Page 109 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

1764. (The Commissioner.) Where are your quarters. I thought they were here? - Yes; in the fore-well deck. 1765. You had got up to the boat deck? - Yes. 1766. Does it take you five minutes to get up? - At times it took me longer than that. I never knew my way; it was a new ship. 1767. In ordinary circumstances, or what I conceive to be ordinary circumstances, do you mean to tell me it takes five minutes to get from your quarters in the fore part of the ship up to the boat deck? Just think about it? - It took me close on that. I never knew my way properly upon the boat deck. 1768. Do you mean to say that you were groping about in places that you knew nothing about? - Yes. 1769. Had you never been up before? - Yes, I had been on the boat deck every watch. 1770. And had not you then learnt your way? - Yes, I had learnt my way. 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? - It is rather long, my Lord. The Commissioner: I came up those stairs in the “Olympic” yesterday. It is quite true I was shown the way but five minutes seems an extraordinary length of time. Mr. Lewis: Would you say the boat is very complicated? 1772. (The Commissioner.) Was it difficult for you to find your way from your quarters up to the boat deck? - No. 1773. (Mr. Lewis.) Was it easy to get from the men’s quarters to the deck? Would it be more difficult on the “Titanic” than one of the Union-Castle boats? - Yes. 1774. You say it would be more difficult? - In the “Titanic,” yes. 1775. How long did it take you? I understand you say you assisted to get eight lifeboats out? - Yes. 1776. How long did it take you from the time you commenced till the time you finished with the last boat? How long were you engaged on the work? - I should say about an hour. 1777. You said that you were launching that boat. I understood you to say there were eight sailors there? - That is right. 1778. You were rather short-handed in launching the eight boats? - Yes. 1779. And there were not sufficient seamen sent out with the boats? - No. 1780. What had those eight men been doing? - Lowering all the boats. 1781. But they were left behind? - Yes, left behind along with me - got orders to stand by the boats and lower, and do nothing else. 1782. As two sailors at each boat went out they left the number behind to look after the other boats? - Yes. 1783. It would not require the eight sailors to do the last two or three boats, would it? - It required every man that was there. I got ordered out of the boat I was in, the last collapsible boat, to get one off from the funnel. 1784. Were there any women or children left behind when you left on this collapsible boat? - Yes, I left two myself. 1785. Where were they? - They were lying alongside of me and I said to them: “Wait a minute, there’s another boat going to be put down from the funnel for you.” 1786. That was because you could not take them? - I could not take them. 1787. Were they young people or old? - Two young girls.