In observance of the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912, here is a repost from 2012, about two hardy souls who survived not only the sinking of the RMS Titanic but also the RMS Britannic when she was sunk by a mine and the RMS Olympic when she collided with the HMS Hawke.

Arthur John Priest

Arthur John Priest was a stoker, or fireman, on the RMS Titanic. His job was to shovel coal into the ship’s boilers.  He survived the Titanic’s sinking of 1912. He also was aboard the RMS Olympic, the sistership to the Titanic, when she collided with HMS Hawke in 1911.

Priest was also aboard the Britannic, the third sistership to the Olympic and the Titanic when she hit a mine and sank in 1916. Priest also survived the World War I losses of the Alcantara and Donegal. He once claimed that he was forced to retire from the sea by these disasters because no one wished to sail with him.  Priest died at the age of 50 of pneumonia Southampton.

Violet Jessop

More famous and longer lived than Priest was Violet Jessop, a nurse who was coincidentally also onboard the RMS Olympic during the collision with HMS Hawk and during the sinkings of both the Titanic and the Britannic.  Ms. Jessop died of heart failure at the age of 84.  Characters based on Ms. Jessop have appeared in two movies and a play about the sinking of the Titanic.