Page 151 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 32 - 36

As your Lordship is going to deal with the history of what was done, I will just give your Lordship the reference to it. I do not think it is of sufficient importance for me to dwell upon it in detail , but I will state shortly what happened, and give you the pages and questions. At page 236, Brown, in Question 10669 to 10672, says that the first order he got after he was wakened by the shock was to close all the watertight doors. That is what first happens: “Did you hear an order given in the alleyway about the watertight doors? - (A.) That was the first order I heard after I was woke by the shock. (Q.) Just tell us what you heard? - (A.) Who gave it I do not know, but I heard an order in the alleyway outside our quarters, to close all watertight doors. (Q.) There are watertight doors in the alleyway? - (A.) Yes, lower down, further aft than our quarters are. (Q.) And you heard that order given? - (A.) Yes. Then, Mackay, on page 236, Questions 10691 to 10694 - he was the bath room steward - says: “The first order I heard was from the second steward to close all watertight doors on F deck. The Commissioner: These references were all given to me by Sir Robert Finlay. The Attorney-General: All I wanted to do was to show your Lordship what had happened. I do not want to go through them, because I attribute very little importance to this part of the evidence. The Commissioner: I have them all marked. The Attorney-General: Very well, my Lord. I am very glad because it will save me dealing with it. The conclusion of the whole matter is in Wilding’s evidence on page 517, and that is the only evidence your Lordship need be troubled with. The Commissioner: I will see whether I have that reference. The Attorney-General: I have no doubt your Lordship has it. It has been referred to several times. At Question 20360 you get the conclusion of the matter and I only call attention to it because it does summarise what had happened. He is asked: “Does it throw any light to your mind upon the question of whether the watertight doors in the bulkheads were or were not shut.” That is on the question of the wounds and how long she floated, and he says, “No.” The same scale, if I may so use it, of the sinking is not sufficiently definite, because closing the watertight doors between E and F deck would only have made a delay of a few minutes, perhaps five or ten minutes. The evidence is not accurate enough upon that. That is really the substance of the matter. I would like to make one observation in passing, not so much to bring it to your Lordship’s notice, as because I know some comment has been made with regard to it. There is no question in this case but were the pumping arrangements were satisfactory and worked satisfactorily. Your Lordship will remember we began to go into it and it was made quite clear that there was no complaint about it, and therefore your Lordship thought it was unnecessary to go into it, and also that you were satisfied, and those who were assisting you, that the pumping arrangements were satisfactory; so that we need not deal in any detail with that. No question was put to your Lordship with regard to it. But what I do want to address myself to now, in dealing with the steps that were taken immediately after the collision, is how soon after the collision it was realised that the injury or injuries were very serious. The Commissioner: How soon it was realised? The Attorney-General: Yes. My view of the evidence which I submit for your Lordship’s consideration, is that it was realised immediately, or almost immediately, by the Captain. The Commissioner: Within 20 minutes. The Attorney-General: Yes, certainly, within 20 minutes, but I think one might even say within a shorter time; but it is sufficient to say within 20 minutes certainly, by the Captain and by the Chief Engineer, by Mr. Andrews, who represented the builders, by those, of course, who spoke to Mr. Andrews who were only taking his view, and by Mr. Ismay himself. The only importance