🚢 RMS Titanic Lifeboat 11 – The Overcrowded Escape, A Lucky Pig, and Last Glimpses of Titanic’s Band

📌 Discover the chaotic and dramatic story of Titanic’s Lifeboat 11, which may have been the most overcrowded lifeboat with reports of up to 70 passengers. Learn about Edith Rosenbaum’s lucky toy pig, Ruth Becker’s heartbreaking separation from her family, and the haunting sight of Titanic’s band playing as the boat was lowered.

Facts About Lifeboat 11 (LB-11)

Lifeboat 11, the 12th one launched at 1:35 am, located on the boat deck, port side, with 46 occupants comprised of 7 First Class, 14 Second Class, 5 Third Class and 20 Crew Members (25 Women and 21 Men). Capacity for the lifeboat was 65 (71% of Capacity).

🚢 RMS Titanic Lifeboat 11 – The Most Crowded Lifeboat and Its Stories of Survival

🔍 Overview: A Lifeboat Overflowing with Humanity & History

Lifeboat 11 was the 12th lifeboat launched at 1:35 AM from the port side of the Boat Deck with 46 passengers and crew (71% of its capacity of 65 seats). What makes this lifeboat particularly fascinating is its diverse group of survivors, its overcrowding, and the emotional turmoil of those left behind.

📌 Why is Lifeboat 11 significant?

✔ One of the most crowded lifeboats, with some accounts reporting as many as 70 people aboard.

✔ Carried first-class stewardess Edith Rosenbaum, who famously took her lucky musical toy pig with her.

✔ Included young Ruth Becker, who was separated from her mother and siblings before boarding.

✔ A lifeboat where emotions ran high, with passengers resisting being forced into safety.

✔ Gave us an account of survivors seeing the Titanic band play as they were lowered into the water.

📌 For teachers, students, genealogists, and historians, Lifeboat 11 provides unique insights into Titanic’s final moments, the chaos of evacuations, and the human instinct to survive.

Interesting Discoveries About Lifeboat 11

• Edith Rosenbaum was saved. She left the Titanic in Lifeboat 11 at 01:35. Lifeboat 11 was the most crowded, with seventy people. René Harris could have been saved in one of the first lifeboats, but she refused to leave without her husband.
• Sitting in lifeboat 11 as it's about to be lowered, stewardess Annie Martin can see the ship's band playing at the top of the staircase on Adeck, where there is a Steinway upright piano. Some are smoking and keeping time by stamping their feet.
• After helping to load and launch at least two more lifeboats, First Officer Murdoch took Wheelton by the arm and told him to go to A Deck, where Lifeboat 11 was being loaded. Lifeboat 11 was the sixth boat lowered on the starboard side.
• It is impossible to determine in which lifeboat every Titanic survivor escaped, because the evidence is often contradictory. ... In fact, of the boats launched from that side, only Lifeboat 11 and Collapsible C contained a majority of women.
• As she continued to protest, an officer decided the matter by forcing her into a lifeboat. Twelve-year-old Ruth Becker watched her younger brother and sister get loaded into boat No. 11. The crew suddenly began to lower the boat.

First Class Passengers - LB-11

1. Miss Amelia Mary "Mildred" Brown, (Mrs. Allison's Cook) (18)  London, England, UK [LB-11]
2. Master Hudson Trevor Allison, (11 mo.)  Montreal, Quebec, Canada [LB-11]
3. Miss Alice Catherine Cleaver (nurse) (22)  London, England, UK [LB-11]
4. Mr. Philipp Edmund Mock, (30)  New York, New York, US [LB-11]
5. Miss Edith Louise Rosenbaum, (34)  Paris, France [LB-11]
6. Mrs. Emma (née Mock) Schabert, (35)  Hamburg, German Empire[note 2] [LB-11]
7. Mrs. Alice Silvey (née Munger) (39)  Duluth, Minnesota, US [LB-11]

Second Class Passengers - LB-11

1. Mrs. Florence Agnes "Mary" Angle (née Hughes) (36)  Warwick, Warwickshire, England [LB-11]
2. Mrs. Nellie E. Becker (née Baumgardner) (35)  Guntur, Madras Province, British India[note 3] [LB-11]
3. Miss Marion Louise Becker, (4)  Guntur, Madras Province, British India [LB-11]
4. Master Richard Frederick Becker, (1)  Guntur, Madras Province, British India [LB-11]
5. Mrs. Argene del Carlo (née Genovesi)(24)  Montecarlo, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy [LB-11]
6. Miss Annie Jessie "Nina" Harper, (6)  London, England [LB-11]
7. Mrs. Marie Marthe (née Thuillard) Jerwan, (23)  New York City [LB-11]
8. Miss Jessie Wills Leitch, (31)  London, England [LB-11]
9. Mrs. Elizabeth Nye (née Ramell) (29)  East Orange, New Jersey, US [LB-11]
10. Miss Kate Florence Phillips (alias Mrs. Kate Marshall) (19)  Birmingham, Worcester, England [LB-11]
11. Mrs. Jane Quick (née Richards) (33)  Plymouth, Devon, England [LB-11]
12. Miss Winnifred Vera Quick, (8)  Plymouth, Devon, England [LB-11]
13. Miss Phyllis May Quick, (2)  Plymouth, Devon, England [LB-11]
14. Miss Maude Sincock, (20)  St. Ives, Cornwall, England [LB-11]

Third Class Passengers - LB-11

1. Master Frank Philip Aks, (10 mo.)  Norfolk, Virginia, US [LB-11]
2. Mr. Theodoor de Mulder (36)  Detroit, Michigan, US [LB-11]
3. Mrs. Jennie Louise Hansen (née Howard) (45)  Racine, Wisconsin, US [LB-11]
4. Mr. Julius (Jules) Sap, (21)  Detroit, Michigan, US [LB-11]
5. Mr. Jean Baptiste Scheerlinck, (29)  Detroit, Michigan, US [LB-11]

Deck Crew - LB-11

1. Mr. Walter T. Brice, (42)  Able Seaman [LB-11]
2. Mr. Sidney James Humphreys, (48)  Quartermaster [LB-11]

Engineering Crew - LB-11

1. Mr. Charles Othen, (36) Fireman/Stoker [LB-11]

Victualling Crew - LB-11

1. Miss Annie Caton, (50)  Turkish Bath Stewardess [LB-11]
2. Mr. Charles Cullen, (45)  Bedroom Steward [LB-11]
3. Mr. William Stephen Faulkner, (37)  Bedroom Steward [LB-11]
4. Mr. Jacob William Gibbons, (36)  Saloon Steward [LB-11]
5. Mrs. Katherine Gold (née Cook) (42)  Stewardess [LB-11]
6. Mr. Reginald Hardwick, (21)  Kitchen Porter [LB-11]
7. Mr. Frederick Hartnell, (21)  Saloon Steward [LB-11]
8. Mr. Leo James Hyland, (19)  Steward [LB-11]
9. Miss Bessie Lavington, (39)  Stewardess [LB-11]
10. Mr. Charles Donald Mackay, (34)  Saloon Steward [LB-11]
11. Mrs. Annie Martin, (33)  Stewardess [LB-11]
12. Mr. Arthur McMicken, (23)  Saloon Steward [LB-11]
13. Mrs. Alice Prichard, (33)  Stewardess [LB-11]
14. Mr. Harold John Prior, (21)  Steward [LB-11]
15. Mrs. Annie Robinson, (40)  Stewardess [LB-11]
16. Mr. Charles J. Savage, (23)  Saloon Steward [LB-11]
17. Mr. James W.C. Witter, (31)  Second Class Smoking Room Steward [LB-11]

Legend For Survivor or Lost Passengers and Crew Members

• LB-# or A-D - Survivor on Lifeboat 1-16 or Collapsible Lifeboat A-D
• P-BNR - Perished, Body Not Recovered or Body Not Identified
• MB – CS Mackay-Bennett (bodies 1–306)
• M – CS Minia (bodies 307–323)
• MM – CGS Montmagny (bodies 326–329)
• A – SS Algerine (body 330)
• O – RMS Oceanic (bodies 331–333)
• I – SS Ilford (body 334)
• OT – SS Ottawa (body 335)

Numbers 324 and 325 were unused, and the six bodies buried at sea by the Carpathia also went unnumbered. Several recovered bodies were unidentifiable and thus not all numbers are matched with a person.

Upon recovery, the bodies of 209 identified and unidentified victims of the sinking were brought to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Of those, 121 were taken to the non-denominational Fairview Lawn Cemetery, 59 were repatriated, 19 were buried in the Roman Catholic Mount Olivet Cemetery, and 10 were taken to the Jewish Baron de Hirsch Cemetery. The bodies of the remaining recovered victims were either delivered to family members or buried at sea.

📌 Edith Rosenbaum and Her Musical Toy Pig: A Titanic Legend

📌 Edith Rosenbaum (later known as Edith Russell), a fashion journalist and first-class passenger, famously brought a small mechanical toy pig into the lifeboat.

📜 Why This Story Matters:

✔ The toy pig played music and comforted frightened children in the boat.

✔ It became one of Titanic’s most iconic artifacts, now displayed in museums.

✔ Edith initially resisted leaving the ship but was forced into Lifeboat 11.

✔ Her firsthand account remains one of the most detailed testimonies of the evacuation.

🚢 Edith’s story humanizes the tragedy—how a simple toy became a symbol of hope amid disaster.

📌 The Most Crowded Lifeboat: Reports of 70 People Aboard

📌 Though the official count is 46, some survivors recall as many as 70 passengers in Lifeboat 11, making it the most packed lifeboat.

📜 This raises important discussion points:

✔ How were so many passengers crammed in when other boats left half-empty?

✔ Was there a difference in how the port and starboard sides managed evacuations?

✔ Did Titanic officers start to realize too late that lifeboats needed to be filled to capacity?

🚢 Lifeboat 11 challenges our understanding of Titanic’s evacuation—why were some lifeboats underfilled while others overflowed?

📌 Ruth Becker: A Child’s Separation from Family

📌 Twelve-year-old Ruth Becker was separated from her mother and younger siblings as the lifeboat was lowered.

📜 Why This Story Matters:

✔ Illustrates the chaos and rushed decisions made as the ship sank.

✔ Ruth initially protested getting into the lifeboat, refusing to leave without her family.

✔ She was later reunited with them aboard the Carpathia, a rare happy ending amid tragedy.

🚢 Lifeboat 11’s story includes heart-wrenching moments of separation, but also rare reunions among survivors.

📌 The Titanic Band Playing As Lifeboat 11 Was Lowered

📌 Stewardess Annie Martin, who survived on Lifeboat 11, later recalled seeing the Titanic’s band playing at the top of the A-Deck staircase as she was lowered into the water.

📜 Why This Story Matters:

✔ Confirms survivor reports of the band continuing to play until the very end.

✔ Provides a visual and emotional perspective of the sinking from those already in lifeboats.

✔ The image of musicians playing while passengers fought for survival remains one of the most haunting moments of the Titanic’s history.

🚢 Lifeboat 11’s passengers had a front-row seat to one of Titanic’s most unforgettable moments.

📌 René Harris: The First-Class Passenger Who Refused to Leave Without Her Husband

📌 René Harris, a famous Broadway actress, refused to board an early lifeboat because she wouldn’t leave her husband behind.

📜 Why This Story Matters:

✔ Shows the heartbreaking choices families had to make—stay together and perish or separate and survive.

✔ Many women had to be physically forced into lifeboats as they refused to leave husbands behind.

✔ A devastating reminder of how love and duty played a role in the fates of Titanic’s passengers.

🚢 Lifeboat 11 wasn’t just about survival—it was about loss, separation, and impossible choices.

📚 Relevance for Different Audiences

📌 🧑‍🏫 For Teachers & Students:

✔ Explores the ethical dilemmas of survival—who gets to live, and who has to stay behind?

✔ Examines the psychology of disaster—why do people resist evacuation, even in the face of danger?

✔ A great case study in historical eyewitness testimony and how details can differ over time.

📌 📖 For Historians & Maritime Researchers:

✔ One of the most overcrowded lifeboats—was Titanic’s evacuation mismanaged?

✔ Unique insight into the role of ship crew—why were so many crew members aboard?

✔ Confirms details about the Titanic band’s final moments and other first-hand survivor reports.

📌 🧬 For Genealogists & Family Historians:

✔ Features notable survivors like Edith Rosenbaum and Ruth Becker.

✔ **Includes one of the few accounts of a baby under a year-old surviving (Master Frank Philip Aks, 10 months old).

✔ A lifeboat that mixed first, second, and third-class passengers—a rare example of class integration on Titanic.

🌟 Final Thoughts: The Emotional Rollercoaster of Lifeboat 11

📌 Lifeboat 11 wasn’t just another lifeboat—it was one of the most emotional and historically significant.

✔ It was likely the most overcrowded lifeboat, yet many other boats left half-empty.

✔ It carried Titanic’s youngest survivors, including a 10-month-old baby.

✔ It gave us a glimpse of Titanic’s last moments, including the band playing on.

✔ It included survivors who resisted leaving, only to be forced aboard by crew members.

🚢 Lifeboat 11 tells a Titanic story filled with heartbreak, heroism, and historic moments. It is a lifeboat that truly represents the tragedy, resilience, and unforgettable human experiences aboard the world’s most famous ship.