A Suitcase from the Titanic WITPRESS WIT Press publishes leading books in Science and Technology. Visit our website for the current list of titles. www.witpress.com WITeLibrary Home of the Transactions of the Wessex Institute, the WIT electronic-library provides the international scientific community with immediate and permanent access to individual papers presented at WIT conferences. Visit the WIT eLibrary athttp://library.witpress.com About the author Enrique Rodolfo Dick was born in 1950 in a beautiful hilly area at the geographical heart of Argentina. He studied first at the German Elementary College in Córdoba, later attending a Military Lyceum, a prestigious secondary school run by the Argentine Army, who demand high academic standards of their students. In 1968 he enrolled in the Army Military College, from where he graduated with the rank of Second Lieutenant. He went on to serve in a number of parachute units and later graduated as a Mechanical and Weapons Engineer from the Army University in Buenos Aires. Enrique then continued his studies in France, where he obtained a degree in Aeronautics from ENSAE (the National Higher School of Aeronautics and Space) in Toulouse. After his return to Argentina in 1986 he worked at the Argentine Armed Forces Institute for Scientific and Technical Research (CITEFA). At around this time, and whilst continuing with his scientific research and publications, he also started to pursue more literary interests, which started with his fulfilling a promise he had made to his father who had been a member of the crew of the pocket battleship the Graf Spee which had been dramatically scuttled in the River Plate in 1939. This resulted in the publication of his first non-technical work, a biography-cum-history of those events and their aftermath entitled “In the Wake of the Graf Spee”, which became a best-seller and has just seen its 8th edition. Enrique is currently the head of an Old Comrades Club made up of veterans of the Graf Spee. Following the success of that first novel, Enrique wrote another, this time based on the exploits of one of his great uncles who had been born in Argentina of French descent and who had volunteered to serve on the Western Front during the Great War. This was followed by another entitled “Sails and Steam”, which was published by the Argentine Naval Institute. This present novel, A Suitcase from the Titanic, was first published in Spanish in 2002 and has also enjoyed considerable success. WIT Press is delighted to offer readers the opportunity to read this fascinating story in English. It is perhaps worth mentioning that neither these nor any of the other books that Enrique has written have proved any hindrance to his military career. He was promoted to the rank of Major General at the end of 2002 and is stilling teaching at the Military University in Buenos Aires. His love of history continues unabated and in 2007 he started work on a PhD in History at the University of Salvador in Buenos Aires. A Suitcase from the Titanic Enrique Dick Translated by Marilyn Myerscough A Suitcase from the Titanic by Enrique Dick Translated from the original by Marilyn Myerscough Published by WIT Press Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton, SO40 7AA, UK Tel: 44 (0) 238 029 3223; Fax: 44 (0) 238 029 2853 E-Mail: [email protected] http://www.witpress.com For USA, Canada and Mexico WIT Press 25 Bridge Street, Billerica, MA 01821, USA Tel: 978 667 5841; Fax: 978 667 7582 E-Mail: [email protected] http://www.witpress.com British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-84564-678-3 eISBN: 978-1-84564-679-0 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2012944682 No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher, the Editors and Authors for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. The Publisher does not necessarily endorse the ideas held, or views expressed by the Editors or Authors of the material contained in its publications. © WIT Press 2013 Originally published in 2002 by EDIVERN under the title Una valija del Titanic Printed by Lightning Source, UK. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. To the third generation of the Andrew family: Wilfred Alejandro ‘Freddy’ Andrew, Samuel Alfred ‘Fred’ Andrew and the late Hilda Ana Jautz de Echaide. Prelims.indd v 10/1/2012 8:14:45 PM Prelims.indd vi 10/1/2012 8:14:45 PM Contents Acknowledgments ix Prologue xiii Chapter 1 The Sails of Whitby 1 Chapter 2 From El Espinillo to El Durazno And in Whitby, Sam Andrew is an estanciero 11 Chapter 3 Indelible memories 27 Chapter 4 Charras – Paris, City of Light 31 Chapter 5 From Río Cuarto to the Cliffs of Whitby 41 Chapter 6 Whitby – Stockton-on-Tees 47 Chapter 7 El Durazno – Paris – Whitby 51 Chapter 8 The long search for the Titanic 57 Chapter 9 An emotional visit to El Durazno 69 Chapter 10 At sea – Farewell to Whitby – El Durazno 75 Chapter 11 A death at El Durazno – In the Argentine Navy 81 Chapter 12 Mixed fortunes 99 Chapter 13 Brave lives remembered 107 Chapter 14 The training ship, Presidente Sarmiento 109 Chapter 15 Harriet Fisher 121 Chapter 16 The centenary – On attachment to the US Navy 125 Chapter 17 Trenton – El Durazno – Bournemouth 133 Chapter 18 The shipyard in Quincy – Bournemouth – The superb RMS Titanic 151 Chapter 19 RMS Titanic’s fi rst and last fateful journey 167 Chapter 20 Trenton – El Durazno – Battleships – In the wake of the disaster 191 Prelims.indd vii 10/1/2012 8:14:45 PM Chapter 21 Progress – Prosperity – Proposals 203 Chapter 22 All change in Trenton and at El Durazno 215 Chapter 23 The next generation 219 Chapter 24 A bright new dawn 223 Who’s who 233 Prelims.indd viii 10/1/2012 8:14:45 PM Acknowledgments I would like to say a special thank you to the following people. To my cousin, Patricia Andrew de Sozzani, who has so carefully preserved so many of the documents that have formed the basis of this book. To my Uncle Freddy Andrew, who has lovingly conserved the diary that his father, Wilfred, kept when he traveled to England, as well as the original indentures of his grandfather, Sam Andrew, when he was apprenticed to his own father as a sailmaker in Whitby. To Captain Jorge E. Chichizola () of the Naval Engineers Corps, for so richly entertaining me over the years with his anecdotes, including one about shoveling coal on board the training frigate Presidente Sarmiento. Captain Chichizola also shared with me his encyclopedic knowledge of the engines and boilers used by those venerable old ladies and what life on board an Argentine naval ship was like in those distant days. I am indebted to him for his valuable suggestions for improving the text and for helping me to pursue my ideas and occasionally encouraging me to revise them. To Carlos Mayol Laferrere, director of the Historical Archives of the Municipality of Río Cuarto, whose guidance and observations I have at all times warmly appreciated and likewise the generous access he gave me to comprehensive archives under his supervision. To Samuel ‘Fred’ Andrew of Trenton, United States, who has done me the honor of appointing me custodian of all the material his father, Alfredo Andrew, ‘the Engineer,’ so lovingly collected at his beloved home, ‘Bella Vista.’ My thanks go to Father Juan Spina, who told us so much about life at the old El Durazno ranch, and to María Elena Vieyra de Cerutti and her family, who looked after us so kindly during our stay. To María Marcela Angelici and Pablo Pereyra of the Museo Naval de Tigre in Buenos Aires, for their invaluable cooperation. Prelims.indd ix 10/1/2012 8:14:45 PM x Acknowledgments To María Lorena Fernández and José Abdala at the CITEFA Library, for their professionalism and help and who spent so much time searching through their own and other catalogs in order to track down old registers, books, reports and other information to assist me in my research. To my sons Nicolás and Martín, both grown up and busy with their own lives but who always put their own interests aside to help me. Martín, it was wonderful to have your company at El Durazno. To Vice Admiral Eduardo Avilés, who during his posting with the Argentine Naval Commission in the United States sent me so much information about the American fl eet in the early years of the 20th century. And to Naval Captain Roberto Sánchez, a most valued friend, who always knew the answer to any question I asked about the history and traditions of the Argentine Navy, however obscure. It was thanks to them that I was able to spend four days on the train- ing ship ARA Libertad between December 11 and 14, 1999 as she sailed from the port of Buenos Aires to the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base, a total of 556 miles, more than half of which were made under sail. To Naval Captain Hugo Luis Dietrich and Professor Fotio Peneiotti for all their kindness when I was on board the Sarmiento.