Titanic Survivor Kate Gilnagh (Manning) - BBC TV Interview (1956)

Kate Manning (neé Gilnagh), a third-class passenger on Titanic, relates her experience of escaping the sinking ship on one of the last lifeboats.
This interview originally aired on the BBC on November 26, 1956 as part of the special, “First Hand: The Sinking of the Titanic.”
Read the full annotated transcript:
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[@shannawallace7855]

I know ships had a reputation for being dangerous at the time and there were still many people that were wary of traveling by ship due to fear of sinking despite the advancements in technology and safety that had been made by 1912. But it's still crazy to me that she thought the sinking was a "normal" experience and didn't really understand that what had happened was out of the ordinary until after she arrived in the US

[@bipbippadotta3680]

What a beautiful, elegant, well spoken lady. I imagine that she must have entered a shock trauma state of mind as she did not fully realise what was happening. She was sixteen years old and had likely never travelled outside her village until she boarded Titanic. Even years later she could not bring herself to make the return journey. To hear her describe how she had to make her way up from her location in third class, the darkness, her determination to get into that lifeboat, having to push away all the falling debris and survive for nine hours until rescued is absolutely incredible.

[@Wailot6]

You're certainly writing her a lot of free checks here

[@ynp1978]

That is the strangest interview from a Titanic survivor I have ever listen to! She is out in the middle of the Ocean....they evacuate on lifeboats.....she see's the distress rockets going up and watch's the ship sink! But she didn't realize they were in any danger until they got to New York?!?! WTF! The very height of naivete.

[@marylevin9262]

no kidding…

[@rbsk999]

Imagine a tourist saying I only realized how serious 9 11 was when I left NY.

[@Knappa22]

She didn’t realise how serious it was until she got to the US? The huge ship sinking in front of her eyes, the screaming dying people? All that seemed not to be serious. O-o-h-ka-ay!

[@marylevin9262]

ya go figure ???

[@aaronjones7260]

@@Knappa22 in 1912, despite the advancements in technology and safety, it was still viewed as very dangerous to go to sea, and people that went to sea then knew that they were taking a big risk to their lives. It was common for ships to sink whether by bad weather, a collision or some ships just never showed up and everyone and everything just vanished. The fear of sinking or not otherwise making it to your destination was a very normal thing in those days. Kate Gilnagh had never travelled beyond the walls of her Irish village before this journey. She’d heard of many instances of ships not making it to their destination, but back then it was a price worth paying for the chance of a better life. I also imagine that she was in shock when the realisation of the situation hit home, plus you have to remember that many people did not know the ship was sinking, not until the very end. She stated she thought it was all part of the trip. They thought it was a lifeboat drill.

[@Knappa22]

@@aaronjones7260 Yes, that context makes her comments sound more justifiable I guess.

[@mykoniichistorychannel]

Now, sis…

[@Mike1614b]

No comment.

[@Hello61Jello]

Girl what 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@Wailot6]

Ikr, "part of the trip"