The Aristocrat, the Able Seaman
and the tragic sinking of RMS Titanic:
a 45-minute illustrated talk
I read letters between my great-grandmother, the Countess of Rothes, and Able Seaman Thomas Jones, the aristocrat and the able seaman of this talk, while working on my novel THE DANCE of LOVE. Both survived the sinking of RMS Titanic.
The world is full of Titanic stories and most people know she sank on her maiden voyage in April 1912. But the stories of the people who kept hope alive among the frightened freezing lifeboat passengers, the people who took charge in the lifeboats, are often forgotten. The Aristocrat and the Able Seaman tells the story of two of those people: two who showed great courage, skill and kindness on that terrifying night; two who, under any other circumstances, would never have met let alone worked together; two who worked fearlessly and harmoniously for the sake of more than twenty-five others in Lifeboat Number 8 as they took them to safety.
Thomas Jones was the son of a Welsh fisherman; Noël Rothes was the daughter of a wealthy English businessman. He wasn’t married; she became an aristocrat through marriage and had two sons. Thomas Jones began working for the White Star Line (Titanic’s owners) in his twenties; by her twenties Noël Rothes was running Leslie House, the family seat in Fife that her husband, the 19th Earl of Rothes, inherited. But on the night of 14-15 April, 1912, The Aristocrat and the Able Seaman worked tirelessly, side-by-side, for the sake of all those on board Lifeboat Number 8.
The sources for this talk are Noël’s and Thomas’s correspondence, their newspaper interviews and other written accounts including the evidence and statements they each gave to the official enquiries after the disaster. The 10-minute clip below gives a sense of the talk and if you’d like to book the full 45-minute talk for your school, WI meeting, history or literary society, association, club or gathering please email me here.
This clip is from a 45-minute film of the talk, made by Jim Burge @ Burgeoning Media.
‘What a wonderful talk. It was as though we were hearing the history of RMS Titanic for the first time: you brought it to life in such an intensely personal way … . You have uncovered a deeply moving story.’
Maria & Julian Sturdy-Morton, A Bit of TLC
‘I very much enjoyed hearing this unusual twist on such a well-known story … . What happened in the lifeboats and the impact it had on the participants, some for the rest of their lives, was particularly interesting. You had the audience gripped to the end.’
Lynda Coleman, Chairman, Wimbledon National Trust Association
‘Angela spoke eloquently and with such emotion that we could picture the events as they unfolded. She showed detailed historial knowledge … in addition to personal information. Some of our members said it was the best talk they’d heard at our WI.’
Maggie Thompson, West Byfleet WI
Here’s a link to an archive page at the British Museum’s History of the World in 100 Objects which shows a photograph of the roundel Able Seaman Thomas Jones made for my great-grandmother after the disaster, a typed copy of the letter he sent with it and a note about the fobwatch she gave him.
And here’s a link to an article on Titanic Belfast’s website, about a visit I made there to talk about The Aristocrat and The Able Seaman with the staff, and to see the photographs they have of Noël and the tragically long lists of those who died, as well as the shorter ones of those who survived.
