When he set off on his maiden voyage, no one expected that a real tragedy would unfold in just a few days. The collision of the unsinkable ocean liner with an iceberg took place on the night of April 14/15, 1912. According to estimates, over 1,500 passengers died as a result of the disaster, and only about 730 people managed to survive. Among those who survived were four-year-old Michel and two years younger Edmond, whom the world knew as Louisa and Lola. Get to know the touching story of the siblings.
They were on the passenger list under false data. At the time of the disaster, the father decided to save their lives
The story of the two brothers begins over Easter weekend when Michel and Edmond’s father, Michel Navratil, took them from home without the knowledge of his estranged wife at the time. He decided to take his sons to America and for this purpose he bought tickets under a false name. He used the data of Louis Hoffman, who was not actually a passenger on the cruise ship. He knew that the mother would be looking for the boys, so the false information was supposed to make the police search more difficult. On the Titanic’s maiden voyage to New York, the siblings were listed as Louis and Lola on the passenger list.
At the time of the transatlantic collision with the iceberg, the boys and their father were in their cabin. Awakened by the shaking, the man immediately left the room to see what was going on. When he realized that the ship was sinking, he hastily woke up his sons, wanting to save their lives. He dressed them in the warmest clothes they had, then placed them in a lifeboat under the care of 22-year-old Mary Kelly. He assumed he was going to die, so he told his elder son to tell his mother that he had never stopped loving her. “When your mother comes for you, as she will, tell her that I loved her very much and still do.” Tell her I expected her to follow us so that we could all live happily together – the last words of Michel Navratil, the boys’ father.
The search for relatives of the boys was difficult. The American press hailed them as Louisa and Lola
Unfortunately, the false data on the boys’ tickets caused many difficulties in finding their loved ones after the tragedy. At the same time, the boys’ mother, Marcelle, was going out of her mind, not knowing where her sons were. The children did not speak English, so any attempts to communicate with them were futile. Even the French consul was summoned, but he too was unable to obtain any information from them. When the older brother revealed that his name was Louis, it was assumed that the surviving siblings came from France, and that’s where the search was directed.
The American press wrote for weeks about Louis and Lola, orphans who managed to survive the disaster without their parents’ care. Soon, one of the articles with a photo of the brothers ended up in the hands of an embittered Marcelle. The woman immediately recognized her missing sons in the photograph and set out for New York to bring them home safely.
Michel lived to be 92 years old. He was the oldest male survivor of the crash
Michel and Edmond didn’t remember much about the crash. They recalled being confused. They did not fully understand what had happened and why their father left them in the care of a strange woman and stayed on a sinking ship.
Unfortunately, the fate of Edmond, who was only 2 years old at the time of the sinking, did not go well. As a young man, he fought in World War II, during which he was even taken prisoner, but eventually managed to escape. However, he was not allowed to enjoy his freedom for long. Numerous injuries left a huge mark on his health and contributed to his premature death. He died at the age of only 43. The elder brother, Michel, lived to a very old age. He graduated and earned a professorship in philosophy, and started a family. At the time of his death, he was 92 years old and the oldest male survivor of the Titanic disaster.
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Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
