Violet Jessop biography

Synopsis

Having served on board the superliner Olympic for several years, Violet Jessop signed on to be a stewardess for the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. After the fateful collision, Jessop helped women and children into lifeboats. She herself boarded lifeboat 16 and was handed a baby to care for. After eight hours, they were rescued by the Carpathia, and the baby was reunited with its mother.

Profile

Titanic survivor. Born Violet Constance Jessop near Bahia Blanca, Argentina. The first child of Irish emigrant sheep farmers, Violet moved to England with her mother and five siblings after her father??s death. She attended convent school until her mother became ill, and then worked as a stewardess on ocean liners to help support the family.

Having served on board the superliner Olympic for several years, Jessop signed on to be a stewardess for the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. After the fateful collision, Jessop was ordered on deck to help women and children into lifeboats. She herself boarded lifeboat 16 and was handed a baby to care for. After eight hours, they were rescued by the Carpathia, and the baby was reunited with its mother.

During World War I, Jessop served as a nurse with the British Red Cross and was on board the Britannic when it sunk in the Aegean in 1916. She had a brief marriage and no children and retired in Suffolk, England, after 42 years at sea. She died on May 5, 1971.