Page 18 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 10 -13

C deck, the one we were standing on. The Attorney-General: Your Lordship follows. The effect of that would be that the water would be up to D deck. It was coming into the coamings of the hatchway, which would be above D deck. The Commissioner: No, I do not understand that. The Attorney-General: Well, I did not think he meant that, but it is what he said just now. 11383. (The Commissioner - To the Witness.) Now, listen to me. There was a hatch upon the deck on which you were standing? - Yes. 11384. And that you supposed to be C deck? - Yes. 11385. Now, the hatchways were removed? - Yes, all the blind hatches were removed. 11386. And the tarpaulins were off? - Yes. 11387. And there was nothing but a grid or grating, through which you looked? - Yes. 11388. Now, this hatchway goes right down to the bottom of the ship? - Yes. 11389. There were coamings round the hatchway where you were standing? - Yes. 11390. Where would the next coamings be, down below? - I should think myself - 11391. Would it not be on the next deck? - I think myself a good two decks below, because there is a wide space from that upper coaming to the lower coamings. 11392. That may make a difference. Now, can you show me in the Court, without telling me what the number of feet are, how far below you, when you were looking through the grating, the coamings were where you saw the water? Just show me. Give me an idea. - I should think myself, from that deck there down to where that gentleman is sitting. 11393. Do you mean from the top; this roof that we see over this? - Yes, this platform. 11394. Down to the floor? - Yes, it may have been a little lower. 11395. That would mean two decks lower. The distance between the deck you were standing on and the next deck would be about how much - half that high? - About halfway, Sir. The Commissioner: Then that would point to this, that it was two decks down? The Attorney-General: Yes. I thought it was more from what he said. The Commissioner: Well, it may be. The Attorney-General: I will tell your Lordship why I thought so. If you look at the plan I should have taken it from the section to be between F and G decks, because, according to the plan, that is the first indication of coamings. Mr. Laing: That is so. The Commissioner: Very well; that is right, probably. The Attorney-General: There is something like a coaming if you look at C, and then the next one is G. 11396. (The Commissioner - to the Witness.) Will you come round here? (The Witness explained the plan to the Commissioner.) The Commissioner: He tells me, looking at this plan, he thinks that the water he saw was by the coaming on G deck. The Attorney-General: Yes; I thought that is what he must mean. The Commissioner: That would be about 25 feet below it, or something like that. The Attorney-General: Your Lordship will remember - I do not know whether you noticed it on the “Olympic” - there was the same thing there. They go through various decks without coamings. The Commissioner: Yes, until you go to this deck G. The Attorney-General: Yes. That makes it right. 11397. (The Commissioner - to the Witness.) Now will you tell me how far below the top of the watertight bulkhead was this water at that time? - This water at that time, I should think roughly, was about a foot around the coamings, running around the coamings. What I want to know is,