Spring 1 & 2- All Aboard the Titanic
All Aboard the Titanic - Skills and Knowledge for Parents
Six Fantastic Facts About Titanic
1) Titanic was built by a company called White Star Line. She was completed and ready for the ocean on 31 March 1912, after three years in construction in Belfast, Ireland.
2) And she was no ordinary ship, Titanic was the most impressive and luxurious ship of her time! She was the biggest, too, measuring 28 metres wide, 53 metres tall and 269 metres long — that’s about the length of three football fields!
3) On 10 April 1912, Titanic set out on her maiden voyage (first big journey), taking people from Southampton, England, to New York, USA. On route, she called by Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland to pick up more passengers.
DID YOU KNOW?
Boats are traditionally referred to as ‘she’. Historians think this may be the result of links in our language to Ancient English. Or perhaps it dates back to the idea of goddesses protecting ships on dangerous journeys!
4) Titanic’s full title was RMS Titanic. Any idea what RMS means? It stands for ‘Royal Mail Steamer’. As well as passengers, the ship carried nearly 3,500 sacks of letters, packages and documents.
5) There were over 2,200 people on board Titanic, 900 of which were crew members. The passengers included holiday makers, business men and people hoping to start a new life in America.
6) Life on board Titanic depended on who you were and how much money you had…
First class: the wealthiest people travelled in first class, located at the top of the ship, and boy did they travel in style! They slept in private, spacious suites and enjoyed delicious food in an elaborate dining room. They had access to lots of facilities, like cafes, a swimming pool, squash courts, barber shop and a reading and writing room.
Second class: not too shabby, either, second class accommodation consisted of cabins with two or four beds and a sofa, storage facilities, a sink and a mirror. Second class passengers could also enjoy an outdoor promenade, relaxation room, library and dining room.
Third class: the third class facilities were much more basic, but they were still far better than those on other boats at that time. Located at the bottom of the ship, cabins slept up to ten people and each had a sink and mirror. There was also a dining room where food was served three times a day. But the big down side? All 700 third class passengers had to share two bathtubs!