Page 64 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 10 -13

12471. Was Miss Francatelli accompanying your wife and you on this voyage? - Yes. 12472. Was she your wife’s secretary? - Yes. 12473. Did they come up on the boat deck to you? - Miss Francatelli joined us in the cabin just at that time. We went up to the boat deck together. 12474. To which side of the boat deck did you go? - To starboard. 12475. Did you see lifeboats being lowered? - Yes, when we got up one was being either filled or lowered - the furthest aft of those three - (pointing on the model.) We came out of the gymnasium door. 12476. That is boat No. 7? - Yes, I suppose so. 12477. You mean the third one from the emergency boat in front? - Yes. 12478. Did you see whether there were men or women in that boat? - They were only putting women in. 12479. You saw it being lowered? - I think it was just being filled as we got there, and it was lowered almost immediately. 12480. With women and, I suppose, some crew? - Very few. 12481. Did you see any other lifeboat lowered? - I saw two other lifeboats lowered. 12482. Which were they? - The next two forward. 12483. Five and three? - Yes. 12484. Were they filled with women and children? - The first one was No. 3 was partially filled with women, and then filled up with men when they could find no other women. 12485. That is boat No. 3? - Yes. 12486. Did you see how many women and children were in the boat? - No, I did not. 12487. What were your wife and Miss Francatelli doing during this time? - They were standing with me, they had refused to go. 12488. They had refused to go into the boat? - My wife had refused to leave me and go in the boats, and consequently we stood against the deck house while the boats were going. 12489. That means your wife and Miss Francatelli were asked to go into one of the lifeboats? - They were asked two or three times to go. 12490. But, as it meant going without you, you mean your wife would not go? - Exactly. 12491. Were there many people about on this deck at this time? - Yes, quite a lot. 12492. Did anybody attempt to force your wife to one of the lifeboats? - Yes, I think in No. 3 some men got hold of her and tried to pull her away. 12493. And she would not go? - No. 12494. Was the part of the deck where you were standing at this time when you saw the third lifeboat go down, clear or full of passengers? - Do you mean fore or aft? 12495. I mean by the time you saw the third boat lowered away? - When the third boat had been lowered I think everybody had disappeared. 12496. Were they firing rockets at that time? - Yes, they had just begun while they were lowering No. 3 lifeboat. 12497. Was there any conversation between you and your wife as to what you should do? - No, owing to the noise I think; but she said to me: “Ought not we to do something?” 12498. What did you say? - I said: “No, we have got to wait for orders.” 12499. Then did you hear any orders given with reference to No. 1 boat. 12500. Yes, an officer - I do not know who he was - ordered - 12501. An officer? - Yes, I think it was the same officer who had been doing the other boats. We had followed them along. He said: “Man the emergency boat,” and he said so to a number of, I think, firemen or some of the crew, some eight or ten of them who were standing there. I then spoke to him and I said “May we get into the boat?” and he said “Yes, I wish you would” or “Very glad if you would” or some expression like that. There were no passengers at all near us