Titanic, First Accounts

by Tim Maltin

  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”16

  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 b
eing 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 ship-builders.

  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 Finley for White Star Line:

  Mr. Finley: Have you crossed very often to and from America?

  Mr. Ismay: Very often.

  Mr. Finley: Have you ever, on any occasion, attempted to interfere with the navigation of the vessel on any of these occasions?

  Mr. Ismay: No.

  Mr. Finley: 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 unf
avorable 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,17 P. D. Daly,19 G. Rheims, R. N. Williams, Jr., first-class; O. Abelseth,19 W. J. Mellers, second-class; and Mrs. Rosa Abbott,19 Edward Lindley,18 third-class.

  Crew: Steward: E. Brown. Firemen: J. Thompson, one unidentified body,17 Seaman: one unidentified body.17

  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.