Does anyone else know this amazing story? Sea stewardess Violet Constance Jessop managed to work on the three most famous ocean liners - Olympic, Titanic and Britannic, got into a wreck on each of them and survived!
Let's now find out the fate of this invulnerable Violet, who linked these three ships into one story.
The woman who made history thanks to her luck was born on October 2, 1887 in Argentina, where her father was herding local sheep. The girl's parents were immigrants from Ireland who went to South America in search of a better life. However, the family in a foreign land was also waiting for sorrow and misfortune - three of the nine children died, and the eldest, Violet, became seriously ill with tuberculosis.
Doctors predicted a quick death for her, but the girl not only survived, but also completely recovered from the disease, with which almost no one survived in those days!
However, Violet's father died soon after, and the orphaned Irish family went home.
The mother put the children in a school at the monastery, and she herself began working as a flight attendant on the ships of the White Star Line passenger company. But due to poor health, she was forced to leave her job, and her place was taken by the eldest daughter, who had to leave school.
I must say that Violet really did not want to work in this particular company, since its ships went on voyages across the dangerous and inhospitable North Atlantic. But the family had nothing to live on, and the girl began to work - 17 hours a day, receiving 210 pounds a month.
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For several years, Violette worked on such a tight schedule. In the fall of 1910, she found herself on board the newest ship of the White Star Line - the huge liner Olympic. This was the first of three Olympic-class vessels - later the company built the Titanic and Britannic …
"Olympic" was distinguished by luxury and, as the creators assured, complete safety. However, on September 11, 1911, the bulky Olympic collided with the cruiser Hawk. Fortunately, there were no casualties in this disaster, although the vessel suffered serious damage.
When the Olympic was refurbished, Violet continued to work on it. But soon the company built the newest and most modern ship, which was named "Titanic" … Violet was offered to work on it, but she refused for a long time, because, despite the disaster, she liked the "Britannica".
However, she was nevertheless persuaded, and on April 10, 1912, Violet set off on the Titanic on its first and last voyage …
Violet's biographers note the fact that she had a paper with her, on which an ancient prayer was written to save her from fire and water. The devout Violette often repeated the words of this prayer - even before the Titanic collided with the iceberg.
As a flight attendant, during the crash, she was supposed to help passengers and escort them to lifeboats.
She herself ended up on boat No. 16. Violette was able to take with her the lost child, who then, when the survivors were on the ship "Carpathia", found her mother, it was just a miracle.
After the crash, Violet left the service for a while. The Second World War broke out and Violette became a nurse for the British Red Cross. But, as they say, you can't escape fate. In 1916, she and the wounded were aboard the Britannica, the third ship of the Olympic class.
On November 1, 1916, the ship was blown up by a German mine. The rescue took place without panic, Violet even managed to grab a toothbrush, as she said more than once that it was this item that she lacked most after the Titanic crash aboard the Carpathia.
Most of the Britannica's passengers and crew escaped, but the two boats were propelled, killing 21 people.
Violet Jessop was in one of those boats. She managed to jump out of the boat, but the whirlpool caught her and hit her head on the keel. The girl was rescued by thick brown hair, which softened the strong blow.
However, after this accident, she suffered from severe headaches for a long time. When she later consulted a doctor, he discovered a huge crack, which had already healed.
After the war, Violet continued to work for the White Star Line, but then moved to the Red Star Line, and then to the Royal Mail Line. While working for Red Star, Violett made two round-the-world cruises on the Belgenland liner. In the late 1930s, Violet got married for a while, and in 1950 moved to Great Ashfield in Suffolk. A year after retiring, in the middle of the night, Violet was awakened by a phone call. On the other end was a woman who, without introducing herself, asked Violet if she had saved the child that night when the Titanic sank. Violet said yes. Then the stranger said, "Well, I was that child," laughed and hung up. Her friend and biographer John Maxtone-Graham said that the village children decided to play a trick on her, but Violette replied: “No, John, I have never told this story to anyone before,as I told it to you. " To this day, the identity of the child, whom she then kept with her in the boat, remains unclear.
Violet Jessop died of heart failure in 1971.
Many called her incredibly lucky, because she managed to avoid mortal danger at least three times. However, the very fact that she was in mortal danger three times suggests otherwise. Be that as it may, Violet actually witnessed three sea disasters, remaining alive.
Her image has inspired and inspires writers and filmmakers. She became the prototype of the flight attendant Lucy from the movie "Titanic" by James Cameron, as well as the heroine of the play by Chris Burgess "Iceberg - Right in the Course"