Jack Phillips (wireless officer)

John George "Jack" Phillips ( * April 11 1887 in Godalming, Surrey, England; † April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic during the sinking of the Titanic ) was a radio operator on the RMS Titanic.

Early life

John George Phillips - known as Jack - was born as the youngest son of George Alfred Phillips and his wife Ann in Farncombe Street, Godalming. His father was a branch manager of a chain of shops producing curtains. Jack himself was born in the flat above the shop. He had two 13 years older twin sisters, Elsie and Ethel Phillips.

Phillips was baptized Roman Catholic. In the church of St. John, a few hundred meters away from the store, is still today a Blue Plaque, reminiscent of the famous son Godalmings. Phillips ' education started in elementary school attached to the church, before, thanks to the financial possibilities of the father, moved to a private boys' school.

1902 Phillips graduated from school and started an apprenticeship as a radio operator at the local post office. In 1906 he moved to Seaforth, where until August, he completed a five-month training in the Marconi Company 's Wireless Telegraphy Training School from March. Shortly after, in August 1906, he got his first job on board the White Star Line steamship Teutonic. At that time the radio stations were still operated directly by the company Marconi, not from the shipping company itself

Within the next two years, Phillips served on several ships, including the RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania. In 1908 he left the first shipping and took a post in the Marconi radio station in Ireland Clifden on. His job was to receive radio messages that arrived from Glace Bay ( Nova Scotia ).

But already in the autumn of 1911, he was transferred to the Adriatic, with which he drove until Christmas. After that, he served aboard the Oceanic, until it was clear in March 1912 that Jack Phillips would be used on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

Titanic

The maiden voyage of the Titanic was a private event for Phillips, but he celebrated on the second day at sea, his 25th birthday.

He and his colleague Harold Bride were doing alternate service. Phillips' shift schedule went from 8:00 bis 14:00 clock clock and 20:00 clock clock bis 2:00, Bride took over the rest of the time. The radio operators were overloaded by the flood of requests from passengers, radio messages to send to their relatives, which was the main task of the radio operator operated by the company Marconi radio station. Therefore, we did not notice the ice warnings that the Titanic reached from the morning of April 14. At 9:00 clock arrived a message from the Caronia, at 13:42 Clock of the Baltic, and at 19:30 Clock of the Californian. Bride, but especially Phillips, both of which were not part of the crew of the ship sighted the news and carried it in its sole discretion on the main bridge. Only partially got Captain Smith and the enforcement officers to see these vital messages (in the map room of the Titanic was only the statement of Caronia posted ). It was the same at 21:40 clock, two hours before the collision with the iceberg, as the Mesaba sent the following message to the Titanic:

"From Mesaba to Titanic and all ships on an easterly course. At 42 ° N to 41 ° 25'N and 49 ° W to 50 ° 30'W strong pack ice and numerous large icebergs were sighted, as well Icefields. Weather fine and clear! "

It would have been the first of two ways to avoid the ice field in which the Titanic steered into it, but Jack Phillips put the message aside and took care of inconsequential holiday greetings of passengers. One reason for this behavior, however, may have been that the radio operator Mesaba had not provided his message with the so-called MSG labeling, which would imply that it was a specific message for the captain. The same applies to the second and final opportunity provided by about 23:05 clock, as the Californian, and her radio operator Cyril Evans, again tried to contact the Titanic. But Jack Phillips, visibly annoyed by Evans ' efforts pöbelte this to: " Keep the kindly mouth, I work with Cape Race! " Cape Race was a Newfoundland station, which controlled the radio traffic and coordinated. Evans, stunned, then disabled the radio and went to bed. The Californian, which was at that time already in the rink, and the Titanic was closest, no longer reach for these therefore.

Even after the collision at 23:40 clock Jack Phillips initially believed - like many others on board as well - the unsinkable ship. Arrogant he made from smaller freighters and passenger ships.

Shortly after midnight, this lethargy should place when Captain Smith entered the radio room, and Phillips, as well as Bride asked, CQD (actually "Seek you - Distress ," colloquially " Come quick - Danger"; German: Come quickly, danger ) to spark. To the 0:15 clock determined by the fourth officer Boxhall position was first sparked: 41 ° 46'N, 50 ° 14 ' W. As we now know, this position information is incorrect. Now it has been from the more casual Phillips a dutiful man who entertained a lively radio communications with other ships in the next two hours. There are 70 proven Radio equipment or outputs. However, one can expect a higher number of attempted calls for help, especially as 36 vessels were on the road that night in the North Atlantic.

At about 0:40 clock Bride made ​​the remark: " radio times but the new distress signal SOS. Perhaps we never again opportunity. "So it was that at 0:45 clock on the morning of April 15, 1912, SOS was sparked by the ether. The Baltic and the Olympic were unconfirmed reports According to the first ships that received the SOS call for help. In particularly close contact also one stood with the Carpathia, which was heading at full steam on the Titanic.

2:00 clock, 20 minutes before the sinking of the Titanic, Captain Smith appeared again in person to deliver the men of their duties. Although the power was on the verge of collapse, Phillips sat still from some messages. Only when the water penetrated into the radio room, he left shortly after this together with Bride. At 2:15 clock both reached the collapsible boat B, the keel up output in the water and to which also the second officer Lightoller was able to save. In the panic they tried to cling to the boat. While Bride landed a dry place with some effort, Phillips dangled chest-deep in icy water.

On the night Jack Phillips died in the arms of a heater and in the presence of his friend Harold Bride. In order to gain space and buoyancy in the boat, the body was just released. When a few days later, the Mackay - Bennett, the crash site was searching for bodies, you could not find Phillips' remains.

Aftermath

In Godalming today the Phillips Memorial, the world's largest memorial that was built for a victim of the Titanic. It consists of a cloister, a meadow, a second meadow with wild flowers and a walk along the River Wey.

The following actors have Jack Phillips presented to date:

Swell

• Jack Phillips in the Encyclopedia Titanica
• The Jack Phillips Story. - Information, pictures and an assortment of remote radio messages from doom
• Stephen Spignesi: Titanic - the ship that never sank. Chronicle of a century legend. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-442-15068- X.
• John P. Eaton, Charles A. Haas Titanic - dream and tragedy. Carl Habel Publishing, 2000, ISBN 3-87179-342-6

• Seafarer
• Passengers and crew of the Titanic
• Briton
• Born in 1887
• Died in 1912
• Man