T is for Titanic
Before taking up the
position as Pastor of the Walworth Baptist Church
in September 1910, John Harper preached his beloved gospel message to the poor
folks in the tenements of Glasgow .
In his short time in South London the godly
Scotsman enjoyed great spiritual blessing among his congregation and his
reputation as a stirring preacher began to spread far and wide. Within 15
months he was invited to speak at a number of bible conventions in Chicago , Illinois
His return to the States would be aboard the ill fated RMS Titanic,
with his six year old daughter Nana and her nanny Jessie Leitch. Harper’s wife
had tragically died after giving birth to Nana. Two of John Harper’s letters
sent from the Titanic exist today, and Walworth is mentioned in both. One
reads: “We had a
blessed time in Walworth during the last week. Quite a season of revival.” He also promised to send postcards detailing his trip, and intended
his homecoming in August. But God moves in mysterious ways, and the pastor
would not see his flock again.
Instead, it is the heroism that Harper displayed in the last hours of the
Titanic disaster that he is remembered for. On hearing the catastrophic news of
the iceberg ripping a gaping hole in the side of the vessel, he wrapped his
daughter in a blanket, kissed her and got her and Miss Leitch onto a lifeboat.
Having secured their survival he then hastened round the upper decks being of
much encouragement and sharing his faith with as many folks as he could in that
darkest of hours. Such was his selflessness that he gave away his lifejacket to
another passenger before facing his own certain death. Surviving eyewitnesses
later reported that whilst Harper kept afloat, he continued to move from one
person to the next seeking to win their souls for Jesus Christ, before he met
his own demise in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean .
Some believe that this picture taken aboard the Titanic
shows Harper and his daughter Nana.
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