Key role in Titanic disaster

Published on Wednesday 29 August 2007 01:22

AS THE old saying goes: But for a nail the shoe was lost, but for the shoe the horse was lost, but for the horse the war was lost, and but for the war the kingdom was lost.

Could it have been that way with the sinking of RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage in 1912? The story goes that the Titanic's temporary Second Officer, David Blair from Broughty Ferry, forgot to hand over the key to the cupboard containing the lookout's binoculars, when he left the ship just before it sailed for New York. As a result, the lookout did not see the famous iceberg until it was too late to do anything about it. Mr Blair's key stayed in the family and is now expected to fetch 70,000 at auction.

Sometimes it is best not to think about all the potential consequences of actions. Did one key languishing in a trouser pocket really set off the chain of events that led to the world's most infamous shipping disaster? The answer, at least according to some experts, thankfully, is probably not. But are there any lessons for the future? Might it be suggested that for ships the size and complexity of the Titanic more than one pair of binoculars might be in order? Or more than one key for an important locker? And it is to be hoped that current ships' companies are adequately trained in the skills required to break in to storage compartments for vital equipment.