Sources 1a and 1b PRO Ref. BT 100/260
Source 2 Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
Source 3 MT 9/920F
Source 4 MT 9/920C

The recent popular film brought to a new generation the doomed glamour which most people associate with the TITANIC story. This Snapshot uses the story to open a window on to pre-First World War society.

It certainly was, for some, a glamorous time. Great wealth, which some passengers in the First Class accommodation on the liner did indeed possess, could buy leisure and luxury in new and different ways, of which trans-Atlantic travel was just one. But as the TITANIC set sail, their world was heading for an even greater disaster than the sinking of the liner. In only just over two years time the First World War would sweep away millions of lives and shake the politics of their world to its foundations. The carefree speed with which the TITANIC hurtled towards the icebergs stands for the easy way the great European nations plunged into war in the summer of 1914.

As this enquiry reveals, not all the people of Europe, nor all the passengers on the TITANIC, shared in this luxury. The fact that 11 million people were prepared to uproot themselves for an uncertain new life in America between 1901 and 1910 suggests that all was not well for many. They went to escape poverty, lack of political rights, religious persecution, nationalist bigotry, class prejudice. The years up to the First World War were years of unrest and political ferment, as well as unbridled wealth for a few. The immense contrast of life-styles on the TITANIC reveals this.

The Tasks lead pupils into the facts of who the Titanic's passengers were. Document 2 requires a little statistical skill. Both the table, and the figures for who was drowned and who survived could be displayed for analysis using ICT.

What was British middle class life like? KS3