Unsinkable stoker Arthur John Priest (9 photos)

While some people worry about their health and life, taking all possible measures to protect themselves from the vicissitudes of fate, others live to the fullest and play roulette with death. Very successfully, I must say, leaving the bony one with her nose countless times.





Arthur Priest was born in 1887 in Southampton, England, and spent most of his life as a member of the Black Gang. This was the name given to coal miners who monitored the fuel in the furnaces of steamships and maintained heat in the boilers. They were called that because they were always covered with coal dust. Due to the intense heat, I often had to work without a shirt.



The difficult work of stokers

Priest's first encounter with disaster was while working as a fireman on the Royal Mail steamship Asturias. During its first voyage in 1908, the ship had an accident, but, fortunately, there were no casualties.





Priest who became a legend

In 1911, at the age of 24, Priest was serving on the USS Olympic when it collided with the British battleship Hawk. The Hawk struck the Olympic's starboard side, causing two cracks to appear just above the waterline. Fortunately, Olympic was able to return to Harland & Wolff in Belfast for the necessary repairs.



"Asturias"

The next battle with the death of John Priest occurred on April 14, 1912, when the ill-fated liner Titanic sank.



Consequences of the collision between "Olympic" and "Yastreb"

During the Titanic's departure from Southampton, there was a coal strike and many of the ship's crew were out of work. Priest was one of the few who managed to get a job as a fireman. He was in his cabin between shifts when the ship struck an iceberg.

Together with other stokers, the man made his way to the deck of the ship through a labyrinth of ladders and corridors. By the time they got out, most of the lifeboats had already disappeared. The fireman jumped into the cold water and was picked up by a lifeboat.



"Titanic"

After his miraculous rescue, Priest joined the army when World War I began. And he ended up on the armed merchant cruiser Alcantara as the same fireman. In January 1916, the Alcantara was intercepted by the German merchant steamer Griffon, disguised as a Norwegian merchant ship. He was ordered to stop for inspection, which he did. As the Alcantara approached, the Griffin opened fire.



"Alcantara"

A shell fell on the bridge, killing several officers. In response, the Alcantara returned fire, hitting the guns aboard the Gryphon, causing an explosion. Due to the flooding of the engine room, an order was given to evacuate the ship. Both ships began to sink when the Munster arrived on the scene and rescued survivors from both ships, including John Priest.



"Britannic"

Nine months after this incident, Priest returned to work again, this time in the boiler room of another Titanic sister, the Britannic, which, due to the changed situation, was not able to carry out a single commercial voyage. The ship was converted into a hospital, transporting wounded soldiers to Britain across the Mediterranean Sea. On board were two more survivors of the Titanic - sailor Archie Jewell and Violet Jessop, a stewardess who now worked as a nurse.

In November 1916, off the Greek island of Kea, the ship ran into a German mine, which pierced two cargo holds.

The captain gave the command to change course towards the island in order to run aground. However, due to the explosion, which caused rapid flooding of the hold and damage to the steering mechanism, attempts to ground the ship were in vain. Remembering the past, John Priest, accompanied by Violet Jessop, made another difficult journey to get to the boat deck. John Priest and Violet Jessop jumped into the water and were picked up by another lifeboat. Archie Jewell also miraculously survived.



"Donegal"

The last time Priest's life hung in the balance occurred in April 1917 on board the hospital ship Donegal, where he worked as a fireman. While crossing the English Channel, the ship was attacked by a German submarine and sank. Priest suffered a serious head injury, which left him jobless and a permanent reminder of the war.

Priest, who survived, refused to go to sea and quit his job as a stoker. He lived his remaining years in Southampton with his wife Annie. He claimed that "after these disasters, no one wanted to travel with them."

Priest died of pneumonia in 1937 at his home in Southampton, aged 49. The unsinkable stoker found his final resting place in Hollybrook Cemetery in Southampton.