Page 146 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

could not remember his name - he was there attending to passing the passengers into the boats. 2528. Was it Mr. Wilde, the chief officer? - No, He is about the sixth officer, or the fifth officer. 2529. At any rate, he was a very tall man, according to you? - Yes, tall and spare. I think he was drowned. 2530. Then what did you do? - We put some women and children into the boat, and then there were some passengers got in, and I was ordered by him to get in the boat and we lowered away; and then No. 15 very nearly came on top of us. 2531. That is No. 13 you are speaking of? - Yes. 2532. And No. 15 very nearly came on top of you? - Yes. 2533. I do not think it will be useful to go all through that again; we have heard what happened from Barrett, and I shall leave that. Then what did you do when you got into the boat? Were there any seamen on board? - Three of us; three able seamen. 2534. Besides yourself? - There were three able seamen in the boat. 2535. In No. 13? - Yes, three able seamen. 2536. Who were they? Do you know who the other two were? - Hopkins was the name of one, but I do not know the name of the other fellow. 2537. But you knew he was an able seaman? - Yes. 2538. That is the important point; it made three? - Yes. 2539. Do you know how many men there were in the boat altogether? - Hopkins told me when I asked him the next day if he happened to know how many people there were in the boat that there were 64. 2540. Hopkins told you there were 64? - Yes. He said, “I counted them as nearly as possible 64.” 2541. When you got into the boat and your boat got away from the side, did you see the vessel settling down? - She was going down; she was settling down by the bows, but the bows was not underneath the water when we left. What I mean to say when I say the bows - the deck was not underneath the water; the foc’sle deck was not under the water. 2542. (The Commissioner.) You mean the foc’sle deck? - Yes, the foc’sle deck was not under the water when we left the ship. 2543. (The Attorney-General.) Was it pretty low down? - About half way down I should say. 2544. What do you mean when you say “about half way down”? - I do not know; it is rather hard to say what the number of feet is. I do not know how many feet there are from the waterline up. 2545. I want to understand what you mean. Do you mean she had got a good deal down? - Yes; she was a good deal down. 2546. But not up to her foc’sle deck? - Not up to her foc’sle deck. 2547. I want to know what you mean by saying she was about half-way down. Do you mean about half-way down from the height of the decks to the water? - From the waterline to the foc’sle deck. 2548. Was she settling down quickly; could you see? - Not so very quickly. 2549. Can you give us any idea of the time? I want you to help us as far as you can, although I know it is very difficult for you. Had you any idea of what time it was when you left in the boat - how long it was after you had come down from the crow’s-nest? - I could not say how long it was after. There were no clocks to look at, and I did not ask anybody the time until we got away in the boat. There was a lady there had a watch, and after the ship went down she told me that her watch said half-past two. That is all I know about the time. That was after the ship went down. But as regards other time, I am afraid I could not tell you. 2550. We will get the best help we can from you as to what was done. You pulled away from