Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa has a special connection with the luxury ship Titanic. Annie Clemmer Funk, a missionary who made this town her home, was among the 1,500 passengers who were onboard the Titanic when it met the accident on April 14, 1912.
Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa is one of the lesser-known localities in the state, with extremely low chances for people to believe that it sent one of the passengers of the luxury ship Titanic. A missionary, Annie Clemmer Funk, who made this town her home, happened to be one of the 1,500 people who perished as the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912.
According to news reports, Annie had arrived in India as a Mennonite missionary in 1906, and she served in Janjgir-Champa on her mission. She opened a one-room school and hostel for poor girls in 1908. Initially, Annie taught 17 students, and she also learnt Hindi during her stay in India.
Later, the school was renamed as Annie C. Funk Memorial School. Currently, not much is left of the school, as the walls appear in a dilapidated condition. The wreckage of the school has become the source of her legend in the Janjgir-Champa locality.
According to a PTI report that dates back to 2012, all that is left of Annie’s time is a small plaque which gives a brief description of her extraordinary life and her death onboard the liner.
Annie, after leaving Janjgir-Champa, reached Mumbai via rail. She then boarded a ship for England. She was to take the SS Haverford from Southampton to the US, but the ship was laid off. She then changed her ticket for the Titanic for £13.
Annie also celebrated her 38th birthday on the ship with her co-passengers, according to the report from Gameo.org. On the night of April 14, the Titanic hit the iceberg, and Annie was informed about it. After she reached the deck, where passengers were being put into lifeboats, she was offered a seat.
However, when she saw a woman with a child left with only a seat remaining to be filled, Annie decided to give her seat to the woman and the child, ultimately saving two lives.
