The Other Titanic

The biggest ship in the world at the start of the 20th century, the White Star liner Oceanic was built to very high specifications, and was described by famous Titanic survivor Charles Lightoller as “the finest ship I ever sailed in.” The Other Titanic tells of how this great ship found herself in the waters off Shetland, and how she ran on to the dreadful Shaalds of Foula and was dashed to pieces. The story first told in 1980 is reproduced here, as the two divers who recovered 250 tons of copper and brass fittings from the one time Queen of the Seas, look back nostalgically on seven glorious years on Foula. They had arrived at Foula by sheer chance, but the story tells how they seized their opportunity with both hands. They recall the thrill of finding the “undiveable” wreck site and making wonderful recoveries from it; of a Court ban from diving to the joy of living among the tiny population of Foula; of tough times, like when Alec Crawford was rushed to hospital by air ambulance. We felt we possessed the immortality of youth, though we did stretch that concept on occasion. Most of the book is reproduced just as it was originally written – though an introduction, postscript, new appendices and more photos have been added. For Simon Martin the dive was the greatest achievement of his life. For Alex Crawford, however, it was to be a mere stepping-stone to greatness. Today, he stands at the peak of his profession, having successfully carried out salvage techniques that no one else in the world could have even attempted.