”Women and children first!”

We associate those words with impending disaster that will almost certainly take lives. A sinking ship, approaching fire, or other calamity where opportunities for rescue are limited means there must be some who must be willing to trade their lives for others.

Stories of great heroism and detestable cowardice come out of what has happened immediately after the cry, “Women and children first.” Those who adhere to the command demonstrate the best of chivalric traditions. Those who put their own interests ahead of others are forever branded as treacherous, spineless miscreants.

One could easily suspect the tradition of “women and children first” is codified in law. At the very least, it must be a long-respected tradition, recognized from the days of the earliest shipping vessels. It is, in fact, a comparatively recent, unofficial, rarely-followed, and possibly ill-advised concept.

The first documented use of the “women and children first” command was in May 1840. Lightning struck the US packet ship Poland, causing a fire to break out. The captain, fearful that the ship would sink, ordered women and children to the lifeboats as the crew put out the fire.

It wasn’t until twelve years later that “women and children first” would really get a foothold. That happened thanks to the ill-fated HMS Birkenhead.

Launched in 1845, Birkenhead was one of the Royal Navy’s first iron-hulled ships. On February 26, 1852, Birkenhead was at the aptly-named Danger Point, near Gansbaai, 87 miles (140 km) from Cape Town. The ship struck an uncharted rock and took on water. Realizing the ship was doomed and that the lifeboats were inadequate to save everyone, the order was given for the men to stand aside and allow the women and children to climb into the lifeboats.

It was Lt. Col. Alexander Seton who is credited for the order. Fearing a mass rush on the lifeboats would capsize them and destroy all hope of anyone being saved, he told his men, “I implore you not to do this thing and I ask you all to stand fast.”

Of the 643 souls on board, 193 survived, including all women and children aboard.

The bravery and sacrifice of Birkenhead’s sailors inspired Rudyard Kipling to write “Soldier an’ Sailor Too” and helped establish the heroic legacy of the crew.

‘To stand and be still
to the Birken’ead Drill
is a damn tough bullet to chew’.

— Rudyard Kipling

Since then, “Women and children first” has become known as the Birkenhead Drill. It is not, however, codified in maritime law and is not universally recognized.

Five years after Birkenhead fell to the ocean’s floor, the crew of the USS Central America would be the next to employ the Birkenhead Drill. On September 9, 1857, the vessel was doomed after a disastrous encounter with a hurricane. With room for only 100 passengers on the lifeboats, it was women and children to whom seats were given.

Perhaps most famously, the Birkenhead Drill was implemented in 1912 when RMS Titanic sunk after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage. The ship was woefully unprepared for the disaster with far too few lifeboats. The crew called for women and children to be the first to be allowed aboard. 70% of the women and children survived, compared to 20% of the men.

Aside from these notable exceptions, the concept of giving priority to women and children in a naval disaster has not been the norm. Thankfully, modern naval regulations require ships to be equipped with enough lifeboats for all passengers and crew, largely negating the need to pick and choose who gets to be rescued.

Although the Birkenhead Drill remains etched in our thinking, there are some who question its wisdom altogether. As noted in this article, the elderly and infirm tend to get the short end of the straw when the Birkenhead Drill is employed. It also suggests that in a disaster, men and trained crew have a greater likelihood of survival.

Regardless of the opposition, as long as Hollywood has anything to say about it, it’s a safe bet that “women and children first” will continue to capture our imaginations. Anyone who insists that it is a hard and fast law of the sea, however, is all wet.

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