Joseph Alfred Read was a Trimmer on the Titanic.
Background[]
The first of Joseph Alfred Read could be seen on July 5, 1891 in Southampton, where he came into this world. John Thomas Joseph Read had sired him with his sweetheart Jane Hutchings. They uttered their oaths in the boondocks of Weymouth, a seaside township in the Dorset province, in 1868. Dorset was the jurisdiction where John had his first abode. Jane had drawn from Gloucestershire.
Jane became a mother in 1869, with now another John Thomas being present in the family. In 1872, he had a brother named Richard. In 1874, it was time for a girl to show herself: Sarah Ann. In 1876, Jane was emanated and Elizabeth was the next to have her cradle placed in Southampton, in 1879. Frances was the last of the elder generation of siblings, raised since 1880. It was not before 1889 that another sprog was placed on earth: her name was Amelia. Also sprouted, in 1893, was William, Joseph’s sole younger brother.
Southampton kept being the town where Read unit’s canton was located somewhere before 1891, as they were still documented as citizens in the year 1901, while Father John was bringing in the bacon as stevedore, with their house not being far of the marine, south of the centre. In 1911, they were cooped in another roost, also close to that area. By then, most of Joseph’s siblings wouldn’t doorstep them as often, the youngest two, Joseph and William were the sole remaining sprats.
Titanic[]
The river beckoned the new RMS Titanic on the 10th of April. White Star Line had let Harland & Wolff produce two giants that should succeed for the company as game-changers in the passenger liner trade. The river beckoned Titanic on the 10th of April.
Time to set off came just past 12 o’clock, with Titanic doing away with her little helpers, the tugboats, far too soon From the portside of Titanic, Oceanic could be seen. She was quite some decks lower. With her was a ship of the Inman Line, the SS New York. Oceanic had provided Joseph with income in recent times as a crewmember, just before he got a spot on the Titanic as Trimmer, on April 6. Titanic had been moored off in a special berth big enough for her, since April 3. Berths were also provided for Trimmers on E-Deck, far up in the bow. John was with the third convocation, with over 20 others. Their call of duty was between 8:00 and 12:00. It was their turn again at the same time, but 12 hours later. This would go on every day. Two other groups would cover the other 4 hour stints.
On her own, Titanic was under steam when she caused a ruckus in the harbor, as the Oceanic, tethered to the Inman Line’s New York, started to list while the New York was caught in Titanic’s suction and broke free from her castings. Her bow was adrift and aimed at Titanic’s port stern, with the might of tugs and Titanic’s reversed propellers preventing a coming together in the end. With a small delay, Titanic was soon away from England and landed in France. Then the next day came and she visited Ireland. From Ireland, she was scheduled to cross the ocean towards New York. She would need just under a week for this.
On April 14, the commander found that it was time for Titanic to gather some momentum. As the brine was as flat as a millpond, the ship being as balanced as was expected, there was a nice opportunity to have her tested some more. The Trimmers would have to work harder, as would the Firemen. Titanic was stretching her legs.
Later in the night, this desicion had carved Titanic’s fate in stone, along with other factors. One of those, was that the sea was deceitfully calm and composed. No breaking waves, yet the captain was aware of ice in the vicinity, but was relaxed. He had gone a bit southward in the afternoon and had a capable watch crew and they should see any danger in time.
This was not how it played out. Lookout Frederick Fleet’s eyes were fixated suddenly on a white object that hoved into view as if had transmitted out of the blue. This was an iceberg and Fleet reached for the bell chord and tugged it, making the bell clamour while also grabbing the telephone in the crow's nest and as soon as he could, answering to the voice at the other end of the line. Within seconds, both Officers on the bridge knew what was in their way and needed to rapidly get out of their line. The quartermaster received mandate to switch the ship over to full port side, while First Officer William Murdoch cranked the telegraph to Full Astern, to get as much speed reduced as he could.
With the propellers going the other way, Titanic’s Forecastle Deck bumped into the wall of frozen saltwater. It was littered with the ice that the railing shaved off. Meanwhile, her starboard side underneath the waterline had also grazed the berg, which made dentures into the ship’s hull. Water began flowing through the gaps and rose at an alarming rate. It was at point, the captain rose up from his bed. It was 11:40 P.M and Joseph would be down at one of the Boiler Rooms. His watch would end in 20 minutes.
Later, the captain was screening the spaces where the shell of Titanic had been breached, along with shipbuilder Thomas Andrews. On April 15, Andrews came to the conclusion that the 6 areas down below would flood too fast for Titanic’s bulkheads to work. She was too badly damaged. She would sink in two hours. After 12:00 A.M, the captain ordered his men to the Boat Deck to get the lifeboats in place for receiving passengers. Everything had to be done orderly. Within half an hour, two boats were launched.
Meanwhile, some of the Engineering Crew, including some trimmers, meanwhile tried to slow the ship’s sinking down and pumped out water. Others provided the ship with enough energy for the lights and davit winches. Their constancy would make the evacuation at least partly succesfull, although two boats were spilt off the deck, when the water was finally there. It was well after two and the ship had not much longer to live. The mightly liner would go down by the head completely and in due time, more of the upper structure at the front would be swamped, including a funnel which was cast aside, as well as an implosion of the dome of the First Class Grand Staircase.
A bustle of people hurried to the back of the ship which started to heave out of the water. Titanic’s rear was going further away from the ocean while the other half was doused in it. Everything on board that wasn’t fastened, would tumble over, including people. Titanic’s final dramatic moments were at hand. Her lights suddenly popped out and the ship was plunged in darkness. She held on for mere minutes after she was snapped into two sections. Everyone that was not in a lifeboat was handed over to frisky waters, which claimed many lives.
Joseph Read was not in a lifeboat. He was more than just a number among 1503 that went to their deaths, but his history onboard the ship was never salvaged. Clues on his whereabouts are missing, including his body, which was never seen again either, even though a handful of vessels were screening through the wreck site, days later.