US Coast Guard announces sub imploded; there are no survivors
By Barb Pert Templeton
A sad conclusion to another Titanic adventure.
It’s the way historian and Titanic expert Jay Follis, of Allegan County, Michigan describes the loss of the Titan and it’s five-man crew this week following an exploration trip to the site of the Titanic wreckage on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
The 21-foot submersible lost contact with its mother ship just an hour and 45 minutes into its trip to the site of the Titanic wreckage off Newfoundland, Canada on Sunday, June 18. Officials from across the U.S. and abroad raced to the scene with recovery and rescue equipment hoping to save the crew but once a debris field was found near the Titanic wreckage on Thursday, June 22 it was soon reported that all onboard were now lost.
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(The RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg. It was on its maiden voyage traveling from South Hampton, London to the United States and more than 1,500 died that night.)
“Recent reports that a debris field has been found could mean something catastrophic happened like maybe the hull was breached but regardless it’s a sad conclusion,” Follis said, just before the final announcement came that there were no survivors.
Follis said the tough part is all the speculation that springs up when incidents like this occur. Much of it is simply born of people’s morbid curiosity while others just want to pull on all the negative aspects.
As a longtime follower of all things Titanic, Follis said he was very familiar with the work of two of the men on board the Titan this week including Paul Henry Nargeolet, a research director with the RMS Titanic. He doesn’t believe they would ever do anything to cut corners or save money on equipment.
“I have a hard time believing he’d do anything cheaply, he wasn’t doing this for any notoriety and really when it comes to Titanic, he’s the gold standard,” Follis said. “He’s spent his whole life on this and really has more time logged on the Titanic then the Captain, E. J. Smith had.”
Jay and Barbara Follis, of Allegan County give two dozen presentations a year all across the Midwest about the people and artifacts of the Titanic.
“And it’s sad to think this may be the end for him because this is what his life was all about,” Follis added.
As to making a trip to the bottom of the north Atlantic to see the Titanic’s remains himself, Follis is less interested in that simply because getting in a tiny submarine is a bit much to ask of him.
“Oh, I’m fascinated when I see the film footage but I don’t think I can get into a sub for a trip I can barely take an airplane ride,” Follis said.
Forging his own interests
A Scholastic Book catalogue Follis was given in the second grade first got him interested in all things Titanic. There was a children’s version of the book “A Night to Remember” that included mostly photographs and that sparked Follis’ interest and it as he grew so did that drive to learn more about the mighty ship.
“I’ve been interested in it since I was 14 and now, I’m in my 60’s and I’m still into it,” Follis said.
Collecting artifacts and information including everything from silverware, dishes, books, newspapers and post cards keeps Follis’ collection still growing today.
He founded the company, Historic Encounters in 2011, providing engaging, entertaining and educational in-person multi-media presentations on a variety of historic topics–from the RMS Titanic to automotive history.
When he and his wife travel across the Midwest giving presentations about the historic ship, they dress in period clothing and share a wide variety of stories including about those passengers who hailed from Michigan. It’s a very popular topic with the couple doing about two dozen presentations annually.
He said there were actually 66 passengers onboard the Titanic that had ties to Michigan. They were housed in first-, second- and third-class cabins and all have extremely interesting stories of how they came to travel on the ship, Follis said.
The Titanic departing from South Hampton on April 10, 1912.
In fact, he recently found out that a relative by marriage was on board the Titanic and survived the mishap. Although Follis was never ever able to meet his Aunt Winnifred Vera Quick Van Tongerloo, who passed away on July 4, 2002 at age 98, he was surprised to find there was a real- life connection to his lifelong interest in the Titanic.
Information about Winnie’s time on the Titanic and life is provided at the website encyclopedia-titanic.org. It states that she was born in Plymouth, Devon on 23 January 1904, the daughter of Frederick Charles Quick (Plasterer) and Jane Quick and sister to Phyllis May Quick. The family had emigrated to Detroit in about 1910 and she returned to Plymouth with her mother and sister early in 1912 for a visit to her mother’s family. Their return to America was as second-class passengers on the Titanic. She was aged 8 at the time. They were rescued in lifeboat 11. A shy and reserved person, Winnie was reluctant to talk about her experience on the Titanic but in her later years she did manage share a few stories about what it was like to board the lifeboats – she cried in fear the entire time -and being rescued by the ship, Carpathia.
Incident will pique interest
In addition to sharing his vast knowledge of the Titanic, Follis also gives lots of talks about car related matters but said the Titanic remains the most popular topic. People continue to crowd libraries and museums to hear what he has to share.
Personally, he keeps up on the latest news of the Titanic and has traveled to Halifax, Canada, where many souls lost in the disaster are buried, visited a huge exhibit in Las Vegas, watches all programs and documentaries related to the mighty ship and has plans to go to Belfast, Ireland next year to the Titanic Museum there.
A favorite artifact that Titanic expert Jay Follis has in his collection is a note that a friend’s great aunt wrote while working at a store in Detroit in 1912.
He noted that despite the tourists’ trips to the Titanic wreckage the only group that can legally take any artifacts from the underwater site is the RMS Titanic Inc. Society. Items taken can only be used for educational props or for their museums. Follis said the items in his collection are replicas from sister ships to the Titanic.
His favorite artifacts include a letter that a friend’s great aunt wrote while she was working at a store in Detroit the day after the Titanic disaster was reported. In the note she describes how eerily quiet it is at the shop, there were no customers and it was as if the world stopped when the ship sank.
Follis also picked up a soup tureen at a yard sale that was marked 1911 and he was able to research it and found out it was part of the set of dishes designed for use on the Titanic and its sister ships the Olympic and Britannic.
When asked why, after more than 100 years the tales of the Titanic still capture the public’s imagination Follis said he feels it’s about all the questions that surround the incident.
“I think for a lot of people it’s always about the what if’s …’.what if they’d seen the iceberg sooner, what if they hadn’t been traveling so fast,’ and that keeps the interest going,” Follis said.
Looking ahead, he plans to continue giving his talks about the Titanic including its connection to Michigan and doubts this latest incident will diminish the public’s curiosity about the subject.
“I think this incident will pique people’s interest again and many will want to learn more about it,” he said.
In addition to researcher P.H. Nargeolet, those lost on the Titan expedition include CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood and Hamish Harding.
