him, with his knee.
Soon after this, Yermolov moved forward to Kutuzov and respectfully reported:
- Time is not lost, Your Grace, the enemy has not left. If you order to advance? Otherwise, the guards won't even see the smoke.
Kutuzov said nothing, but when it was reported to him that Murat's troops were retreating, he ordered an offensive; but after every hundred steps he stopped for three-quarters of an hour.
The whole battle consisted only in what the Cossacks of Orlov Denisov did; the rest of the troops only in vain lost several hundred people.
As a result of this battle, Kutuzov received a diamond sign, Bennigsen also diamonds and one hundred thousand rubles, others, according to ranks, respectively, received a lot of pleasant things, and after this battle, new movements were made at the headquarters.
"This is how we always do it, everything is reversed!" - the Russian officers and generals said after the Tarutino battle, - just as they say now, making it feel that someone stupid is doing this, inside out, but we would not have done that. But people who say this either do not know the case they are talking about or are deliberately deceiving themselves. Every battle - Tarutinskoye, Borodinskoye, Austerlitskoye - every battle is not fought the way its stewards assumed. This is an essential condition.
An innumerable number of free forces (for nowhere is a person freer than during a battle, where it is a matter of life and death) influences the direction of the battle, and this direction can never be known ahead and never coincides with the direction of any one force.
If many, simultaneously and variously directed forces act on some body, then the direction of movement of this body cannot coincide with any of the forces; but there will always be an average, shortest direction, that which in mechanics is expressed by the diagonal of the parallelogram of forces.
If in the descriptions of historians, especially French ones, we find that their wars and battles are carried out according to a certain plan ahead, then the only conclusion we can draw from this is that these descriptions are not correct.
The Tarutino battle, obviously, did not achieve the goal that Tol had in mind: in order to bring the troops into the matter according to the disposition, and that which Count Orlov could have; to take Murat prisoner, or the goal of instantly annihilating the entire corps, which Bennigsen and other persons could have, or the goal of an officer who wanted to get involved and distinguish himself, or a Cossack who wanted to acquire more booty than he acquired, etc. But , if the goal was what really happened, and what was then a common desire for all Russian people (the expulsion of the French from Russia and the extermination of their army), then it will be quite clear that the Tarutino battle, precisely because of its incongruities, was the same what was needed during that period of the campaign. It is difficult and impossible to come up with some kind of outcome of this battle, more expedient than the one that it had. With the slightest tension, with the greatest confusion and with the most insignificant loss, the greatest results were obtained in the whole campaign, the transition from retreat to the offensive was made, the weakness of the French was exposed, and the impetus was given that the Napoleonic army was just expecting to begin the flight.

Napoleon enters Moscow after a brilliant victory de la Moskowa; there can be no doubt of victory, since the battlefield remains with the French. The Russians retreat and surrender the capital. Moscow, filled with provisions, weapons, shells and untold riches, is in the hands of Napoleon. The Russian army, twice as weak as the French, during the month does not make a single attempt at an attack. Napoleon's position is the most brilliant. In order to pile on the remnants of the Russian army with double forces and destroy it, in order to pronounce a favorable peace or, in case of refusal, to make a threatening movement to Petersburg, in order even, in case of failure, to return to Smolensk or Vilna , or stay in Moscow - in a word, in order to maintain the brilliant position in which the French army was at that time, it would seem, no special genius is needed. To do this, it was necessary to do the simplest and easiest thing: to prevent the troops from plundering, to prepare winter clothes that would be enough for the whole army in Moscow, and correctly collect the provisions that were in Moscow for more than six months (according to the testimony of French historians) for the entire army. Napoleon, this most brilliant of geniuses and who had the power to control the army, according to historians, did nothing of this.
Not only did he not do any of this, but, on the contrary, used his power to choose from all the paths of activity presented to him that was the stupidest and most pernicious of all. Of all that Napoleon could do: winter in Moscow, go to Petersburg, go to Nizhny Novgorod, go back, north or south, the way that Kutuzov later went - well, whatever you think of is stupider and more pernicious than what he did Napoleon, that is, to remain in Moscow until October, leaving the troops to plunder the city, then, hesitating whether to leave or not leave the garrison, leave Moscow, approach Kutuzov, not start a battle, go to the right, reach Maly Yaroslavets, again without experiencing an accident to break through , to go not along the road that Kutuzov took, but to go back to Mozhaisk and along the devastated Smolensk road - it was more stupid than this, more harmful for the army, nothing could be invented, as they showed the consequences. Let the most skillful strategists come up with, imagining that Napoleon's goal was to destroy his army, come up with another series of actions that would, with the same certainty and independence from everything that the Russian troops did, would completely destroy the whole the French army, like what Napoleon did.
The genius Napoleon did it. But to say that Napoleon ruined his army because he wanted to, or because he was very stupid, would be just as unfair as to say that Napoleon brought his troops to Moscow because he wanted it, and because that he was very clever and brilliant.
In both cases, his personal activity, which did not have more power than the personal activity of each soldier, only coincided with the laws by which the phenomenon took place.
It is completely false (only because the consequences did not justify Napoleon's activities) that historians present to us Napoleon's strength as weakened in Moscow. He, just as before, as well as after, in the 13th year, used all his skill and strength to do the best for himself and his army. Napoleon's activities during this time are no less amazing than in Egypt, Italy, Austria and Prussia. We do not know for sure about the extent to which Napoleon's genius was actually in Egypt, where for forty centuries they looked at his greatness, because all these great feats are described to us only by the French. We cannot correctly judge his genius in Austria and Prussia, since information about his activities there must be drawn from French and German sources; and the incomprehensible surrender of corps without battles and fortresses without a siege should persuade the Germans to recognize genius as the only explanation for the war that was waged in Germany. But there is no reason for us to recognize his genius in order to hide our shame, thank God. We paid to have the right to simply and directly look at the case, and we will not give up this right.

On November 21, 1916, the Britannic liner, the "brother" of the Titanic, sank after being blown up by a German mine.

Girl and sea giants

The tragic fate of the famous ocean liner "Titanic", which died during its maiden voyage, is known to everyone. Less is known about the fact that the "Titanic" had two "twin brothers", as well as the fact that their fate was not too happy either.

And even fewer people know that all three giants were tied by a lady, whose story can serve as the most vivid illustration of the old maritime belief "a woman on a ship - unfortunately." Violet Constance Jessop can rightfully be called the "black widow" of world navigation, and at the same time the luckiest lady in the history of sea travel.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the British shipping company White Star Line decided to acquire several huge transoceanic liners, which were supposed to amaze the imagination with their size, luxury and speed.

The design office of the Harland & Wolfe shipyard in Belfast began work on the project in 1907.

The first of the three liners, named Olympic, entered service on June 14, 1911. The second, Titanic, in April 1912. The third and last, Britannicus, in December 1915.

Stewardess named Violet

October 2, 1887 in Baia Blanca, Argentina, in a family of Irish emigrants William Jessup and Katherine Kelly, a girl was born, who was named Violet. As a child, she contracted tuberculosis, and doctors considered her almost hopeless, but Violet survived. After her father died, Violet and her family moved to the UK, where she attended a convent school.

Violet was the eldest child in the family, and when her mother fell ill, she took care of everyone. The girl managed to get a job as a stewardess in a shipping company, where she served wealthy passengers on ships.

23-year-old Violet Jessop was among those flight attendants who were transferred to work at the newly built Olympic in June 1911. The girl was not happy about it - the liner was intended for sailing across the Atlantic, and Violet did not like the weather conditions on this line.

But her position forced her to accept the conditions of the employer, and Violet resigned herself.

On September 20, 1911, the Olympic collided with the cruiser Hawk due to unsuccessful maneuvering. The ships were damaged, but remained afloat. No one was killed in the incident, including the flight attendant Jessop. By the way, Edward John Smith, the captain of the Titanic in its maiden and last voyages, was in command of the Olympic at that moment.

The Olympic outlived both of its brothers, went through the First World War, returned to transatlantic lines, making a total of 257 flights to and from New York, and in 1935 was decommissioned and scrapped. Perhaps Olympic was just lucky enough to get rid of Violet Jessop in time.

View of the stern of the Titanic from the America, April 11, 1912 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Survivor

In April 1912, the stewardess was transferred to the Titanic, which she strongly opposed. She was, however, persuaded, saying that working on the much-publicized Titanic would be a great recommendation in the future.

On the evening of April 14, Violet, having completed her shift, went to her cabin, and was almost asleep when she felt a jolt. The Titanic collided with an iceberg.

Like the other flight attendants, she was ordered to go to the upper deck. There were only 23 women in the crew of the Titanic, and they could not provide any help in this situation. At 1:20 am the stewardesses were put into boat number 16. At the moment when Violet was getting into the boat, a child was handed over to her, whom she safely delivered to the Carpathia. There he was taken by a woman. The girl later admitted that she never found out if it was the mother of the child - at that moment she, frozen and frightened, had no time for questioning.

In the Titanic crash, only 710 people out of 2224 on board survived. After that, it would seem, Violet Jessop had to go ashore completely.

Foldable dinghy D approaches Carpathia Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Nurse from Britannica

Fate, however, was pleased to bring her to the third "brother" - "Britannica". Work on the ship was completed at the end of 1915, when the First World War was in full swing. The British Admiralty requisitioned the ship, intending to use it as a hospital ship. In 1916, Violett boarded a hospital ship as a nurse for the British Red Cross. There could be no more bad sign for the ship, despite the fact that the Britannic, in view of the Titanic disaster, was significantly rebuilt to increase unsinkability.

On October 28, 1916, the German submarine U73, under the command of Gustav Ziss, laid mines in the Kea channel - between the island of Kea and mainland Greece. On November 21, 1916, the Britannic, traveling at a speed of 20 knots, was blown up by a German mine.

At first, the seriousness of the situation was not appreciated. It happened in the morning, and the nurses were ordered not to interrupt breakfast. However, it soon turned out that the Britannic was sinking. The ship flooded through the windows open on the starboard side for ventilation, and water from the flooded compartments continued to flow further due to the jammed door in the bulkhead between the boiler rooms.

An evacuation was announced, during which 1,036 people were saved, including Violet Jessop. For still unclear reasons, the Britannic sank in just 55 minutes, while the Titanic remained afloat for three hours. Captain Charles Bartlett did not lose hope to the end of throwing the ship aground, but this only led to casualties. The ship's propeller continued to work during the launch of the boats, and two of them were pulled into the blades. 21 people died.

Violet Jessop was in one of those boats. She managed to jump into the water, she was skidded under the keel and hit her head hard on the hull. The injury turned out to be quite serious, but the girl realized this only a few years later, when the doctor who took her for headaches discovered a crack in her skull.

Retired witness

A survivor of this disaster, Violette was the only survivor of the accident on all three ships of the "Olympic" project.

After the end of World War I, Violet Jessop continued to work as a flight attendant, having made two trips around the world. Her total work experience was 42 years. Settling after retirement in England, she became a real find for all researchers of the catastrophes of the "Titanic" and "Britannica". The payment for luck in crashes was an unsuccessful personal life - in her declining years, Violet was a lonely childless old woman, whose main entertainment was conversations about the Titanic.

Violet Jessop died on May 5, 1971, at the age of 83 from heart failure.

Sea stewardess Violet Constance Jessop managed to work on three of the most famous ocean liners - Olympic, Titanic and Britannic, got wrecked on each of them and survived! ... The presence on board of all three ships of the Olympic class during catastrophic incidents for them made the life story of Violet Jessop popular among researchers of the Titanic disaster ...

Doctors predicted a quick death for her, but the girl not only survived, but also completely recovered from the disease, with which almost no one survived in those days! However, Violet's father soon died, and the orphaned Irish family went home.

Violet Constance Jessop

The Olympic (left) and the Titanic are the first two ships in the series

However, she was nevertheless persuaded, and on April 10, 1912, Violet set off on the Titanic on its first and last voyage ...

As a flight attendant, during the crash, she was supposed to help passengers and escort them to lifeboats.

Britannic

Most of the Britannica's passengers and crew escaped, but the two boats were propelled, resulting in 21 deaths.

However, after this accident, she suffered from severe headaches for a long time. When she later consulted a doctor, he discovered a huge crack that had already healed.

Violet Constance Jessop

After the war, Violet continued to work for the White Star Line, but then moved to the Red Star Line, and then to the Royal Mail Line. While working for Red Star, Violett made two round-the-world cruises on the Belgenland liner. In the late 30s, Violet got married for a while, and in 1950 she moved to Great Ashfield in Suffolk.

A year after retiring, in the middle of the night, Violet was woken up by a phone call. On the other end was a woman who, without introducing herself, asked Violet if she had saved the child that night when the Titanic sank. Violet said yes. Then the stranger said, "Well, I was that child," laughed and hung up.

Her friend and biographer John Macstone-Graham said that it was the village children who decided to play a trick on her, but Violette replied: No John, I've never told this story to anyone before before I told you».

To this day, the identity of the child, whom she then kept with her in the boat, remains unknown.

Violet Jessop died of heart failure in 1971.

Many called her incredibly lucky, because she managed to avoid mortal danger at least three times. However, the very fact that she was in mortal danger three times suggests otherwise. Be that as it may, Violet actually witnessed three sea disasters, remaining alive.

Many people with an interest in history know who Violet Jessop is. After all, her amazing fate really deserve a full-fledged television adaptation.

At 23, a young and promising girl worked aboard the famous giant ship Olympic, which was practically a copy of the Titanic. But in 1911, the Olympic collided with another ship at sea. Having received a 14-meter hole, the ship miraculously survived, and Violet Jessop successfully survived the first disaster in her life.

A year later, our heroine goes to work for the Titanic. Her friends said that she did not want to go there, but she was convinced that it was very promising for her future career.

On the night of April 15, the liner was shipwrecked, which became one of the most high-profile disasters of the twentieth century. But flight attendant Violet Jessop, along with some other workers, again managed to escape. In boat number 16, they waited for the rescuers and saved their lives.

Violette herself writes in her memoirs that when she got into the boat, some officer handed her a small child into her arms, with whom she was rescued. When they boarded the ship Carpathia, which had come to the rescue of the Titanic, a woman ran up to her and, without saying a word, snatched the child out of her arms and disappeared into the crowd with him. It was probably his mother, scared to death.

It would seem that the second warning should have made the girl think about changing jobs. But it was not there!

During World War I, Violet Jessop got a job as a nurse on the ship Britannic. In 1916, the ship was blown up by a German mine and began to sink.

In the process of evacuating passengers, when the first two boats were launched and loaded with people, they suddenly fell into the whirlpool of the Britannic.

Not thinking to surrender, Violet Jessop jumped out of the boat and was rescued, although more than 20 people were pulled under the propeller of the sinking ship, where they died. In her memoirs, she says that after this tragic story she developed severe headaches and was forced to see a doctor, who discovered a crack in her skull.

Following these three naval accidents, the three surviving flight attendant has worked on passenger liners for over 40 years and even circled the world twice.

An interesting fact is that Violet Jessop was one of the passengers on the Titanic who heard the hymn “Closer, My God, to You” on the sinking ship.

After living for 83 years, she died peacefully in England.

Here is such an amazing story of the life of a woman who three times emerged unharmed from mortal danger.

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