Rescuing the HMS Audacious
In October of 1914, the Olympic encountered the damaged battleship HMS Audacious, which had struck a German mine off the coast of Ireland. So Captain Herbert Haddock found himself in one of those impossible situations. Do you stay longer and try to save a warship? Or do you protect the ship you’ve been entrusted with? Those are the kinds of decisions captains had to make during wartime.
The Olympic evacuated the crew of the battleship Audacious, well over 200 men, an impressive rescue in itself. From a naval perspective, every extra minute she remained in dangerous waters increased the risk of losing both the Olympic and the thousands of troops she would soon carry during the war.
When the Olympic arrived in Belfast, the ordinary passengers on board were not allowed to leave for a week, because the Admiralty wanted to suppress the news of the sinking of the HMS Audacious. They feared that British citizens would panic if they found out German mines could cripple the country’s shipping. Some passengers took photographs and even filmed footage of the rescue. They were later leaked to the US press, like the photograph below.
Olympic on Film
In 1908, while her keel was being laid, she was the subject of a documentary. The Color Film: British-American film pioneer Charles Urban filmed the Olympic docked at Southampton on June 11, 1911, for a short documentary titled The Leviathan of the Deep. It captured the ship, its crew, and Captain Edward J. Smith in true early color. Unfortunately, this original color film is considered lost to history. The black and white footage remains, though.
The actual physical footage you can watch online today survived because the filmmakers filed “paper prints” (printing each film frame onto paper strips) with the U.S. Library of Congress to secure copyrights, protecting it from the decay that destroyed early 35mm nitrate film.
Like many famous ships of her era, the Olympic also appeared in motion pictures. Most of these films have been lost with time, but a few survive. One of the best-known is The Swindler (also released as The Further Exploits of Sexton Blake: The Mystery of the S.S. Olympic ), giving us another rare glimpse of the Olympic as she actually appeared during her career.
Olympic on a Seawolf short sinking a U-Boat.
The Captains of the RMS Olympic
During her twenty-four-year career, the Olympic was commanded by numerous White Star captains. Some remained with her for years, while others served briefly as relief captains.
- Edward John Smith, 1911–1912: Commanded her maiden voyage and was aboard during the collision with HMS Hawke. He left to take command of the Titanic.
- Herbert James Haddock, 1912–1914: Commanded the Olympic when the Titanic sank and later during the attempted rescue of HMS Audacious.
- Bertram Fox Hayes, 1915–1922: Her principal wartime captain. Under Hayes, the Olympic carried thousands of troops and rammed and sank the German submarine U-103. During Olympic’s first troopship voyage in 1915, Hayes stopped in waters patrolled by U-boats to rescue 34 survivors from the French transport Provincia. The Admiralty criticized him for risking a ship carrying thousands of troops, but France awarded him a lifesaving medal.
- Alexander Elvin Sherwin Hambelton, 1922–1923: Took command as the Olympic entered her successful postwar career.
- Hugh Frederick David, Frank Briscoe Howarth, George Robert Metcalfe, and William Marshall, 1923–1928: Commanded her at different points during the busy middle years of the 1920s. Marshall returned for three separate periods.
- Walter Henry Parker and Eustace R. White, 1928–1930: Alternated command during several regular and relief assignments.
- George Ernest Warner and Edgar Lukeman Trant, 1930–1931: Commanded the ship as the Depression began affecting Atlantic passenger traffic.
- John William Binks, 1931–1934: Her captain during the tragic collision with the Nantucket Lightship in 1934.
- Reginald Vincent Peel, 1935: Commanded the Olympic on her final five commercial crossings.
- Peter R. Vaughan, 1935: Took her on the final voyage to Jarrow, where dismantling began.
Harry William Dyke, Frank Ernest Beadnell, and James Thompson also held very brief commands during the Olympic’s wartime conversion and shipyard periods.
White Swan
This is one of those places I would love to visit. Not because it is a museum, but because it is still being used. People eat, sleep, and gather inside rooms that once crossed the Atlantic aboard Olympic. If she could talk, I like to think she would be pleased that part of her story is still being lived rather than sitting behind glass.
Although RMS Olympic was scrapped in the 1930s, part of her still survives today. When the great liner was dismantled, many of her beautiful interiors were purchased and installed in the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, England, a historic inn that had already welcomed travelers for centuries. The hotel’s Olympic Suite and dining rooms feature wood paneling, carvings, and decorative details that once sailed aboard White Star Line’s dependable flagship. Walking through these rooms is about as close as most people will ever come to stepping aboard Olympic, while also offering a glimpse of the elegance shared by her famous sister, the Titanic.
What I like about the White Swan Hotel is that it reminds us ships do not always disappear when their sailing days are over. Parts of the Olympic can still be seen, touched, and appreciated every day. Guests can even enjoy a meal surrounded by woodwork that once crossed the Atlantic. It is a wonderful reminder that, in a very real sense, the Olympic still welcomes passengers today.
The White Swan today, wearing Olympic’s decor.
