Page 104 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 10 -13

to the deck? - Yes, I heard that instruction given by Mr. McElroy about a quarter-past twelve, or round about that time; he sent us down to Mr. Harding to get lifebelts on the passengers and get them on deck. Examined by Mr. CLEMENT EDWARDS. 13230. Whose duty was it to close the watertight doors on deck F? - They belonged to the Turkish bath man. 13231. You, in fact, closed them? - Yes. 13232. Did you get any orders to do that? - No. 13233 Had he had any orders, do you know? - Not that I know of. He may have had orders; I did not see him around until afterwards. 13234. You closed them entirely at your own discretion? - Yes. Examined by Mr. HOLMES. 13235. Was your boat lowered empty from the boat deck to the A deck? - Yes, there was nobody in it. 13236. And it was filled from A deck? - Yes. 13237. The deck was quite open? - Yes; just as it is there (Pointing on the plan.). 13238. Further forward there are windows? - Yes, just as on the plans here. 13239. Did Mr. Murdoch come down on to A deck to give his orders? - No. 13240. He gave them from the boat deck? - Yes. 13241. Over the side? - Yes, we could hear him shouting over the side; he looked over the side when the boat was full and told us to lower her away. Examined by Mr. COTTER. 13242. Did you go down to the gloryhole? - Yes, I went down twice. 13243. Did you see any water at all on A deck? - No. 13244. Did you see any water in the lower gloryhole? - Yes, but our men were not down there, and I had nothing to do with that. 13245. Is it not the rule to provide that there should be boat drills on the ship in each department so that the men may be mustered at the boats and know the stations allotted to them? - Yes. 13246. And they receive their orders as to what to do in case of emergency? - Yes. 13247. So many men on the boat and the rest as stand by men? - Yes. 13248. They receive their orders from the Chief Steward, the Second Steward, or yourself, and you receive your orders from the Captain? - Yes. 13249. If there had been proper boat drill in Southampton and the men had been properly organised do you not think that they could have saved a lot more people than they did? - That is a very hard thing to say; I do not think so under the circumstances. 13250. My reason for putting the question is that some of the boats went away not properly manned and with not a proper complement of passengers? - Yes. 13251. My suggestion to you is that if everybody had known their station and known their duty they could have manned those boats properly and got the proper number of passengers in them? - With regard to the boats on the starboard side Nos. 3, 5, 7 and 9, I have the idea that those men were away, provisioning the boats, because there were none of our men taken away in them. 13252. Is it not the fact that there are only two provision men to each boat and others to man