by Tim Maltin
DAB025. After this gate was broken?
Yes; because they were all mixed. All the steerage passengers went up on the first class deck at this time, when the gate was broken. They all got up there. They could not keep them down.
DAB029. Did you find any people down in the steerage when you went back the second time?
There were a number, but I can not say how many. All the boys and girls were coming up against me. They were all going for the deck.
DAB030. Were they excited?
Yes; they were. The girls were very excited, and they were crying; and all the boys were trying to console them and saying that it was nothing serious.
DAB031. Were you crying at the time?
Not at this time. There was a girl from my place, and just when she got down into the lifeboat she thought that the boat was sinking into the water. Her name was Bridget Bradley. She climbed one of the ropes as far as she could and tried to get back into the Titanic again, as she thought she would be safer in it than in the lifeboat. She was just getting up when one of the sailors went out to her and pulled her down again.
DAB033. Could you see many people around?
Yes, sir; there was a great crowd of people. They were all terribly excited. They were all going for the decks as quick as they could. The people had no difficulty in stepping into the lifeboat. It was close to the ship.
DAB034. I want to ask you whether, from what you saw that night, you feel that the steerage passengers had an equal opportunity with other passengers and the crew in getting into the lifeboats?
Yes; I think they had as good a chance as the first and second class passengers.
DAB035. You think they did have?
Yes. But at the start they tried to keep them down on their own deck.
DAB036. But they broke down this gate to which you have referred?
Yes, sir.
DAB037. And then they went on up as others did, mingling all together?
Yes; they were all mixed up together.
DAB038. Have you told all you know, of your own knowledge, about that?
Yes.
DAB039. Were you where you could see the ship when she went down?
Yes; I saw the lights just going out as she went down. It made a terrible noise, like thunder.
DAB040. I wish you would tell the committee in what part of the ship this steerage was located.
Down, I think, in the lower part of the steamer, in the after part of the ship; at the back.
Senator Smith: That is all. Thank you.
John Collins,
US Inquiry
(DAY 7)
(Testimony taken separately before Senator Bourne on behalf of the subcommittee.)
(The witness was sworn by Senator Bourne.)
JOC001. State your residence?
No. 65 Bally Carry Street, Belfast.
JOC002. How old are you?
I will be 18 next November.
JOC003. What is your occupation?
Assistant cook, first class galley.
JOC004. How long have you followed the sea?
This was my first voyage, on the Titanic.
JOC006. Your first voyage, then, was on the Titanic?
Yes.
JOC007. You were on it at the time of the accident?
I was, sir.
JOC008. I wish you would tell the committee just what you were doing immediately prior to, and what you did after, the time that the catastrophe on the Titanic took place, in your own language?
I stopped work at 9 o’clock on Sunday night, and I came up again and walked up and down the alleyway. I went into my bunk and fell asleep. That was about 10 o’clock—about a quarter to 10. I fell asleep, and was sound asleep, and exactly at a quarter past 11 I was wakened up. I had a clock by me, by my bed, and my clock was five minutes fast, and it was exactly a quarter past 11 when the ship struck the iceberg, and it wakened me. I put on my trousers, got out of bed, and they were letting off steam in the stoke hole. I asked what was the matter, and it seemed she struck an iceberg. The word came down the alleyway that there was no harm, and everyone returned to their bunks.
JOC015. Now, go on with your description.
I went back into the bedroom and was told to lie down, and I got up again. I did not take off any of my clothes, and I came out again and saw the stewards in their white jackets in the passageway; the passengers were running forward, the stewards were steering them, and they made a joke of it, and we all turned in then and the word came in that we were to get out of our beds and get the lifebelts on and get up to the upper deck.
JOC016. At what time was it that this word came? How long after the ship struck?
Well, it was exactly—I am sure—half an hour, sir. Quite half an hour, it was.
JOC017. Go on.
We went up to the deck when the word came. Then I met a companion of mine, a steward, and I asked him what number my boat was, and he said No. 16; so I went up to No. 16 boat, and I seen both firemen and sailors with their bags ready for No. 16 boat. I said to myself, “There is no chance there,” and I ran back to the deck, ran to the port side on the saloon deck with another steward and a woman and two children, and the steward had one of the children in his arms and the woman was crying. I took the child off of the woman and made for one of the boats. Then the word came around from the starboard side there was a collapsible boat getting launched on the starboard side and that all women and children were to make for it. So me and another steward and the two children and the woman came around on that side, the starboard side, and when we got around there we saw then that it was forward. We saw the collapsible boat taken off of the saloon deck, and then the sailors and the firemen that were forward seen the ship’s bow in the water and seen that she was intending to sink her bow, and they shouted out for all they were worth we were to go aft, and word came there was a boat getting launched, so we were told to go aft, and we were just turning around and making for the stern end when the wave washed us off the deck—washed us clear of it—and the child was washed out of my arms; and the wreckage and the people that was around me, they kept me down for at least two or three minutes under the water.
JOC018. Two or three minutes?
Yes; I am sure.
JOC019. Were you unconscious?
No; not at all. It did not affect me much, the salt water.
JOC020. But you were under the water. You can not stay under the water two or three minutes, can you?
Well, it seemed that to me. I could not exactly state how long, but it seemed that to me. When I came to the surface I saw this boat that had been taken off. I saw a man on it. They had been working on it taking it off of the saloon deck, and when the waves washed it off the deck they clung to that; then I made for it when I came to the surface and saw it, and I swam over to it.
JOC021. Did you have a lifebelt on?
I had, sir. I was only about 4 or 5 yards off of it, and I swam over to it and I got on to it.
JOC022. How many were on the collapsible boat?
Well, sir, I could not exactly say; but I am sure there was more than 15 or 16.
JOC023. Did those who were on help you get on?
No, sir; they were all watching the ship. I had not much to do. All I had to do was to give a spring and I got onto it; and we were drifting about for two hours on the water.
JOC024. When you had the child in your arms and went to this collapsible boat that you understood was being launched, why did you not get into it?
Sir, we had not time, sir; they had not got it off the deck until we were washed off the deck.
JOC040. How far were you from the stern end of the ship when you came up and got into the collapsible boat, would you judge?
We were about—
I could not exactly state how far I was from the Titanic when I come up to the surface. I was not far, because her lights went out then. Her lights went out until the water almost got to amidships on her.
JOC052. If it was dark, how could you see?
We were not too far off. I saw the white of the funnel. Then she turned over again, and down she went.
JOC053. There was not much of a sea on at the time of the accident?
It was as calm as that board.
JOC054. How do you account for this wave that washed you off amidships?
By the suction which took place when the bow went down in the water.
JOC055. And the waves broke over the deck and washed you off?
Washed the decks clear.
JOC056. How many were around you at that time that were washed off?
There were hundreds on the starboard side.
JOC057. And you think every one of the hundreds were washed in the water?
Yes, sir; they were washed off into the water.
JOC058. The order had been given that every passenger and member of the crew should put on a lifebelt?
Yes, sir.
JOC059. What became of those hundreds that were washed off at the same time you were?
I got on to the raft. I could see when I got on to the raft. I saw the stern of the boat, and I saw a mass of people and wreckage, and heard cries.
JOC060. In the water?
In the water.
JOC065. How many of the hundreds that were washed off of the ship at the same time with you got into the collapsible boat with you?
Well, sir, the boat was taken off the saloon deck, and the wave came up and washed the boat right off, and she was upside down, sir, and the water washed over her. She was turned over, and we were standing on her.
JOC066. You were standing on the bottom of the boat?
Yes, sir.
JOC075. Did the men on the bottom of the collapsible boat refuse to let others get on from the water?
Only one, sir. If a gentleman had got on we would all have been turned over. We were all on the boat. One was running from one side to the other to keep her steady. If this man had caught hold of her he would have tumbled the whole lot of us off.
JOC076. Who prevented him?
We were all telling him not to get on. He said, “That is all right, boys, keep cool,” he said; “God bless you,” and he bid us good-by and he swam along for about two minutes and we seen him, but did not see him moving off; we saw his head, but we did not see him moving his hands.
Charles Joughin,
British Inquiry
(DAY 6)
6040.—I went to the deck pantry, and while I was in there I thought I would take a drink of water, and while I was getting the drink of water I heard a kind of a crash as if something had buckled, as if part of the ship had buckled, and then I heard a rush overhead.
6045. People running—yes?
When I got up on top I could then see them clambering down from those decks. Of course, I was in the tail end of the rush.
6048. Did you see them clambering down to get on to the A deck so as to get further aft?
Their idea was to get on to the poop.
6049. You say that you heard this sound of buckling or crackling. Was it loud; could anybody in the ship hear it?
You could have heard it, but you did not really know what it was. It was not an explosion or anything like that. It was like as if the iron was parting.
6050. Like the breaking of metal?
Yes.
6051. Was it immediately after that sound that you heard this rushing of people and saw them climbing up?
Yes.
6052. What did you do?
I kept out of the crush as much as I possibly could, and I followed down—followed down getting towards the well of the deck, and just as I got down towards the well she gave a great list over to port and threw everybody in a bunch except myself. I did not see anybody else besides myself out of the bunch.
6053. That was when you were in the well, was it?
I was not exactly in the well, I was on the side, practically on the side then. She threw them over. At last I clambered on the side when she chucked them.
6054. You mean the starboard side?
The starboard side.
6055. The starboard was going up and she took a lurch to port?
It was not going up, but the other side was going down.
6056. It is very difficult to say how many, I daresay, but could you give me some idea, of how many people there were in this crush?
I have no idea, Sir; I know they were piled up.
6057. What do you mean when you say, “No idea.” Were there hundreds?
Yes, there were more than that—many hundreds, I should say.
6059. She took a lurch and she did not return?
She did not return.
6060. Can you tell us what happened to you?
Yes, I eventually got on to the starboard side of the poop.
6064. On the side of the ship?
Yes.
6070. Did you find anybody else holding that rail there, on the poop?
No.
6071. You were the only one?
I did not see anybody else.
6072. Were you holding the rail so that you were inside the ship, or were you holding the rail so that you were on the outside of the ship?
On the outside.
6073. So that the rail was between you and the deck?
Yes.
6074. Then what happened?
Well, I was just wondering what next to do. I had tightened my belt and I had transferred some things out of this pocket into my stern pocket. I was just wondering what next to do when she went.
6075. And did you find yourself in the water?
Yes.
6076. Did you feel that you were dragged under or did you keep on the top of the water?
I do not believe my head went under the water at all. It may have been wetted, but no more.
Harold S. Bride,
Report to his Employer, Marconi Co.,
APRIL 27, 1912
Here is a paper, sir, that may be of interest to you. It is a report which I have made to Mr. Cross, the traffic manager of the Marconi Co.
Senator Smith: Yes; this is interesting. (Reading):
NO. 294 WEST NINETY-SECOND STREET, NEW YORK CITY, N. Y., APRIL 27, 1912.
W. R. CROSS, ESQ.,
DEAR SIR: Hearing of the conflicting reports concerning the loss of the Titanic, which are being spread around, I think it is advisable for me to give you, to the best of my ability, a true account of the disaster, so that the Marconi Co. may be in full possession of all the facts.
I regret to say my memory fails me with regard to the time of the occurrence or any of the preceding incidents; but otherwise I am sure of all my statements.
The night before the disaster Mr. Phillips and myself had had a deal of trouble, owing to the leads from the secondary of the transformer having burnt through inside the casing and make contact with certain iron bolts holding the woodwork and frame together, thereby earthing the power to a great extent. After binding these leads with rubber tape, we once more had the apparatus in perfect working order, but not before we had put in nearly six hours’ work, Mr. Phillips being of the opinion that, in the first place, it was the condensers which had broken, and these we had had out and examined before locating the damage in the transformer.
Owing to this trouble, I had promised to relieve Mr. Phillips on the following night at midnight instead of the usual time, 2 o’clock, as he seemed very tired.
During Sunday afternoon, toward 5 o’clock, I was called b
y the Californian (call letters MWL) with an ice report, but I did not immediately answer, as I was writing up the abstracts; and also it used to take us some considerable time to start up the motor and alternator, it not being advisable to leave them working, as the alternator was liable to run hot.
I, however, acknowledged the receipt of the report when “MWL” transmitted it to the Baltic, and took it myself to the officer on watch on the bridge.
Neither Mr. Phillips nor I, to my knowledge, received any further ice reports.
About 9 p.m. I turned in and woke on my own accord just about midnight, relieving Mr. Phillips, who had just finished sending a large batch of telegrams to Cape Race.
Mr. Phillips told me that apparently we had struck something, as previous to my turning out he had felt the ship tremble and stop, and expressed an opinion that we should have to return to Belfast.
I took over the telephone from him, and he was preparing to retire when Capt. Smith entered the cabin and told us to get assistance immediately.
Mr. Phillips resumed the phones, after asking the captain if he should use the regulation distress call “C Q D.” The captain said “Yes,” and Mr. Phillips started in with “C Q D,” having obtained the latitude and longitude of the Titanic.
The Frankfurt was the first to answer. We gave him the ship’s position, which he acknowledged by “OK, stdbi.”
The second answer was from the Carpathia, who immediately responded with his position and informed us he was coming to our assistance as fast as possible.
These communications I reported myself to the captain, who was, when I found him, engaging in superintending the filling and lowering of the lifeboats.
The noise of escaping steam directly over our cabin caused a deal of trouble to Mr. Phillips in reading the replies to our distress call, and this I also reported to Capt. Smith, who by some means managed to get it abated.
The Olympic next answered our call, but as far as I know, Mr. Phillips did not go to much trouble with her, as we now realized the awful state of affairs, the ship listing heavily to port and forward.
The captain also came in and told us she was sinking fast and could not last longer than half an hour.
