'I was gradually getting frozen up': Moving words of Titanic crew member who ... trends now
'I was gradually getting frozen up, and by the grace of God I came across a lifeboat and they pulled me in.'
Those were the words of Titanic survivor Frank Prentice, speaking 67 years after the ship sank on this day in April 1912 with the loss of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.
Mr Prentice, then just 23, was serving as assistant purser on the ship when it fatefully hit an iceberg.
He told BBC documentary series The Great Liners in 1979: 'There was no impact as such.
'It was just like jamming your brakes on the car and that was that – she stopped.
'We had a porthole open and I looked out and the sky was clear, stars were shining, the sea was dead calm and I thought, I couldn't understand it.'
'I was gradually getting frozen up, and by the grace of God I came across a lifeboat and they pulled me in.' Those were the words of Titanic survivor Frank Prentice, speaking 67 years after the ship sank on this day in April 1912 with the loss of more than 1,500 passengers and crew
After the Titanic hit the iceberg, Mr Prentice left his cabin to investigate.
But there was no sign of damage because the point of impact had been below the waterline.
Unbeknown to him, the ship was catastrophically crippled and sank within three hours of the collision.
Despite an order for women and children to get into the lifeboats, many were reluctant because of the 70foot drop into the water and their faith in the ship's status as an 'unsinkable' vessel.
As a result, many more people lost their lives than if all 16 lifeboats had been filled to capacity.
Mr Prentice said: 'Don't forget we had 16 lifeboats and they each carried 50, and if they'd been filled we could've saved 800 whereas we only saved 500.'
Describing the moment the Titanic broke in two, he added: 'All of a sudden, she lifted up quickly and you could hear everything crashing through her.'
As half of the ship rose out of the water, Mr Prentice was clinging on to a board. He realised that he had no option but to let go and plunge into the freezing water.
'I had a lifebelt on and I hit the water with a terrific crack,' he said. As bodies floated 'all over the place', Mr Prentice watched the ship disappear beneath the water.
Mr Prentice escaped death when he was pulled from the water into a lifeboat.
He found himself sat next to Virginia Estelle Clark, who he had helped with her lifejacket on deck.
RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912. The vessel was sailing to New York on its maiden voyage
Newly-married Ms Clark, who was on her honeymoon, had been persauded by Mr
