Page 20 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 6 - 9

The Commissioner: I thought the other witness made it more forward. The Attorney-General: Yes, between the forward and the second funnels; and one of the witnesses said she came back and righted on her keel and then up-ended again, with her stern in the air, and then plunged into the water. There is, not unnaturally, some discrepancy about it. There is some evidence from one of the witnesses, who said the last funnel seemed to come towards him, then to go aft. Your Lordship will remember that. The Commissioner: Yes. 5683. (The Attorney-General.) That will correspond, at any rate. It is the best description a man can give of what he saw on a dark night. (To the Witness.) You were behind her stern? - Yes. 5684. You could not see how far forward she parted? - No. 5685. When you were looking over the starboard side was there anybody near you? - Yes, all the engineers and firemen and all that. 5686. All the engineers? - Yes. 5687. Do you mean the officers? - Yes; the engineers that were on watch. 5688. Then, if I understand it aright, all the engineers had come up too? - They were all at the top. 5689. Did they come up when you came up? - Just afterwards, but some of them went up on the boat deck with me. They came up the ladder just behind me. 5690. When you say they were standing there, where were they standing? - Just against the electric crane aft. 5691. Will you indicate to us on the model where that is? - Yes, just about here (pointing on the model.) 5692. On the boat deck? - On the boat deck. 5693. That is the last you saw of them? - That is the last I saw of them. 5694. When the boat came to the port side we have heard either from you or from Ranger they shouted out from there they wanted two more men? - Yes. 5695. Were you and Ranger the only ones who ran to the port side? - Well, I do not know whether Ranger came over at the same time as me or not, but there were some stood on the port side then. There were a lot of firemen there, but they did not think about getting up on the davits to get out on to the falls. 5696. That had to be done? - Yes, we had difficulty to get out there with lifebelts on, because they are only about that wide (demonstrating.) 5697. You and he were the first to get out on to the davits and get down by the falls into the boat? - Yes. 5698. And so got away? - Yes. The Attorney-General: I do not propose to go through the story again of the boat, because we have heard from two or three witnesses what happened in boat No. 14. Examined by Mr. SCANLAN. 5699. At the time of your leaving, going down from the davits, were there any passengers on the deck? - I could not say. 5700. You said that when you went for the lifebelts, you went to the steerage quarters? - Yes, we were ordered to go there. 5701. I suppose at that time you could not get to your own quarters? - Certainly not, we could not go there to get our clothes, let alone the lifebelts. 5702. There were lifebelts in your own quarters, I take it? - Yes. 5703. You were one of the last of the crew to leave the ship. Do you know where the collapsible lifeboats were kept on the deck? - No, I was never on the boat deck before - not till I