Young Writers Society

Titanic

The

Charlie Fitzgerald Kennedy story

What I’m about to tell you is a story that will both come as a shock and as a revelation to some.

As you all probably know I was aboard the titanic when hit the iceberg and I was one of the few lucky people to survive that ordeal. What all of you don’t know though is I wasn’t supposed to be on that she that day, in fact I did not at any time actually step foot on the ship while it was on land. In fact contrary to your beliefs my name isn’t even Charlie Fitzgerald Kennedy, rather Marcus Charlie Fitzgerald that what my mum put on my birth certificate.

I am in no way actually related to the Kennedy’s and in fact only used the name to get passage back to the US instead of being shipped back to the slums of South Hampton. The whole tale of my life changing experience on the titanic is documented below.

I was only 12 when the titanic sunk as I’m have stated above I am happy to admit that I was aboard the ship on that horrendous day. As I have also stated above I wasn’t meant to be on the ship that day and never actually board the ship while it was docked at a port. I climbed aboard the titanic as a stowaway; I hung on for dear life to the stern as the ship pulled away from the dock in South Hampton. When we were safely about 20 miles out to sea I got desperate as I felt the titanic getting faster and faster, I knew that I must try to climb aboard soon before the ship got too fast and I fell off. I also knew that I would only have one chance at safely climbing aboard. I felt the boat starting to get faster and at that moment desperately pushed myself upwards and grasped onto an object in which I used as a handhold.

Using this object as a lever I managed to haul myself aboard the titanic. In the process though of climbing aboard the object I used as a leaver fell disastrously into the water with I great almighty splash!

Luckily at the time I thought, they were only the crew’s binoculars its they would need them, the ship had spares surely and even if they didn’t the titanic was unsinkable everybody knew that.

After climbing aboard a got my first look at my surrounding in which I would be living for the next four week, actually I wouldn’t have called it living at the time; hiding was probably the best word to use for what I thought I would be doing. Using my knowledge of where the best places to hide on a ship I quietly tried to slip away, that was though the exact time my life would change forever. You see this man who I would later find out went by the name of Malcolm Kennedy yelled out ‘Oi you there where did you come from’.

I slunk back quickly into the shadows hoping he would assume he had imagined me and go back to whatever he was doing before. Unfortunately he could still somehow see me and he soon called out to me again, he said, ‘sonny I can still see you so come out quickly before I tell the captain we have a stow away on board, I’d like to see what happens to you then’. I knew two things as he was threatening to call the captain, one he was bluffing and wouldn’t actually tell the captain and two I couldn’t chance his bluff I had to tell him the truth if I was to survive.

I got off the spot on the floor which I was hiding on and walked over to the man.

What I said next was a plea for my life, I remember it as I many people do hymns from the bible.

I stated “Please sir I beg of you, I will forever be in your debt if you do not tell anyone of this conversation”.

Surprisingly the man of whom I thought would have refused this agreed to not tell anyone of the events that had just occurred. He actually even offered to let me stay with him for the duration of the trip. If anyone ask the man I was his son Charlie Kennedy.

Yes the man was the original Maxwell Kennedy, I learnt a lot abut the great man in a two weeks together onboard the Titanic. I found out that he was over in Ireland to scattered his wife’s ashes and that after going through this traumatic experience he went and watched his favourite team Liverpool play. I found out he could have taken an earlier ship back to America but decided he wanted to be part of the revolutionary Titanic’s maiden voyage.

I told him about my life back in Southampton and he said he could relate as he had a quite similar childhood growing up in Belfast.

Then a day before the sinking we were talking and he said “When we get off this ship how about you change your name permanently to Kennedy Charlie. I told him it sound good but only if I got to keep my last name Fitzgerald in some form. He told me I should make it my middle name as I had told him I didn’t have a middle name. I had lied to him and told him I was named Charlie and as far as I was concerned I was Charlie, Marcus was dead.

Then came the dark day when me and Malcolm were separated, the morning of the sinking of the titanic was very causal very similar to the previous days aboard the titanic. This all changed at 9pm we were coming back from dinner when a siren went off announcing the titanic was sinking. Malcolm told me as we were sinking that he would probably not make it off alive; he told me he wanted me to carry on the Kennedy lineage. I told him I wanted to stay and die a hero with him. He went over to one of the lifeboats and I thought he was giving in and coming with me.

No that wasn’t the case though as we got closer I felt him give me a shove; I spluttered forward and became unbalanced before falling aboard one of the life boats. I told the person manning the lifeboat that I wanted off but he didn’t wouldn’t let me leave the safety of the lifeboat. That was the last time I saw Malcolm Kennedy I am certain that he didn’t get off that ship alive and because of this I decided to respect his dying wish. Marcus Fitzgerald was dead; I was from that moment on Charlie Kennedy. The rest of the story of how my life turned out is history.

If you are reading this I must be dead and in that case I would like to announce that this is the only secret I have ever had in my life. Because you now know the truth I can now truly rest in peace.

You’re sincerely

Charlie Fitzgerald Kennedy

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