Arthur John Priest: The Unsinkable Stoker

 If there was anyone on the Titanic who truly deserved the title of "unsinkable," it was a coal stoker named Arthur John Priest, who survived at least four shipwrecks, including the Titanic and its sister ship Britannic, as well. Also remained alive. Due to the collision of two ships.

Priest was born in 1887 in Southampton, England, and worked most of his life as a member of the "Black Gang" – the term given to coal hoarders who stored furnaces inside steam-powered ships. and keep the boilers warm. , They were called so because they were always covered with coal dust. Due to the intense heat of the furnace, this grueling labor was often done shirtless.

Priest first encountered disaster while working as a coal stoker on the Royal Mail steam packet RMS Asturias. During her maiden voyage in 1908, the ship was involved in a collision, but fortunately, no lives were lost.

In 1911, at the age of 24, Priest was serving on the RMS Olympic when she collided with the British battleship HMS Hawke. The hawk struck Olympic's starboard side, causing two cracks just above the waterline. Hawke's bow was badly damaged, causing her to capsize. Fortunately, Olympic managed to return to Harland & Wolf in Belfast for necessary repairs under her own power.

John Priest's next experience with disaster came with the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 14, 1912. There was a coal strike at the time of Titanic's departure from Southampton and many ship's crew members were thrown out of their jobs. Priest was among the few who managed to secure a position as a stoker on the ship Titanic. He was in the fireman's crew quarters between shifts when the ship hit the iceberg.

The priest made his way to the deck of the ship with some other stokers through the maze of gangways and corridors. By the time they emerged into the cool night air, most of the lifeboats were gone. The priest jumped into the cold water wearing only shorts and the vest he was working in, and was picked up by a lifeboat.

After surviving the Titanic, Priest joined the army when World War I began, and was assigned to an armed merchant cruiser, HMS Alcantara, as a coal stoker. In January 1916, Alcantara intercepted the German merchant raider Greif disguised as a Norwegian merchant ship. Alcantara ordered Greif to stop for inspection, which he did. As Alcantara approached Greif, he opened fire.

A shell fell on Alcantara's bridge, resulting in the death of several officers and disabling of the rudder. In retaliation, Alcantara returned fire, hitting the weapons on board Griff, causing a large and devastating explosion. Due to flooding of the engine room on Alcantara, an order was issued to evacuate the ship. Both ships began to sink as HMS Munster arrived at the scene and rescued survivors from both ships, including John Priest.

Nine months after the incident, Priest was back at work, this time in the boiler room of Titanic's other sister, HMS Britannic, which was serving as a hospital ship carrying wounded soldiers back to Britain via the Mediterranean. . Two other Titanic survivors were also on board—Archie Jewell and Violet Jessop, a stewardess who was now serving as a nurse.

In November 1916, near the Greek isle of Kea, the ship encountered a German mine which broke the bulkheads of two of her cargo holds. In response, the ship's captain gave instructions to change course towards the island, with the aim of running aground. However, with the explosion causing rapid flooding of the hold and damage to the steering mechanism, Captain Bartlett's efforts to beach the ship proved futile. Reminiscent of the Titanic incident, John Priest, accompanied by Violet Jessop, made the arduous journey up the catwalk and up several flights of stairs to reach the boat deck. John Priest and Violet Jessop jumped into the water and were picked up by another lifeboat. Archie Jewell also miraculously survived after his lifeboat was cut off by the propeller.

Priest's last near-death experience occurred in April 1917 aboard the hospital ship SS Donegal, where he was working as a fireman. While crossing the English Channel the ship was attacked by a German U-boat and sunk. The priest suffered a serious head injury that left him out of work as a reminder of the war. The priest later wrote a letter to his sister describing the drowning:

After surviving the fourth drowning, Priest retired from working at sea and left his job as a stoker. He lived the rest of his days in Southampton with his wife, Annie. He claimed that "after these disasters no one wanted to travel with them."

Priest died of pneumonia in 1937 at his home in Southampton, aged 49. He is buried in Hollybrook Cemetery in Southampton, England.