So, who is this Violet??

Violet Jessop was an ocean line stewardess, a nurse, a daughter, a sister....but most of all, a survivor.  She was born to Irish immigrant parents who lived in Argentina.  She was the oldest of nine children, only six of which survived.  Violet herself contracted tuberculosis as a young girl and although doctors told her parents she would likely die....she survived.  

After her father died and her mother became ill, Violet was held responsible for the family income.  Violet started her sea career at the age of 21, working as a ship stewardess.  In 1911, while serving aboard the Olympic, the ship violently collided with the HMS Hawke.  Despite the damage that each ship sustained, Violet and her crew walked away practically unscathed.  They had miraculously survived a potential disaster.  

The following year at the age of 24, Violet joined the crew of the RMS Titanic.  Four days later, the Titanic struck an iceberg and began to sink.  When she was finally ordered into the 16th life boat, an officer handed her a baby to look after.   Violet cared for this baby all night while floating in the frigid waters.  The next day her life boat was rescued.  After her life boat was rescued, an unknown woman from the rescue boat grabbed the baby from Violet's cold, numb arms and without a word ran away.  Though 1517 people lost their lives during this horrible tragedy, Violet once again survived.

Four years later during World War I, Violet served as a nurse for the British Red Cross.  While she was on board His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic, the ship hit a mine and sank into the Aegean Sea.  While the ship was sinking, Violet was forced to jump into the waters as the ship was quickly going down.  She was sucked under the water and struck her head under the ship's keel before being rescued by a life boat.  Violet later learned she had sustained a fractured skull, but attributes her thick auburn hair to saving her life.  Violet had just survived yet another disaster. 


Violet continued her life at sea until the age of 63, where she retired to a sixteenth-century cottage and took a keen interest in gardening.  She was said to have a "green thumb."  Violet was interviewed several times about her miraculous story of survival.  Violet passed away in 1971 at the age of 84.

So by now you may be wondering, what does Violet have to do with this blog?  Though I do not have a sea career, have a "green thumb," or have a head full of thick auburn hair...I too am a survivor.