A. Haines, boatswain’s mate (Am. Inq., p. 755):
Officer Murdoch and witness filled boat 9 with ladies. None of the men
passengers tried to get into the boats. Officer Murdoch told them to
stand back. There was one woman who refused to get in because she was
afraid. When there were no more women forthcoming the boat was full,
when two or three men jumped into the bow. There were two sailors,
three or four stewards, three or four firemen and two or three men
passengers. No. 9 was lowered from the Boat Deck with sixty-three
people in the boat and lowered all right. Officer Murdoch put the
witness in charge and ordered him to row off and keep clear of the
ship. When we saw it going down by the head he pulled further away for
the safety of the people in the boat: about 100 yards away at first.
Cries were heard after the ship went down. He consulted with the
sailors about going back and concluded with so many in the boat it was
unsafe to do so. There was no compass in the boat, but he had a little
pocket lamp. On Monday morning he saw from thirty to fifty icebergs
and a big field of ice miles long and large bergs and “growlers,” the
largest from eighty to one hundred feet high.
* * * * *
W. Wynne, Q. M. (Br. Inq.):
Officer Murdoch ordered witness into boat No. 9. He assisted the
ladies and took an oar. He says there were fifty-six all told in the
boat, forty-two of whom were women. He saw the light of a steamer--a
red light first, and then a white one--about seven or eight miles
away. After an interval both lights disappeared. Ten or fifteen
minutes afterwards he saw a white light again in the same direction.
There was no lamp or compass in the boat.
* * * * *
W. Ward, steward (Am. Inq., p. 595):
Witness assisted in taking the canvas cover off of boat No. 9 and
lowered it to the level of the Boat Deck.[32]
[32] Brice, A. B. (Am. Inq., p. 648) and Wheate, Ass’t. 2nd
Steward (Br. Inq.), say No. 9 was filled from A Deck with women
and children only.
Officer Murdoch, Purser McElroy and Mr. Ismay were near this boat when
being loaded. A sailor came along with a bag and threw it into the
boat. He said he had been sent to take charge of it by the captain.
The boatswain’s mate, Haines, was there and ordered him out. He got
out. Either Purser McElroy or Officer Murdoch said: “Pass the women
and children that are here into that boat.” There were several men
standing around and they fell back. There were quite a quantity of
women but he could not say how many were helped into the boat. There
were no children. One old lady made a great fuss and absolutely
refused to enter the boat. She went back to the companionway and
forced her way in and would not get into the boat. One woman, a French
lady, fell and hurt herself a little. Purser McElroy ordered two more
men into the boat to assist the women. When No. 9 was being lowered
the first listing of the ship was noticeable.
From the rail to the boat was quite a distance to step down to the
bottom of it, and in the dark the women could not see where they were
stepping. Purser McElroy told witness to get into the boat to assist
the women. Women were called for, but none came along and none were
seen on deck at the time. Three or four men were then taken into the
boat until the officers thought there were sufficient to lower away
with safety.
No. 9 was lowered into the water before No. 11. There was some
difficulty in unlashing the oars because for some time no one had a
knife. There were four men who rowed all night, but there were some of
them in the boat who had never been to sea before and did not know the
first thing about an oar, or the bow from the stern. Haines gave
orders to pull away. When 200 yards off, rowing was stopped for about
an hour. Haines was afraid of suction and we pulled away to about a
quarter of a mile from the ship. The ship went down very gradually for
a while by the head. We could just see the ports as she dipped. She
gave a kind of a sudden lurch forward. He heard a couple of reports
like a volley of musketry; not like an explosion at all. His boat was
too full and it would have been madness to have gone back. He thinks
No. 9 was the fourth or fifth boat picked up by the _Carpathia_. There
was quite a big lot of field ice and several large icebergs in amongst
the field; also two or three separated from the main body of the
field.
* * * * *
J. Widgery, bath steward (Am. Inq., p. 602):
Witness says that all passengers were out of their cabins on deck
before he went up.
When he got to the Boat Deck No. 7 was about to be lowered, but the
purser sent him to No. 9. The canvas had been taken off and he helped
lower the boat. Purser McElroy ordered him into the boat to help the
boatswain’s mate pass in women. Women were called for. An elderly lady
came along. She was frightened. The boatswain’s mate and himself
assisted her, but she pulled away and went back to the door (of the
companionway) and downstairs. Just before they left the ship the
officer gave the order to Haines to keep about 100 yards off. The boat
was full as it started to lower away. When they got to the water he
was the only one that had a knife to cut loose the oars. He says that
the balance of his testimony would be the same as that of Mr. Ward,
the previous witness.
BOAT NO. 11.[33]
[33] Sixth boat lowered on starboard side, 1.25 (Br. Rpt., p.
38).
No disorder when this boat was loaded and lowered.
_Passengers:_ _Women:_ Mrs. Schabert and two others of first cabin;
all the rest second and third class. Fifty-eight women and children in
all.
_Men:_ Mr. Mock, first cabin, and two others.
_Crew:_ Seamen: Humphreys (in charge), Brice; Stewards: Wheate,
MacKay, McMicken, Thessinger, Wheelton; Fireman: ----; Stewardess:
Mrs. Robinson.
_Total:_ 70.
INCIDENTS
W. Brice, A. B. (Am. Inq., p. 648):
This boat was filled from A Deck. An officer said: “Is there a sailor
in the boat?” There was no answer. I jumped out and went down the fall
into the bow. Nobody was in the stern. I went aft and shipped the
rudder. By that time the boat had been filled with women and children.
We had a bit of difficulty in keeping the boat clear of a big body of
water coming from the ship’s side. The after block got jammed, but I
think that must have been on account of the trip not being pushed
right down to disconnect the block from the boat. We managed to keep
the boat clear from this body of water. It was the pump discharge.
There were only two seamen in the boat, a fireman, about six stewards
and fifty-one passengers. There were no women and children who tried
to get into the boat and were unable to do so. There was no rush and
no panic whatever. Everything was done in perfect order and
discipline.
Mr. Humphreys, A. B., was in charge of No. 11. There was no light or
lantern in our boat. I cut the lashing from the oil bottle and cut
rope and made torches. The ship sank bow down first almost
perpendicularly. She became a black mass before she made the final
plunge when boat was about a quarter of a mile away. Boat No. 9 was
packed. Passengers were about forty-five women and about four or five
children in arms.
* * * * *
E. Wheelton, steward (Am. Inq.):
As I made along B Deck I met Mr. Andrews, the builder, who was opening
the rooms and looking in to see if there was anyone in, and closing
the doors again. Nos. 7, 5 and 9 had gone. No. 11 boat was hanging in
the davits. Mr. Murdoch said: “You go too.” He shouted: “Women and
children first.” He was then on the top deck standing by the taffrail.
The boat was loaded with women and children, and I think there were
eight or nine men in the boat altogether, including our crew, and one
passenger.
“Have you got any sailors in?” asked Mr. Murdoch. I said: “No, sir.”
He told two sailors to jump into the boat. We lowered away. Everything
went very smooth until we touched the water. When we pushed away from
the ship’s side we had a slight difficulty in hoisting the after
block. We pulled away about 300 yards. We rowed around to get close to
the other boats. There were about fifty-eight all told in No. 11. It
took all of its passengers from A Deck except the two sailors. I think
there were two boats left on the starboard side when No. 11 was
lowered. The eight or nine men in the boat included a passenger. A
quartermaster (Humphreys) was in charge.
* * * * *
C. D. MacKay, steward (Br. Inq.):
No. 11 was lowered to A Deck. Murdoch ordered me to take charge. We
collected all the women (40) on the Boat Deck, and on A Deck we
collected a few more. The crew were five stewards, one fireman, two
sailors, one forward and one aft. There was Wheelton, McMicken,
Thessinger, Wheate and myself. The others were strangers to the ship.
There were two second-class ladies, one second-class gentleman, and
the rest were third-class ladies. I found out that they were all
third-class passengers. We had some difficulty in getting the after
fall away. We went away from the ship about a quarter of a mile. No
compass. The women complained that they were crushed up so much and
had to stand. Complaints were made against the men because they
smoked.
* * * * *
J. T. Wheate, Ass’t. 2nd Steward (Br. Inq.):
Witness went upstairs to the Boat Deck where Mr. Murdoch ordered the
boats to the A Deck where the witness and seventy of his men helped
pass the women and children into boat No. 9, and none but women and
children were taken in. He then filled up No. 11 with fifty-nine women
and children, three male passengers and a crew of seven stewards, two
sailors and one fireman. He could not say how the three male
passengers got there. The order was very good. There was nobody on the
Boat Deck, so the people were taken off on the A Deck.
* * * * *
Philip E. Mock, first cabin passenger [letter]:
No. 11 carried the largest number of passengers of any boat--about
sixty-five. There were only two first cabin passengers in the boat
besides my sister, Mrs. Schabert, and myself. The remainder were
second-class or stewards and stewardesses. We were probably a mile
away when the _Titanic’s_ lights went out. I last saw the ship with
her stern high in the air going down. After the noise I saw a huge
column of black smoke slightly lighter than the sky rising high into
the sky and then flattening out at the top like a mushroom.
I at no time saw any panic and not much confusion. I can positively
assert this as I was near every boat lowered on the starboard side up
to the time No. 11 was lowered. With the exception of some stokers who
pushed their way into boat No. 3 or No. 5, I saw no man or woman force
entry into a lifeboat. One of these was No. 13 going down, before we
touched the water.
* * * * *
From address of the Attorney-General, Sir Rufus Isaacs, K. C., M. P.
“No. 11 took seventy, and carried the largest number of any boat.”
BOAT NO. 13.[34]
[34] Seventh boat lowered on starboard side, 1.25 (Br. Rpt., p.
38).
No disorder when this boat was loaded and lowered.
_Passengers:_ _Women:_ Second cabin, including Mrs. Caldwell and her
child Alden. All the rest second and third-class women.
_Men:_ Dr. Dodge only first cabin passenger. Second cabin, Messrs.
Beasley and Caldwell. One Japanese.
_Crew:_ Firemen: Barrett (in charge), Beauchamp, Major and two others.
Stewards: Ray, Wright and another; also baker ----.
_Total:_ 64.
INCIDENTS
Mr. Lawrence Beesley’s book, already cited, gives an excellent
description of No. 13’s history, but for further details, see his
book, _The Loss of the SS. Titanic_, Houghton, Mifflin Co., Boston.
* * * * *
F. Barrett, leading stoker (Br. Inq.):
Witness then made his escape up the escape ladder and walked aft on to
Deck A on the starboard side, where only two boats were left, Nos. 13
and 15. No. 13 was partly lowered when he got there. Five-sixths in
the boat were women. No. 15 was lowered about thirty seconds later.
When No. 13 got down to the water he shouted: “Let go the after fall,”
but, as no one took any notice, he had to walk over women and cut the
fall himself. No. 15 came down nearly on top of them, but they just
got clear. He took charge of the boat until he got so cold that he
had to give up to someone else. A woman put a cloak over him, as he
felt so freezing, and he could not remember anything after that. No
men waiting on the deck got into his boat. They all stood in one line
in perfect order waiting to be told to get into the boat. There was no
disorder whatever. They picked up nobody from the sea.
* * * * *
F. D. Ray, steward (Am. Inq., p. 798):
Witness assisted in the loading of boat No. 9 and saw it and No. 11
boat lowered, and went to No. 13 on A Deck. He saw it about half
filled with women and children. A few men were ordered to get in;
about nine to a dozen passengers and crew. Dr. Washington Dodge was
there and was told that his wife and child had gone away in one of the
boats. Witness said to him: “You had better get in here then,” and got
behind him and pushed him and followed after him. A rather large woman
came along crying and saying: “Do not put me in the boat; I don’t want
to get in one. I have never been in an open boat in my life.” He said:
“You have got to go and you may as well keep quiet.” After that there
was a small child rolled in a blanket thrown into the boat to him. The
woman that brought it got into the boat afterwards.
We left about three or four men on the deck at the rail and they went
along to No. 15 boat. No. 13 was lowered away. When nearly to the
water, two or three of them noticed a very large discharge of water
coming from the ship’s side which he thought was the pumps working.
The hole was about two feet wide and about a foot deep with a solid
mass of water coming out. They shouted for the boat to be stopped from
being lowered and they responded promptly and stopped lowering the
boat. They pushed it off from the side of the ship until they were
free from this discharge. He thinks there were no sailors or
quartermasters in the boat because they apparently did not know how to
get free from the tackle. Knives were called for to cut loose. In the
meantime they were drifting a little aft and boat No. 15 was being
lowered immediately upon them about two feet from their heads and they
all shouted again, and they again replied very promptly and stopped
lowering boat No. 15. They elected a fireman (Barrett) to take charge.
Steward Wright was in the boat; two or three children and a very young
baby seven months old. Besides Nos. 9, 11, and 13, No. 15 was lowered
to Deck A and filled from it. He saw no male passengers or men of the
crew whatever ordered out or thrown out of these lifeboats on the
starboard side. Everybody was very orderly and there was no occasion
to throw anybody out. In No. 13 there were about four or five firemen,
one baker, three stewards; about nine of the crew. Dr. Washington
Dodge was the only first-class passenger and the rest were
third-class. There was one Japanese. There was no crowd whatever on A
Deck while he was loading these boats. No. 13 was full.
* * * * *
Extracts from Dr. Washington Dodge’s address: “The Loss of the
_Titanic_,” a copy of which he kindly sent me:
I heard one man say that the impact was due to ice. Upon one of his
listeners’ questioning the authority of this, he replied: “Go up
forward and look down on the fo’castle deck, and you can see for
yourself.” I at once walked forward to the end of the promenade deck,
and looking down could see, just within the starboard rail, small
fragments of broken ice, amounting possibly to several cartloads. As I
stood there an incident occurred which made me take a more serious
view of the situation, than I otherwise would.
Two stokers, who had slipped up onto the promenade deck unobserved,
said to me: “Do you think there is any danger, sir?” I replied: “If
there is any danger it would be due to the vessel’s having sprung a
leak, and you ought to know more about it than I.” They replied, in
what appeared to me to be an alarmed tone: “Well, sir, the water was
pouring into the stoke ’old when we came up, sir.” At this time I
observed quite a number of steerage passengers, who were amusing
themselves by walking over the ice, and kicking it about the deck. No
ice or iceberg was to be seen in the ocean.
I watched the boats on the starboard side, as they were successively
filled and lowered away. At no time during this period, was there any
panic, or evidence of fear, or unusual alarm. I saw no women nor
children weep, nor were there any evidences of hysteria observed by
me.
I watched all boats on the starboard side, comprising the odd numbers
from one to thirteen, as they were launched. Not a boat was launched
which would not have held from ten to twenty-five more persons. Never
were there enough women or children present to fill any boat before it
was launched. In all cases, as soon as those who responded to the
officers’ call were in the boats, the order was given to “Lower away.”
What the conditions were on the port side of the vessel I had no means
of observing. We were in semi-darkness on the Boat Deck, and owing to
the immense length and breadth of the vessel, and the fact that
between the port and the starboard side of the Boat Deck, there were
officers’ cabins, staterooms for passengers, a gymnasium, and
innumerable immense ventilators, it would have been impossible, even
in daylight, to have obtained a view of but a limited portion of this
boat deck. We only knew what was going on within a radius of possibly
forty feet.
Boats Nos. 13 and 15 were swung from the davits at about the same
moment. I heard the officer in charge of No. 13 say: “We’ll lower this
boat to Deck A.” Observing a group of possibly fifty or sixty about
boat 15, a small proportion of which number were women, I descended by
means of a stairway close at hand to the deck below, Deck A. Here, as
the boat was lowered even with the deck, the women, about eight in
number, were assisted by several of us over the rail of the steamer
into the boat. The officer in charge then held the boat, and called
repeatedly for more women. None appearing, and there being none
visible on the deck, which was then brightly illuminated, the men were
told to tumble in. Along with those present I entered the boat. Ray
was my table steward and called to me to get in.
The boat in which I embarked was rapidly lowered, and as it
approached the water I observed, as I looked over the edge of the
boat, that the bow, near which I was seated, was being lowered
directly into an enormous stream of water, three or four feet in
diameter, which was being thrown with great force from the side of the
vessel. This was the water thrown out by the condenser pumps. Had our
boat been lowered into the same it would have been swamped in an
instant. The loud cries which were raised by the occupants of the boat
caused those who were sixty or seventy feet above us to cease lowering
our boat. Securing an oar with considerable difficulty, as the oars
had been firmly lashed together by means of heavy tarred twine, and as
in addition they were on the seat running parallel with the side of
the lifeboat, with no less than eight or ten occupants of the boat
sitting on them, none of whom showed any tendency to disturb
themselves--we pushed the bow of the lifeboat, by means of the oar, a
sufficient distance away from the side of the _Titanic_ to clear this
great stream of water which was gushing forth. We were then safely
lowered to the water. During the few moments occupied by these
occurrences I felt for the only time a sense of impending danger.
We were directed to pull our lifeboat from the steamer, and to follow
a light which was carried in one of the other lifeboats, which had
been launched prior to ours. Our lifeboat was found to contain no
lantern, as the regulations require; nor was there a single sailor, or
officer in the boat. Those who undertook to handle the oars were poor
oarsmen, almost without exception, and our progress was extremely
slow. Together with two or three other lifeboats which were in the
vicinity, we endeavored to overtake the lifeboat which carried the
light, in order that we might not drift away and possibly become lost.
This light appeared to be a quarter of a mile distant, but, in spite
of our best endeavors, we were never enabled to approach any nearer to
it, although we must have rowed at least a mile.
BOAT NO. 15.[35]
[35] Br. Rpt., p. 38, places this next to last lowered on
starboard side at 1.35.
No disorder in loading or lowering this boat.
_Passengers:_ All third-class women and children (53) and
_Men:_ Mr. Haven (first-class) and three others (third-class) only.
Total: 4.
_Crew:_ Firemen: Diamond (in charge), Cavell, Taylor; Stewards: Rule,
Hart. Total: 13.
_Grand Total_ (Br. Rpt., p. 38): 70.
INCIDENTS
G. Cavell, trimmer (Br. Inq.):
The officer ordered five of us in the boat. We took on all the women
and children and the boat was then lowered. We lowered to the
first-class (i. e. A) deck and took on a few more women and children,
about five, and then lowered to the water. From the lower deck we took
in about sixty. There were men about but we did not take them in. They
were not kept back. They were third-class passengers, I think--sixty
women, Irish. Fireman Diamond took charge. No other seaman in this
boat. There were none left on the third-class decks after I had taken
the women.
* * * * *
S. J. Rule, bathroom steward (Br. Inq.):
Mr. Murdoch called to the men to get into the boat. About six got in.
“That will do,” he said, “lower away to Deck A.” At this time the
vessel had a slight list to port. We sent scouts around both to the
starboard and port sides. They came back and said there were no more
women and children. We filled up on A Deck--sixty-eight all told--the
last boat to leave the starboard side. There were some left behind.
There was a bit of a rush after Mr. Murdoch said we could fill the
boat up with men standing by. We very nearly came on top of No. 13
when we lowered away. A man, Jack Stewart, a steward, took charge.
Nearly everybody rowed. No lamp. One deckhand in the boat, and men,
women and children. Just before it was launched, no more could be
found, and about half a dozen men got in. There were sixty-eight in
the boat altogether. Seven members of the crew.
* * * * *
J. E. Hart, third-class steward (Br. Inq., 75):
Witness defines the duties and what was done by the stewards,
particularly those connected with the steerage.
“Pass the women and children up to the Boat Deck,” was the order soon
after the collision. About three-quarters of an hour after the
collision he took women and children from the C Deck to the
first-class main companion. There were no barriers at that time. They
were all opened. He took about thirty to boat No. 8 as it was being
lowered. He left them and went back for more, meeting third-class
passengers on the way to the boats. He brought back about twenty-five
more steerage women and children, having some little trouble owing to
the men passengers wanting to get to the Boat Deck. These were all
third-class people whom we took to the only boat left on the starboard
side, viz., No. 15. There were a large number already in the boat,
which was then lowered to A Deck, and five women, three children and a
man with a baby in his arms taken in, making about seventy people in
all, including thirteen or fourteen of the crew and fireman Diamond in
charge. Mr. Murdoch ordered witness into the boat. Four men passengers
and fourteen crew was the complement of men; the rest were women and
children.
When boat No. 15 left the boat deck there were other women and
children there--some first-class women passengers and their husbands.
Absolute quietness existed. There were repeated cries for women and
children. If there had been any more women there would have been found
places for them in the boat. He heard some of the women on the A Deck
say they would not leave their husbands.
There is no truth in the statement that any of the seamen tried to
keep back third-class passengers from the Boat Deck. Witness saw
masthead light of a ship from the Boat Deck. He did his very best, and
so did all the other stewards, to help get the steerage passengers on
the Boat Deck as soon as possible.
ENGELHARDT BOAT “C.”[36]
[36] Br. Rpt., p. 38, makes this last boat lowered on starboard
side at 1.40.
No disorder in loading or lowering this boat.
_Passengers:_ President Ismay, Mr. Carter. Balance women and children.
_Crew:_ Quartermaster Rowe (in charge). Steward Pearce. Barber
Weikman. Firemen, three.
_Stowaways:_ Four Chinamen, or Filipinos.
_Total:_ 39.
INCIDENTS
G. T. Rowe, Q. M. (Am. Inq., p. 519, and Br. Inq.):
To avoid repetition, the testimony of this witness before the two
Courts of Inquiry is consolidated:
He assisted the officer (Boxhall) to fire distress signals until about
five and twenty minutes past one. At this time they were getting out
the starboard collapsible boats. Chief Officer Wilde wanted a sailor.
Captain Smith told him to get into the boat “C” which was then partly
filled. He found three women and children in there with no more
about. Two gentlemen got in, Mr. Ismay and Mr. Carter. Nobody told
them to get in. No one else was there. In the boat there were
thirty-nine altogether. These two gentlemen, five of the crew
(including himself), three firemen, a steward, and near daybreak they
found four Chinamen or Filipinos who had come up between the seats.
All the rest were women and children.
Before leaving the ship he saw a bright light about five miles away
about two points on the port bow. He noticed it after he got into the
boat. When he left the ship there was a list to port of six degrees.
The order was given to lower the boat, with witness in charge. The rub
strake kept on catching on the rivets down the ship’s side, and it was
as much as we could do to keep off. It took a good five minutes, on
account of this rubbing, to get down. When they reached the water they
steered for a light in sight, roughly five miles. They seemed to get
no nearer to it and altered their course to a boat that was carrying a
green light. When day broke, the _Carpathia_ was in sight.
In regard to Mr. Ismay’s getting into the boat, the witness’s
testimony before the American Court of Inquiry is cited in full:
Senator Burton: Now, tell us the circumstances under which Mr. Ismay
and that other gentleman got into the boat.
Mr. Rowe: When Chief Officer Wilde asked if there were any more women
and children, there was no reply, so Mr. Ismay came into the boat.
Senator Burton: Mr. Wilde asked if there were any more women and
children? Can you say that there were none?
Mr. Rowe: I could not see, but there were none forthcoming.
Senator Burton: You could see around there on the deck, could you not?
Mr. Rowe: I could see the fireman and steward that completed the
boat’s crew, but as regards any families I could not see any.
Senator Burton: Were there any men passengers besides Mr. Ismay and
the other man?
Mr. Rowe: I did not see any, sir.
Senator Burton: Was it light enough so that you could see anyone near
by?
Mr. Rowe: Yes, sir.
Senator Burton: Did you hear anyone ask Mr. Ismay and Mr. Carter to
get in the boat?
Mr. Rowe: No, sir.
Senator Burton: If Chief Officer Wilde had spoken to them would you
have known it?
Mr. Rowe: I think so, because they got in the after part of the boat
where I was.
* * * * *
Alfred Pearce, pantryman, third-class (Br. Inq.):
Picked up two babies in his arms and went into a collapsible boat on
the starboard side under Officer Murdoch’s order, in which were women
and children. There were altogether sixty-six passengers and five of
the crew, a quartermaster in charge. The ship had a list on the port
side, her lights burning to the last. It was twenty minutes to two
when they started to row away. He remembers this because one of the
passengers gave the time.
* * * * *
J. B. Ismay, President International Mercantile Marine Co. of America,
New Jersey, U. S. A. (Am. Inq., pp. 8, 960):
There were four in the crew--one quartermaster, a pantryman, a butcher
and another. The natural order would be women and children first. It
was followed as far as practicable. About forty-five in the boat. He
saw no struggling or jostling or any attempts by men to get into the
boats. They simply picked the women out and put them into the boat as
fast as they could--the first ones that were there. He put a great
many in--also children. He saw the first lifeboat lowered on the
starboard side. As to the circumstances of his departure from the
ship, the boat was there. There was a certain number of men in the
boat and the officer called and asked if there were any more women,
but there was no response. There were no passengers left on the deck,
and as the boat was in the act of being lowered away he got into it.
The _Titanic_ was sinking at the time. He felt the ship going down. He
entered because there was room in it. Before he boarded the lifeboat
he saw no passengers jump into the sea. The boat rubbed along the
ship’s side when being lowered, the women helping to shove the boat
clear. This was when the ship had quite a list to port. He sat with
his back to the ship, rowing all the time, pulling away. He did not
wish to see her go down. There were nine or ten men in the boat with
him. Mr. Carter, a passenger, was one. All the other people in the
boat, so far as he could see, were third-class passengers.
* * * * *
Examined before the British Court of Inquiry by the Attorney-General,
Sir Rufus Isaacs, Mr. Ismay testified:
I was awakened by the impact; stayed in bed a little time and then got
up. I saw a steward who could not say what had happened. I put a coat
on and went on deck. I saw Captain Smith. I asked him what was the
matter and he said we had struck ice. He said he thought it was
serious. I then went down and saw the chief engineer, who said that
the blow was serious. He thought the pumps would keep the water under
control. I think I went back to my room and then to the bridge and
heard Captain Smith give an order in connection with the boats. I went
to the boat deck, spoke to one of the officers, and rendered all the
assistance I could in putting the women and children in. Stayed there
until I left the ship. There was no confusion; no attempts by men to
get into the boats. So far as I knew all the women and children were
put on board the boats and I was not aware that any were left. There
was a list of the ship to port. I think I remained an hour and a half
on the _Titanic_ after the impact. I noticed her going down by the
head, sinking. Our boat was fairly full. After all the women and
children got in and there were no others on that side of the deck, I
got in while the boat was being lowered. Before we got into the boat I
do not know that any attempt was made to call up any of the passengers
on the Boat Deck, nor did I inquire.
* * * * *
And also examined by Mr. A. C. Edwards, M. P., counsel for the Dock
Workers’ Union. Mr. Ismay’s testimony was taken as follows:
Mr. Edwards: You were responsible for determining the number of
boats?
Mr. Ismay: Yes, in conjunction with the shipbuilders.
Mr. Edwards: You knew when you got into the boat that the ship was
sinking?
Mr. Ismay: Yes.
Mr. Edwards: Had it occurred to you apart perhaps from the captain,
that you, as the representative managing director, deciding the number
of lifeboats, owed your life to every other person on the ship?
The President: That is not the sort of question which should be put to
this witness. You can make comment on it when you come to your speech
if you like.
Mr. Edwards: You took an active part in directing women and children
into the boats?
Mr. Ismay: I did all I could.
Mr. Edwards: Why did you not go further and send for other people to
come on deck and fill the boats?
Mr. Ismay: I put in everyone who was there and I got in as the boat
was being lowered away.
Mr. Edwards: Were you not giving directions and getting women and
children in?
Mr. Ismay: I was calling to them to come in.
Mr. Edwards: Why then did you not give instructions or go yourself
either to the other side of the deck or below decks to get people up?
Mr. Ismay: I understood there were people there sending them up.
Mr. Edwards: But you knew there were hundreds who had not come up?
Lord Mersey: Your point, as I understand it now, is that, having
regard for his position as managing director, it was his duty to
remain on the ship until she went to the bottom?
Mr. Edwards: Frankly, that is so, and I do not flinch from it; but I
want to get it from the witness, inasmuch as he took it upon himself
to give certain directions at a certain time, why he did not discharge
his responsibility after in regard to other persons or passengers.
Mr. Ismay: There were no more passengers who would have got into the
boat. The boat was being actually lowered away.
* * * * *
Examined by Sir Robert Finlay for White Star Line:
Mr. Finlay: Have you crossed very often to and from America?
Mr. Ismay: Very often.
Mr. Finlay: Have you ever, on any occasion, attempted to interfere
with the navigation of the vessel on any of these occasions?
Mr. Ismay: No.
Mr. Finlay: When you left the deck just before getting into the
collapsible boat, did you hear the officer calling out for more women?
Mr. Ismay: I do not think I did; but I heard them calling for women
very often.
Mr. Edwards: When the last boat left the _Titanic_ you must have known
that a number of passengers and crew were still on board?
Mr. Ismay: I did.
Mr. Edwards: And yet you did not see any on the deck?
Mr. Ismay: No, I did not see any, and I could only assume that the
other passengers had gone to the other end of the ship.
* * * * *
From an address (Br. Inq.) by Mr. A. Clement Edwards, M. P., Counsel
for Dock Workers’ Union:
What was Mr. Ismay’s duty?
Coming to Mr. Ismay’s conduct, Mr. Edwards said it was clear that that
gentleman had taken upon himself to assist in getting women and
children into the boats. He had also admitted that when he left the
_Titanic_ he knew she was doomed, that there were hundreds of people
in the ship, that he didn’t know whether or not there were any women
or children left, and that he did not even go to the other side of
the Boat Deck to see whether there were any women and children waiting
to go. Counsel submitted that a gentleman occupying the position of
managing director of the company owning the _Titanic_, and who had
taken upon himself the duty of assisting at the boats, had certain
special and further duties beyond an ordinary passenger’s duties, and
that he had no more right to save his life at the expense of any
single person on board that ship than the captain would have had. He
(Mr. Edwards) said emphatically that Mr. Ismay did not discharge his
duty at that particular moment by taking a careless glance around the
starboard side of the Boat Deck. He was one of the few persons who at
the time had been placed in a position of positive knowledge that the
vessel was doomed, and it was his clear duty, under the circumstances,
to see that someone made a search for passengers in other places than
in the immediate vicinity of the Boat Deck.
Lord Mersey: Moral duty do you mean?
Mr. Edwards: I agree; but I say that a managing director going on
board a liner, commercially responsible for it and taking upon himself
certain functions, had a special moral obligation and duty more than
is possessed by one passenger to another passenger.
Lord Mersey: But how is a moral duty relative to this inquiry? It
might be argued that there was a moral duty for every man on board
that every woman should take precedence, and I might have to inquire
whether every passenger carried out his moral duty.
Mr. Edwards agreed that so far as the greater questions involved in
this case were concerned this matter was one of trivial importance.
* * * * *
From address of Sir Robert Finlay, K. C., M. P., Counsel for White
Star Company (Br. Inq.):
It has been said by Mr. Edwards that Mr. Ismay had no right to save
his life at the expense of any other life. He did not save his life at
the expense of any other life. If Mr. Edwards had taken the trouble to
look at the evidence he would have seen how unfounded this charge is.
There is not the slightest ground for suggesting that any other life
would have been saved if Mr. Ismay had not got into the boat. He did
not get into the boat until it was being lowered away.
Mr. Edwards has said that it was Mr. Ismay’s plain duty to go about
the ship looking for passengers, but the fact is that the boat was
being lowered. Was it the duty of Mr. Ismay to have remained, though
by doing so no other life could have been saved? If he had been
impelled to commit suicide of that kind, then it would have been
stated that he went to the bottom because he dared not face this
inquiry. There is no observation of an unfavorable nature to be made
from any point of view upon Mr. Ismay’s conduct. There was no duty
devolving upon him of going to the bottom with his ship as the captain
did. He did all he could to help the women and children. It was only
when the boat was being lowered that he got into it. He violated no
point of honor, and if he had thrown his life away in the manner now
suggested it would be said he did it because he was conscious he could
not face this inquiry and so he had lost his life.
ENGELHARDT BOAT “A.”
Floated off the ship.
_Passengers:_ T. Beattie,* P. D. Daly,† G. Rheims, R. N. Williams,
Jr., first-class; O. Abelseth,† W. J. Mellers, second-class; and Mrs.
Rosa Abbott,† Edward Lindley,‡ third-class.
_Crew:_ Steward: E. Brown. Firemen: J. Thompson, one unidentified
body.* Seaman: one unidentified body.*
* Body found in boat by _Oceanic_.
† Pulled into boat out of sea.
‡ Died in boat.
An extraordinary story pertains to this boat. At the outset of my
research it was called a “boat of mystery,” occasioned by the
statements of the _Titanic’s_ officers. In his conversations with me,
as well as in his testimony, Officer Lightoller stated that he was
unable to loosen this boat from the ship in time and that he and his
men were compelled to abandon their efforts to get it away. The
statement in consequence was that this boat “A” was not utilized but
went down with the ship. My recent research has disabused his mind of
this supposition. There were only four Engelhardt boats in all as we
have already learned, and we have fully accounted for “the upset boat
B,” and “D,” the last to leave the ship in the tackles, and boat “C,”
containing Mr. Ismay, which reached the _Carpathia’s_ side and was
unloaded there. After all the mystery we have reached the conclusion
that boat “A” did not go down with the ship, but was the one whose
occupants were rescued by Officer Lowe in the early morning, and then
abandoned with three dead bodies in it. This also was the boat picked
up nearly one month later by the _Oceanic_ nearly 200 miles from the
scene of the wreck.
I have made an exhaustive research up to date for the purpose of
discovering how Boat A left the ship. Information in regard thereto is
obtained from the testimony before the British Court of Inquiry of
Steward Edward Brown, from first-class passenger R. N. Williams, Jr.,
and from an account of William J. Mellers, a second cabin passenger as
related by him to Dr. Washington Dodge. Steward Brown, it will be
observed, testified that he was washed out of the boat and yet “did
not know whether he went down in the water.” As he could not swim, an
analysis of his testimony forces me to believe that he held on to the
boat and did not have to swim and that boat “A” was the same one that
he was in when he left the ship. I am forced to the same conclusion in
young Williams’ case after an analysis of his statement that he took
off his big fur overcoat in the water and cast it adrift while he swam
twenty yards to the boat, and in some unaccountable way the fur coat
swam after him and also got into the boat. At any rate it was found in
the boat when it was recovered later as shown in the evidence.
I also have a letter from Mr. George Rheims, of Paris, indicating his
presence on this same boat with Messrs. Williams and Mellers and Mrs.
Abbott and others.
INCIDENTS
Edward Brown, steward (Br. Inq.):
Witness helped with boats 5, 3, 1 and C, and then helped with another
collapsible; tried to get it up to the davits when the ship gave a
list to port. The falls were slackened but the boat could not be
hauled away any further. There were four or five women waiting to get
into the boat. The boat referred to was the collapsible boat “A” which
they got off the officers’ house. They got it down by the planks, but
witness does not know where the planks came from. He thinks they were
with the bars which came from the other boats; yet he had no
difficulty in getting the boat off the house. The ship was then up to
the bridge under water, well down by the head. He jumped into the boat
then and called out to cut the falls. He cut them at the aft end, but
cannot say what happened to the forward fall. He was washed out of the
boat _but does not know whether he went down in the water_.[37] He had
his lifebelt on and came to the top. People were all around him. They
tore his clothes away struggling in the water. He could not swim, but
got into the collapsible boat “A.” Only men were in it, but they
picked up a woman and some men afterwards, consisting of passengers,
stewards and crew. There were sixteen men. Fifth Officer Lowe in boat
No. 14 picked them up.
[37] Italics are mine.--Author.
* * * * *
O. Abelseth (Am. Inq.):
Witness describes the period just before the ship sank when an effort
was made to get out the collapsible boats on the roof of the officers’
house. The officer wanted help and called out: “Are there any sailors
here?” It was only about five feet to the water when witness jumped
off. It was not much of a jump. Before that he could see the people
were jumping over. He went under and swallowed some water. A rope was
tangled around him. He came on top again and tried to swim. There were
lots of men floating around. One of them got him on the neck and
pressed him under the water and tried to get on top, but he got loose
from him. Then another man hung on to him for a while and let go. Then
he swam for about fifteen or twenty minutes. Saw something dark ahead
of him; swam towards it and it was one of the Engelhardt boats (“A”).
He had a life-preserver on when he jumped from the ship. There was no
suction at all. “I will try and see,” he thought, “if I can float on
the lifebelt without help from swimming,” and he floated easily on the
lifebelt. When he got on boat “A” no one assisted him, but they said
when he got on: “Don’t capsize the boat,” so he hung on for a little
while before he got on.
Some were trying to get on their feet who were sitting or lying down;
others fell into the water again. Some were frozen and there were two
dead thrown overboard. On the boat he raised up and continuously moved
his arms and swung them around to keep warm. There was one lady aboard
this raft and she (Mrs. Abbott) was saved. There were also two Swedes
and a first-class passenger. He said he had a wife and child. There
was a fireman also named Thompson who had burned one of his hands;
also a young boy whose name sounded like “Volunteer.” He and Thompson
were afterwards at St. Vincent’s Hospital. In the morning he saw a
boat with a sail up, and in unison they screamed together for help.
Boat A was not capsized and the canvas was not raised up, and they
could not get it up. _They stood all night in about twelve or fourteen
inches of water_[38]--their feet in water all the time. Boat No. 14
sailed down and took them aboard and transferred them to the
_Carpathia_, he helping to row. There must have been ten or twelve
saved from boat A; one man was from New Jersey, with whom he came in
company from London. At daybreak he seemed unconscious. He took him
by the shoulder and shook him. “Who are you?” he said; “let me be; who
are you?” About half an hour or so later he died.
[38] Italics are mine.--Author.
* * * * *
In a recent letter from Dr. Washington Dodge he refers to a young man
whom he met on the _Carpathia_, very much exhausted, whom he took to
his stateroom and gave him medicine and medical attention. This young
man was a gentleman’s valet and a second cabin passenger. This answers
to the description of William J. Mellers, to whom I have written, but
as yet have received no response. Dr. Dodge says he believes this
young man’s story implicitly: He, Mellers, “was standing by this boat
when one of the crew was endeavoring to cut the fastenings that bound
it to the vessel just as the onrush of waters came up which tore it
loose. It was by clinging to this boat that he was saved.”
* * * * *
R. N. Williams, Jr., in his letter writes me as follows:
“I was not under water very long, and as soon as I came to the top I
threw off the big fur coat I had on. I had put my lifebelt on under
the coat. I also threw off my shoes. About twenty yards away I saw
something floating. I swam to it and found it to be a collapsible
boat. I hung on to it and after a while got aboard and _stood up in
the middle of it. The water was up to my waist._[39] About thirty of
us clung to it. When Officer Lowe’s boat picked us up eleven of us
were alive; all the rest were dead from cold. My fur coat was found
attached to this Engelhardt boat ‘A’ by the _Oceanic_, and _also a
cane marked ‘C. Williams.’_ This gave rise to the story that my
father’s body was in this boat, but this, as you see, is not so. How
the cane got there I do not know.”
[39] Italics are mine.--Author.
* * * * *
Through the courtesy of Mr. Harold Wingate of the White Star Line in
letters to me I have the following information pertaining to boat “A”:
“One of the bodies found in this boat was that of Mr. Thompson
Beattie. We got his watch and labels from his clothes showing his name
and that of the dealer, which we sent to the executor. Two others were
a fireman and a sailor, both unidentified. The overcoat belonging to
Mr. Williams I sent to a furrier to be re-conditioned, but nothing
could be done with it except to dry it out, so I sent it to him as it
was. _There was no cane in the boat._ The message from the _Oceanic_
and the words ‘R. N. Williams, _care of Duane Williams_,’ were
twisted by the receiver of the message to ‘Richard N. Williams, _cane
of Duane Williams_,’[40] which got into the press, and thus
perpetuated the error.
“There was also a ring found in the boat whose owner we eventually
traced in Sweden and restored the property to her. We cannot account
for its being in the boat, but we know that her husband was a
passenger on the _Titanic_--Edward P. Lindell, a third-class
passenger. The widow’s address is, care of Nels Persson, Helsingborg,
Sweden.”
[40] Italics are mine.--Author.
* * * * *
Rescue of the occupants of boat “A” at daylight Monday morning is
recorded in the testimony of Officer Lowe and members of the crew of
his boat No. 14 and the other boats 12, 10, 4 and “D” which were tied
together. No. 14 we recall was emptied of passengers and a crew taken
from all the boats referred to went back to the wreck. The substance
of the testimony of all of them agrees and I need only cite that of
Quartermaster Bright, in charge of boat “D,” as follows:
A. Bright, Q. M. (in charge) (Am. Inq., p. 834):
Just at daylight witness saw from his place in boat “D” one of the
other collapsible boats, “A,” that was awash just flush with the
water. Officer Lowe came and towed witness’s boat to the other
collapsible one that was just awash and took from it thirteen men and
one woman who were in the water up to their ankles. They had been
singing out in the dark. As soon as daylight came they could be seen.
They were rescued and the boat turned adrift with two dead bodies in
it, covered with a lifebelt over their faces.
* * * * *
Admiral Mahan on Ismay’s duty:
Rear Admiral A. T. Mahan, retired, in a letter which the _Evening
Post_ publishes, has this to say of J. Bruce Ismay’s duty:
In the _Evening Post_ of April 24 Admiral Chadwick passes a distinct
approval upon the conduct of Mr. Ismay in the wreck of the _Titanic_
by characterizing the criticisms passed upon it as the “acme of
emotionalism.”
Both censure and approval had best wait upon the results of the
investigations being made in Great Britain. Tongues will wag, but if
men like Admiral Chadwick see fit to publish anticipatory opinions
those opinions must receive anticipatory comment.
Certain facts are so notorious that they need no inquiry to
ascertain. These are (1) that before the collision the captain of the
_Titanic_ was solely responsible for the management of the ship; (2)
after the collision there were not boats enough to embark more than
one-third of those on board, and, (3) for that circumstance the White
Star Company is solely responsible, not legally, for the legal
requirements were met, but morally. Of this company, Mr. Ismay is a
prominent if not the most prominent member.
For all the loss of life the company is responsible, individually and
collectively: Mr. Ismay personally, not only as one of the members. He
believed the _Titanic_ unsinkable; the belief relieves of moral guilt,
but not of responsibility. Men bear the consequences of their mistakes
as well as of their faults. He--and Admiral Chadwick--justify his
leaving over fifteen hundred persons, the death of each one of whom
lay on the company, on the ground that it was the last boat half
filled; and Mr. Ismay has said, no one else to be seen.
No one to be seen; but was there none to be reached? Mr. Ismay knew
there must be many, because he knew the boats could take only a third.
The _Titanic_ was 882 feet long; 92 broad; say, from Thirty-fourth
street to a little north of Thirty-seventh. Within this space were
congregated over 1,500 souls, on several decks. True, to find any one
person at such a moment in the intricacies of a vessel were a vain
hope; but to encounter some stragglers would not seem to be. Read in
the _Sun_ and _Times_ of April 25 Col. Gracie’s account of the “mass
of humanity, men and women” that suddenly appeared before him after
the boats were launched.
In an interview reported in the New York _Times_ April 25 Admiral Sir
Cyprian Bridge, a very distinguished officer, holds that Mr. Ismay was
but a passenger, as other passengers. True, up to a certain point. He
is in no sense responsible for the collision; but when the collision
had occurred he confronted a wholly new condition for which he was
responsible and not the captain, viz., a sinking vessel without
adequate provision for saving life. Did no obligation to particularity
of conduct rest upon him under such a condition?
I hold that under the conditions, so long as there was a soul that
could be saved, the obligation lay upon Mr. Ismay that that one person
and not he should have been in the boat. More than 1,500 perished.
Circumstances yet to be developed may justify Mr. Ismay’s actions
completely, but such justification is imperatively required. If this
be “the acme of emotionalism” I must be content to bear the
imputation.
Admiral Chadwick urges the “preserving a life so valuable to the
great organization to which Mr. Ismay belongs.” This bestows upon Mr.
Ismay’s escape a kind of halo of self-sacrifice. No man is
indispensable. There are surely brains enough and business capacity
enough in the White Star company to run without him. The reports say
that of the rescued women thirty-seven were widowed by the accident
and the lack of boats. Their husbands were quite as indispensable to
them as Mr. Ismay to the company. His duty to the ship’s company was
clear and primary; that to the White Star company so secondary as to
be at the moment inoperative.
We should be careful not to pervert standards. Witness the talk that
the result is due to the system. What is a system, except that which
individuals have made it and keep it? Whatever thus weakens the sense
of individual responsibility is harmful, and so likewise is all
condonation of failure of the individual to meet his responsibility.
CONCLUDING NOTE
By Charles Vale
COLONEL GRACIE died on the fourth of December, 1912. He had been in
feeble health all through the summer, but had no definite physical
complaint. He felt ill and weak, and ascribed his condition to the
exposure and strain through which he went in the _Titanic_ disaster.
Mrs. Gracie and his daughter were with him up to the end, which he
knew was coming, for the day before he died he had the minister of the
Church of the Incarnation brought to his bedside, and Holy Communion
was administered. On the next day he was unconscious for twelve hours;
but just before he died he became conscious for about ten minutes,
recognizing everyone and bidding them good-bye.
The funeral service was held at Calvary Church, where he was married,
and a large number of the members of the Seventh Regiment, to which he
belonged, were present. The church was beautifully decorated. Mrs.
Astor was there, and many other _Titanic_ survivors, several of whom
Colonel Gracie had helped into the boats at the time of the disaster.
The interment took place at the Gracie plot at Woodlawn.
* * * * *
And so his book finishes here. He had intended to write a final
chapter, reviewing the tragedy of the _Titanic_ in retrospect, and in
the light of all the later information that he had gathered; drawing
the lessons that seemed most necessary in the present, and most
serviceable for the future; and rounding out his story with the
finishing touches.
But the actual Finis must be written by another hand. Well, it does
not greatly matter. The real work has been completed, in its entirety.
The picture has been drawn, the details faithfully gathered together
and arranged in their due order. The rest was merely an affair of
reflection and comment; and of such looking backward there has been
already sufficient.
* * * * *
I met Colonel Gracie, for the first--and last--time, at a luncheon at
the Waldorf-Astoria, in New York, when the world was still ringing
with echoes of the great catastrophe. The extraordinary experiences
through which he had passed, and the terrible scenes that he had
witnessed, were still as vivid to him as if they had happened the day
before; but he talked very quietly, directly, unaffectedly, neither
obtruding nor avoiding the personal element. There was something
strangely gracious in his attitude; I heard no harsh or condemnatory
word from him: he seemed to have the rare gift of comprehension of
human nature, the rare sense of proportion. He accused no man of
cowardice or inefficiency; but narrated the facts as he saw them,
volunteering no inferences. And gradually, in that atmosphere of
careless, casual security; with men and women from every corner of
more than one continent scattered about the room; with all the
obvious, and more subtle, presuppositions of civilization that a
luxurious hotel in a huge metropolis illustrates;--there was evolved
the picture of the great ship, going to her doom in the night, with
her living cargo. I cannot express fully the vividness of that
image,--carved, as it were, from the darkness of memory and imposed on
the sunlight of a summer’s day. It stands out for me, ineffaceable,
unforgettable--as it must stand out for all who passed through those
tragic hours and still live to recall how near they were to death. One
retraced the growing realization of the gravity of the situation; the
conviction that the ship must inevitably sink before help could
arrive; and, finally, the resolute facing of destiny. Good and bad
deeds were done that night and morning: but the good outvalue the bad,
immeasurably; and when the littlenesses have been duly reckoned, and
the few cowards dismissed, and the uncouth or selfish weighed and
found wanting, there remains the grand total of brave and steadfast
men and women whose names must be enrolled imperishably in any record
of world-heroism.
In a note like this, closing a work which depends so much on the
intimate connection of the author with the scenes that he describes,
it is permissible to be personal. I had read, in a daily paper,
Colonel Gracie’s first account of his experiences; had been struck by
the special quality of the writing, by the pervading atmosphere of
true chivalry--no other word can suggest quite adequately the
impression conveyed by that narrative, written under the stress of
poignant memories. I think that the effect produced by the account was
the same with all who read it: certainly I have met no one who did not
recognize the spirituality and fineness shining through the written
words--a spirituality not opposed to, but entirely in consonance with,
the unmistakable virility of the author. And so, when I met him, I was
peculiarly interested in his personality: it seemed to me that this
man who was sitting at my left hand, talking quietly, had descended
as distinctly into hell as any human being would care to acknowledge,
and had risen again from the dead--or, at least, from the sea of the
dead--into a world which could never again be quite the same to him. I
found myself looking from time to time at his eyes; and I saw in them
what I have seen only once or twice in the eyes of living men--the
experience of death, the acceptance of death, and, the irrevocable
impress of death. And, though he carried himself as a man accustomed
to adventures and unafraid of the big or little ironies of destiny, he
was conscious, I think, of a certain isolation, a new aloofness from
the ordinary routine of daily life. He had been so near to the end of
dreams, had seen the years flash past so suddenly into true
perspective, that it was difficult to resume the trivial round and
reconstitute a mental world in which details should acquire again
their former pretence of importance.
Colonel Gracie survived for less than eight months after the loss of
the _Titanic_. Judged by the imperfect reckoning of impulse, it would
seem almost unfair that he should have gone through so much, winning
his life in the face of such deadly hazards, only to surrender it
after a brief interval. But he himself would have been the last to
complain. His implicit faith in Providence could not be shaken by any
personal suffering. He made a brave fight for life, as he had made a
brave fight for the lives of others while the _Titanic_ was sinking.
When the end was inevitable, he accepted it with composure, though he
had foreseen it with sadness.
The thought of the tragedy with which his name will always be
associated, was constantly in his mind. The writing of his book
involved a great deal of intimate correspondence, with the perpetual
revival of painful memories. He made no effort to evade this strain:
it was part of the task that he had undertaken. He felt strongly that
the work he was doing was absolutely necessary, and could not be
neglected. It was both a public service and a private duty. Simply and
sincerely, he dedicated himself to that service and duty. And now, he
has done his work, and lived his life, and gone out into the light
beyond the darkness. His country has lost a very gallant gentleman.
The world has one more legend of brave deeds.
Transcriber’s Note
Hyphenation has been made consistent.
Punctuation errors have been repaired.
The footnote on page 28 states “See page --”. Presumably a page number
should have been inserted, but was not, and it is preserved as
printed.
Page 259 includes the phrase “an ever-ending meadow.” This is probably
a typesetting error and should read “a never-ending meadow,” but it is
preserved as printed.
Where there were inconsistencies in the spelling of proper names, they
have been made consistent, with reference to published editions of the
two Titanic enquiries and other primary sources, as follows:
Page 40--Cassobeer amended to Cassebeer--... made in my presence
by Mrs. H. A. Cassebeer, ...
Page 64--Whitely amended to Whiteley--... interview of a Saloon
Steward, Thomas Whiteley, ...
Page 178--Roberts amended to Robert--Neither my aunt, Mrs.
Robert, my cousin, ...
Page 183--Symon amended to Symons--Senator Perkins (addressing
Perkis, Symons and Hogg:)
Page 185--Symon amended to Symons--You did not get any orders,
Mr. Symons ...
Page 185--Symon amended to Symons--Mr. Symons: No, sir; there
were no more ...
Page 185--Symon amended to Symons--As I understand it, Mr.
Symons pulled away ...
Page 185--Symon amended to Symons--Mr. Symons made no reply.
Page 209--Navatil amended to Navratil--... everybody was looking
for (the Navratil children).
Page 262--Francetelli amended to Francatelli--... Lady Duff
Gordon and maid (Miss Francatelli).
Page 268--Soloman amended to Solomon--A man named A. L. Solomon
also asked ...
Page 269--Hendricksen amended to Hendrickson--Charles
Hendrickson, leading fireman ...
Page 269--Hendricksen amended to Hendrickson--Hendrickson
recalled.
Page 275--Hendricksen’s amended to Hendrickson’s--It was shown
in Hendrickson’s evidence ...
Page 276--Hendricksen amended to Hendrickson--... given in the
first instance by Hendrickson, ...
Page 287--Thessenger amended to Thessinger--There was Wheelton,
McMicken, Thessinger, Wheate and myself.
Page 307--Finley amended to Finlay--Examined by Sir Robert
Finlay ...
Page 307--Finley amended to Finlay--Mr. Finlay: Have you crossed
...
Page 307--Finley amended to Finlay--Mr. Finlay: Have you ever,
...
Page 308--Finley amended to Finlay--Mr. Finlay: When you left
...
The following amendments have been made on the assumption of printer
errors:
Page 62--pasengers amended to passengers--... Second Officer
Lightoller ordered all passengers ...
Page 73--de amended to du--... namely the wreck of the _Ville du
Havre_ ...
Page 99--chapter amended to Chapter--... are recorded in the
history of Boat B in Chapter V, ...
Page 153--passenger amended to passengers--_No male passengers
in this boat._
Page 154--passenger amended to passengers--_No male passengers
in this boat._
Page 170--passenger amended to passengers--_No male passengers._
Page 181--man passenger amended to male passengers--_No male
passengers in this boat._
Page 199--passenger amended to passengers--_No male passengers
in this boat._
Page 225--chapter amended to Chapter--... while the previous
Chapter VI is derived ...
The following amendments have been made for consistency:
Page 120--No amended to NO--BOAT NO. 6.
Page 121--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 363) ...
Page 155--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 116).
Page 170--omitted word ‘BOAT’ added and No amended to NO--BOAT
NO. 16.
Page 172--No amended to NO--BOAT NO. 2.
Page 181--No amended to NO--BOAT NO. 4.
Page 243--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 1041): ...
Page 248--No amended to NO--BOAT NO. 3.
Page 248--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 559): ...
Page 261--No amended to NO--EMERGENCY BOAT NO. 1.
Page 279--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 755): ...
Page 281--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 595): ...
Page 283--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 602): ...
Page 284--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 648): ...
Page 290--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 798): ...
Page 319--omitted p. added--... (Am. Inq., p. 834): ...
The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page.
Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are
not in the middle of a paragraph.