Page 112 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

Examined by the SOLICITOR-GENERAL. 1834. Is your name Frederick Barrett? - Yes. 1835. Are you a fireman, a leading hand? - A leading stoker. 1836. Does a stoker and a fireman mean the same thing? - No. 1837. What is the difference? - One is a little higher than the other. 1838. I beg your pardon, are you a leading stoker? - Yes. 1839. Is there a leading stoker to each stoke-hold? - There is a leading stoker to each section. 1840. And how many sections are there? - Six, one is a single section. There are five leading stokers on each watch. 1841. You say there are six sections? - Yes, one is a single section. 1842. Which was the number of your section? - No. 6. 1843. Does that correspond to No. 6 boiler room? - Yes. 1844. We had a fireman here this morning, Beauchamp his name was, he told us it was No. 10 section? - That is No. 10 stokehold. There are two stokeholds to each section. 1845. That is one of the two stokeholds in No. 6 section? - No. 10 and 11 stokeholds is No. 6 section. 1846. Yes, that works it out. I suppose it runs like that all through. One and two corresponds to No. 1 boiler? - Yes, No. 10 and 11 is No. 6 section and 8 and 9 is No. 5 section. 1847. Is this section of yours, No. 6 section, the foremost section of the ship? - Yes, right forward. 1848. It is under the fore funnel, of course? - It is the forward boiler. 1849. It will be under the fore funnel? - It is just close under the fore funnel. 1850. Were you on duty at the time this accident happened? - Yes. 1851. How many firemen or stokers are there in a watch working with you in No. 6? - There are eight firemen in No. 6 section and four coal trimmers. That is what they call the men who wheel the coal. 1852. And yourself as well? - Yes, and an engineer. 1853. Who was the engineer who was on duty? - Mr. Shepherd. 1854. Now can you tell me where you were or what you were doing just at the time the collision happened? - I was talking to the second engineer. 1855. What is his name? - Mr. Hescott. [Hesketh] 1856. Can you tell us where you were? - I was in No. 10 stokehold. 1857. I think it is important to fix the place. Does this stokehold extend across the ship from the starboard side to the port side? - Yes. 1858. Can you tell me which side you were in the stokehold? - The starboard side. 1859. You were talking to Mr. Hescott [Hesketh]? - Yes. 1860. Now just tell us what happened that you noticed? - There is like a clock rigged up in the stokehold and a red light goes up when the ship is supposed to stop; a white light for full speed, and, I think it is a blue light for slow. This red light came up. I am the man in charge of the watch, and I called out, “Shut all dampers.” 1861. You saw this red light? - Yes. 1862. You knew that was an order to stop the engines? - It says “stop” - a red piece of glass and an electric light inside. 1863. Shutting the dampers, I suppose, would be? - To shut the wind off the fires. 1864. To shut the draught off the fires. And you gave an order, “Shut the dampers”? - Yes. 1865. Was that order obeyed? - Yes. 1866. What was the next thing that happened? - The crash came before we had them all shut. 1867. They were shutting them when the crash came? - Yes.