"Having reached the advanced age of eighteen I had also reached the exalted height of becoming the junior Marconi operator on the biggest ship in the world - Olympic . Then came one of the world's greatest tragedies in which I was to play a part.

Fifty years is a long spell in anyone's life - more especially when it happens to be your own. Yet the passage of half a century has not dimmed the memory of that tragic night in April, 1912, when Titanic sank on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. I have but to close my eyes to feel again Ernie Moore shaking my shoulder, saying:

'Get up quickly - the Titanic's sinking!'
'What's the time?'
'Eleven forty. I can't wait. Get up.'

I turned back, disgruntled. It was a mean thing to wake you twenty minutes before you need go on watch. Five was enough. Nor was there anything funny in the greeting, although usually, it was the 'Maurie' or the 'Lucy' - our Cunard rivals, Mauretania and Lusitania who were supposed to be in distress. That, or 'The old man wants you on the 'Bridge', - too corny to carry weight with any seasoned 'Sparks'. So when the 1st Wireless Officer of RMS Olympic, E. J. Moore, awakened me with such lack of originality, I wasn't impressed and said so as boldly as any junior may to his senior. But Ernie was serious.

'It's true, I'm telling you. It's true. Don't fool around. Get up.'

With that he dived back to the operating room and began calling MGC to Titanic. With the old spark system you could read every letter as the high voltage crashed noisily across the rotary gap. Moore did not look up when, three minutes later, uniform over pajamas, I joined him over his shoulder he handed me a message addressed: Commander, Olympic. Urgent. The Bridge.

'It's SOS' he said.