Titanic and The Blonde Little Boy

Titanic, everyone knows the story. The great passenger liner, full of beauty and grace only to end up on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean on her maiden voyage.

It gets to me every time, the stories. Those who boarded Titanic and how their lives played out for the next few days, only to end in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A total of 2,200 passengers and crew set sail from south Hampton and over 1,400 of those people died when the ship sank on April 15, 1912. 

Titanic Construction | Wikicommons

Titanic was the second in a series of ocean liners that was commissioned by the British shipping company, White Star.

These liners were to be the most luxurious, fastest, and largest of their day. Titanic's construction began in 1908 in Belfast, Ireland. Titanic was constructed by the shipbuilding company, Harland and Wolff.

There was a coal strike in the UK which caused many ship crossings to be canceled. Titanic's maiden voyage was only a few days after the strike was over. Coal from other ships was brought to Titanic so she could set sail as scheduled. It was because of this coal strike, that the Goodwin family original passage was delayed and their passage was transferred to RMS Titanic instead. 

Goodwin Family | Wikicommons

Fredrick Goodwin, his wife, Augusta, and their six children, Lillian, 16; Charles, 14; William, 11; Jessie, 10; Harold, 9 and Sidney, 19 months (not pictured) were third-class passengers who boarded in Southhampton, England.  

Frederick was moving his family to America for the same reason so many others did, for the chance at a better life. Fredrick's brother, who previously immigrated to America, had written Fredrick and spoke of a job for Fredrick at a power station in Niagara, NY.

Titanic was a symbol of status. It was the best, of everything. Along with the rich and prestigious that Titanic attracted there was also the poor who saw Titanic as a first step to a better life in America. 

Sidney's Grave in Nova Scotia | Wikicommons

For 90 years, there has been a grave in Fairview Cemetery in Nova Scotia. The body buried in the grave was of an unknown child. A blonde-haired baby boy. His body was recovered from the water by the crew of the ship, Mackay-Bennett. 

The following notes were taken when his body was recovered:

"No. 4- MALE- ESTIMATED AGE, 2 - HAIR, FAIR
CLOTHING- Grey coat with fur on collar and cuff; brown serge frock; petticoat; flannel garment; pink woolen singlet - brown shoes and stocking.
NO MARKS WHATEVER
PROBABLY THIRD CLASS"

The crew was so grief-stricken by the site of this little boy that they paid for his funeral and burial.
His body was laid in a white coffin and carried out of a crowded Saint George's Anglican Church on May 4, 1912. His gravestone read "Erected to the memory of an unknown child whose remains were recovered after the disaster to Titanic, April 15, 1912."

Sidney Leslie Goodwin | Wikicommons

In 2002 an exhumation took place followed by DNA testing in 2008 that positively identified the unknown child as 19 Month Old Sidney Leslie Goodwin. 

Sidney's body was the only recovered and sadly his entire family also died. For over 90 years his body laid under a gravestone with no name. Now, because of DNA his story and name are finally known, he has a name.

So many perished in that cold April night. Since the release of James Cameron's film, Titanic, there has been a new appreciation and curiosity about the ship, but to me, the true-life stories of Titanic's victims will always be much more interesting and wonderful than what TV and films can offer. 

It has been over two hundred years since the ship sank but her hold on my heart and imagination will never fade.

Citations

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/sidney-leslie-goodwin.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Child

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic