Page 231 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

4893. You could not tell whether the water was coming through the fore and aft bulkhead at the bottom of the staircase, could you? - No, I could only see the direction it came from. 4894. Was it coming hard? - Yes, it was more than rushing in; it was falling in. 4895. Did it strike you it was coming in at a point which was not at the bottom of the bulkhead? - Well, you could not exactly tell that. There was a lot of water there and from the way it was rushing in you could not exactly tell how it was coming. 4896. Did you go and report that? - Yes. 4897. To whom? - The second engineer. 4898. Do you know what his name was? - I met Mr. Hesketh first, the second engineer, and reported to him. 4899. Did he give you any instructions? - He told me to get some lamps after that and get some men with me, and get some lamps as we come along and take them down below. 4900. Where did you find Mr. Hesketh? - In the working alleyway on the port side of the ship. 4901. And where did you go and get the lamps? - In the engine room. 4902. You went right along the alleyway to the engine room? - I went right through. 4903. When you got the lamps did you go back with them? - I got all the lamps I could get that were ready. I got five, and left four or five men there to get more if they could. Then I came back by the engine room, went along and down the escape to go to No. 6 section. When I got down there I found I could not get any further, the water was up too high; so I came back by the escape again and went to No. 5 section. 4904. Did you go down No. 5? - Yes. 4905. Did you find Mr. Hesketh there? - No. When I got down there I met Mr. Shepherd; he said to me, “You have got the lamps, have not you?” and I said, “Yes, Sir.” He said. “That is right, light them, and put them up by the water-gauges of the boilers.” So I lit them up and took them up and came down below again, and Mr. Shepherd said to me, “Start drawing fires,” and I said, “Yes.” I went to pull the fires out when Mr. Harvey came and asked me if I would get some men down. 4906. Mr. Shepherd was an engineer? - Yes. 4907. He told you to draw the fires, and you went to get somebody to help you? - I was going to get the rake to start pulling some of the fires out when Mr. Harvey came to me. 4908. He is an engineer? - He is another Second Assistant; they were both Second Assistants. He asked me to get some men down to get the fires out. I went up top and saw a few and asked them if they would come down, and some went down. 4909. Did you get some more men? - Yes. 4910. You went forward to your quarters again? - Yes, they were the men belonging to the watch, the 8 to 12 watch. 4911. The men whose watch it was below? - Yes. 4912. When you got forward into the firemen’s quarters, did you see any more water? - I saw the tarpaulin on No. 2 hatch like a big dome. I could not understand it at the time. I thought there must have been a hole or something in her. 4913. Blown up by the air from below? - Yes. 4914. That was No. 2 hatch? - Yes, I think it is No. 2 hatch - they say it is outside our quarters. 4915. We have heard this about No. 1, but I do not think we have heard it about No. 2. No. 1 hatch is the hatch which is in the open space, I think, outside the forecastle deck, in the well, is it not? - No, not on the well deck; I do not think so. 4916. No. 1 hatch is the one which is right up against the firemen’s quarters? - That would be the only hatch. I was given to understand there was one forward of that. 4917. I see you are speaking of No. 1. You are speaking of the one which is up against the firemen’s quarters on one deck and up against the trimmers’ quarters on another? - Yes.