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"We saw them scattered over the surface, looking like a flock of seagulls."

"We had five men in each small boat. When they went out to look for bodies they kept within sight of the bridge of the Mackay-Bennett and we signalled them by wig-wagging. When they picked up four or five bodies, if the weather was heavy, we would bring them in. If the weather was calm, they could handle seven or eight in a boat."

— Captain Larnder, recovery vessel, the cable ship CS MacKay-Bennett.

•••

"I am satisfied that we did everything that could be done."

– Captain Arthur Rostron (of the rescue ship RMS Carpathia).

•••

"There was peace and the end was dignified, but oh, the cries after the ship went down!"

– Colonel Archibald Gracie (survivor, First Class passenger).

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"The way the band kept playing was a noble thing. I heard it first shortly after the Titanic started to list... The last I saw of the band, it was still on deck playing 'Autumn'."

– Harold Bride (surviving wireless operator).

•••

"Typical Brown luck. We're unsinkable."

– Margaret 'Unsinkable' Tobin Brown (survivor and activist).

•••

"I will not talk about the Titanic. I have made it a rule in my life not to talk about it."

– J. Bruce Ismay (Managing Director of White Star Line, survived — widely criticized).

'Then creeping over the edge of the sea we saw a single light and presently a second below it. It seemed to be true and I think everyone’s eyes were filled with tears, men’s as well as women’s. All around us we heard shouts and cheers.'

— Lawrence Beesley, Titanic survivor.

•••

'Ice was all round us crunching against the boats as we rowed away. We saw there were not enough boats for everybody, but there was plenty of time to save everybody if the Titanic had been sufficiently provided.

The weather was beautifully calm, and except for the ice it would have been like a lake in summer. We saw the Titanic struggling slowly forward as we rowed away. There was no sign of any panic until just before she sank. Then we heard what seemed like shouts of terror, and it appeared to us in the semi-darkness as if human shapes were plunging overboard.

We heard a dull sound, which may have been the boilers exploding. Then the ship seemed to break in two. Her screws suddenly rose in the air as she buckled and then plunged into the sea. We did not feel any suction.

We rowed about in the vicinity very slowly for about four hours and a half, keeping clear of the ice as best as we could. Thus we waited until the Carpathia came up. As far as I know the women in our boat did not suffer any special discomfort.'

— Mr. E Z Taylor, of the Whitehall Hotel, Bloomsbury Square, London, interviewed on the pier soon after leaving Carpathia.

•••

The Daily Mail declared "no lives lost”.

The Belfast Telegraph claimed "no danger of loss of life.”

The World declared, “Titanic Sinking; No Lives Lost.”

The Evening Sun proclaimed, “All Saved from Titanic After Collison.”

The Vancouver Daily Province reported, “The Titanic Sinking, But Probably No Lives Lost.”

Only The New York Times hit close to the truth: “Titanic Sinks Four Hours After Hitting Iceberg; 866 Rescued By Carpathia, Probably 1,250 Perish; Ismay Safe, Mrs. Astor Maybe, Noted Names Missing."