53. The Finest 16 Hours: Galen Bartholomew

Five years before the Titanic, the biggest rescue in RNLI history resulted in 456 lives saved. A descendant of one survivor plunges us into towering seas

Galen Bartholomew sometimes worries his family will get bored of his research into their ancestors. But when he began to investigate a long-forgotten family story of shipwreck, he made a fascinating discovery.

Galen’s great-aunt and great-grandmother had been survivors of the Suevic, a White Star Line steamship wrecked off Lizard Point in 1907. From newspaper stories to official reports, Galen reveals the moving new details he is still uncovering – and shares his growing admiration for the RNLI volunteers, steamship crew and Cornish folk who ensured every single life was saved.

200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI

Interview by Adventurous Audio

Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls

The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200