Charles Eastman was a Greaser on the Titanic.
Background[]
Charles Eastman’s timeline began in 1868 as a native of Millbrook, Hampshire. On January 5, in Shirley, John Eastman and Sarah Elizabeth, his parents, let their boy have a first taste of water, as a church lustrated him.
Sarah, like her husband, stemmed from Hampshire and had welcomed two children before Charles. The name of his eldest sister was Ellen, the first to arrive in 1863, before Harry made it into earth’s life in 1865. There were also young siblings. Following Charles was Mary Ann in 1870, before George, who preceeded William. Millbrook was still their hometown by 1871.
William was not given time to get to know his mother very well, as he emerged in 1875, two years before Ellen’s life ended. In 1879, John had found romantic replacement and made things happen with a woman from Middlesex. Following the ceremony in 1879, they were living in Millbrook in 1881.
The year 1888 was another one blackened by death. This time, the Eastmans were seperated from their father, whose life ended before his 5th decade and the domiciliary unit was now all in the hands of Ann. The stepmother managed things quite well on her own. In 1891, Charles was no longer a component of the domain, which was elsewhere in Southampton. Tangible is that he was busy on the stretched, blue mains.
Sometime later, Charles found love and was bound by law to Sarah Ann Feltham. The ceremony took place in 1894. She was a Sontonian. Charles gave Ann a roof above her head in the process. His home was also the diggings for 7 young ones that Sarah gave him. She first gave him Charles William in 1895 and produced a daughter in 1899: Jessie Laura Victoria.
Meanwhile, Sarah’s sister Maud had also tied the knot with someone, whose name was William Charles Perren. William and Charles would later meet eachother. Charles was back in Shirley in 1901, where he shared a burrow with Sarah, Ann and the two sprouts and drudged as a Fireman on vessels. Daisy Irene was the next girl to appear that year and another, Maud May saw the light in 1904, with Cecil Edward getting her name in 1907 and Freda Bessie added in 1909.
In 1911, they were still Shirley citizens but had taken the circle and shanty to another turf. Meanwhile, the last of the little ones showed up and was given the name Ena.
Titanic[]
In Southampton, a new ship was introduced in the Spring of 1912. This was the RMS Titanic, the second of the Olympic-Class liners. Fresh from her trials, which she passed with flying colors depite having been analysed very measly. White Star Line was her company and Charles had just done a voyage with them as crew on a much smaller ship. He would now be attained in Southampton on April 6, as Greaser for this modern mammoth, which offered lots of employment with her impressive size.
The Titanic was loaded up fully on April 10. William Charles Perren, spouse of his sister-in-law, had also filled a vocation for this vessel as a Second Class Boots, two days before Charles.
After twelve o’clock, the engines were put forward. When Titanic attempted to pass the SS New York and the RMS Oceanic, which was Charles’ former and last employer before taking his Titanic job. There wasn’t enough coal for these vessels so they were out of a job. The New York was pulled towards Titanic’s aft part when all her moorings snapped with loud bangs. Oceanic lost a few moorings too, but she was still attched to the pier. The New York was close to ramming the new ship before Titanic’s propellors made powerful strokes of water while tugs came to try and get the New York out of the way. The managed to seize control and Titanic proceeded with only an hour delay, to France. The next port she was due was in Ireland.
From there on, it would be nothing but ocean, for more than 4 full days. The Titanic was like a fish in the water. Her commander was self-assured enough to put more fire in her belly.
The Titanic was doing what she needed to perfectly. The level of stability of the ship was high. Everyone onboard was bullish that she was infrangible. Indeed she was sturdy and as best built as could be.
On April 14, at night, it was exemplified that she was still just a dot compared to the vast, strechted out pelagic. The surface of the seas however was as halycon as an enclosed lake on that day and still at night. The ice zones were not lost on her captain, who made a route in the afternoon that hopefully would get them by without too much hindrance. Icebergs were a growing problem in that period and were unusually galore in the shipping lanes, causing navigational headaches.
One iceberg was shrouded into the horzion and it caught Titanic’s watch crew napping, even though they weren’t. The looksouts actively searched for anything but still missed it until it nearly flew in their face. The iceberg’s top, visible from the water, was a daunting sight. The two in the crow’s nest made haste with whacking the bell and then contacted the men on the bridge. The helmsman was already given a bidding to divagate to port, before the very short message was briefed. Also briefed was the Engine Room, where Charles could often be. The Engineers were instructed by telegraph to turn her forward motion into an aft one. This couldn’t be done fast enough as Titanic was not too far from the Titanic. Her bow began to finally swerve more when they were about to pass the mass.
Her starboard however was still close and one outlier of ice under water grinded on the steel shell of Titanic. The bottom of her keel was immediately soaked in a few feet of water. The juxtaposition was not lost on Captain Smith who stormed forward right out his sleep. He set up an investigation that would lead him and other crewmen to the bottom of the ship. They also called for the expertise of her shipbuilder, Thomas Andrews.
Thomas Andrews appraised the intrusion. He came back with the results and was on the bridge at midnight, April 15, where the captain was imparted that the ship’s destiny would not be New York, as it was planned, but the darkness below. This left the captain with no other option than to quickly set out the lifeboats and get his crew to work on them so they would be ready to receive passengers. He knew there weren’t enough for everyone onboard, which was a normality in those times.
Even still, the evacuation was not succesful. Male passengers were held back at one side, while boats were often heaved away with open spots, which were later also not filled with those who couldn’t get one. They couldn’t even launch all the 20 boats in time, which they were given 2 hours to do. Andrews’ expectations of the ship buoyance were even underestimating Titanic’s strength. By 2:07 A.M, this was all faded and 2 remaining boats were like play toy to the blue briny, which mercilessly slumped everything on the Boat Deck. Two collapsibles floated off and occupants were thrown out. These were the last minutes of Titanic.
The sinking process accelerated and the surge of water downed Titanic’s forward part as far as the second funnel while her poop was elevated. The stilt became too much a burden for the ship’s upperstructure, which was a more open area. It crunched under the pressure and weight of the engines further below and soon, the ship was bisected by lateral force.
The deformed ship could only be a seen for some minutes when her keel part caused the stern to be upraised and then flood vertically, which was a destructive force, although it didn’t appear that way to those that looked from the boats.
With the entire upper Engineering Crew not living on from there, Charles was also a loss in this calamity. When all was over, there were only 4 Greasers with quite a story to tell, of who most also had to swim for it. Some of the others had to support the Engineers in their effort to postpone Titanic’s ultimate end as far as they could while providing electricity, which they must have done by choice, as some Firemen and Trimmers were allowed to go to the boats and save themselves. Charles had a shore, but couldn't share it. Nor could his body, as the sea had taken it.
After his death[]
Sarah Ann Eastman would not take vows with another man since his passing. While Ann Elizabeth Eastman passed away in 1916, Sara stuck around in Hampshire. The closest she had now were her children.
Confoundingly, most of them died very young, with Daisy’s life stopping at 20 years in 1921, Maud only going as far as 1930 to become 25, while Cecil couldn’t go beyond 1927 and was just 19. Jessie Laura Victoria also had tied the knot with Hubert Edwards, a year before her early demise in 1927 as a 25 year old.
Everyone’s last resting place would be Southampton. Charles junior was in Romsey when he left earth in 1943, being a husband and father. Ena was also a spouse and parent and went to the afterlife in 1949.
In 1955, Sarah went in the eternal on the Isle of Wright, also part of Southampton, having to see all her children go before her apart from one, which was Freda. She was the only one with a long life, going as far as 1993 while having a family of her own. Her book was closed on the Isle as well.