22 minutes, 29 witnesses, a captain's honour reclaimed

I've always been surprised at how little attention has been paid by Titanic researchers to the evidence that the order to clear the lifeboats was given a mere 15 minutes after the collision with the iceberg.

In fact, the boatswain called the deck crew to the boat deck only 10 minutes after the collision, and it was five minutes after that when First Officer Murdoch gave the collected men a verbal order to clear the boats and make them ready for passengers.

I was therefore puzzled by claims by the authors of so-called definitive books on the Titanic such as 'Report into the Loss of the SS Titanic, A Centennial Reappraisal" and "On a Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of the RMS Titanic" that the bosun's call was, at the earliest, at midnight, a full 10 minutes later than shown by undisputed evidence.

Digging into what was said by eyewitnesses I found a dozen survivors who agreed on the timing of the bosun's call and the subsequent order to clear the boats. The confluence of evidence was so strong it reminded me of the concept of an anchor point, a spot in research where the proof is so strong that it serves as a reference point in making subsequent judgements.

I found 19 witnesses to events in the 10 minutes between the collision and the bosun's pipe. That was enough to make an exceptionally thorough time line, I thought. Then the opportunity only got better.

Among the witnesses was Quartermaster Alfred Olliver who made four trips up and down the ship over the 10 minutes between the collision and the boatswain's piped order. That would mean an average of two minutes a trip. Except that the trips weren't exactly the same distance.

Two trips were from the boat deck to E deck and back (each five decks long) and two trips were from the boat deck to the engine room and back (each 9 decks long). And there was a twist. Olliver estimated he waited two to three minutes to get a reply to a message he carried to the engine room. Taking the shortest wait, that meant he actually made four trips in 8 minutes.

Those four trips covered 28 decks in 8 minutes, which averages 17 seconds a deck.

I've always thought it absurd to measure events on the Titanic within seconds, so I rounded up or down the time of the trips so that, in broad strokes, Olliver took a minute and a half to reach E deck and two and a half minutes to get to the engine room.

But it got better still. Three other witnesses made the same trip as Olliver either down to E deck or up to the boat deck---seaman Frank Evans, the carpenter and the boatswain. Using the same estimated time per journey, the timeline became finer, and more illuminating, and exciting.

(The best way to understand what follows is by making an old-fashioned timeline---take a blank sheet of paper, draw a straight line across it, and mark off the minutes along the line with a brief description below each mark of what was happening at that time.)

11:40 P.M.

The Titanic collides with an iceberg.

The Captain questions First Officer Murdoch over what happened.

The Captain sends Quartermaster Alfred Olliver to find the carpenter

Quartermaster Robert Hichens  United States Senate Inquiry  Day 5

The skipper came rushing out of his room - Capt. Smith - and asked, "What is that?" Mr. Murdoch said, "An iceberg." He said, "Close the emergency doors."...Mr. Murdoch replied, "The doors are already closed."

Hichens  British Inquiry

1030.- The Captain immediately gave him orders to close the watertight doors. He said, "They are already closed." He immediately then sent for the carpenter to sound the ship

Mr. OLLIVER.  U.S. Senate Inquiry

When he first came on the bridge he asked the first officer what was the matter, and Mr. Murdoch reported, sir, that we had struck an iceberg, and the captain ordered him to have the watertight doors closed, and Mr. Murdoch reported that the watertight doors were closed.

Senator BURTON.Did you hear him give any other orders?

Mr. OLLIVER.The captain gave me orders to tell the carpenter to go and take the draft of the water.

11:41

Captain Smith, Murdoch and Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall look over the side of the ship for the iceberg.

Boxhall goes to check below for damage.

Boxhall British Inquiry

15356. Did the Captain and the first Officer go to the starboard side of the bridge to see if they could see the iceberg?
- Yes.

15357. Did you see it yourself?
- I was not too sure of seeing it. I had just come out of the light, and my eyes were not accustomed to the darkness.

15358. What did you do next - did you leave the deck?
- Yes, I went down forward, down into the third class accommodation, right forward on to the lowest deck of all with passenger accommodation, and walked along these looking for damage.

Lamp Trimmer Samuel Hemming follows a hissing noise coming from a pipe near his cabin on C deck. 

Mr. HEMMING.  U.S. Senate Inquiry

I came up to ascertain where the hissing noise was still coming from. I found it was the air escaping out of the exhaust of the tank.

11:41 - 11:42 P.M.

Olliver finds the carpenter.

Senator BURTON. Where did you find the carpenter?

Mr. OLLIVER.In the working alleyway... It is on E deck.

Senator BURTON. What did he say about the draft?

Mr. OLLIVER. He says, "all right; I am doing it."

Senator BURTON. Did he say he had found any water?...Did you hear him report anything to the captain?

Mr. OLLIVER. No, sir; I did not wait for an answer.

Olliver heads to the bridge to report to the Captain.

11:42

Second Officer Charles Lightoller, still in his pajamas, leaves his cabin, walks 10 feet and sees the Captain and Murdoch on the bridge. 

Lightoller United States Senate Inquiry Day 1

Senator SMITH. How much time elapsed after the impact and your appearance on the deck?

Mr. LIGHTOLLER. I should say about two or three minutes.

Senator SMITH. You could see the bridge distinctly; and the captain was on the bridge?

Mr. LIGHTOLLER. The captain and first officer.

11:42 - 11:43 P.M.

Hemming  U.S. Inquiry

At that time the chief officer, Mr. Wilde, put his head around the hawse pipe and says: "What is that, Hemming?" I said: "The air is escaping from the forepeak tank. She is making water in the forepeak tank, but the storeroom is quite dry." He said, "All right," and went away.

Mr. HAINES.  U.S. Senate Inquiry Day 7

Mr. HAINES. When I first heard the blow, I heard some air escaping right forward, and I ran forward to the exhaust from the forepeak tank. I said the forepeak tank was filling and the air was coming out and the water was coming in. It was an overflow pipe. Just as I got there the chief officer, Mr. Wilde, had gotten there, and the lamp trimmer was there, Mr. Hemming.

Senator SMITH. What was said there?

Mr. HAINES. We said the forepeak tank was filling; the air was coming out and the water was coming in. He asked if there was any water in the forepeak, and the store-keeper went into the forepeak, and there was no water there, sir. That is the forepeak, sir; not the forepeak tank. The forepeak tank was full. The chief officer then went on the bridge to report.

11:43 P.M..

Sixth Officer James Moody sends Seaman Frank Evans to find the carpenter.

Frank Evans United States Senate Inquiry Day 7
Sunday night was my watch on deck, and I was sitting at the table reading a book, and all of a sudden I felt a slight jar. I did not take any notice of it for a few minutes, until one of the other able seamen came down with a big lump of ice in his hands, and he said "Look what I found on the fore-well deck," and he chucked it down on the deck; and I went up the ladder there and I met one officer...I think it was the fifth officer; the fifth or sixth officer. He told me to go down and find the carpenter and sound all the wells forward, and report to the bridge.

Sixth Officer James Moody sends Seaman Frank Evans to find the carpenter.

Wilde tells the Captain the ship has been breached.

Olliver returns to the bridge. He is immediately sent to the Chief Engineer with a note.

Mr. OLLIVER.
As soon as I got on the bridge, I had another message...A message to take to the chief engineer.

Senator BURTON.
What message did you take to the chief engineer?

Mr. OLLIVER. I cannot say the message. It was on a piece of paper and the paper was closed.

(Within 5 minutes of the collision Captain Smith has been told the ship is breached and he still hasn't heard from the carpenter as to how badly the ship is damaged. Another seaman is ordered to tell the carpenter to come to the bridge. Smith had been told water was entering the forepeak tank which plays a role in the ballast of the ship. I accept the suggestion by David G. Brown that the note was a formal written order required by White Star regulations to have the ship's ballast adjusted and that this was the note delivered by Olliver.)

Evans is looking for the carpenter when he meets the boatswain who tells him the carpenter is gone.

Evans United States Senate Inquiry Day 7

 I went down the engineer's alleyway to find him, and I met the boatswain there, and he said, "Who are you looking for, Evans?" I said "The carpenter." He said "He has gone up." He said "What is the matter?" I said "I do not know. I think we have struck an iceberg." The boatswain went up, then.

11:43 - 11:44 P.M.

Below, the carpenter heads to the bridge.

11:44 P.M.

The Captain alerts the wireless operators that he's ordered an inspection of the damage to the ship.

"I was standing by Phillips telling him to go to bed when the Captain put his head in the cabin.
"We’ve struck an iceberg," the Captain said, "and I’m having an inspection made to tell what it has done for us. You better get ready to send out a call for assistance. But don’t send it until I tell you." Harold Bride, New York Times, April 28, 1912

(The inspection he was referring to was that by the carpenter. This is the latest he could warnthe wireless room to standy before the carpenter arrived on the boat deck.)

11:45 P.M.

Boxhall returns to the bridge.

Boxhall is sent to find the carpenter. He meets the carpenter coming to the bridge to report to the Capt. Boxhall goes to the mail room.

Boxhall   British Inquiry

15577. How long were you away, do you think?- I could not say.

15580. Something less than ten minutes; five minutes?- Somewhere between five and ten minutes.

15583. How long before you went down to the mail room again, 5 or 10 minutes?- Almost immediately.

 Boxhall (US Inquiry)

"I thought I would go down forward again and investigate; and then I met a mail clerk...and he asked where the captain was. I said, "He is on the bridge." He said, "The mail hold is full" or "filling rapidly." I said, "Well, you go and report it to the captain and I will go down and see,"  

11:45-11:46 P.M.

The bosun, on his way to the bridge, tells the crewmen on C deck to 'stand by' for orders.

Mr. HOGG.  British Inquiry

I waked up, at 20 minutes to 12, with the confusion in the forecastle. I rushed up on the deck, and I saw there was not much confusion on deck, and I went below again, with some of my shipmates.

I asked the time, then, of my mate Evans, and he said, "It is a quarter to 12. We will get dressed and get ready to go on the lookout."

I dressed myself, and we relieved the lookout at 12 o'clock, me and my mate Evans.

Lookout George Symons British Inquiry

11351. Hogg told you (that) you had better get up and you started dressing, did you?- Yes.

11352. Whilst you were dressing was an order given?- There was an order came to the forecastle door by the boatswain to "Stand by, as you may be wanted at any moment."

11353. Was that to you only, or to all hands?- To the hands in general who were in the forecastle.

11354. "All hands stand by"?- Yes, "You may be wanted at any moment."

11355. You heard afterwards what the time was- Yes, I did not know the time then.

11356. What time was this?- By the time I got on deck it must have been about one bell, a quarter to twelve.

11357. That was after you had this order from the boatswain?- Yes.

First Class passenger Gilbert Tucker (cabin C-53) sees the Captain giving orders to a group of officers.

"I started back to my cabin and in the main companionway I ran across Captain Smith with a group of his officers. As I passed he was giving orders to call all hands, get life belts on them, and prepare to lower away the boats…As I looked at my watch then it was about 11:45. Gilbert Tucker, Jr., Tells of Wreck, Albany Times-Union, April 19, 1912.

11:45 to 11:46 P.M.

Olliver delivers the Captain's note to the Chief Engineer

Olliver  United States Senate Inquiry

Senator BURTON.Where did you find the chief engineer?

Mr. OLLIVER.Down in the engine room.

Mr. OLLIVER.I delivered the message, and I waited for an answer.

11:46 p.m.- 11:47 P.M.

The bosun arrives on the boat deck.

11:47 P.M.

11:47 - 11:48 P.M.

After waiting some time, Olliver was spotted by the Chief Engineer.

Mr. OLLIVER.
...the chief engineer told me; that he would get it done as soon as possible, and to return that to the captain.

11:48 P.M.

Able Seaman John Poingdestre was standing under the forecastle outside the mess room on C deck when the carpenter spoke to him.

POINGDESTRE  BRITISH INQUIRY

2819. Will you tell me what was said by the carpenter to you?

- The carpenter told me, and said the ship was making water; "Get up to your boats."

(Having reported to the Captain, the carpenter is obviously headed back below to monitor the flooding of the ship.)

2821. He did not tell you how much?- He said about 7 feet, Sir.

2822. Did he tell you whether he had been sounding himself?- He had been sounding the wells down in the firemen's compartment.

2825. Now when the carpenter gave you that information how long do you think that was after the ship had struck the iceberg?

- I think about 10 minutes.

2826. What did you do after the carpenter had told you that?- Stayed where I was.

2827. For about how long?- A matter of a couple of minutes.

2828. And at the end of a couple of minutes what did you do?- The boatswain piped.

11:49 P.M.

Lamp Trimmer Samuel Hemming has returned to his bunk when the ship's joiner comes and tells him to turn out.

Hemming British Inquiry

17734. I think you saw the carpenter after that?
- The joiner.

17736. What did he say?
- He said she was making water in 1, 2, and 3, and the Racquet Court.

(Note how Hemming corrects the questioner. It appears the joiner went to the boat deck with the carpenter and both of them are now headed down again.)

Hemming United States Senate Inquiry

We went back in our bunks a few minutes. Then the joiner came in and he said: "If I were you, I would turn out, you fellows. She is making water, one-two-three, and the racket court is getting filled up." 

11:50 P.M.

Hemming cont.

Just as he (the joiner) went, the boatswain came, and he says, "Turn out, you fellows," he says; "you haven't half an hour to live." He said: "That is from Mr. Andrews." He said: "Keep it to yourselves, and let no one know."

Hemming  British Inquiry

17738 Shortly after that did you see the boatswain?
-Yes

17739. What did he say to you

-He told us to turn out; that the ship had half-an-hour to live, from Mr. Andrews, but not to tell anyone, but to keep it to ourselves.

17740 -the boatswain told us to turn out; the ship had only half-an-hour to live, from Mr. Andrews, but not to tell anyone. The boatswain heard it from Mr. Andrews, and he told us.

17741 (The Commissioner.) When was this, how long after the jar which you heard?

- About 10 minutes, I should say.

17742. (Mr. Raymond Asquith) After this, did you go at once up on deck?

-As I was ordered to, to go to the boats.

Olliver returns to the bridge. Chief Officer Wilde immediately sends him with a message for the boatswain.

Mr. OLLIVER.

...the chief engineer told me... that he would get it done as soon as possible, and to return that to the captain. As soon as I delivered that message the chief officer sent me to the boatswain of the ship and told me to tell the boatswain to get the oar lines and to uncover the boats and get them ready for lowering, and I done so, and came back on the bridge.

The boatswain pipes "all hands on deck". The message is not for all the crewmen, only those classed as deck hands.

SOURCES 1-12

1. Poingdestre British Inquiry

2825. Now when the carpenter gave you that information how long do you think that was after the ship had struck the iceberg?- I think about 10 minutes.

2826. What did you do after the carpenter had told you that?
- Stayed where I was.
- A matter of a couple of minutes.

2828. And at the end of a couple of minutes what did you do?

- The boatswain piped.

*********************

2. AB Ernest Archer: ...the boatswain ordered us on deck....Q: How long after that did that occur? A: About 10 minutes, sir

3. AB G. Moore: "There was not any shock at all. About 10 minutes to 12 the boatswain came and piped all hands on the boat deck, and started to get out boats.

4. Albert Horswell, radio interview, May 10, 1934 (transcript on Encyclopedia Titanica).
"I was asleep in my bunk in the foredeck quarters when she struck…At 12:15 a.m. orders were given to uncover the lifeboat, and 15 minutes later orders were given to swing out the davits…At 12:30 came orders: All passengers on deck with lifebelts on."   11:52

Horswell was asleep at the time of the collision. He was therefore intending to wake up after the first time change. If his times are adjusted by 23 minutes, they correspond perfectly with the evidence of other witnesses.

5. Lucas British Inquiry

1428. What happened then, as far as you know? Whom did you see who came?
- The first orders I got was up under the bridge; that would be the boatswain's mate, followed by the boatswain, "All hands up about the boats."

1429. How long was that after the collision do you suppose?
- I suppose, about a quarter of an hour.  

 

6. First Class Passenger Paul Chevre, Montreal Herald, April 19, 1912
"Fifteen minutes after we struck…our worst fears were realized when the order "man the lifeboats" was given from the Commander."   

7. Mr. BULEY. United States Inquiry

"The next order from the chief officer, Murdoch, was to tell the seamen to get together and uncover the boats and turn them out as quietly as though nothing had happened. They turned them out in about 20 minutes."

8. Hemming. British Inquiry

17740. - The boatswain told us to turn out; the ship had only half-an-hour to live, from Mr. Andrews, but not to tell anyone. The boatswain heard it from Mr. Andrews, and he told us.

17741. (The Commissioner.) When was this; how long after the jar which you heard?
- About 10 minutes, I should say.

9. Mr. CLENCH. United States Inquiry

Mr. CLENCH.
I looked down under the hatchway and I saw the tarpaulin belly out as if there was a lot of wind under it, and I heard the rush of water coming through.

Senator BOURNE.
How soon after you struck? How many minutes, would you think?

Mr. CLENCH.
I should say about 10 minutes, sir.

Mr. CLENCH. United States Inquiry
I went down below and put my guernsey on, my round hat on, and after that I sat down on a stool having a smoke?

Mr. CLENCH.
Then after I lighted the pipe, I heard the boatswain’s pipe call all hands out on deck. We went up to where he stood under the forecastle and he ordered all hands to the boat deck."

10. James Johnson  The Evening World   FridayApril 19, 1912

"Col. Astor Met Death With Smile After Wife Was Safely Off Ship"

When the crash came the impact was so slight that none apparently thought anything serious had happened...There seemed to be a alow, rumbling sound, as if the ship's bottom were scraping something."

"Absolute quietness pervaded the entire ship for fully ten minutes after the collision with the iceberg. As soon as the officers began shouting for the members of the crew to come on deck, however, there started a feeling of uneasiness."

11. Symons  British Inquiry

11352. Whilst you were dressing was an order given?- There was an order came to the forecastle door by the boatswain to "Stand by, as you may be wanted at any moment."

11356. What time was this?

- By the time I got on deck it must have been about one bell, a quarter to twelve.

11357. That was after you had this order from the boatswain?

- Yes.

11359. What did you do when you got on deck?

- I came on deck and I went into the mess room in the course of ordinary events to see if there was any coffee. From there I heard the water coming in to No. 1 hold. I looked down No. 1 hold, and hardly had I looked down there when the order came for "All hands on the boat deck."

11360. You said you looked down No. 1 hold. Before you got that order, "All hands on the boat deck," had you seen any water?

11418. ...can you give us any idea what time it was when you noticed this water reaching nearly to the coamings of the hatch?
- I should think, roughly estimating it, it would be about five minutes to twelve, because, as I was on my way to the deck, so they struck eight bells in the crow's-nest.

12. Frank Morris  British Inquiry

Frank Morris first class bathroom steward

5281. Did you dress and take your lifebelt?
- No, I did not dress right away; I sat on my bunk for a while; then the second steward [Dodd] came in and told us to go on deck.

5282. How long was that after the collision, do you know?
- I could not swear to the time.

5283. About how long?
- About ten minutes or a quarter of an hour.

 

5436. Where were you when the ship struck?- We were asleep.

5437. In the glory hole?- Yes.

5439. Did anybody come and tell you there had been an accident?

- The saloon steward came and woke us and said, " She has hit something."

5440. Were there any orders from the Second Steward or the Chief Steward?

- From the Second Steward. He came in about 10 minutes after.

5443. Did he suggest you should stand by your boats?

- I never heard him give that order. He gave us orders: "All up on the boat deck."

5454. When you got on deck what did you see with regard to women and children?

- I saw them all standing round the lifeboats.

5457. Was there nobody giving orders at all on the boat deck?

- I heard an Officer shouting.

5458. What did he shout?

- "Get the boats clear."

Bruce Ismay, chairman of the White Star line, arrives on the boat deck. He speaks to the Captain.

Senator SMITH. Were you on the bridge at any time?

Mr. ISMAY. I was never on the bridge until after the accident.

Senator SMITH. How long after the accident?

Mr. ISMAY. I should think it might have been 10 minutes.

Senator SMITH.Was the captain there at that time?

Mr. ISMAY. The captain was there; yes.

I felt the ship slow down, put on an overcoat over my pyjamas and went up to the bridge. I asked Captain Smith what was the matter and he said we had struck ice. I asked him whether he thought it serious and he said he did.  Statement issued by J. Bruce Ismay to The Times    Sunday 21st April 1912

 

Mr. ISMAY.  United States Senate Inquiry

I presume the impact awakened me. I lay in bed for a moment or two afterwards, not realizing, probably, what had happened. Eventually I got up and walked along the passageway and met one of the stewards, and said, "What has happened?" He said, "I do not know, sir."

 

I then went back into my room, put my coat on, and went up on the bridge, where I found Capt. Smith. I asked him what had happened, and he said, "We have struck ice." I said, "Do you think the ship is seriously damaged?" He said, "I am afraid she is."

 

The bosun tells Hemming some frightening news.

 

Hemming  United States Senate Inquiry

"Just as he (the joiner) went, the boatswain came, and he says, "Turn out, you fellows," he says; "you haven't half an hour to live." He said: "That is from Mr. Andrews." He said: "Keep it to yourselves, and let no one know." 

(Note the time. Less than 10 minutes after the collision and Thomas Andrews, the architect who designed the Titanic, had briefed the Captain that loss of the ship was imminent. Did he come to the bridge with the carpenter? According to Lightoller that's possible.

"Andrews, the designer, and nephew of the late Lord Pirrie was making the trip with us and it was he, familiar with every nook and corner in her, who made a quick tour of inspection with the Carpenter and reported her condition to Captain Smith." Titanic and Other Ships, Commander Lightoller, 1935.

est. 11:52-11:54 P.M.

Boxhall returns to the bridge.

15377. Did you go back and report that to the Captain on the bridge?
- I stayed there just for a minute or two and had a look. I saw mail-bags floating around on deck. I saw it was no use trying to get them out so I went back again to the bridge. I met the second Steward, Mr. Dodd, on my way to the bridge - as a matter of fact in the saloon companion way - and he asked me about sending men down below for those mails. I said "You had better wait till I go to the bridge and find what we can do." I went to the bridge and reported to the Captain.

Boxhall British Inquiry

15584. And then you came up again on to the bridge?

- Yes.

 

15585. Not having been away very long, I suppose?

- No, I had not been down in the mail room very long. I spent a little more time there than when I went down the first time.

 

15586. And then you came up and reported to the Commander? - Yes.

 

15587. What did he say? - He walked away and left me. He went off the bridge, as far as I remember.

 

15588. He did not say anything to you that was fixed in your memory?- No.

*******************

15378. We have been told that at some time you called the other Officers; both Mr. Lightoller and Mr. Pitman said you called them?
- I did. That was after I reported to the Captain about the mail room.

15379. Could you form any opinion as to how long that was after the impact?
- No...

While Boxhall, himself, said next to nothing about rousing the off-duty officers, Lightoller provided more details...

"The time we struck was 2:20 a.m. (sic) April 12th, of tragic memory, and it was about ten minutes later that the Fourth Officer, Boxall, opened my door and, seeing me awake, quietly said,"We've hit an iceberg."

Testimony of Charles H. Lightoller, recalled  British Inquiry

13789. It was Mr. Boxhall who came to your room and gave you the information? - Yes

13790. What was it he told you?- He just came in and quietly remarked "You know we have struck an iceberg." I said "I know we have struck something." He then said "The water is up to F Deck in the mail room.".

13794. When you got that news it did not take you very long to turn out the second time? - No, it did not.

13800. Did you ascertain whether all hands had been called on deck?

- Yes; I met the Chief Officer almost immediately after, coming out of the door of the quarters. First of all the Chief Officer told me to commence to get the covers off the boats. I asked him then if all hands had been called, and he said, "Yes."

"Yes", because the bosun had piped "all hands on deck" a few minutes earlier.

Lightoller continued...

13802. Then there is an order from the Chief Officer that you should see to the stripping of the covers off the boats? - Yes.

13803. Did you do that? - Yes.

13806. And did you get hands to help you in that work?

- Yes, I commenced myself, and then as the hands turned up, I told them off to the boats.

- I commenced stripping off No. 4; then two or three turned up; I told them off to No. 4 boat and stood off then myself and directed the men as they came up on deck...

It would be around this time that Ismay left the bridge to return to his cabin to get properly dressed. On his way down he met Chief Engineer Bell.

Mr. ISMAY.  U.S. Senate Inquiry Day one
My quarters were on B deck, just aft of the main companionway.

I then went down below, I think it was, where I met Mr. Bell, the chief engineer, who was in the main companionway. I asked if he thought the ship was seriously damaged, and he said he thought she was, but was quite satisfied the pumps would keep her afloat.

Bell was obviously on his way to the boat deck to speak to the Captain. There is no evidence as to what was said when the two met.

11:55 P.M.

Murdoch orders the men who have assembled to clear the lifeboats.

Buley  U.S. Senate Inquiry Day 7

 Buley: "The next order from the chief officer, Murdoch, was to tell the seamen to get together and uncover the boats and turn them out as quietly as though nothing had happened. They turned them out in about 20 minutes.

Thomas Jones  United States Senate Inquiry Day 7

As soon as I went on deck somebody gave the order, "All hands on the bridge." I went up there, and then we were given orders to get the boats ready.

Plus First Class Passenger Paul Chevre, Montreal Herald, April 19, 1912
"Fifteen minutes after we struck…our worst fears were realized when the order "man the lifeboats" was given from the Commander."

Boxhall hears the order to clear the boats.

Boxhall British Inquiry

15380.  After calling those Officers did you go on to the bridge again?

- Yes, I think I went towards the bridge, I am not sure whether it was then that I heard the order given to clear the boats or unlace the covers. I might have been on the bridge for a few minutes and then heard this order given.

*************

Boxhall United States Senate Inquiry

Mr. BOXHALL. He (the Captain) said all right, and then the order came out for the boats.

Senator SMITH. You mean the order was given to man or lower the lifeboats?

Mr. BOXHALL. To clear the lifeboats.

*************

Boxhall British Inquiry

15592.  I never heard an order for any boat to be lowered, or even for women to be put in. The only order I heard was clearing the boats,

Boxhall's testimony is extremely significant. He said that he heard the order to clear the boats AFTER he alerted the off-duty officers that they were needed. Lightoller, the first of those officers to leave his cabin, said he started clearing No. 4 BEFORE any of the men arrived on the boat deck (following Murdoch's order). Boxhall told the officers the ship had hit an iceberg and was flooding, but made no mention of a decision to clear the lifeboats---because he obviously hadn't been told. The decision had been made before he returned to the boat deck and none of his superiors (the Captain, Wilde, Murdoch) brought bring him up to speed.

11:56 P.M.

The first of the deck crew reach the boat deck.

Lord Mersey, the commissioner of the British Inquiry, said while questioning William Lucas commented that it had taken him about 30 seconds to get from the forecastle to the boat deck with an escort, suggesting it would take less time for a member of the crew who was familiar with the ship.

The Commissioner  British Inquiry

1771. Then having learnt your way how long did it take you to go your way to get to the boat deck? Five minutes seems a very long time. I should have said half-a-minute?

11:56 - 11:58 P.M.

The first recorded wireless distress message CQD was received from the Titanic by other ships at 10:25 p.m. New York Time, 11:58 p.m. Titanic time. 

It's highly unlikely that the first message heard was the first message sent. Everyone has experienced the situation of hearing someone say something but not processing it, and as a result responding "What?" It's more than likely then that the first distress messages sent from the Titanic were not acknowledged until someone recognized the importance of CQD ("all ships") and the message "require assistance."

The surviving wireless operator, Harold Bride, said the Captain had told the operators to stand by when he first visited about 10 minutes earlier. At the time he told them he was having an inspection done, so that visit had to have come before the carpenter, the person making that inspection, reported to the Captain at about 11:46 p.m.

Senator SMITH.
Between the time you turned out and the captain gave the order to send this message -

Mr. BRIDE.
It was just about 10 minutes.

Senator SMITH.
I do not know that I care to press that matter any further. Your statement stands that it was about 10 minutes. It might have been a little more.

Mr. BRIDE.
As far as I recollect; Mr. Phillips did not tell me when it was that he felt the ship striking; but to the best of my recollection it was 10 minutes after I had turned out that the captain came in and told us to get assistance.

Senator SMITH. What did the captain say?

Mr. BRIDE. He told us that we had better get assistance.

Senator SMITH. Can you tell us in his language?

Mr. BRIDE.
That is exactly what he said. He said, "You had better get assistance." When Mr. Phillips heard him he came out and asked him if he wanted him to use a distress call. He said, "Yes; at once."

Senator SMITH.Was the message sent immediately?

Mr. BRIDE. Immediately.

Senator SMITH. Do you know what the message was?

Mr. BRIDE. C.Q.D. about half a dozen times; M.G.Y. half a dozen times.

 

Bride  British Inquiry day 14

6507. Did you hear any conversation between Mr. Phillips and the Captain about this? - Yes.

16508. Beyond what you have just told us that you were to call for assistance? - The Captain gave him the latitude and longitude of the "Titanic," and told him to be quick about it or words to that effect.

(So though the message was first heard at 11:58, it wasn't sent as "immediately" as Bride said. The Captain came in, gave the order to send the distress message, handed the senior wireless operator Phillips the position of the ship, longitude and latitude, and left. More time would have been taken by Phillips to read the position and process it so as to transmit it seamlessly.)

11:59 P.M.

Shortly before midnight, Captain Smith visited Bruce Ismay at his cabin on B Deck to tell him of the order to clear the lifeboats . Ismay never spoke of this meeting. In fact, in his testimony he lied and said he never spoke to Smith after the collision aside from his first trip to the bridge. But two people witnessed the meeting.

Mrs. Katie Gold   The Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser  Tue 16 Sep 1913 Page 3  "The Heroine of the Titanic."

... I heard Captain Smith come down to the room.' of Mr. Bruce Ismay — managing director of the company — which was only a few feet away from mine. I heard the captain say to Mr. Ismay, 'We had better get the boats out.'

The Captain-Ismay meeting was also observed by first-class passenger Quigg Baxter whose cabin was next to Ismay's. According to Baxter's sister, Quigg stepped outside and overheard Capt. Smith and the shipping line's managing director Bruce Ismay talking in the corridor.

La Patrie April 22 1912 https://diffusion.banq.qc.ca/pdfjs-1.6.210-dist_banq/web/pdf.php/zCWynNM-NCo1jvurZx9aFQ.pdf#page=9

"He met the captain coming out of Mr. Ismay's cabin. It's all right, Baxter, he (the Captain) said to him, it's nothing serious, go back to bed."

Titanic. The Canadian Story   Alan Hustak 1998

"As Smith hurried away to the bridge, Ismay...was more forthright. He told Baxter that the ship had hit an iceberg, it was taking in water, and that the captain had decided to load the boats."

Ottawa Citizen Jan. 11  1998

But as Smith hurried to the bridge, Ismay told Baxter the truth. They had hit an iceberg, the ship was doomed, and he should get his mother and sister into a lifeboat as quickly as possible.

Hustak provides no source for his account of Ismay's speaking to Baxter after the Captain left. I've found no contemporary 1912 account of such a conversation. The earliest mention of it that I could find is in the Ottawa Citizen story from 1998. Is it apocraphal? It seems so. The story in La Patrie quoting Baxter's sister says he returned to their cabin with the news from the Captain that there was "nothing serious". But, she adds, his mother wasn't completely reassured, and with good reason it turned out. Ten minutes later mother and sister were told by "une servante" they had three minutes to get dressed and out of their cabin, she said.)

12:00 a.m. Midnight

The night of April 29, 1912, Sen. Theodore E. Burton. a member of the Senate Inquiry, had a private meeting with Boxhall.  The A.P. story about that meeting, carried across the country the next day, reported that "He (Boxhall) said Capt. Smith had told him about 20 minutes after the collision that the Titanic was doomed and that J.W.Andrews, representing the builders, had given him the information. Andrews had gone over the ship immediately after the crash and discovered that her hull had been ripped open. He told the Captain that the ship could not be saved."

That exchange was explored at the British Inquiry 3 weeks later.

British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry  Day 13 Wednesday, May 22, 1912

15610. Did you hear the Captain say anything to anybody about the ship being doomed?

- The Captain did remark something to me in the earlier part of the evening after the order had been given to clear the boats. I encountered him when reporting something to him, or something, and he was inquiring about the men going on with the work, and I said, "Yes, they are carrying on all right." I said, "Is it really serious?" He said, "Mr. Andrews tells me he gives her from an hour to an hour and a half." That must have been some little time afterwards. Evidently Mr. Andrews had been down.

15611. Can you tell us how long it was after the collision that the Captain said that?

- No, I have not the slightest idea.

15612. Did you say as a matter of fact in America that it was about 20 minutes after the collision?

- No, I do not think so.

15613. You could not fix the time?

- I cannot fix the time; I have tried, but I cannot.

First Class passenger Jack Thayer got the same news from the mouth of Andrews almost at the same time. He wrote in his book  Sinking of the S.S. Titanic, 1940:

It was now shortly after midnight. My father and I came in from the cold deck to the hallway or lounge. There were quite a few people standing around questioning each other in a dazed kind of way. No one seemed to know what next to do.

We saw, as they passed, Mr. Ismay, Mr. Andrews and some of the ship’s officers. Mr. Andrews told us he did not give the ship much over an hour to live. We could hardly believe it, and yet if he said so, it must be true. No one was better qualified to know.

***********************************************************************************

                                 -30-