The Friends of Coughton Court were mesmerised by an excellent and moving account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic by Paul Betterton on 15th June. Mr Betterton had a very extensive knowledge of his subject and spoke in well informed but restrained tones towards the inevitable conclusion. His audience was silent, listening intently to every word.

He said his interest in the Titanic had first begun with the film "A Night to Remember". In 1906 White Star Line began building 3 large ships: the RMS Olympic completed in 1911, the RMS Titanic in 1912 and the RMS Britannic in 1914. All were constructed at Harland & Wolff in Belfast and fitted as the largest, quickest, most luxurious liners in the world. Captain Edward Smith was chosen as Commodore of the fleet. He chose his crew but he was in trouble before they left on their first voyage from Southampton. There was widespread superstition regarding a new ship and the Titanic accidentally slipped her moorings as she left Southampton, luggage was dropped overboard and there was a near collision with a tug boat - all of this was considered an ill omen. In total 55 booked passengers left the ship before she sailed.

Captain Smith received warnings about ice flows covering the proposed route from the SS Californian but these warnings were rejected and the Titanic hit the huge iceberg at 11.40pm on 14th April 1912. Engineers quickly realized the ship was doomed. The lifeboats were filled with women and children but fit sailors were required to row the lifeboats and to navigate them clear. There were in excess of 2,200 souls aboard the ship and each lifeboat was licensed for 65 people but there were nowhere near enough lifeboats for all.

RMS Carpathia, a Cunard ship, was 40 miles away. It was dark, there were icebergs ahead and lookouts were placed at all points. RMS Carpathia got there as quickly as possible and rescued about 750 people. Around 1500 were lost.

There were questions from the audience and much appreciation both for Paul Betterton's knowledge of his subject and for the skill with which he put this over.

The Friends meet in the Restaurant at Coughton Court at 7.30pm on the third Wednesday of each month between March and October. New members are always welcome. Please contact the Secretary, Janet Thomas, on 01386/833767 or

jethomas@btinternet.com The next meeting will be on July 20 when Alan Godfrey will speak on "Roland Hill - Genius & Benefactor".