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20/05/2013

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Image for Titanic - In Her Own Words

Play now 18 mins

Titanic - In Her Own Words

Duration:
18 minutes
First broadcast:
Monday 09 April 2012

To mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the BBC's Sean Coughlan narrates one of the most authentic versions of events in existence. Using voice synthesis to re-create the strange, twitter-like, mechanical brevity of the original Morse code, this programme brings to life the tragedy through the ears of the wireless operators in the area that night.

On the night of the disaster, the network of young Marconi wireless operators on different ships and land stations frantically communicated with each other across the cold expanses of the North Atlantic in an effort to mount a rescue for the doomed vessel.

All these messages were recorded at the time in copper-plate handwriting, now scattered across the world in different collections, but together forming a unique archive.

Conceived and created by Susanne Weber.

Producer: Alex Mansfield

  • SS Baltic receives the signal.

    SS Baltic receives the signal.

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