She Was Unsinkable
Violet Jessop was a humble stewardess aboard not one, not two, but three ill-fated steamships, including the Titanic. Her unbelievable survival stories proved she was the only unsinkable vessel at sea. But her enduring story has left at least one mystery unsolved.
1. She Was Born Far From The Sea
Violet Constance Jessop captured the imagination of generations with her maritime miracles, but her story began inland—far inland, in the grasslands of Argentina. Her parents were Irish immigrants to Argentina, with her father working as a sheep farmer.
Sadly, some of the flock strayed.
2. She Knew Sorrow Early
Jessop was the eldest of her parents’ nine children, and from an early age, she displayed her knack for survival. Two of her eight siblings didn’t survive childhood. However, Jessop did her best to raise the rest.
3. She Became A Second Mother
Those of her siblings who survived had Jessop to thank. With her parents busy tending to the sheep, raising the younger children was a responsibility that fell on her petite shoulders. She spent much of her own childhood as a full-time caregiver. But, in truth, she was the one who needed looking after.
4. She Fell Terribly Ill
Before she even set foot on a ship, Jessop had already faced the Grim Reaper. As a child, she became terribly ill with a sickness that doctors assumed was tuberculosis. Given her condition, they were certain that the Reaper had come to claim her.
5. She Beat The Reaper
Jessop’s doctors had only given her months to live. But then she pulled off a miraculous recovery and beat the Grim Reaper—the first time of many. Against the odds, she had lived to fight another day. Sadly, not everyone in her family shared her luck.
6. She Lost Her Father Young
When Jessop was just 16, her father underwent surgery, but the procedure didn’t exactly go as planned. While he made it off the operating table, he later succumbed to “complications”. With their primary breadwinner gone, Jessop and her family moved to England. There, a difficult life awaited.
7. She Followed In Her Mother’s Wake
Despite some initial hardships, Jessop settled into life in England with ease. She split her time between attending convent school and caring for her youngest siblings. Meanwhile, her mother took to the seas, working as a stewardess to provide for her family. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough—not hardly.
8. She Stepped Up
Illness and hardship followed Jessop and her family across the sea to England. So, when her mother unexpectedly fell ill, she knew what she had to do. Jessop left school behind, assumed the family’s burdens, and applied to work as a stewardess herself. There was just one problem with that.
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9. She Had To Hide Her Looks
With her striking auburn hair, gray-blue eyes, and Irish charm, Jessop could have sunken ships with just a look. But, aboard male-dominated ships, she likely drew attention. After all, many of her co-workers were much older than her. So, to get hired, she had to “dress down” and make herself look less attractive. Surprisingly, it worked.
AnonymousUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
10. She Took Her First Voyage
In 1908, Jessop signed on with the Royal Mail Line, beginning her career as a steamship stewardess. Her maiden voyage aboard the Orinoco went off without a hitch. In fact, it went so well that her superiors wanted to put her on a bigger boat.
A. [August] Loeffler (1865–1946), Tompkinsville, N.Y., Wikimedia Commons
11. She Had Cold Feet
Jessop didn’t take to the seas out of love. So, when she was transferred to the RMS Olympic—a sister ship of the RMS Titanic—she hesitated. The thought of cold Atlantic crossings and high-maintenance passengers made her dread the posting. While the passengers were cruising, Jessop was working hard.
Robert J. Welch (1859-1936), Harland & Wolff official photographer, Wikimedia Commons
12. She Worked Her Fingers To The Bone
Despite her reservations, Jessop took the job aboard the elite steamship. Working as a stewardess for the White Star Line, she toiled away for 17 hours a day—and all for a meager £2 and 10 shillings a month. No amount of money was worth what happened next.
13. She Experienced Her First Crash
On September 20, 1911, Jessop experienced her first (of many) disasters at sea. In a horrifying incident, the Olympic collided with a British Navy vessel, the HMS Hawke. It was a terrifying ordeal—but the shocking deep-sea accident could have gone a lot worse.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
14. Her Vessel Limped Home
Though the crash caused extensive damage to both vessels, it was not—fortunately—a fatal collision. Jessop, along with all of the passengers and crew, survived the harrowing incident and soothed their fraying nerves as the Olympic limped back to port. Her reaction to the accident was more surprising than the accident itself.
Robert Welch, Wikimedia Commons
15. She Kept It Quiet
The mid-sea collision would have been the career highlight (or lowlight) for most stewardesses. However, in Jessop’s harrowing career, it was barely a footnote. In fact, when she wrote her memoirs years later, she didn’t even mention the RMS Olympic’s crash. Instead, she carried on with her job aboard the Olympic until April 1912.
Then she transferred to an even bigger ship.
Paul Thompson, Wikimedia Commons
16. She Had Doubts Again
Despite her early reservations—and the occasional collision—Jessop actually enjoyed working on the Olympic. But her employer, White Star Line, wanted her to work aboard their latest vessel: the allegedly unsinkable, truly gargantuan RMS Titanic. At first, Jessop wasn't overly enthused about the transfer, but when her friends told her it would be a “wonderful experience," she relented.
She would nearly regret the decision.
Teufelbeutel, Wikimedia Commons
17. She Got Dressed For Destiny
Whether she was excited to work aboard the Titanic or not, Jessop knew that it was a historic moment. And she was determined to live it in style. So, in a brand-new, “ankle-length brown suit," she hailed a horse-drawn cab and rode to the Southampton docks. She had no idea she was headed toward one of history's most devastating events.
18. She Boarded The Titanic
On April 10, 1912, Jessop boarded the legendary RMS Titanic, not as a wealthy passenger, but as a humble stewardess. She was just 24 years old—but already, she had more experience at sea than most sailors twice her age. And she would need all of it for what came next.
19. She Carried A Charm
Jessop might have sensed that there was something off even before she boarded the ill-fated steamship. As the Titanic set sail, Jessop packed something unusual. An old Irish woman had once given her a prayer, translated from Hebrew, meant to protect her from fire and, ominously, water.
Francis Godolphin Osbourne Stuart on Wikimedia
20. She Prayed For Safe Passage
Once she settled into her bunk, Jessop read the prayer the Irish woman had given her. For good measure, she made her bunkmate, fellow stewardess Elizabeth Leather, read it too. Whether it was an omen or an unlikely good luck charm, her faith was about to undergo the most grueling test.
21. She Clutched Her Rosary
As she began working at sea, Jessop didn’t rely on lifeboats for survival—she had something even more powerful. As a devout Catholic, Jessop kept a rosary tucked in her apron at all times and believed that prayer was her strongest safeguard against tragedy. It may actually have saved her from an icy grave.
22. She Felt The Iceberg’s Impact
Lying languidly in her bunk—completely oblivious to fate's brutal plan for her—Jessop was just beginning to doze off when she felt the behemoth steamship rock. The unthinkable had happened: The Titanic had struck an iceberg. At that moment, her instincts kicked in—and they would carry her through the night.
Titanic's Iceberg Collision in Film & TV (1912-2012), CaptainJZH
23. She Was Cool, Calm, And Collected
Without a moment’s hesitation, Jessop sprang into action. As a stewardess, there was nothing she could do to stop the ship from sinking. But she could save lives. As panic spread across the ship, Jessop stood calmly on the deck and issued instructions to non-English-speaking passengers. Her courage, calmness, and clarity helped dozens upon dozens of passengers find safety.
Her own life, however, was still in peril.
24. She Witnessed Frightful Farewells
As she ushered women and children to safety, Jessop stood as a silent witness to the quiet suffering of families aboard the sinking vessel. She could only watch as women clung to their husbands in tearful farewells, preparing to board lifeboats with their children. Her time, too, was coming.
{its goodbye for a little while, only for a little while} THE SINKING [VIC], InabitiousStars
25. She Boarded A Lifeboat
Even as she helped usher passengers into lifeboats, Jessop never imagined that she, herself, would leave the Titanic. At least, not alive. Then, one of her commanding officers ordered her into lifeboat 16. However, as the boat began to lower, she was given some unusual cargo to safeguard.
Titanic - The first lifeboat - Scene, Titanic Movie/Pelicula
26. She Became A Guardian
Just as her lifeboat began its descent into the icy waters below, something extraordinary happened. The RMS Titanic’s sixth officer, James Moody, handed Jessop a precious package: a baby bundled against the biting cold. In that moment, she became a pivotal character in one of the Titanic’s most enduring mysteries.
27. She Found Rescue At Dawn
After a freezing night adrift with a baby in the frigid North Atlantic waters, Jessop’s ordeal finally ended. The RMS Carpathia, responding to distress calls, arrived the next morning and hauled her lifeboat from the icy Atlantic. On April 18, she finally put her feet down on terra firma in New York City. But now, she was alone.
J.W. Barker, Wikimedia Commons
28. She Lost Her Charge
Jessop had only barely found her bearings on the Carpathia when her story took an unexpected—and inexplicable—turn. She was still holding the baby when a frantic woman appeared as if from nowhere and snatched the infant right from her arms. Without saying a word, the woman, with the baby, fled—tears streaming down her face.
From there, the mystery of the baby and the mother was born.
29. She Was Too Cold To Think
Jessop might have protested more and fought the mysterious woman to protect the infant. But she wasn’t exactly herself when it happened. She later wrote about the encounter, “I was too frozen and numb to think it strange that this woman had not stopped to say ‘thank you’”.
Considering the trauma she endured on the Titanic, Jessop's next move may come as a surprise.
30. She Finally Returned Home
Jessop had just survived the greatest maritime disaster in history, and she longed for one thing alone: home. Relieved and tired, she made her way back across the ocean—without any further excitement—to Southampton. And, unbelievably, went right back to work.
31. She Was Back on Another “Unsinkable” Ship
When WWI broke out, Jessop joined the British Red Cross as a stewardess with nursing duties. This time, she found herself aboard the HMHS Britannic, yet another allegedly “unsinkable” ship. Ominously, the Britannic was also a sister ship of the Titanic. Let’s just say history doesn’t always rhyme—it sometimes repeats.
Allan C. Green, Wikimedia Commons
32. She Hit Another Ice-Cold Reality
The Britannic, unlike the Titanic, didn’t run afoul of an iceberg—it hit something worse. While patrolling the seas, the vessel hit a German naval mine. One second, it was a floating hospital in the Aegean Sea. The next, it was a sinking mass of twisted metal. And Jessop? She was right in the middle of it.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
33. She Only Had Minutes
It had taken hours for the North Atlantic to swallow the Titanic, giving Jessop and others time to plan their escape. After hitting the naval mine, however, the Britannic plummeted to the seafloor in just 55 minutes. Miraculously, of the over 1,000 people on board, only 30 perished. But, for Jessop, surviving the initial blast was almost worse.
AnonymousUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
34. She Was Almost “Propelled” Into The Afterlife
As Jessop tried to escape the sinking ship in a lifeboat, a chilling horror awaited. The ship’s propellers were still turning, tearing apart lifeboats like confetti. As her boat drifted closer and closer to the spinning hazard, her infallible survival instincts screamed one thing: jump.
35. She Took A Leap Of Faith
In a brave, albeit desperate move, Jessop leapt from her lifeboat and plunged into the sea. The waters were full of debris and churned ferociously as the massive vessel went down. Miraculously, she survived the jump—but not unscathed. Jessop sustained a severe injury to her head. It was worse than she knew.
36. She Fractured Her Skull Without Knowing It
Jessop didn’t realize the extent of her injury until years later. When chronic headaches sent her to the doctor, she learned that, during the sinking of the Britannic, she had sustained a skull fracture. Given how she later described the aquatic accident, she’s lucky that was her only injury.
37. She Remembered Every Detail
Even through injury and panic, Jessop never forgot the final moments of the HMHS Britannic. In her memoirs, she wrote, “The white pride of the ocean's medical world…dipped her head a little, then a little lower and still lower. All the deck machinery fell into the sea like a child's toys. Then she took a fearful plunge, her stern rearing hundreds of feet into the air until with a final roar, she disappeared into the depths”.
AnonymousUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
38. She Wasn't The Only Repeat Survivor
Jessop wasn’t the only one to beat the odds and defy the Grim Reaper at sea—over and over again. Two other Titanic survivors—Arthur Priest and Archie Jewell—were also aboard the HMHS Britannic when it went down, and lived to tell the tale. However, Jessop was the only one who seemed totally unaffected.
Bude Castle Heritage Centre, Wikimedia Commons
39. She Kept Sailing The Seven Seas
After surviving the sinking of three sister ships, one would have forgiven Jessop if she never set foot in so much as a kayak ever again. However, by 1920, she returned to sea life. The crowning accomplishment of her career was not surviving disasters, but serving aboard the ultra-luxurious cruise ship, Belgenland.
Her story, it seemed, was far from over.
Harland & Wolff, Wikimedia Commons
40. She Found Love At Sea
At 36 years old, Jessop had accomplished more than most people double her age—except for marriage. However, that all changed when she married fellow steward and Olympic-alumnus, John James Lewis. Their marriage was about as unsinkable as the Titanic had been.
41. Her Marriage Sank—Hard
Jessop’s marriage to fellow steward John James Lewis was, in her own words, “brief and disastrous”. Much like the Titanic, their relationship hit an iceberg and sank after about a year, ending in an icy divorce. She continued working until 1950 before retiring to the quiet English village of Great Ashfield.
Then her past came back to haunt her.
42. She Answered An Odd Call
Years into retirement, Jessop had almost forgotten all about the baby she had saved aboard the Titanic. Then, one stormy night, her phone rang. On the other end of the line was a woman with a question that made Jessop’s hair stand on end.
43. She Told The Truth
The woman on the phone asked Jessp a simple question: had she saved a baby aboard the Titanic? The question startled Jessop, but she gave a simple and truthful answer, “Yes". The rest of the conversation was even more perplexing and mysterious.
44. She Got A Blast From The Past
Jessop didn’t have to wait long to get a response from the mysterious caller. But the reply was downright chilling. “I was that baby,” the caller stated. But before the conversation had even begun, it was over. The voice on the other end of the line simply laughed and then unceremoniously hung up on Jessop. Understandably, she didn’t quite know what to make of it.
45. She Had Just Gotten A Prank Call
While Jessop was uncertain what to make of the mysterious call, her “friend and biographer," John Maxtone-Graham, thought he knew exactly what it was. He calmly told Jessop that the phone call was likely nothing more than kids from the neighborhood playing a prank. But that made even less sense.
Fairfax Media Archives, Getty Images
46. She Had Never Told Anyone Her Story
When John suggested that the strange phone call had been nothing more than a childish prank, Jessop made a shocking revelation that invalidated his explanation. “No, John,” she replied, “I had never told that story to anyone before I told you now”.
47. Her Story Didn’t Match The Records
Jessop’s claim that she had never told the story before almost certainly meant the phone call was authentic. However, according to all of the records, the only baby aboard her lifeboat was As'ad Tannūs, also known as Assad Thomas, who had been in the care of Edwina Troutt. Furthermore, Thomas was reunited with his mother aboard the Carpathia.
Further records only made the story even more unnerving.
48. Her Mystery Caller Was Likely “On The Other Side”
Further complicating Jessop’s story and the already mysterious phone call, was another curious detail from the official records. Thomas, the only baby confirmed to have been aboard lifeboat 16, had passed on June 12, 1931. In other words, there’s no way he could have called Jessop decades later—at least, not from the land of the living.
There was, however, another possibility.
49. She Could Have Saved Dean
Given the fact that the baby had been handed to Jessop at the last minute, it’s possible that the infant wasn’t part of the official record. Notably, reports often omitted Milvina Dean. Dean was just two months old when the Titanic went down and she lived to a ripe old age, making it entirely possible that she was the woman on the phone.
Jessop would take the mystery to her grave.
Stephen Daniels, Wikimedia Commons
50. She Went Down With Dignity
After surviving three maritime disasters (including the most tragic maritime disaster of all time) and a lifetime at sea, Violet Jessop passed on in 1971 at the age of 83. In the end, congestive heart failure had gotten the better of her. However, history shows that she was truly unsinkable.
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