by Nic Compton
I went back to Mrs Candee and took her to her stateroom, and we got her lifebelt down from the top of the wardrobe, and tied hers on to her. Then she chose one or two things out of her baggage, little things she could put into her pocket, or something of that sort, and I said, ‘We will now go up on deck and see what has really happened.’
Charles Lightoller – Second Officer
After I had swung out No 4 boat, I asked the chief officer should we put the women and children in, and he said, ‘No.’ I left the men to go ahead with their work and found the commander, or I met him and I asked him should we put the women and children in, and the commander said, ‘Yes, put the women and children in and lower away.’ Those were the last orders he gave.
I swung out No 4 with the intention of loading all the boats from A deck, the next deck below the boat deck. I lowered No 4 down to A deck, and gave orders for the women and children to go down to A deck to be loaded through the windows. My reason for loading the boats through the windows from A deck was that there was a coaling wire, a very strong wire running along A deck, and I thought it would be very useful to trice the boat to in case the ship got a slight list or anything. But as I was going down the ladder after giving the order, someone sung out and said the windows were up. I countermanded the order and told the people to come back on the boat deck and instructed two or three, I think they were stewards, to find the handles and lower the windows. That left No 4 boat hanging at A deck, so then I went on to No 6.
Hugh Woolner – First Class Passenger
The captain was there when I came up on to the boat deck. He was between the two lifeboats that were farthest astern on the port side, giving orders. I did not look at my watch, but I should think it was half an hour after the collision. He said: ‘I want all the passengers to go down on A deck, because I intend they shall go into the boats from A deck.’ I remembered noticing as I came up that all those glass windows were raised to the very top. I went up to the captain and saluted him and said: ‘Haven’t you forgotten, that all those glass windows are closed?’ He said: ‘By God, you are right. Call those people back.’ Very few people had moved, but the few that had gone down the companionway came up again, and everything went on all right.
Norman Chambers – First Class Passenger
We then proceeded to the boat deck on the starboard side. I gave my wife a drink from my flask, filled my pipe, put on my lifebelt at her urgent request, she having hers already on, and we stood at the rail for a few moments. All this time I considered that the lifeboats were merely a precaution and, upon my wife’s suggestion, we moved up forward of the entry from the deck house.
From the moment the engines were stopped, steam was of course blown out from the boilers. This, coming through one single steam pipe on the starboard side of the forward funnel, made a terrific loud noise; so loud, indeed, that persons on the boat deck could only communicate by getting as close as possible and speaking loudly. As a matter of fact, I shouted in my wife’s ear.
There were still quite a number of passengers coming out, the stewards standing there directing them to the boats aft. We waited until people had apparently ceased coming and the steward was no longer there, then we started forward again, and stopped at the last one of the forward starboard group of lifeboats. This was already swung out level with the deck, and to my eyes, appeared sufficiently loaded.
However, my wife said that she was going in that boat, and proceeded to jump in, calling me to come. As I knew she would get out again had I not come, I finally jumped into the boat, although I did not consider it, from the looks of things, safe to put very many more people in that boat. As I remember it, there were two more men, both called by their wives, who jumped in after I did.
By the time we were settled and I began to take note of the things on the ship, I noticed a tall young officer clad in a long overcoat giving orders to another officer to go into our boat and take charge of the boats on our side. As a parting injunction he gave our officer instructions to hold on to his painter and pull up alongside the gangway after the boat had reached the water. Preliminary to this, and before lowering, I heard someone in authority say, ‘That is enough before lowering. We can get more in after she is in the water.’
I remember these conversations particularly, as at the time I was wondering at the source of the order, being morally certain, myself, that no doors in the ship’s side had been opened.
We were then lowered away in a manner which I would consider very satisfactory, taking into account the apparent absolute lack of training of the rank and file of the crew.
Shortly before we reached the water, our officer called and finally blew his whistle for them to stop lowering, that he might find out if the plug was in or not. The inquiry was called in a loud tone of voice, to which one of the crew in our boat replied that it was, that he himself had put it in. Meanwhile a voice from above called down, as nearly as I can recollect it, ‘It is your own blooming business to see that the plug is in, anyhow.’
Herbert Pitman – Third Officer
I immediately went to the boat deck, and assisted in getting boats uncovered and ready for swinging out. In the act of clearing away No 5 boat, a man said to me – he was dressed in a dressing gown, with slippers on – he said to me very quietly, ‘There is no time to waste.’ I thought he did not know anything about it at all. So I said, ‘I await the commander’s orders,’ to which he replied, ‘Very well.’ It then dawned on me that it might be Mr Ismay, judging by the description I had had given me.
So I went along to the bridge and saw Captain Smith, and I told him that I thought it was Mr Ismay that wished me to get the boat away, with women and children in it. He said, ‘Go ahead. Carry on.’ I came along and brought in my boat. I stood on it and said, ‘Come along, ladies.’ There was a big crowd. Mr Ismay helped to get them along; assisted in every way. We got the boat nearly full, and I shouted out for any more ladies. None were to be seen, so I allowed a few men to get into it.
Then I jumped on the ship again. Murdoch said, ‘You go in charge of this boat, old man, and hang around the after gangway.’ I did not like the idea of going away at all, because I thought I was better off on the ship. He shook hands with me and said, ‘Goodbye. Good luck to you,’ and I said, ‘Lower away.’
I did not think the ship was doomed then, but I thought he must have thought so.
Harold Lowe – Fifth Officer
I first of all went and got my revolver; you never know when you will need it. Then I went and helped everybody all around. The first boat I helped to lower was No 5, starboard boat. I lowered that boat away under the orders of Mr Murdoch. He was the senior officer. He was superintending that deck; he was in charge of everything there.
There was a man at the ship’s side, hanging on the davit, and I was slacking away just at his feet. He was trying all in his power to help the work, and he was getting a little bit excited. He said, ‘Lower away, lower away, lower away.’ I said, ‘Do you want me to lower away quickly? You will have me drown the whole lot of them.’ I told him, ‘If you will get to hell out of that, I shall be able to do something.’ Because he was, in a way, interfering with my duties.
He did not make any reply. He walked away and then he went to No 3 boat, the next boat forward of mine, on the same side. He went ahead there on his own hook, getting things ready there, to the best of his ability. I afterwards learned it was Mr Bruce Ismay.
Archibald Gracie – First Class Passenger
Some time elapsed, I should say from three-quarters of an hour to an hour, before we were ordered to the boats. Then a young English officer of the ship, a tall thin chap, Moody was his name, he said, ‘No man beyond this line.’ Then the women went beyond that line. I saw that these four ladies, with whose safety I considered myself entrusted, went beyond that line to get amidships on this deck, which was A deck. Then I saw Mr Straus and Mrs Straus, of whom I had seen a great deal during the voyage. I had heard them discussing that if they were g
oing to die they would die together. We tried to persuade Mrs Straus to go alone, without her husband, and she said no. Then we wanted to make an exception of the husband, too, because he was an elderly man, and he said no, he would share his fate with the rest of the men, and that he would not go beyond. So I left them there.
Just prior to this time I had passed through A deck, going from the stern toward the bow. I saw four gentlemen all alone in the smoking room, whom I recognised as Mr Millet, Mr Moore and Mr Butt, and who I afterwards ascertained to have been Mr Ryerson. They seemed to be absolutely intent upon what they were doing, and disregarding anything about what was going on on the decks outside.
Then I found my friend Smith, and we worked together under the second officer in loading and helping the women and babies and children aboard the different boats. I think we loaded about two boats there. There were no men allowed in the boats, not one, except the crews necessary to man the boats.
The only incident I remember in particular at this point is when Mrs Astor was put in the boat. She was lifted up through the window, and her husband helped her on the other side, and when she got in, her husband was on one side of this window and I was on the other side, at the next window. I heard Mr Astor ask the second officer whether he would not be allowed to go aboard this boat to protect his wife. He said, ‘No, sir; no man is allowed on this boat or any of the boats until the ladies are off.’ Mr Astor then said, ‘Well, tell me what is the number of this boat so I may find her afterwards,’ or words to that effect. The answer came back, ‘No 4.’
I think it was on account of the condition of his wife. If it had been explained to the second officer that Mr Astor’s wife was with child, possibly he might have been allowed to get in that boat.
I want to say that there was nothing but the most heroic conduct on the part of all men and women at that time, where I was at the bow on the port side. There was no man who asked to get in a boat, with the single exception that I have already mentioned. No woman even sobbed or wrung her hands, and everything appeared perfectly orderly. Lightoller was splendid in his conduct with the crew, and the crew did their duty. It seemed to me it was rather a little bit more difficult than it should have been to launch the boats alongside the ship. I do not know the cause of that. I do not know whether it was on account of the newness of it all, the painting, or something of that sort. I know I had to use my muscle as best I could in trying to push those boats so as to get them over the gunwale.
The crew seemed to resent my working with them, but they were very glad when I worked with them later on. Every opportunity I got to help, I helped.
Emily Ryerson – First Class Passenger
I waked up all the children and my husband, and Miss Bowen and my daughter next door were awake, and we went up on A deck, the enclosed deck. Later, we were ordered to go up to the boat deck by Stout [sic], the second steward in the dining room, whom I knew. I had my meals in my room, I didn’t know my way about the ship at all. I hadn’t been on deck except that one time in the daytime.
My husband said, ‘When they say women and children, you must go.’ I said, ‘Why do I have to go on that boat?’ and he said, ‘You must obey the captain’s orders, and I will get in somehow.’
Stout, the second steward in the dining room, was at the foot of the stairs as we came from the boat deck, and he put his hand in front of my little boy, who is 13, and said, ‘He can’t go.’ My husband said, ‘Of course that boy goes with his mother.’ The man said, ‘Very well, sir, but no more boys.’ And some woman rushed forward and took her hat off and put it on her little boy’s head, so he could go as a little girl. That was Mrs Carter, I think.
I remember seeing Mr Astor leaning out, and a man said, ‘You can’t go.’ He said, ‘I don’t want to go. I was looking to see if my wife was all right,’ and he dropped his gloves over to her.
The captain called, ‘How many women have you?’ Someone said, ‘Twenty-four,’ and he said, ‘That is enough.’ The lifeboat seemed to stick, and somebody said we were going to upset, and I thought we had a tremendous drop, but we were so near the water, and finally the davits got loose and we dropped a short distance. After we stuck, someone said something about a knife, but we never used it, and during that wait some men got into the boat. I don’t know who they were. I never saw them afterwards – they seemed to disappear. They weren’t First Class passengers.
Olaus Abelseth – Third Class Passenger
There was quite a lot of ice on the starboard part of the ship. They wanted us to go down again, and I saw one of the officers, and I said to him: ‘Is there any danger?’ He said, ‘No.’ I was not satisfied with that, however, so I went down and told my brother-in-law and my cousin, who were in the same compartment there. They were not in the same room, but they were just a little ways from where I was. I told them about what was happening, and I said they had better get up. Both of them got up and dressed, and we took our overcoats and put them on. We did not take any lifebelts with us. There was no water on the deck at that time.
We walked to the hind part of the ship and got two Norwegian girls up. One was in my charge and one was in the charge of the man who was in the same room with me. He was from the same town that I came from. The other one was just 16 years old, and her father told me to take care of her until we got to Minneapolis. The two girls were in a room in the hind part of the ship, in the steerage.
We all went up on deck and stayed there. We walked over to the port side of the ship, and there were five of us standing, looking, and we thought we saw a light. It was up on the boat deck, the place for the steerage passengers on the deck. We were then on the port side there, and we looked out at this light. I said to my brother-in-law, ‘I can see it plain, now. It must be a light.’
I could not say how far it was, but it did not seem to be so very far. I thought I could see this mast light, the front mast light. That is what I thought I could see. A little while later there was one of the officers who came and said to be quiet, that there was a ship coming. That is all he said. He did not say what time, or anything. That is all he said. So I said to them, we had better go and get the lifebelts, as we had not brought them with us. So my cousin and I went down to get the them for all of us. When we came up again we carried the lifebelts on our arms for a while.
There were a lot of steerage people there that were getting on one of these cranes that they had on deck, that they used to lift things with. They can lift about two and a half tons, I believe. These steerage passengers were crawling along on this, over the railing, and away up to the boat deck. A lot of them were doing that. This gate was shut. I do not know whether it was locked, but it was shut so that they could not go that way.
That was in order to get up on this boat deck. But down where we were, in the rooms, I think the steerage passengers had an opportunity to get up. I do not think there was anybody that held anybody back. I could not say that for sure; but I think the most of them got out.
A while later these girls were standing there, and one of the officers came and hollered for all of the ladies to come up on the boat deck. The gate was opened and these two girls went up.
Daniel Buckley – Third Class Passenger
They tried to keep us down at first on our steerage deck. They did not want us to go up to the First Class place at all. I cannot say who they were; I think they were sailors.
The First Class deck was higher up than the steerage deck, and there were some steps leading up to it: nine or ten steps, and a gate just at the top of the steps. There was one steerage passenger, and he was getting up the steps. Just as he was going in the little gate, a fellow came along and chucked him down; threw him down into the steerage place. This fellow got excited, and he ran after him, and he could not find him. He said if he could get hold of him, he would throw him into the ocean.
The gate was not locked at the time we made the attempt to get up there, but the sailor, or whoever he was, locked it. So this fellow that went up after him
broke the lock on it. All the steerage passengers went up on the First Class deck then, when the gate was broken. They all got up there. They could not keep them down.
Joseph Scarrott – Able Seaman
It is difficult for Third Class passengers to gain access to the boat deck. There is only one ladder. You have to go inside one part and up another ladder. There are other ladders on the after part of the deck house, but they are only rungs on the side of a house, hardly ladders. They are straight up and down, and anybody outside seafaring men would find it a difficult job.
First and Second Class passengers had a better chance of getting to the boats, on account of their being allowed on that deck.
Harold Sanderson – Co-director, White Star Line
I think the means of access are as near perfection as they can be on the Titanic. I do not admit that there was any intricate maze of passages, and I do not think the position of the Third Class passengers had anything to do with their not going away in the same number. I think that the position in which the boats are placed on the ship necessarily being the position which is the best for launching them, happens to be abreast of that portion of the ship in which the First and Second Class passengers are carried. Therefore, when the call for women and children came, the women and children who were handiest came to the boats first.
