RMS Titanic Book 1

Cosmo Duff-Gordon

July 22nd, 1862 - April 20th, 1931

He is a Cancer

Sir Cosmo Edmund Duff-Gordon, DL was a prominent Scottish landowner and sportsman, best known for the controversy surrounding his escape from the sinking of the RMS Titanic. He was the son of Cosmo Lewis Duff-Gordon and Anna Maria Antrobus. Cosmo was educated at Eton and he had 4 siblings: Flora (died 1930), Evelyn (born died 1964), Henry (1866 - 1953, succeeded Cosmo as baronet in 1931), and John Cornewall (1869 - 1964). In  1896, he became the fifth Baron of his family estate (the baronetcy having been created in 1813).

In 1900, Cosmo married Lucy Wallace, the eldest daughter of Douglas Sutherland. 'Lucile' who was the fashionable designer with a couture firm of which Duff-Gordon was a producer. This was a slightly risqué union, as Lucy was a divorcee whose sister, Elinor Glyn, was a notorious romance novelist. As a sportsman, Cosmo was most noted as a fencer, representing Great Britain at the 1906 Intercalated Games, winning silver in the team épée event. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were among distinguished spectators at one of the final bouts between Sir Cosmo and his German opponent Gustav Casmir.

Cosmo served on the organizing committee at the 1908 Summer Olympics, appointed by Lord Desborough, chairman of the British Olympic Association. He took part in pistol duelling competitions and was a member of the British team demonstrating the sport in the fencing arena at the 1908 Games. He was also a self-defence enthusiast who trained with Swiss wrestler Armand Cherpillod at the Bartitsu Club in London's Soho district. was a co-founder of the London Fencing League, a member of the Bath Club and the Royal Automobile Club. He was also a sheriff and magistrate in his native Kincardineshire, near Aberdeen, where his ancestral country estate Maryculter was located.

Onboard The Titanic:
Cosmo and Lucy boarded the RMS Titanic at Cherbourg on April 10th, 1912 with Lucy's secretary Laura Mabel Francatelli. Cosmo occupied cabin A16 in the First Class quarters on the Titanic and Lucy occupied A-20. For some reason, they signed onto the ship as Mr. and Mrs. Morgan.

April 14th-15th, 1912:
On the night of the sinking, Cosmo and Lucy approached William Murdoch who were supervising the loading of lifeboat 1. Cosmo asked if he and his wife could get in and Murdoch replied that he would be glad if they would. A few minutes later at 1:10 AM, lifeboat 1 was lowered containing only 12 people of whom 7 were crew members. The ladies had earlier turned down places in two other lifeboats for women and children because Lady Duff-Gordon refused to be separated from her husband.

After The Sinking:
After the sinking, Charles Hendrickson asked those in the lifeboat whether they ought to go back to help the people swimming in the water but Lucy warned they might be swamped by people trying to get onboard. Several of the men agreed that it would be dangerous to go back. Eventually Hendrickson was persuaded by Charles Henry Stengel's suggestion that they should head for a light that could be seen in the distance. So they the 12 survivors set off while hundreds more were left dying in the water.

(Horrifying)

As they rowed and the cries of the swimmers began to die down tempers began to flare among those in the boat. They were still rowing towards a light but it got no nearer and hailing other boats brought no result. Stengel continually shouted directions until Cosmo eventually told him to keep quiet. Robert Pusey complained that they had lost all their belongings and that in all probability, their pay would end when the ship sank, so Cosmo offered the men 5 pounds on their return. This was a pledge he would honour on board the Carpathia.

Later Cosmo would appear before a packed British inquiry to defend himself against the accusations that he had bribed the men to secure his escape from the Titanic and that they were thus encouraged not to return to the scene of the sinking to rescue swimmers. He received press criticism which highlighted that he had boarded the lifeboat in violation of the "women and children first" policy and that, once the craft was afloat, he bribed the sailor in charge with a £5 note not to return to rescue people struggling in the water. Other witnesses confirmed that the lifeboat had ample space and that he had indeed given the sailor £5. Cosmo stated that the money was to allow the sailor to buy new clothes. Cosmo denied the allegation that he disobeyed orders, maintaining there had been no women or children in the immediate vicinity when his boat was launched. (There is additional confirmation from other witnesses that William Murdoch allowed Sir Cosmo a place in the boat so he could join his wife.) Moreover, Cosmo denied his offer of money to the lifeboat's crew was a bribe (although he could not deny passing the money), and the British Board of Trade's inquiry into the disaster accepted his explanation that it was a charitable contribution for crew members who had lost not only their possessions but their jobs.

The inquiry nonetheless concluded that, if the lifeboat had returned to the wreck site, it might have been able to rescue others (the lifeboat had official space for 28 additional persons). Regarding the bribery allegation the report stated: "The very gross charge against Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon that, having got into No. 1 boat he bribed the men in it to row away from the drowning people, is unfounded". Despite being cleared of wrongdoing, Cosmo's eputation never recovered.

Death:
Cosmo Duff-Gordon continued in his social and sporting interests in Scotland. He was estranged from Lucy from 1915 until his death, although they never divorced and remained friends. Cosmo died on April 20th, 1931. He, and later Lucy, was buried at Brookwood Cemetery, Near London.

In 2012 a box of documents and letters concerning the Titanic sinking belonging to the Duff-Gordons was rediscovered at the London office of Veale Wasbrough Vizards, the legal firm that merged with Tweedies, who represented the couple. Amongst the papers was a rebuttal of the evidence given against them at the Board of Trade inquiry, and an inventory of Lucy's possessions that were lost, the total value listed as £3,208 3s 6d. In one letter Sir Cosmo complains: "There seems to be a feeling of resentment against any English man being saved....The whole pleasure of having been saved is quite spoilt by the venomous attacks they made at first in the papers. This, I suppose, was because I refused to see any reporter."

Despite the official vindication by the Board of Trade inquiry, public suspicion that the Duff-Gordons had acted selfishly tainted the couple for the remainder of their lives.

Portrayals:
Patrick Waddington (A Night To Remember; 1958)

Martin Jarvis (Titanic; 1997)

Ghosts of The Abyss (2012)

Paisley Day (Titanic; 2012; Miniseries)

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org
Titanic Wiki
Wikipedia

I think I just realized where the bribery bullshit with William Murdoch's portrayal in Titanic (1997) came from and now I'm irritated DOUBLE. WTF were you thinking James Cameron?!!

Anyway, Rest In Peace Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon.