Titanic on Trial

by Nic Compton

  I joined the raft again later on, three-quarters of an hour to an hour I should estimate, and I climbed on top of it. I was the last man they invited on board, and there was a big crowd on top when I got on. I should judge they were all employees, all part of the boat’s crews. They had all been in the water some time or other. We did not have much to say to each other.

  I called to Phillips several times, but got no response, and learned later from several sources that he was on this boat and expired even before we were picked off by the other [life]boat. I am told fright and exposure was the cause of his death.

  Charles Joughin – Chief Baker

  Just as it was breaking daylight, I saw what I thought was some wreckage, and I started to swim towards it slowly. When I got near enough, I found it was a collapsible not properly upturned but on its side, with an officer and I should say about 20 or 25 men standing on the top of it.

  They were standing on the side, holding one another’s shoulders. There was no room for any more. I tried to get on it, but I was pushed off it, and I what you call hung around it. I eventually got round to the opposite side, and a cook that was on the collapsible recognised me, and held out his hand and held me – a chap named Maynard. My lifebelt helped me, and I held on the side of the boat.

  We were hanging on to this collapsible, and eventually a lifeboat came in sight. They got within about 50 yards and they sung out that they could only take ten. So I said to this Maynard, ‘Let go my hand,’ and I swam to meet it, so that I would be one of the ten. I climbed in, and then she went alongside the collapsible afterwards, but I did not notice how many she took. Mr Lightoller left the collapsible and then took charge of the boat till we reached the Carpathia.

  I was all right, barring my feet – they were swelled. I walked up the ladder on my knees.

  Archibald Gracie – First Class Passenger

  I was taken down with the ship, and hanging on to that railing, but I soon let go. I felt myself whirled around, swam under water, fearful that the hot water that came up from the boilers might boil me up – and the second officer told me that he had the same feeling – swam it seemed to me with unusual strength, and succeeded finally in reaching the surface and in getting a good distance away from the ship.

  How far, I could not say, because I could not see the ship. When I came up to the surface, there was no ship there. The ship would then have been behind me, and all around me was wreckage. I saw what seemed to be bodies all around.

  I noticed no suction, and I did not go down so far as that it would affect my nose or my ears. My great concern was to keep my breath, which I was able to do, and being able to do that was what I think saved me. I did not notice any coldness of the water at that time. I was too much preoccupied in getting away.

  There was a sort of gulp, as if something had occurred behind me, and I suppose that was where the water was closing up, where the ship had gone down; but the surface of the water was perfectly still, and there were, I say, this wreckage, and these bodies, and there were the horrible sounds of drowning people and people gasping for breath.

  While collecting the wreckage together, I got on a big wooden crate, some sort of wooden crate, or wood of that sort. I saw an upturned boat, and I struck out for that boat, and there I saw what I supposed were members of the crew on this upset boat. I grabbed the arm of one of them and pulled myself up on this boat.

  I was among the first. I suppose the boat was then about half full – there must have been between 15 and 20 people on board. Officer Lightoller was on that same boat. There was one man in front, with an oar, and another man in the stern with what I think was a piece of a board, propelling the boat along. Then we loaded the raft with as many as it would contain, until she became under water, until we could take no more, because the water was up to our waists.

  Our concern now was to get out of the wreckage and to get away from the swimmers in the water before they tried to get on the boat, and all of us would be lost.

  We were taken through the wreckage and away from the screams of the drowning people, and we were on the lookout then in every direction for lights and ships to come to our rescue, hallooing all the time, ‘Boat ahoy,’ or ‘Ship ahoy,’ our spirits kept up all the time by what we thought were steamship lights and boat lights. But I think most of those lights we saw were the lights of the lifeboats of the Titanic, particularly one that was steering ahead of us, and making lights every little while. I do not know what kind of light they had, but it was a green light that was every little while conspicuous from some lifeboats directly ahead of us.

  And then right to the port side we finally did see the lights of a ship, and that was finally the Carpathia. The Marconi man who was on the raft said he thought this was the Carpathia, because he had conversed with the operator on the Carpathia. That was the nearest ship, he thought, to us at the time.

  We had to keep the equilibrium of the boat all night long, from half past two. I say half past two; I might say from 2.22, because my watch, when I looked at it afterwards on the Carpathia, had stopped, and the time indicated was 2.22. So that would indicate the time between the collision and the time that I went down with the ship.

  We stood upon this collapsible boat in the early morn, just before dawn, so that we might be seen the better, and also, it was not quite so cold, although our feet were in the water. Then, as the sun came up, a welcome sight was the four lifeboats of the Titanic on our starboard side. Lightoller blew his whistle and ordered them to come over and take us off of our upset boat. ‘Aye, aye, sir,’ they replied, and immediately turned toward us, and two boats came right up close and then began the difficult task of a transfer.

  We were transferred successfully from the raft. The complement of the lifeboat I was on was filled up to 65. There were a considerable number of women; possibly half the number were women.

  The second officer stayed until the last, lifting up the body of one of the crew and putting it right down by me, where I chafed his temples and his wrists to see whether there was any life in him. Then rigor mortis set in and I thought the man was dead, and there was no more use trying to resuscitate him.

  There was a splendid Frenchwoman, who was very kind to us, who loaned us one of her blankets to put over our heads – that is, four of us. One poor Englishman, who was the only other passenger besides Mr Thayer and myself who was saved on this raft – he was bald, and for that reason he needed this protection, which was very grateful to him. It was very grateful to me, too. The people on the Carpathia received us with open arms, and provided us with hot comforts, and acted as ministering angels.

  THE CALIFORNIAN

  Cyril Evans – Marconi Officer, SS Californian

  At about 3.30am New York time [5.20am ship’s time] the chief officer came into my room and woke me up. He said, ‘Wireless, there is a ship that has been firing rockets in the night. Please see if there is anything the matter.’

  I jumped out of bed, slipped on a pair of trousers and a pair of slippers. My bunk is in the same room as the apparatus. I went at once to my key and started my motor and gave ‘CQ’ – that means all stations, someone answer – and gave my own code signal. About a second later I was answered by the Frankfurt, ‘DKD, DFT’. The DFT is the Frankfurt’s call.

  He said, ‘Do you know the Titanic has sunk during the night, collided with an iceberg?’ I said, ‘No. Please give me the latest position.’ He gave me the position. I put the position down on a slip of paper, and then I said, ‘Thanks, old man,’ to the German operator. Then the Virginian started to call me up. I answered him, and told him to go. He said, ‘Do you know the Titanic had sunk?’ I said, ‘Yes, the Frankfurt has just told me.’ I sent them a service message, and said, ‘Please send me official message regarding Titanic, giving position.’

  The message from the Frankfurt was not an official message; that was only a conversation. But a few minutes after that I got an official message from the Virginian. The position I got from the Virginian and
the position I got from the Frankfurt were both the same. I sent that up to the skipper. I did not have time to date the message. I dated my own copy of the message, but I did not get the name of the ship on either, or the date, or who it was addressed to, in my hurry.

  I was trying to get the Carpathia. He told me he was about 30 or 40 miles off from the scene of the disaster. I remember that. I forget how it happened, but he said, ‘We are 30 or 40 miles off. We are steaming as fast as we can.’ This was after I had taken the message up, and we were under way. I said, ‘We are steaming full speed, now.’

  Stanley Lord – Captain, SS Californian

  I was conversing with the chief officer about the probability of pushing through the ice. I was undecided whether to go through it or to turn round and go back. We decided to go on, so I told him to put the engines on and stand by. He did so. Then he said, ‘Will you go down to look at this steamer to the southward?’ I asked him, ‘Why, what is the matter with it?’ He said, ‘He might have lost his rudder.’ But I said, ‘Why? He has not got any signals up.’ ‘No, but the second officer in his watch said he fired several rockets.’ I said, ‘Go and call the wireless operator.’

  The chief officer came back after 15 to 20 minutes and said, ‘The operator reports a ship sunk.’ I said, ‘Go back and wait until you find out what it is. Get some more about it.’ So he went back, and I suppose ten minutes afterwards he came back and said, ‘The Titanic is sunk, and hit an iceberg.’

  I said, ‘Go back again and find the position as quickly as possible.’ So he went back, and he came back and said, ‘We have a position here, but it seems a bit doubtful.’ I said, ‘You must get me a better position. We do not want to go on a wild goose chase.’ So in the meantime, I marked off the position from the course given me by the Frankfurt in the message just from one operator to another. I marked that off and headed the ship down there.

  As we were trying to get official news from the Frankfurt, the Virginian chipped in, and he gave me this message, which confirmed the position.

  I should think it was 30 miles at the least to the wreckage. There was a dense ice-field running north and south after the style of a T, and the T was dividing the position where the Titanic was supposed to have sunk and where we were. I suppose for the two or three miles all the way down to where she was, it was studded with bergs and loose ice. I ran along bearing north-east, and then I cut straight through the ice at full speed.

  Part Four

  Rescue

  Monday 15 April 1912

  ‘Considering the size of the disaster, there was very little wreckage. It seemed more like an old fishing boat had sunk’

  Arthur Rostron – Captain, SS Carpathia

  At 20 minutes to three, I saw the green flare, which is the White Star Company’s night signal, and, knowing I must be at least 20 miles away, I thought it was the ship herself still. It was showing just for a few seconds, and I passed the remark that she must still be afloat. Before this, I had got the wireless message that the engine room was filling, so I felt it was a case of all up.

  At a quarter to three I saw what we knew was an iceberg by the light from a star – I saw a streak of light right on the iceberg. From then on till four o’clock, I passed icebergs on every side and had to alter our course several times to clear the bergs. At four o’clock, I considered I was practically up to the position, and I stopped. In the meantime I had been firing rockets and the company’s signals every time we saw this green light.

  A few minutes later, I saw the green light again, and I was going to pick the boat up on the port bow, but just as it showed the green light I saw an iceberg right ahead of me. It was very close, so I had to port my helm hard a-starboard and put her head round quick and pick up the boat on the starboard side. Then I saw the light on my starboard side. It was getting close. I went full speed astern. I went a little bit past the boat before I could get the way off the ship, and I came back again, because they sang out from the boat that they had only one seaman, and could not handle her. I brought the ship back to the boat. At ten minutes past four we got alongside.

  By the time we had the first boat’s people, it was breaking day, and then I could see the remaining boats all around within an area of about four miles. I also saw icebergs all around me. There were about 20 icebergs that would be anywhere from about 150 to 200 feet high and numerous smaller bergs; also numerous what we call ‘growlers’. They were anywhere from 10 to 12 feet high and 10 to 15 feet long above the water. There were dozens and dozens of them all over the place.

  It was quite daylight before we saw the ice-field. We were then about four or five miles from a huge ice-field extending as far as we could see, NW to SE.

  There were several ladies in the boats. They were slightly injured about the arms and things of that kind, of course – although I must say, from the very start, all these people behaved magnificently. As each boat came alongside everyone was calm, and they kept perfectly still in their boats. They were quiet and orderly, and each person came up the ladder, or was pulled up, in turn as they were told off. Everyone we saw in the boats was wearing a lifebelt. There was no confusion whatever among the passengers. They behaved magnificently, every one of them.

  As they came aboard, they were, of course, attended to. My instructions had already been given to that effect.

  We took three dead men from the boats, and they were brought on board. They had died of exposure. Another man was brought up – I think he was one of the crew – who died that morning about ten o’clock. One of my own officers and the Titanic’s officers identified the bodies, as far as possible, and took everything from them that could be of the slightest clue or use. Nothing was left but their clothes. There was very little taken, of course. The four bodies were buried at sea later that afternoon.

  We got 13 lifeboats alongside, two emergency boats, two Berthon boats. There was one lifeboat which we saw was abandoned, and one of the Berthon boats was not launched from the ship but was bottom up in the wreckage. That made 20 altogether.t Several of the boats could have accommodated a good many more people, and two or three boats were rather crowded, I thought.

  While they were getting all the people aboard from the boats, I got the spare men and some of my officers, and swung my boats inboard again, and landed them on their blocks and secured them. I then swung the davits out again, disconnected the falls again, and got up the Titanic’s boats.

  I have only been in one or two of the boats, but they were all marked ‘Titanic’, as they came up. They were all brand new, as far as I could see. I saw both water and biscuits in the boats, not all, of course, but one or two where the men were working about when we secured them. And all of the boats had the bread tanks, that I know for certain. And they also had water breakers.

  The position given me by the Titanic was absolutely correct and he was absolutely on her track, bound for New York. I forget the true course now, but he had passed what we call the corner on the great circle. It is some years since I was in the North Atlantic trade; I have been in the Mediterranean trade, and I have forgotten the exact course. But he was on the southerly route for western-bound steamers, on his proper track, where he ought to have been at this time of year.

  Bruce Ismay – Managing Director, IMM

  I think that I boarded the ship Carpathia at a quarter to six or a quarter past six. I happened to see a clock somewhere on the ship when I got on her.

  When I got on board the ship, I stood up with my back against the bulkhead, and somebody came up to me and said, ‘Will you not go into the saloon and get some soup, or something to drink?’ I said, ‘No, I really do not want anything at all.’ He said, ‘Do go and get something.’ I said, ‘No. If you will leave me alone I will be very much happier here.’ I said, ‘If you will get me in some room where I can be quiet, I wish you would.’ He said, ‘Please go in the saloon and get something hot.’ I said, ‘I would rather not.’ Then he took me and put me into a room. I did not know whose the room was
, at all. This man proved to be the doctor of the Carpathia. I was in that room until I left the ship. I was never outside the door of that room. During the whole of the time I was in this room, I never had anything of a solid nature, at all; I lived on soup. I did not want very much of anything.

  I had a suit of pyjamas on, a pair of slippers, a suit of clothes and an overcoat.

  On Monday morning, very shortly after I got on board the Carpathia, the captain came down to me and said, ‘Don’t you think, sir, you had better send a message to New York, telling them about this accident?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ I wrote it out on a slip of paper, and I turned to the commander of the Carpathia and I said, ‘Captain, do you think that is all I can tell them?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ Then he took it away from the room.

  This is the message I sent on the fifteenth of April at about eight o’clock. It was received by Mr Franklin on the seventeenth of April:

  Deeply regret advise you Titanic sank this morning after collision iceberg, resulting serious loss life. Full particulars later. Signed Bruce Ismay

  Joseph Boxhall – Fourth Officer

  One of the first things that Captain Rostron said after I met him was: ‘What a splendid position that was you gave us.’

  I was on the bridge for several minutes, about a quarter of an hour, shortly after we got the boats on board. We were steaming around the scene of the disaster. I saw one floating body of a man. It had a life-preserver on, and it was quite dead. We could see by the way the body was lying. This body looked as if the man had fallen asleep lying on his side, with his face over his arm. That is the only body I saw, dead or alive.