Page 218 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 6 - 9

10525. Did you see any more of Mr. Ismay yourself after that? - Not after that. 10526. After you had finished with that boat where did you next go to? - We turned our attention to another collapsible boat that was on top of the officers’ house on the same side of the ship. 10527. That was a boat which lay on the top of the officers’ quarters? - Yes. 10528. You tried to get that boat down to the deck? - Yes. 10529. Did you get it down? - Yes; we got two planks on the bow-end of the boat, and we slid it down on to the boat deck. 10530. Having got it down, the next thing, I suppose, would be to get it to the davits? - We tried that, and we got it about halfway and then the ship got a list to port, and we had great difficulty. We could not get it right up to the davits, so we had to slacken the falls. The ship took a list to port, and we could not get it up the incline right up to the davits. 10531. Did you do your best? - We did our best. We slackened the falls and made it fast. 10532. You did make it fast? - Yes, we did make it fast by slackening the falls, but we could not haul it away any further. 10533. Were you ever able to get it outboard so as to lower it? - No. 10534. Were there any women there whilst you were dealing with this boat that had come from the top of the officers’ quarters? - There were four or five women that I could see there waiting to get into this boat if we got it under the davits. 10535. Whilst you were trying to get this boat up the hill, as it were, to the davits, did anything happen to the ship? - Yes, she put the bridge under then. 10536. She put the bridge right under water? - Yes, she put the bridge right under water. 10537. You spoke of a list to port, I think? - Yes. 10538. At the time that she put the bridge under water was the list considerable? - Yes. 10539. She was, of course, well down by the head then? - Very well down then, Sir. 10540. What happened to you when she put the bridge under water? - I found the water come right up to my legs here, and I jumped into the collapsible boat then. I cut the after fall, and I called out to the man on the forward end of the boat to cut her loose; she would float if we got the falls loose. 10541. Did this other man do that? - I could not say. 10542. Did she float? - I cut the ropes and then I was washed right out of her. 10543. You cut both falls? - No, only the after fall. 10544. What happened to the forward fall? - I could not say. I was washed out of the boat then. 10545. You were washed out of the boat, were you? - Yes. 10546. Did you notice what happened to these three or four women who had been standing there? - The last I saw of them they were in the water struggling. 10547. You could not help them, I suppose? - No. 10548. Then did you go down - did you sink? - When I got in the water I was in a whirlpool going round like this. (showing). 10549. Did you come up to the top? - Yes, I came up to the top. 10550. Had you got your lifebelt on? - Yes. 10551. Did you hear any noise from the ship as she went down under you - any explosions? - What I took to be an explosion, Sir - a great noise, a great report. 10552. When you came to the top of the water, what did you see round you? Did you see anything round you - wreckage or people? - Not then. There was no wreckage, but a lot of people in the water. 10553. Could you help me with regard to this; if you did not notice say so: Did you notice whether the bow broke off? - With the first report of that explosion I saw the afterpart of the ship giving a tremble like this (showing), and I thought by the afterpart going up like this (showing),