This story of the 'forgotten hero' of the Titanic is incredible.
Sir Arthur Henry Rostron was the captain of ocean liner RMS Carpathia. For many, they don't realise that his quick-thinking and incredible actions meant he saved the lives of hundreds of Titanic passengers.
He spent pretty much his whole life at sea after he turned 17. He worked his way up the ranks in lots of different ships. Eventually, in 1905, he became captain of the then three-year-old Carpathia.
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On the morning of April 15, 1912, Carpathia was on its normal route between New York and Fiume when it received a distress signal from Titanic. At the time, Roston was asleep. He was awoken, and without hesitation began racing towards their position.
The thing is, he didn't even verify the distress call until AFTER they began racing towards their position. As a captain, he knew that time was of the essence and therefore they didn't have time to mess about.
Credit: Wikipedia
The ship was around 58 nautical miles away from the Titanic's position. Working with his team, Roston managed to get the absolute top speed out of the ship - coaxing her up to 17.5 knots, which was three-and-a-half times faster than her rated speed.
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He even turned off the heating to ensure maximum steam for the ship's engines. They were still three-and-a-half hours away from Titanic's position, so while they had time he prepped rescue boats. He put together blankets, food, drinks and got medical crews to stand by.
Then, when he believed the ship was close, he had green starburst rockets launched into the night sky to encourage any possible survivors to hand on just a little bit longer.
Out of the 2,228 passengers, Carpathia saved the lives of 710 people.
The story of his and his crews' heroism spread and achieved worldwide fame.
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He passed away due to pneumonia on November 4, 1940, aged 71.
Fair fucking play though, what a man.
Featured image credit: PA Images
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